by D. K. Hood
Blinking away the red spots in his eyes, Rowley put down his weapon with a sigh. They’d had three false alarms in the past two weeks. “Then we do what the doctor said and time the contractions. It might be another false alarm.” He checked his phone for the time. It was a little after midnight.
“I have, they started twenty minutes ago. They came regular at ten minutes apart and now they’re five.” Sandy sat on the side of the bed and then with some effort pushed herself up. She pressed one hand against the wall. “Shoot, my water’s broken.”
Rowley had completed a course for delivering a baby some years ago, but his mind suddenly went blank. “I… err. You need to get dressed. I’ll go get the truck. Thank God, it has the snowplow attachment on the front.”
“Don’t you dare leave me.” Sandy was puffing and blowing through a contraction. “Don’t wake up my folks. I don’t want Mom fussing over me. I don’t think we should risk driving. Call the paramedics. That contraction was really strong. I don’t want to deliver my babies in the truck.”
As Rowley was the 911 emergency operator for Black Rock Falls, he dialed the hospital direct and spoke to the ER nurse, explaining the situation. “How long before the paramedics can get here?”
“Right now, we can’t get through the end of Stanton Road to get to you. The road is blocked. The snowplow broke down and has left this end of town isolated at least until morning. You won’t be able to get through from your side of town. The drifts there are five feet high. Doc Brown is isolated as well. You could try Dr. Wolfe. He’s on your side of the blockage.”
Rolling his eyes, Rowley glanced at Sandy. “Okay, thanks.” He disconnected. With his mind racing, he realized they were in trouble. As Doc Brown was also on the hospital side of Stanton Road, he had no other option than to call Wolfe. How was he going to break the news to her? He smiled at her in an effort to reassure her. “Best you take a shower.”
“A shower? Have you lost your mind?” Sandy gripped the wall.
He had to get her out of earshot. “The warm water will help and you’re soaked through. I’ll check you have everything in your bag, mop up the puddle, and then come and help you dress.” He helped Sandy into the bathroom, said a silent prayer, and called Wolfe. The phone rang three times max before Wolfe answered. Surprisingly he was wide awake. “Sorry to wake you, Shane. Sandy’s in labor, pains are five minutes apart, her water has broken, and the road to the hospital is blocked. I don’t know what to do.”
“How is the road from your ranch to town?” Wolfe sounded as if being woken in the middle of the night was usual.
Rowley rubbed a hole in the frozen condensation on the windowpane and peered outside. “No worse than when we drove in. My snowplow attachment cut through it okay, and once I hit town, Main will be clear. Why? I can’t get through to the hospital the road is impassable.”
“Yeah, but you can make it to the morgue, right?” Wolfe sounded serious. “I can get there too. I’ll meet you there. Drive around back and I’ll open the door. It will be easier for Sandy than taking the front steps. I’ll head out now and get things ready.”
Shocked, Rowley swallowed hard. “You planning on delivering my babies in the morgue? No way. That will traumatize Sandy for life.”
“I’ll need medical equipment and I keep drugs on site for my med kit. I’m still an MD after all. Unless you plan to deliver them yourself?” Wolfe sounded amused. “I won’t take Sandy into the morgue. It’s way too cold. I’ll wheel a gurney into the visitors’ waiting room. It’s nice and warm in there.”
Unconvinced but without options, Rowley rubbed the back of his neck, wondering how to explain all this to his wife. “She won’t be happy.”
“I’m sure she’ll understand when you explain. She has no choice. I’ll need your help too. Emily is at the resort with Jenna. Are you up to delivering babies?” Wolfe chuckled. “I wouldn’t take too long making up your mind. Babies have a will of their own sometimes.”
A wail came from the bathroom. Rowley cringed. “Okay, we’re on our way.”
