They were the only ones on the gondola heading back down to Whistler.
"Look at the doors," Sally said. "They don’t look very secure."
Elizabeth checked the door. The rubber on the edge where they joined barely met and the doors themselves didn’t quite reach the floor.
"You know this would make a perfect way to commit murder," Sally said.
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, someone could push open the doors and shove someone out. No one would know because they don’t seem to keep track of how many people get on each gondola."
"I doubt that the doors will open if you push them," Elizabeth said. "Too many people would accidentally fall out."
"Why don’t you try them?" Sally grinned.
"No way," Elizabeth responded. "What if it does open and I fall out? What if it stops the ride?"
Sally sobered. "Yes, I’m sure there is security on the doors so they don’t open but it would be a great way to dispose of someone in a mystery novel."
"That would probably work better on a ski lift especially if you are one of the last skiers."
"I forgot to tell you that Michael said that on the day Bonnie talked with him she said she remembered something but she didn’t say what it was."
"I wonder if it had anything to do with Sylvia or if she just remembered where her car keys were," Elizabeth mused
"That’s what’s been going through my mind, too."
"What do you think of this Michael?"
"What do you mean?" Sally asked.
"I’m just wondering how much we can trust him?"
"He seems nice. I can’t think of why he would lie to us."
"Well, Sylvia said she had a manuscript but Kat Mac didn’t see it. Michael claims he didn’t either and then he tells you of the rumour about Kat Mac. Of course our first thought is that Kat Mac may have stolen Sylvia’s manuscript and found a publisher for it."
"Is that a good reason to kill someone, though?" Sally asked.
"Well, if you were one of the top of science fiction writers and then had nothing published for seven years it might be for you."
"So she killed Sylvia for the manuscript that is now so eagerly anticipated by the sci-fi world. But why would Kat Mac have killed Bonnie? All she was doing was asking questions."
Elizabeth thought that through. "Maybe that something Bonnie remembered was something that Sylvia had sent in a text to her about Kat Mac. Maybe Bonnie thought she had proof that Kat Mac had killed her cousin two years ago and stole her manuscript. She may have told Kat Mac what she knew and was killed because of that."
"Or she could have tried blackmailing her," Sally said. "After all, it sounded like Kat Mac was going to make a lot of money from this newest book of hers."
"You’re right. I never thought of that."
"So Kat Mac killed her to save herself money."
"I have a question," Elizabeth said. "Who sent us down that path?"
Sally thought a moment. "Michael," Sally said.
"Right. And he was in Sylvia’s class and he is also getting a book published."
Sally’s mouth gaped. "So, he could have killed Sylvia for her idea."
Elizabeth nodded. "Maybe, for a few minutes, his desire to get published overrode everything else in his life."
"Plus, Bonnie did say that Sylvia had met an older man who could fit Michael’s description."
"And to top it off Bonnie talked with Michael on the last day of her life," Elizabeth said.
"Now what do we do?" Sally asked exasperated. "We have no real proof that points to either of them."
Chapter 19
"Thank you for looking after Chevy, Beverly," Elizabeth said, when they got back to the bed and breakfast. Chevy jumped at Elizabeth’s leg and she picked him up. He licked her face.
"Oh, he was so good, I’d do it again," Beverly laughed, patting him on the head. "He followed me everywhere and he has such expression in his eyes."
"Yes, he’s quite the dog," Elizabeth agreed.
"Did you enjoy your ride?"
"The town and valley are a beautiful sight looking down from the gondola," Elizabeth said.
"You should see it during the winter when everything is covered with snow and the ski is a bright, bright blue."
After Elizabeth and Sally took Chevy for a walk they climbed the stairs to their suite. "What do you want to do for supper?" Elizabeth asked, as she put the key in the lock.
"I don’t know. We should have bought something when we were in the village and brought it back with us."
"It would have been nice if you had thought of that before," Elizabeth laughed and pushed the door open. She stopped short when she saw a white envelope laying on the floor. Their names were scrawled on it in block letters. She looked at Sally who was staring at the envelope. They walked around it and closed the door. Chevy went over to his water dish and had a drink.
"What do we do?" Sally asked quietly.
"I’ll go ask Beverly if anyone came to see us while we were gone."
"I’m sure she would have told us."
"Maybe she forgot. I’ll be right back." Elizabeth hurried down the stairs hoping that, in deed, Beverly had just forgotten to mention a visitor. She found Beverly cleaning the dining room.
"Hey, Beverly, I was expecting someone to drop off a package this afternoon and I was wondering if she showed up."
Beverly shook her head. "I didn’t see anyone, but I could have been cleaning a room. Did you check by the front door? Sometime people leave things there."
"Thank you." Elizabeth headed up the stairs and into the suite.
The envelope was still on the floor.
"Beverly didn’t see anyone," she said.
"Should we call the police?" Sally asked. She had sat on the couch but was watching the envelope as if expecting it to move.
"I’m thinking we should open it first to see what it is."
"Okay, you do it."
