“Maybe not,” Amanda said, “but your parents do a very fine job here. This place is beautifully rustic and the inside is almost romantic. You should be proud of your parents’ accomplishments.”
Shelly rolled her eyes. “I'll be proud of my own accomplishments after I ditch this town and leave for college and become a doctor.”
Amanda winced. “You might want to work on your bedside manner, love.”
“Whatever,” Shelly said and slammed the box back down onto the desk behind her. “Any more questions?”
“Did you see Natalie return to her room before you closed the lobby down?” Sarah asked.
“Nope,” Shelly said and yawned. “I saw them leave but not return.”
“Okay,” Sarah said and pointed to a set of stairs leading up to the second floor, “let's go take a look at Charlene's room.”
“Don't make a mess. The cops already came and taped it all off. My parents are returning back from Seattle tonight,” Shelly pleaded with Sarah.
Amanda shook her head at Shelly and followed Sarah up the stairs and down a cozy carpeted hallway. They stopped at room number eight. Yellow police tape was stretched across the door. Sarah ducked under the tape and entered the room. All of Charlene's personal belongings had been removed and taken down to the police station, but Sarah figured the killers had removed any other damaging evidence from the room long before Andrew and his crime scene team had arrived. “We should have accompanied Andrew to the lodge and investigated the room earlier,” Sarah griped.
“But Milton and Chet were really upset and neither of us wanted to leave them,” Amanda reminded Sarah. Sarah was inspecting the king-sized bed covered in a green and brown quilt. Amanda glanced up and saw the hand-carved beams that crossed the ceiling. A shiver worked its way down her spine. “I'm just glad I didn't see the body,” she said.
Sarah ran her finger across the foot of the bed and looked around. The room was of comfortable size, resembling the lobby in style, simple but rustic. “Chet, Milton, Natalie, and Charlene were the only guests staying here,” she said. “Last night, Chet and Milton were with us...so Natalie would have had the perfect chance to carry out a murder.”
Amanda folded her arms. “Love, what exactly are we looking for?” she asked.
“Not something with our eyes, but with our noses. Have you noticed that Natalie wears a very distinct perfume?” Sarah asked. “The perfume is barely noticeable, but very distinct.”
“You mean the skunk spray I smelled on her. I thought it was just the woman's bad breath?” Amanda replied, making a face.
Sarah smelled the air. She could see that someone would have had to stand on the bed to reach the ceiling beams. She bent down to the quilt and her nose caught a faint scent of Natalie's perfume. “Natalie was in this room,” she assured Amanda. “Now, imagine for a moment you want to kill someone but don't want your victim putting up a fight. What steps would you take to subdue that person?”
Amanda listened to the heavy rain falling outside as she considered Sarah's question. “Sedatives?” she said.
“Yes, but,” Sarah explained, “that person isn't going to be drugged without putting up a fight. Charlene Nelton was lured away from the lodge, drugged, brought back, and hung.” Sarah studied the empty room. “Right now, Natalie Hopski is under lockdown in her room. Did you notice how her attitude changed when she was brought down to the police station and informed that Charlene Nelton was dead? She suddenly became very afraid of Milton and Chet. All an act of course, but very convincing.”
“She wants poor Milton and Chet to take the fall for Charlene's death,” Amanda said in an angry voice. “I saw how that bat changed her tone from evil to frightened in a blink of an eye. She practically begged for Andrew to lock her in her room. For her own protection, of course.”
“Of course,” Sarah said. “It seems like Natalie Hopski had a deadly plan formed in her twisted mind long before she left Los Angeles and traveled to our little town, June Bug.” Sarah continued to search the room with skilled eyes. “But Natalie Hopski isn't as brilliant as she believes. Mr. Hopski's journal is going to be the one item that takes that woman down and throws her into prison.”
Amanda caught a certain tone in Sarah's voice that made her ears prick up. Sarah was setting a trap, because perhaps Natalie Hopski was listening. Sarah looked at Amanda and pointed to the beautiful hand-carved lamp sitting on a night stand beside the bed. She walked over to the lamp, bent down, and looked up into its pink lamp shade. And there, sitting tucked inside the lamp, was a tiny, black listening device. Amanda hurried over to the lamp, knelt down, and spotted it. Sarah placed a finger to her lips and backed away from the lamp. “We're going to focus on the autopsy report for now. The results clearly show Mr. Hopski had been drugged. But even with that evidence, Natalie could still slip through our hands. Mr. Hopski's journal is the hidden trap that's going to catch that woman.”