Twenty-Two
It’s amusing listening to the hushed whispers as people try to discover what’s happening. I know what caused the blackout. My escape down the stairs was a nightmare but nobody saw me emerge into the foyer. As candles appear all around the room, casting a soft glow on anxious faces, I mingle with the crowd and listen to the eloquent voice of Deputy Zac Rio. What a charming man he is and how clever to sidestep the many questions by both the guests and the horde of media, all trying to speak at once. It’s like being at the Spanish Inquisition, and the young man is handling it with such smooth efficiency. Now that he’s finished, we all sit, crammed into a restaurant waiting for the manager to allow us to go to our rooms. Of course, those who had taken cabins had left once the power had been restored to them, but the rest of us, mere mortals, wait for the elevators to come back online.
Today I took the opportunity to listen to a few publishers’ presentations. It has been a delight hearing how they work with their authors. It was refreshing to see. I’ve never received such kindness, and if I had, maybe things would be different. My mind wanders as I cast my gaze around—and there she is again. The red nails draw my attention at once. The way she plays with her hair makes my anger rise and my hands shake.
The rage at seeing her again is already too strong and overclouds my mission. I need to have my hands around her neck to cool my anger, but for now, I’ll just imagine squeezing the life from her. I’ve done it so many times. It’s like eating a special treat. The first touch sends quivers all through me, and as I tighten my grip, they claw at my hands, but I’m always prepared to protect myself. The terror in their eyes feeds me as I press deep with my thumbs. Did you know, they rarely close their eyes? They offer me the delight of watching as tiny blood vessels burst like red stars on a white sky. All too soon comes the vacant stare as life leaves them.
I’m soaked in sweat and force myself to listen as the deputy speaks again, his baritone voice easily heard over the low buzz of conversation. He’s asking for a show of hands per floor. Ah, now I know Julie’s room is on the fifth floor. Hmm, the top floor holds the better rooms. She must be a spoiled rich kid. The deputy is ordering people to the fifth floor, ten to each cab. I see the blonde sisters head for the elevator and I hurry along to join them. I find myself smiling. Soon I’ll know their room number and I have a passkey. My heart picks up a beat as I squeeze into the elevator with them so close. I can smell Julie’s freshly washed hair. I wish I could kill both of them right now in front of everyone. The shock on their faces would be incredible. Would anyone try and stop me? How many would try? I nod and smile as my fingers close around the passkey in my pocket. Not now, my pretty—but your turn will come.
Twenty-Three
Once the lights came on, Jenna walked around the room, photographing everything. “No signs of a struggle. If this was murder, then she knew her attacker.”
“I can’t see any defensive wounds, no blood in the water.” Kane frowned. “Nothing to point to an intruder at all.”
Jenna shrugged. “I’ll call Wolfe. I hope he’ll be able to come back. The service road was cleared at six, but I doubt his van will make it up here. Has he fitted a snowplow attachment to his truck?” She pulled out her phone.
“Yeah, we’ve all fitted them now.” Kane leaned against the wall. “It’s a must-have in winter these days.”
One of the maintenance crew popped his head around the door and waved at Jenna.
“The elevators are working.”
Jenna waved back. “Thanks. You can go. We’ll catch up with you later.” She called Wolfe using the satellite sleeve. She put her phone on speaker and explained the situation.
“I’m a little busy at the moment.” Wolfe cleared his throat. “Dave has a forensics kit with him. Collect samples of the bathwater. Bag the victim’s hands and hand it over to Emily. She’ll do a preliminary examination in situ. Then lay clean bedsheets on the floor and lif
t out the body. Wrap it well. If Kane doesn’t have a body bag in his kit, see if you can find some plastic, wrap it up, and take it outside. Store it in one of the sheds until I can get there.”
Frowning and a little confused, Jenna cleared her throat. Wolfe never made excuses. “Is something wrong?”
“Wrong? No but the road to the hospital is under a five-foot snowdrift. A snowplow is stuck under there somewhere and there’s no one available to pull it out until daylight—and Sandy is in labor. Jake is driving her to the morgue so I can deliver the twins. They should be here soon.”
Horrified, Jenna stared at Kane and caught his shocked expression. “The morgue? You have to be joking?”