Elizabeth gingerly picked the envelope up by the tip of a corner and carried it to the table. Sally followed her and hovered while she laid it face down. The flap had been tucked inside rather than glued. Elizabeth held it down by the corner and worked the flap out. Inside was a folded piece of paper. Elizabeth pulled it out by the edge and opened it.
STAY AWAY AND LEAVE THINGS ALONE
was written in black crayon.
* * *
"Stay away from whom and leave what alone?" Constable Black asked.
"We’re not sure," Sally said.
She and Elizabeth had taken the note and envelope to the RCMP detachment to show it to the constables working on Bonnie’s death. They had decided that Sally would do the talking since she had been the one who had spoken with Michael and Kat Mac.
Constable Black looked at Sally and then back to Elizabeth. "Would one of you like to explain."
Sally took a deep breath. She was so nervous. It was important that she explain everything in the order it had happened, and what she had talked about and with whom.
"And you think this note has something to do with Bonnie Stone’s death," Black said, when she had finished.
"We don’t know," Sally said. "It just seems strange that after I talked with Michael and Kat Mac, we would receive this."
Black looked at Elizabeth. "Or maybe you could have sent it to yourselves?"
"What?" Elizabeth gasped. "Why would we do that?"
"Well, it seems to me that you get a kick out of pretending to be a detective and trying to solve murders. This could just be your way of getting the attention of the police and the media."
"That’s ridiculous," Elizabeth sputtered.
"Is it? Why would someone threaten you?"
"Maybe we’re getting too close to the person who killed Sylvia Bush and Bonnie Stone."
Black shook his head. "No one killed Sylvia Bush."
"Well, someone did murder Bonnie. We know that Bonnie’s Angel cards were thrown on her," Elizabeth said.
&
nbsp; Constable Black stood and hustled them out of the room. "I think you should take your misguided talents and go back to Edmonton," he said, handing the note and envelope back to Sally. "I’m sure we will be able to stumble through this on our own."
"Now what do we do?" Sally asked, as they walked to the Tracker.
"Well, we know this threat is real so we have to take better measures to protect ourselves." Elizabeth opened the driver’s door, picked up an excited Chevy off the seat, and climbed in.
"Right. No going out at night even together," Sally said, getting into the passenger’s seat.
"Chevy will still need to be walked before bed, but we can do that just up and down the street. And I will drive you to class every morning and pick you up afterwards."
"But that leaves you alone all morning." She didn’t like that.
"Again, I have Chevy for protection."
"What if this is a joke?" Sally asked.
"But who would send it to us?"
"Well, everyone in my class knows what Bonnie was doing and that she had asked us to help. Maybe someone from the retreat put it there as a joke."
"Someone like Daryl?"
"If he did than it would explain how it got there without Beverly seeing someone."
"Maybe we should ask him."
They went back to the bed and breakfast. Elizabeth put Chevy on his leash as they went up the stairs and knocked on Daryl’s door.
Daryl groaned when he saw them. "What do you want now?"
All the niceties that Sally had thought about starting with vanished and she got right to the reason they were there. "Did you shove an envelope under our door today?"
"What?" Daryl asked, confused.
"We found an envelope on our floor when we returned to our suite late this afternoon," Sally said. "We’ve been trying to figure out who left it."
"What makes you think I would do something like that?" Daryl demanded.
"We’re talking to everyone in my class," Sally said. "You just happen to be the first because you’re staying here."
"Well, it wasn’t me," Daryl stepped back into his room.
"Did you see anyone go up to our suite today?" Elizabeth asked, before he could close the door.
"What makes you think I would be paying attention to something like that?"
"Why do you answer every question with a question?" Elizabeth asked angrily.
"Because I’m getting tired of you two and your stupid questions. Who do you think you are, anyway, expecting me to answer your questions as if you are the police?"
Sally sighed. "Look, you know Bonnie asked us to help her find out if her cousin was murdered. Now she’s dead and we are just trying discover what happened to both of them."
"Well, I had nothing to do with it. I’ve been in my room all afternoon working on my novel, like you should be." He looked meaningfully at Sally, who blushed. "I didn’t leave an envelope under your door and I wouldn’t have seen Big Bird if he had come down the hall."
"Okay, thank you," Elizabeth said, turning away.
"So, what was in this envelope?" Daryl asked.
Elizabeth and Sally looked at each other. Sally pulled the envelope from her jean’s pocket and handed it to him.
He took out the note and read it. "I’m assuming you are supposed to stay away from Bonnie’s death," he said, stuffing the paper back in the envelope.
"That’s what we are assuming, also," Sally said. "But we don’t know who we’ve scared enough to send it to us."
"Have you taken it to the police?" Daryl handed the envelope back to Sally.
Sally snorted. "They think we sent it to ourselves for the publicity."
"And did you?"
"Of course not," Sally said, indignantly.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
Boy, he asked a lot of questions, Sally thought. Kind of like us. "We really don’t know," she admitted. "We’re wondering if someone from our class may have sent it as a joke."
Daryl started. "You thought I would do it as a joke?"
Sally shook her head. "We’re trying to think of every possible scenario."
"Yes," Elizabeth said. "We really hate to think someone would be threatening us."