“What if she tries to slip town on us?” Amanda asked, playing along.
“She won't. Natalie Hopski wants her daddy's money, June Bug,” Sarah stated in an important voice. “As long as there is a dark cloud hanging over her head, she'll stick around. My guess is she's going to request Mr. Hopski's body be sent to another coroner, possibly someone who will come to a different conclusion than ours. Then she can challenge it in court.”
“Can she do that?” Amanda asked.
“Money talks,” Sarah replied in a serious voice. “Mr. Hopski's journal is our secret weapon. But for now, we're going to have to play it easy and see if Natalie slips up. It'll help our case if we can stick more on her than the words Mr. Hopski wrote in his journal. It's a good thing I've hidden the journal for safe keeping.” Sarah looked around the room again. “Natalie Hopski was in this room, but there's no way to prove it. I guess we've hit a dead end here. Let's get a bite to eat at the diner. I'm starved.”
Amanda followed Sarah out of the room and back down into the lobby. Shelly was reading a magazine and ignored their presence. “Let us know if Natalie Hopski leaves her room,” Sarah instructed Shelly. Shelly waved a bored hand in the air. “Come on, June Bug.”
Amanda walked out into the pouring rain, opened her umbrella, stuck it up over her head and said: “The day has really turned dark.”
Sarah stepped under the umbrella. As she did, thunder erupted and shook the ground. Two police officers waved from their squad car parked in front of the lobby. Sarah didn't blame them. The day was dark and very stormy, better to ride it out from inside the squad car instead of stand in front of the lobby doors. The winds were gusting and forcing trees to bend more than they wanted to while blowing rain across the gravel parking lot at each bluster of high speed. “It's going to turn much darker,” Sarah promised Amanda. “We set a trap for Natalie. The woman is surely going to take the bait. How and when? That's the question.”
“I just feel so awful for Milton and Chet. I know Milton is a little flirt, but he's harmless. And all Chet wants is for a woman to love him.” Amanda stared into the storm. “It’s true what they say, isn’t it? Money can't buy love.”
“Love needs love,” Sarah agreed and walked Amanda to her truck. “Let's go get a bite to eat. My stomach is empty.”
“Sure, love.”
Sarah drove Amanda to the diner, parked, and they hurried inside. The diner was almost empty except for two old men sitting in a booth, sipping coffee, trading war stories. “Rain has run my customers off,” Anne told Sarah and Amanda. “Sit where you want, ladies. I'll go get you some coffee.”
“And two burger plates, please,” Amanda called after Anne.
“You're getting chicken and dumplings,” Anne informed Amanda in a tough but motherly voice. Amanda grinned. She liked Anne a lot.
Sarah plopped down in a booth near the front door and rubbed her legs. “My feet are killing me. I was expecting to do quite a bit of walking today, but my legs sure weren't prepared.”
“Being stuck inside all winter takes its toll,” Aman
da told Sarah and removed her rain jacket. “My legs, love, feel like they’re on fire.” Amanda sighed. “I wish I had a bell to ring.”
“You're doing great. You always do, June Bug,” Sarah told Amanda with love. “I know it was scary being so far out in the woods today. After Andrew scared off the bear, it took everything inside of my heart not to turn around and run back to my cabin at a very high speed.”
“Oh, it was scary, wasn't it,” Amanda said in a hushed voice, remembering the moment. “I can't imagine being lost out in the wilderness alone, without shelter, food, or water...” Amanda stopped talking. She looked into Sarah's eyes. “Oh, I see. You're very clever.”
“I want you to think as Mr. Hopski might have been thinking,” Sarah affirmed with a grin. “Think about it, June Bug. His body was too neat and orderly for someone who had been lost out in the woods. When panic sets in, a person becomes very messy. Mr. Hopski's body was found too close to a trail to be just mere coincidence. At first, I thought the man must have been familiar with this area, but even that theory didn't sit well with me.” Sarah removed her rain jacket and set it down next to her. “I began asking myself questions…such as where was Mr. Hopski's hunting cabin? Was he alone? Why did he come to Alaska to hunt during the winter season? Simply finding a hunter frozen to death doesn't mean the death is accidental. Of course, it could have been, but a good detective rules out all suspicions before drawing a final conclusion.”