“Nope, it’s going to be fine. I’m all set up in the visitors’ room. I’m not taking her in with the corpses. I’m not that insensitive, Jenna.” Wolfe let out a long sigh. “It’s me and here or Jake at home on his own, and as he often pukes at the first sight of blood, I’m a little skeptical of him being able to deliver twins. Leaving Sandy to cope on her own is nonnegotiable. I’m confident Emily can handle the body, and with you, Kane, and Rio to process the scene, you won’t need me until the morning. There’s no way I’m driving up the mountain tonight. The snow is thick on the ground everywhere. The snowplow on Main is running twenty-four hours. If it’s an emergency, maybe you can get one to clear the back road in the morning?” Footsteps on tile came through the earpiece. “I have to go. I can hear Jake’s truck pulling in.” He disconnected.
Trying to take in the enormity of the situation, Jenna stared at the screen of her phone and slowly looked at Kane’s astonished expression. “Well, gather the troops, but there’s no way I’m hauling a corpse out into a shed. The back road was cleared at six and you have a snowplow attachment on the truck. How do you feel about a trek down the mountain tonight, with a dead body in the Beast?”
“Not overly enthusiastic.” Kane rubbed his chin considering. “Emily will want to come with us and we can’t leave Julie here on her own and there’s no way Shane will want her exposed to a murder victim. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t take her with us.”
Jenna pushed both hands through her hair and paced up and down. “Julie would be safe in her room. Rio is right next door. He can stay awake until we return.”
“Maybe, but I figure you’ll want to stay until the babies are born and that could take hours.” Kane frowned. “Then we’ll have to hope we can get back up the mountain. We can’t possibly expect Rio to catch a killer on his own.”
Mind spinning with all the complications, Jenna shook her head. “We know the time of death. I’ll ask the manager to make the CCTV footage of this floor available for us at once. We’ll be able to see who murdered her.”
“Then get Rio to go look at it now.” Kane headed for the door. “I’ll go, grab the forensics kit, and speak to the girls. I’ll need to make sure Julie will be safe while we’re away.”
Jenna eyed him with suspicion. “Hang on. What exactly do you mean by that?” She stopped pacing and glared at him. “Don’t you dare arm her. Not on my watch.”
“Not a handgun, no, but I will leave her my stun gun.” Kane had his combat face on again. “I taught her how to use it and you know darn well Shane has had them both on the practice range for years. They don’t own guns, but they sure as hell know how to use one safely. With an unpredictable murderer running around the lodge, I’m making a responsible decision to keep her safe.” The nerve in his cheek twitched. “She’s eighteen, Jenna, and I wouldn’t consider it if I didn’t believe her to be responsible.”
Jenna took out her phone and found Rio’s number. “Okay, but it’s on your head.” She watched him head toward the elevator. “Rio, where are you?”
“In the lobby. I took the girls back to their room and came back down to keep order. People are pretty riled up. The manager put on free hot chocolate for everyone, and things are settling down.” The noise around Rio was making it hard to hear him. “What caused the blackout?”
Jenna explained and asked Rio to check the CCTV footage. “Let me know what you find. Once we’re finished here, we’ll take the body down the mountain. Emily will be with us, so I’ll need you to stay in close contact with Julie. She won’t appreciate it if she thinks we’re watching over her, so be subtle, right?”
“Sure thing. My brother and sister are the same.” Rio chuckled. “They’re probably running riot while I’m not home. The housekeeper is more like a grandma to them. They respect her, so they should be fine. It’s not like they can go out right now and get into trouble.”
Jenna smiled. “Okay, get at it. With luck, you may crack the case tonight.” She disconnected and, tucking away her phone, peeled the sheets from the bed and took them into the bathroom. Her gaze moved over the poor woman in the tub. “Who did this to you?”
She headed back to the bedroom and collected the laptop and phone. Setting the laptop on the table in the sitting room, she opened it and smiled. It wasn’t password protected. She easily accessed Kitty Pandora’s social network and scanned the pages and comments. Nothing nasty there or of interest. Next, she opened the phone and it came straight on. Jenna couldn’t believe her luck and ran through all the recent messages, photographs, and calls. Most of the images were of the convention, selfies with various people. The information could be gold, and with everyone trapped in the hotel, she wouldn’t have to look far to question them. She heard footsteps and a rattle in the hallway, and Kane and Emily came into the room pushing a gurney. “Where did you find that?”