"Well, it wasn’t me and now I have to get back to work." Daryl closed the door in their faces.
They paused at their door and Elizabeth opened it slowly. It was dark inside and she flipped on the switch. Nothing on the floor. They entered and she undid Chevy’s leash.
Sally threw herself on the couch. "I’m still hungry," she said.
"Do you want to go get something?" Elizabeth asked.
"No, I don’t feel like going out. Let’s see what we have here."
Elizabeth turned on the television while Sally rummaged through their meagre supply of food. "We have a can of beans, one of spaghetti sauce with meat and a box of spaghetti."
"Well, I guess it’s spaghetti and meat sauce," Elizabeth said, flipping to the Vancouver news channel.
While Sally made supper, Elizabeth fed Chevy, then set out the plates and cutlery. They seldom sat at the table preferring to watch television while they ate.
Elizabeth hated to admit it but she was frightened. Nothing like this had happened to her before and she didn’t know how to deal with it. She knew they should heed the note and head home immediately. She would bring up the subject later, after they both had had a chance to think it over.
“Spaghetti’s ready,” Sally called.
They dished up and sat on the couch.
The news anchor finished giving the Vancouver news and turned to what was happening in the rest of the province.
"I met a woman named Polly McNeil this morning,” Elizabeth said, as she wound some spaghetti around her fork. “She’s here looking for the mother of her grandchild."
"That sounds a little complicated." Sally was cutting her spaghetti into bite sized pieces.
"Apparently Polly’s son was dating a girl but when she got pregnant the son didn’t want to be a father and dropped her. She ran off and hasn’t been seen since."
"So why is she here? Shouldn’t it be the girl’s parents?"
"They’re in Europe so the police contacted Polly. Her son was an only child and was killed a few months ago. Now, she and her husband want to find their grandchild because it will be the only one they ever have."
"There sure are a lot of disheartening stories, aren’t there," Sally said.
They concentrated on eating while listening to the news anchor.
"It seems there may now be two Whistler’s Murders,“ the anchor said. “The police say that the autopsy of the woman found lying on a street in Whistler has shown that she died from a blunt force trauma to her head that would not have been caused from being hit by a car. The police are asking for tips from anyone who may have seen Bonnie Stone the afternoon or evening of July 17.”
A picture of Bonnie flashed up on the screen.
“And now for an update on the discovery of the body during the demolition of a house in Whistler. Police have found a piece of jewellery that they think may have belonged to the victim. They are encouraging anyone who had come to see them about the young woman to contact them if she had been wearing jewellery when she was last seen."
The anchor then continued with other news.
“Maybe that’s the break the police need,” Elizabeth said, gathering up the plates. She ran some water into the sink and put the plates in to soak. She was scraping the last of the spaghetti from the pan into the garbage when there was a knock at their door. Chevy ran to it barking.
"Don’t answer it," Elizabeth said quickly, as Sally started towards the door. The nearest thing she could find for a weapon was a white ceramic pitcher with blue and red polka dots on it. She grabbed it.
"What’s that for?’ Sally whispered.
"It’s the best I can do," Elizabeth whispered back, as she tip toed to the door. "Damn," she muttered, just noticing that there was no peep hole.
The knock sounded again. "Hello?" a woman’s voice called.
Chevy’s bark grew louder.
The voice sounded familiar to Elizabeth. She looked at Sally.
"Don’t know," Sally mouthed. She picked up Chevy who finally quit barking.
Elizabeth raised the pitcher over her shoulder and motioned for Sally to open the door.
"Why me?" Sally shook her head. "Let’s ignore it."
Elizabeth waved her back and undid the lock. She slowly opened the door and peeked through the crack.
"Elizabeth?"
"Oh, hi, Polly," Elizabeth hid the pitcher behind her back as she pulled the door wider. "Come in."
Elizabeth backed into the living room as she introduced Polly to Sally who put Chevy down on the floor. She set the pitcher on the coffee table as the two women shook hands.
"I’m sorry to disturb you," Polly said. "But you seemed very sympathetic this morning and since I am here alone I was wondering if you would mind coming with me to the police detachment."
It was getting late and Elizabeth wasn’t enthused about going to the detachment again. "What do you have to go for?"
"I saw the news tonight. I gave Leslie a necklace and I want to find out if that’s what the police found."
Well, in the interest of solving a murder, she was certainly willing to do anything. "Sure, I’ll go with you,” Elizabeth said. “But, I’d like Sally to come with us," she added. She wasn’t about to leave her best friend here alone after the note they’d received that afternoon.
Polly looked a little taken aback but agreed. "I’m staying here like you suggested," Polly said. "So we can all travel in the same vehicle."
"We’ll take mine," Elizabeth said. "Chevy will wait for me quietly in my Tracker."
They climbed out of the vehicle at the station. There were a number of cars there and when they got inside it was crowded with people.
"Are all these people here about the jewellery?" Sally asked.
"It looks like it," Polly said. "I saw some of them here when I came to tell my story."
They found a place to sit and waited their turn. After a few minutes Polly began to talk.
The Travelling Detective: Boxed Set Page 74