by Liz Turner
Cara smiled. “Thank you, but a thirty-year-old is ancient in the modeling world. No, I’m lucky I met him when I did. I was addicted to being addicted if that makes any sense. He helped me break out of it. He helped me come to terms with my past.” A shadow crossed over her face. Awkwardly, she fell silent.
“How about Deedee?” Victoria asked, wishing to spare her.
“Deedee isn’t related to him,” Cara said. “But she’s the closest Leo had to kin. She was his step-sister’s daughter. His parents were long dead, and he hadn’t kept in touch with his step-sister. She died when Deedee was very young. Deedee would have gone into foster care, but Leo decided he couldn’t tolerate that. He willingly took Deedee in.”
“Poor Deedee. How old was she?”
“About ten,” Cara said. “We were already living in one big house by then. That was Leo’s plan too. A big three-storey house an hour away by train from Boston. He’d realized his dream.
Slowly, he coached us and helped us each realize our dreams.” Cara sighed. “Personally, I’ll always credit him with saving my life. I think we all will, in some ways. Leo took me in when I was unwilling to trust the world. I thought it was my looks alone, that others loved. I thought I would always be addicted to smoking. Leo changed that. Leo made me clean.”
“Then it all fell apart,” Tess said angrily. “It all fell apart, and I will always curse Clayton. It was his fault. It was always his fault. If you trace a direct line from the moment Clay first crossed Leo, to this moment right now, I think you’d find a link. In a twisted way, Clay killed Leo.”
Chapter 9
“Don’t be dramatic, Tess,” Cara said. “Clay didn’t kill Leo. No one killed Leo. It’s just one of those things. We’ll never know why he died.” But there was a shadow rippling across her face as she spoke. Something unspoken, Victoria sensed. The unhappiness that she wasn’t willing to reveal.
As they spoke, doors opened up along the corridor, and the fox-like man, Gray, and Jim, the hulk, joined the group. Victoria wondered where Gray had been. He’d said he was going to meet Cara and Matt; instead, he’d taken some time to be by himself. She noticed, too, that he’d changed out of his suit and into more comfortable sweatpants. He caught her looking at him and gave her a toothy smile while running a hand through his red hair.
As for Jim, a bath had done him some good. He’d shaved too. “Is Deedee ok?” He asked immediately. Freshly cleaned up, he looked a bit more human and was dressed snugly in a cardigan and jeans. A little touched at his concern, Victoria said, “She’s fine, Jim. She’s asleep inside.”
“You can check on sleeping beauty if you like.” Gray teased.
Jim glared at him.
What was it between those two? Victoria wondered. Jim, who looked to her like a sweet and docile man, would get riled up every time Gray teased him. Their behavior was almost like that of brothers. Gray was unable to resist baiting him, and Jim seemed unable to resist getting angry.
Victoria had seen Jim interact with the others. She thought he was a classic case of a certain type of personality. He seemed to her the kind of man who almost resembled a loyal, faithful dog. The kind of man who would crave attention, but never bring himself to admit that he wanted or needed it. Instead, he would go about helping people as much as he could, in the hopes that they would love him in return.
Victoria was about to step in and change the topic when the door opened, and Deedee walked out. She was dressed rather like a 50's housewife, with a rumpled blue shirt-dress and a thick shawl wrapped around her. She nodded at everyone present, and catching sight of Cara, nearly broke down again. Cara responded like an older sister would, her face instantly mirroring Deedee’s distress. She rushed to Deede’s side, and flinging her arms around her shoulders, gave her a tight hug. “There there, dearest. It’s alright. It’s okay.”
“It’s not,” Deedee said, with a sniff. “Cara, he’s gone. He’s really and truly gone. I can’t… I can’t believe…”
Awkwardly, Jim stepped next to the two women and put a hand on Deedee’s head. Victoria saw Gray give an impish smile, before saying, “See? She’s alright, Jim. You can take off your shining armor now.”
“We were just talking about Clay,” Victoria said hurriedly, trying to prevent a flare-up. “Tess was telling us…”
“I was telling them that Clay killed Leo!” Tess declared. Victoria saw Gray flinch a little, and saw Tess’ eyes narrow in satisfaction as she saw his reaction.
But it was Deedee, who reacted the strongest. Her eyes went wide with horror. “No!” She cried out.
“Tess is just a jerk,” Cara said soothingly. She glared at Tess, her arms still wrapped around Deedee. Victoria saw the little lift in her lips, signaling contempt.
