I pretended to be incredibly charmed that he remembered my name. "That's right," I said. "You must be starving from all your hard work," I said. "Why don't you come in and have some brunch. We've got eggs, bacon, and freshly pressed orange juice. You look like you could use a good meal."
He looked impressed by the idea. "Well, I did already eat breakfast," he said, patting his belly, "but, what the heck, I could always eat more."
I grinned at him. "Well, come inside then. We've got plenty."
As I led him back to the dining room, I could see Robert casting us a dark look from the window. I am doing this for your own good, I thought, but I wasn't really sure that was the truth.
I offered Ranger Wilson a seat and poured him a tall glass of orange juice. "Where's your partner today?" I asked.
"You mean Ranger Stacey?" he asked.
"Yes, the one you were with the other day. The shortish brunette woman."
"She's feeling a little under the weather," Wilson said as he picked up a knife and fork and started cutting through his eggs. "But my business here today is more of a one man job anyway."
I raised an eyebrow. "And what is your business here today?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could.
He answered me through a mouthful of eggs. "Just need to ask a few more questions of those who were out on the water the other day."
I frowned. "I hope everything’s okay, Ranger Wilson," I said with a little pout. "I'm starting to get a little frightened. I sure hope that there was nothing suspicious about the way that Ann died."
Wilson swallowed his eggs and took a swig of orange juice. He shook his head. "Nothing to worry about," he said. "The autopsy confirmed it was probably just an accident."
Probably.
I was a little amazed by how candid he was being. The detectives back in Belldale wouldn't have given me this information if I'd begged for it.
"Still," I said, trying to sound as naive as possible. "I'm a little shaken. We all are," I whispered. "Don't you think you ought to err on the side of caution?"
Ranger Wilson put his fork down. "What do you mean?"
I looked around furtively, trying to make it look like I was scared of people overhearing our conversation. "Oh, never mind," I said, sitting back and averting his eyes.
"Tell me," he said. "I don't like to see a young lady so frightened." He lowered his voice. "Have you heard something?"
"No, I haven't heard anything," I said. "I just think some people are trying to leave the retreat early, that's all."
Wilson raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not sure I really blame them, Miss Robinson."
"I was just wondering," I said. "If that was such a good idea. For people to leave, I mean."
He just stared at me, not really getting it. Sigh. I was going to have to spell it out for him, wasn't I?
"It just makes me think," I said, before I stopped. "Oh, but I don't know what I'm talking about. You’re the detective, after all."
"Oh, I'm not a detective," he said, looking a little flattered. "Just a ranger."
"Just as good as one though, I'm sure," I said. "So I know you don't need me to tell you that it looks suspicious when people want to leave after a body has been found. You know better than I do that makes them look guilty."
Wilson stared at me for a second before he nodded slowly. "Yeah..." he said, creasing his brow. "It does. Of course," he said, clearing his throat. "I mean, obviously I know that. You're right. Until this is completely cleared up, no one should be able to leave the resort for a few days. I'll let all the other guests know." He stood up. "Thanks for the great meal, Miss Robinson."
"You're welcome," I said, standing up after him. "Thank you for taking this investigation so seriously. I knew you would."
He nodded at me and moved over to Robert, who had been staring at us and watching our entire conversation.
Didn't look like he would be getting that lift to the bus station after all.
Chapter 8
Morris almost knocked me over as he barreled out of his hotel room. "Sorry," I said. "I was just about to knock."
"Oh, that's okay, Rachael." He was wearing tight bike shorts and held a helmet in his hands. "We're just about to go for a ride," he said with a bright smile.
Geez, these two really never stopped, did they?
"That's nice," I said.
Jane appeared at the door, wearing bike shorts that matched her husband's. "Can we help you with something, Rachael?"
"Um, I was just wondering. Or rather, I wanted to let you know in case you didn't realize. I am actually cooking for the resort now. In case you want to join us for meals from now on." I raised an eyebrow. "Now that we're all stuck here for a few days."