“There’s a first-aid room and a paramedic on staff. We borrowed it to move the body down to the Beast.” Kane tossed Jenna evidence bags. “I’ll handle the body with Em. Did you find anything of interest?”
Jenna nodded. “Yeah, I’ll bag everything and we can go over it later.” She looked at Emily. “Are you good to go?”
“Yeah, I’ve worked alongside Dad so many times, I know the drill.” Emily followed Kane into the bathroom and then paused. “Any news about the babies?”
“Not yet.” Jenna shook her head. “I sure hope everything is going okay.”
“With Jake helping out, I doubt it.” Emily’s mouth twitched in amusement. “You know he’ll puke. He’s a great deputy but he’s not so good at crime scenes. I hope he knows what to expect.”
“Don’t worry.” Kane turned to look at her. “Your dad will ask him to be the support team for Sandy. They’ve been to classes and he’ll know what to do. He’ll be there for Sandy, if it kills him.”
Amazed how nonchalant Kane and Emily acted with a dead woman floating in the bathtub a few feet away from them, she turned back to the sitting room to collect and bag the laptop, phone, and purse. She glanced back at the bathroom and listened to the mumble of conversation. Homicide was never pretty and everyone in law enforcement coped with the mental trauma in their own way. The professionalism Kane always had at a crime scene and Emily’s matter-of-fact attitude had calmed her nerves until the sudden realization that, with three murders, they had another serial killer in Black Rock Falls. Here, right in the ski resort. The killer could be staying in the next room. Ice-cold fingers of dread marched up her spine as the need to look over her shoulder gripped her. They’re not finished, are they? They’re never satisfied. Who will be next?
Twenty-Four
Rowley’s face ached from keeping it fixed in a happy expression. He’d attended all the classes with Sandy, but now that the time had come, his confidence had flown. Inadequacy hung over his shoulders like a huge weight. He could encourage and do everything he’d been shown, but ultimately it was all up to Sandy. It seemed as if she’d been in pain for hours, but Wolfe had insisted everything was going along just fine. Hmm. With the love of his life’s mood swinging from anger to despair, he’d been very close to tears. Being useless to help her and putting on a brave face sounded just fine until another contraction came. Sandy looked at him, eyes wild, as if she hated him. He held her hand as she squeezed the feeli
ng out of it. Where had that strength come from? The bones in his hands grated together. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“Sorry for what, Jake?” Sandy puffed out her words. “Did you think they’d come by stork? My hating you right now is normal. Remember what they said at the classes? It’s hormonal. I don’t really hate you. I just want it to be over.”
He rubbed Sandy’s back and relaxed his smile, his eyes moving to Wolfe, who nodded at him. The man was so damn calm it was as if he were watching a cooking show.
“I spoke to Jenna earlier.” Wolfe was pottering around, checking things on trays. “They’re heading down the mountain with Emily.” He turned to look at Sandy. “Do you want a support team or would you rather be alone with Jake?”
“Jenna and Emily came to classes with me when Jake was busy, so yeah, if they arrive in time, that’s fine.” She looked at Rowley. “I don’t mind if Dave comes in. I think Jake needs his own support team right now.” She smiled at Wolfe. “Just don’t call my mom just yet. She’d pass out cold if she knew I was in the morgue.”
“Yeah, it might take some explaining.” Wolfe smiled at her. “You have a way to go yet. I’ll go and grab a coffee. Jake, do you want one?”
Rowley blinked. Wolfe was going to leave him alone? He swallowed the rising panic. “Sure, but hurry back.”
“Everything is progressing normally, Jake.” Wolfe headed for the door. “Try and relax. Sandy is stronger than you think. Giving birth is a natural thing. She’s fine and the babies are fine. Stop stressing. All is well.”
Rowley shook out his numb fingers, wondering if a few of them had cracked under the pressure of Sandy’s grip, and forced a smile. “Oh, I know she’s strong. Trust me, I know.”