“When Natalie arrived, you knew Mr. Hopski had been murdered, didn't you? While Andrew and I were laughing, you were doing your job.”
“Natalie Hopski and Charlene Nelton struck a bad feeling in my heart, yes,” Sarah confirmed. “June Bug, being a cop isn't easy. We dealt with some pretty dangerous people last winter. You held your head high above the water, too. So don't knock yourself for splitting a gut.”
“Oh, I'm not,” Amanda sighed. “I just feel so bad for Milton and Chet. Those poor dears. What are they going to do, love? Chet will never trust a living soul ever again. And Milton, he's so sweet and so lonely. He just...comes on a bit too flirty.” Amanda rested her chin on the palms of her hands. “I wish there was something we could do for them.”
“Pray,” Sarah smiled.
“I have,” Amanda promised. She sighed again. “They'll go back to Los Angeles and live out their lives rich, but lonely and sad. Chet will probably grow bitter and angry and Milton will continue chasing empty relationships that will end in divorce.”
Sarah knew Amanda was speaking the truth. But what could she do? Ask Milton and Chet to relocate to a small town in Alaska and settle down with the bears? Milton needed the beach and Chet wasn’t exactly a skilled outdoorsman. “Those two will have to learn that when life gives you hard knocks, you just have to take it, stand back up, and move on with your life. If they choose to be bitter, well...that’s a choice. Not fate.”
Amanda gave Sarah a sad face. “Some people aren't as strong as you, Los Angeles. I'm one of them. If Simon ever divorced me, my life would be shattered into a million little pieces. I would never be able to live whole again.”
Sarah patted Amanda's hand reassuringly and looked out into the dark rain. They continued to chat as they waited for their food, but Sarah felt uneasy knowing that they were just waiting for Natalie Hopski to take the bait and show up.
Chapter 7
Spring Trap
When Natalie strolled into the diner, her eyes were narrowed with suspicion. She spotted Sarah and Amanda sitting close to the front door and quickly closed her umbrella, dumping rain messily all over the floor. Sarah took a sip of coffee and waited for her to approach the booth. “Right on time,” she whispered.
Amanda took a sip of coffee and watched Sarah's eyes. “Get her, tiger,” she grinned.
As she crossed the short distance to them, Natalie dropped her calculating look and widened her eyes in fake fear. “I decided to risk leaving my room. I can't very well starve to death, can I?” she asked.
Sarah looked up at Natalie. The woman was wearing the ugliest purple and pink rain jacket she had ever seen in her life, but she tried to ignore that. “The police station would have arranged to bring you your meals if you're concerned about your safety, Ms. Hopski. And in this weather, maybe you should have called us.” Sarah motioned to the raging storm outside.
Natalie glanced back at the front door. “Well,” she said, adding a note of fake courage to her voice, “I don't like living in fear. I consider myself an independent woman, Detective Garland. Much like yourself.” Natalie looked down at Sarah. “I take it my two brothers are now under arrest?” she asked in a hopeful voice.
“For now,” Sarah replied, omitting the detail that they were in protective custody, allowing Natalie to believe she was in control of the situation. “However, I do not believe your brothers are guilty. I believe Mr. Hopski was killed and the same person who killed him is now attempting to frame your brothers.”
“Well,” Natalie said in a pinched, displeased voice, “a note written in the dead woman's own handwriting claiming my brothers are the killers will be enough to convince any jury.”
“A bought jury, perhaps,” Sarah replied and locked eyes with Natalie. “I don't like you, Ms. Hopski. You're an awful woman who makes my stomach turn. I also believe you are involved in the killing of Mr. Hopski and the death of Charlene Nelton and I intend to prove that. For now, I have only my gut feeling to go by and no substantial, concrete evidence. But I will. In the meantime, if you leave town, I will place a warrant out for your arrest quicker than you can blink an eye.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Natalie hissed at Sarah, “I have no intention of leaving this miserable little town until I have received the justice I deserve and you, Detective Garland, receive exactly what you deserve.”