Morris and Jane looked at each other. "Oh, no, dear," Jane said. "We don't trust food that other people have prepared."
So it was true. They knew I was cooking and they were still boycotting. "But I've never made anyone sick in my life," I said.
"Sorry, dear, that's just our rules. Oh, there's no need to look so offended," Jane said. "Why don't you join us on a bike ride?"
I wondered how long I could last on a bike before I collapsed with exhaustion. At a generous estimate, about three minutes.
"No, thank you," I said. "I have to be back in the kitchen. Not that that matters to you," I said in a manner that was far more sulky than I intended.
Jane let out a laugh. "Oh, dear, you shouldn't worry so much about what others think. We'll catch you later for this afternoon's activities!" she said with a wave as her and Morris hurried off down the corridor.
I stared after them, barely noticing when another hotel room door opened.
"Robert," I said.
Does he know that I'm the reason he's stuck here?
I froze as he approached me.
"Hey, Rach," he said with a smile. "I'm really sorry for how I acted this morning. I know you're just trying to help everyone out here by cooking. And it's not your fault we're all stuck here."
I looked away. "It's okay," I said quietly. "Don't worry about it. You don't need to apologize."
"I do feel bad, though. Hey, you know there's a dance tonight, right?"
I looked back at him in surprise. That hadn't been cancelled? "Yes?" I said slowly.
"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go. With me, that is," he said, looking a little unsure as he waited for my response. "Let me make it up to you for being so rude before."
I just stared at him. All I could think about was what Pippa would say. "Are you crazy?"
I tried to read the look in his eyes. Did he know that I was the one who'd convinced Wilson to put us all on lockdown? Was this just a trick?
Was he going to do to me what he did to Ann?
Okay, that really is crazy, Rachael.
He probably really does just want to go to the dance with me. He's not a cold-blooded killer. He's just a twenty-three year old guy on vacation.
His eyes were blank, giving nothing away.
I took a deep breath and swallowed, already knowing I was about to regret my answer. "Yes," I said. "I would love to."
"So!" Pippa said, plonking herself down on my bed. "I ASSUME we are going to this dance thing. What should we wear?" She cocked her head to the side. "I mean, it's not like there's really any cute guys to impress—everyone here is already a couple."
"Plus, you're married," I pointed out as I turned back towards the mirror, holding up a pair of dangling emerald-colored earrings to my face to see if they looked any good.
"Of course!" Pippa said quickly, with a little laugh. Then she made a guilty face. "I mean, sometimes I just forget that I am. Not because I don't love Marcello! Sometimes I just can't believe that I’m married."
I nodded. It had all happened pretty quickly with her and Marcello. I wasn't sure I could blame her. I coughed and looked in the mirror at Pippa lying behind me.
I wasn't sure how this was going to go down.
I looked at the dresser. "Actually, Pippa, I a
lready have a date."
"Ha, ha..." she laughed. Then, suddenly, she didn't sound very amused. "You are joking, aren't you?"
I shook my head. "I'm going with Robert."
"What the..."
There was knock on the door and I hurried to answer it, thankful for the distraction. Room service with some new towels. I thanked the maid and tipped her.
When I turned around, Pippa was right in my face.
"You're not seriously going to the dance with Robert, are you? Tell me this is some kind of unfunny joke you are playing."
I stared at her. "One second you don't want me paying attention to boys on this trip, the next you are suggesting I try to find a husband...and the second after that, you’re telling me to stay away from them again!" I was exasperated.
"Not all of them," Pippa said in a low voice. "Just this one in particular." She pulled me close to her. "Do you know that Robert didn't arrive here with the rest of the group on the coach?"
I pulled away. "How do you know that?"
She swallowed. "Morris and Jane told me."
"What were you doing talking to them?"
"I bumped into them while I was out for a bike ride."
I just stared to her. "Bike ride? You've never been bike riding in your life."
"Yeah. And I hated every second of it. But I wanted to talk to them. And you were too busy—apparently off planning your date with Robert."
I took a second to think about what she was saying. "Do you trust Morris and Jane?"
"Well, no. But I trust them enough to believe them about this. If you don't, ask anyone else that was on that bus ride. Robert was already at the resort before the rest of them arrived. They reckon he'd already been here for days...maybe a week before the rest of them arrived."
Enough time to get to know Ann.
I was starting to feel unsettled. "But why wouldn't he tell me that?"
Pippa's eyes were wide. "Duh, Rachael. Because he’s a liar. Don't tell me you still think you can trust him after any of this? There's no sense standing there looking hurt. You've got to stay away from him. Cancel this date."
I shook my head. "No. I've got to keep this date now. I've got to talk to him. Make him think he can trust me. I need to find out if he knew Ann. And if so, how."
"That's a cute dress," Robert said with a grin as he met me in front of my room. Pippa had left ten minutes earlier, hardly bothering to dress up at all. All she'd done was take off her bike shorts and replace them with a denim skirt, and sprayed her hair with hairspray.
Meanwhile, I'd made some effort to look nice in my short blue sundress, so I was pleased that Robert liked it.
Should I be pleased, though? I wondered, looking him up and down. After all, this is business, not pleasure.
Robert was out of his shorts for the first time on this trip, dressed now in dress trousers and a navy blue button-down shirt.
"Thanks," I said, my face all flowers and cheerfulness. I couldn't give him any clue that this wasn't just an ordinary date. "I just threw it on," I added, even though I had spent over an hour getting ready.
"So?" Robert said, holding out his arm so that I could link mine through it. "Should we go downstairs and see what this thing is actually all about? I'm not expecting too much."
I nodded and we walked down the corridor. "Neither am I. Though the food should be good."
"Really? How do you know?"
"Because I prepared it," I said with a smile as we descended the stairs.
"Ah," he said. "So there will be one thing to look forward to." He looked at me. "Well, more than one thing I suppose."
As it turned out, the food might actually be the only thing to look forward to that evening. "I thought this was supposed to be a dance," I said, looking out at the empty dance floor and a small, unenthusiastic band made up of a singer, one keyboardist and a guitarist, who were playing bad pop song covers and staring at the floor.
Robert shrugged and pointed to where the guests actually were: at the dining tables stuffing their faces. "Looks like it's more of an ‘eat' than a 'dance'," he said with a grin.
I beamed at the way everyone was filling their plates.
"You really saved this place, Rachael," Robert said. "The food is amazing now. Probably better than it was when Ann was in charge." He stopped and made a face. "Sorry. I probably shouldn’t say things like that. It's probably in bad taste."
"Thank you for the compliment," I said, pulling away from him. "When my food makes other people happy, it makes me happy."
My grin faded a little when I stopped and saw that not everybody was enjoying my food. Morris and Jane were squirreled away in the corner of the room, munching on their protein bars.
"Unbelievable," I muttered.
Robert saw what I was staring at and laughed a little. "Don't worry about them. They're just weird. They wouldn't have wanted to eat Ann's food either."
I stopped and turned to him sharply. "How do you know that?"
He looked like he had been caught. "I just...I heard that about them. That they won't eat anything besides their protein bars. It's no big deal, is it?" he asked with a little shrug. "Come on, let's get some of this famous food that everyone is talking about."
Robert piled his plate high with satay noodles and grabbed some chopsticks. I chose chicken and a salad, which I thought was safe date food. And if we did end up dancing, my stomach wouldn't be too heavy.
Darn it, Rachael. This isn't a real date.
There were a few stragglers on the dance floor by the time we got back to our table.
Robert and I watched them dance awkwardly as we ate.
"So what do you make of the rest of these guys...on the retreat, I mean?" Robert asked as he dug his chopsticks into his pile of noodles.