“Is that a threat?” Sarah asked levelly, taking a calm sip of her coffee.
Natalie narrowed her eyes. “Nobody crosses Natalie Hopski and wins,” she warned Sarah. “And as far as you believing I killed my miserable old father and his shrew of a wife, well, you can try to prove it, but you will fail.”
“I may have a hidden weapon,” Sarah promised. “Arrogant confidence is what always destroys a killer.”
Natalie gritted her teeth. “You're a problem that I will deal with...in my own way,” she whispered and pointed an ugly finger at Amanda. “You and your snotty little friend.”
Amanda looked up into Natalie's mocking face and then stood up from the booth. “Take your best shot, you disgusting bully,” she said and took an aggressive step towards Natalie. Natalie stumbled back, tripped over her own feet, and crashed backward onto the floor.
Despite her awkward fall, Natalie seemed undaunted. Her face twisted with evil as she sneered up at Amanda, “Is that all you’ve got? You’re pathetic.”
Amanda was on the older woman before Sarah could even blink. “Amanda!” she yelled, shocked that her best friend had turned violent.
Amanda ignored Sarah's pleas and grabbed Natalie around her thick neck, leaning into her as hard as she could. She had had enough of the likes of Natalie Hopski. Sure, Amanda thought blindly as she began to squeeze into the flesh of the older woman’s neck. She was going to end up in the slammer for assault, but so what? She would spend the night in jail with a smile on her face. “You will learn some manners, you ugly, disgusting bully!” Amanda gritted out between clenched teeth, leaning close to Natalie’s face.
Sarah jumped to her feet, ran to Amanda, and pulled her best friend off of Natalie, who coughed hoarsely and flailed away from her attacker. “Oh, let me at her! Let me at her!” Amanda demanded and tried to break free from Sarah's grip. “I'll rip her hair out!”
Natalie, in a state of fright and shock, coughed and felt blood trickling from her mouth. “Arrest her at once!” she ordered as soon as her shock wore off. “Arrest that...vermin at once!”
“Vermin? Oh, let me at her!” Amanda screamed and reached out her hands toward Natalie. Natalie flinched, crawled to
her feet, and backed away from Amanda. “Get back here, you overgrown ogre!”
“How dare you!”
Sarah held Amanda back. She wasn't about to arrest her best friend, yet she couldn't let Amanda tear Natalie Hopski to shreds, either. “Cool down, girl,” Sarah begged.
“Arrest her!” Natalie demanded. She pointed at the two old men sitting close by. “You saw that woman attack me, didn't you?”
The two old men shook their heads no, hesitant to be dragged into the fray. “We didn't see anything,” said one man quietly, and they both went back to their coffee.
“You,” Natalie said to Sarah, as she wiped blood from her lips again, “you saw your friend attack me.”
“I saw you provoke a fight,” Sarah corrected Natalie. “You made a threat and my friend reacted.”
“I was...speaking about a legal threat,” Natalie said with indignation. “Hardly an incitement to violence,” she sniffed.
“You’re lying through your teeth,” Amanda snarled. “Anytime you want more of me, you just let me know and we'll go at it again. Now get out of here!”
“My lawyer is going to eat you alive!” Natalie yelled at Amanda.
“Not if you go to prison first!” Amanda shot back. “Don't leave town because the firework show is about to start.”
“You can count on it!” Natalie hissed at Amanda and pointed at Sarah. “The victory is mine, detective. You messed with the wrong woman.”
“I'm not so sure,” Sarah promised Natalie. It was time to sweeten the trap. “Today I found your father’s hunting cabin and a journal—” she stopped herself, as if realizing she had said too much. She immediately saw Natalie’s eyes blaze up in curiosity. The prey had entered the trap. “Uh, that is, I found a very important piece of evidence. But in the woods we also found a bit of rope with a hair attached to it that came from Mr. Hopski's body.” Sarah let go of Amanda's arms. “The trek out to the cabin took a few hours, but we found the cabin...and the small air strip behind the cabin. What we didn't find was your late father’s green Subaru. According to your brothers, he never went hunting without his Subaru. I found it kinda strange that the hunting cabin only had a small air strip behind it and no place to drive a Subaru.”
Spring into Murder (Alaska Cozy Mystery Book 5) Page 11