I shrugged.
"Well, we didn't travel up on the bus with the rest of you, so we missed out on the opportunity to bond with everyone." I watched him carefully, waiting to see how he responded to that.
Robert nodded and looked down at his noodles. "Yeah," he mumbled.
"I mean, that must have been fun," I continued. "The bus ride up?"
He nodded and looked away. "Hey, do you want to dance?"
No, I didn't want to dance. I wanted him to give me a straight answer.
"How long did the trip take?" I asked him.
He finally looked at me. "Why are you asking me so many questions about the bus ride?"
I stared at him and put my fork down. "Were you on that bus ride with the rest of them?"
He held my gaze. "No," he said, clearing his throat. "You know that. I think I mentioned it."
I shook my head. "You didn't mention it. When did you get to the resort then?"
He shrugged. "I came up a little early."
"How much earlier?"
"A day or two, I don't know."
"How did you get here?"
"Geez, Rach, what’s with all the questions? I thought we'd decided to put all that stuff behind us." He started fondling the knife sitting beside him. "Is this an actual date? Or an interrogation."
I swallowed. "It's a date." I took a large sip of water. "I was just curious, that's all." I tried to sound as casual as possible. "I guess you're an outsider too, just like us."
Robert sighed. "Look, I don't like bus rides, that's all. It's embarrassing to admit, but..." He looked a little red-faced as he turned away to make sure no one was listening. "I get car sick in them. Well, bus sick, I guess."
"Oh." I sat back and tried to hide my smile. "That's...that's normal," I said, trying to sound reassuring. "Plenty of people suffer from travel sickness from bus rides."
"Yeah, when they're kids," Robert said, picking his chopsticks back up. "Not when they're twenty-three. And the trip is perfectly straightforward. No hills or winding roads or anything. That's why I didn't tell you." He looked at me with his puppy dog eyes. "Do you forgive me?"
I looked away. The dance floor was finally starting to fill up.
"
So, do you want to dance?" I asked, standing up.
Robert stood up after me, but he looked a little unsure as he followed behind me. Just as I was about to reach the dance floor, he grabbed my elbow. "Rach... It's like you were saying, we are outsiders here. I don't really feel that comfortable around the rest of the guests. Why don't we go outside instead? Go for a little walk down by the lake?"
The music switched from a fast song to a slow one and I gulped. I quickly looked around for Pippa and caught her eye. She raised an eyebrow at me and shot me a look.
"Just give me a sec," I said to Robert as I pulled out my purse. I shot Pippa a quick text message.
Going out to the lake.
The look she shot me in return, once she'd seen it, could have cut glass. I gave her my best it will all be fine look in return.
At least I'd texted her.
At least someone knew where I'd be.
I looked back up at Robert and nodded. "Sounds good," I said breezily, as I heard the shake in my voice. "Let's go."
I was expecting there to be a chill in the air, but the night was warm and pleasant as the air hit my face when Robert pulled the door open.
Just as I was about to step outside, Pippa grabbed me by the arm, her hands icy against my wrist, and pulled me aside. "Don't go," she whispered sharply. The moonlight hit her eyes and I could see a glint of real fear in them.
Robert asked me if everything was all right while he looked down cautiously at Pippa's hand. It was wrapped so tightly around my wrist, her knuckles were turning white. "Just give me one minute!" I called out. "I'll meet you by the lake."
He looked first at Pippa and then at me before he nodded reluctantly and walked off.
"Pippa, let me go." I pulled myself free of her talon-like grip.
"Did you find out anything?"
"Yes. There's a perfectly innocent reason that he arrived before everyone else. And a good reason for not telling me."
Pippa didn't look convinced. She grabbed my arm again. "And did you ask him if he knew Ann?"
That stopped me. "No," I had to admit. "But I'm about to." I pulled my arm free and ran away before she could stop me.
Rest, Relaxation and Murder: A Bakery Detectives Cozy Mystery Page 5