“You take that back, Tess,” Gray said, sounding angry. “My little brother is a lot of things, but he’s no killer.” He spoke with some ferocity, but at the same time, there was a timidity to him. The impish mischief had left his face, and a scared man was left over. He looked like he was in his 40's. But the fear showed that at heart, he was still a little boy. There was no way Tess was going to listen to him.
“Your little brother is the reason everything happened the way it did,” Tess said angrily. She spoke with relish as she added, “If it weren’t for him, we would still be living in that ranch house and Leo would still be alive.”
“Yes, we would still be living in that horrible ranch house if it weren’t for Clay.” Gray said, “I for one am eternally grateful that we aren’t living there anymore.”
“You don’t mean that!” Tess said. “Those were the best days of our life, Gray!”
“Look, Leo was family to me,” Gray said. “I was, what twenty-two when we met? But after my parents’ death, I was a lost soul, looking desperately for someone to guide me and give me affection. We all were, in a way. We were all lost and broken, and we gravitated towards him. No normal person would have. Yes, living in the ranch house was soothing initially. I’ll always be grateful to Leo. If it wasn’t for him, why, I might be a criminal today instead of running a successful real estate agency. So I promise you, Tess, I loved Leo, no matter how much I joke about it. But the truth is, I’m glad those days are over.”
“You joke about everything.” Tess hissed, looking as though her feelings were genuinely hurt. “I don’t think you loved Leo one bit.”
“He was the strong male authority figure I needed so desperately,” Gray said. “In three years, he’d molded me from being impulsive and needy to being controlled and responsible. I love him for that. But Tess, we needed to leave that place. It was very necessary.”
“Why did you leave?” Victoria asked. She was genuinely curious. Would the impish man come back on the surface, or would the brief moment of honesty continue?
“I…” Gray was speechless for a while.
“Well? Tell her.” Tess laughed. When Gray stayed silent, Tess said, “It was because of that delinquent brother of his.”
“Stop it!” Deedee shouted. There was a stunned silence. “Just… just stop it. I don’t want to hear a single word. Not one more word.”
Jim and Cara looked at each other, exchanging silent contempt for Tess. Cara hugged Deedee again, but she broke apart, moving away from the group, her hands held out.
Tess, however, would not let her leave so easily. “No. I won’t. Of course, you want me to shut up.” Tess said with a snarl. “Because it was your fault too, wasn’t it, Deedee? You broke his heart! He loved you like a daughter and now look how you repaid him!”
There was an uproar as several people began speaking at once. The elevator dinged, and two men stepped out, though the group was far too busy to notice.
“You’re one to talk, Tess!” Deedee began shouting.
“Quiet Tess!” Jim chimed in.
“Tess, we need to get you out of here,” Cara said, stepping toward her.
“What’s going on?” A man said.
At the sound of his voice, the up
roar dimmed as suddenly as if someone had poured water over their heads. Every member of the group stared open mouthed as a tall, wild-looking man with a scar under one eye walked toward them. Next to him, was a man with a goatee, walking diffidently, as if afraid. No one paid attention to him, their eyes fixed on the wild man.
“Clay!” Several people gasped.
Deedee, Victoria noticed, looked the most upset. She stared at Clay as if wanting to kiss him simultaneously and chase him away.
“What are you doing here with him?” Tess spoke to the man with the goatee. “Have you no sense! How could you bring him here, Matt?”
“Whoa, whoa.” Matt held his hands up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know Clay was here either. I bumped into him at the bar. He sorta made me bring him up when he heard what happened.”
Ignoring the others, Clay had taken three steps forward and enveloped Deedee in his arms. “I’m sorry.” He said to her, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “I’m sorry, Deedee.”
Victoria noticed that Deedee was stiff, not accepting this offer of sympathy. In seconds, she had pushed him away, and taken a step back. Clay looked at her, his eyes boiling with emotion, then looked away.
Tess, who was working herself up to fever pitch, cried out, “You? You! You did it, didn’t you! I was right!” With a scream, she thrust a finger at Clay and said, “You will be charged and thrown in jail for what you did!”
“And you will get a letter from my lawyer immediately if you don’t shut up,” Clay said, his voice flinty. “You better think twice before hurling accusations around, Tess.”
“You have no right to be here,” Deedee whispered.
“Deedee?” Clay looked at her disbelievingly. He held out a hand to her, but she ignored him.
“I think I need to lie down again,” Deedee said. “Cara? Jim? If you’ll just let me pass?”
Immediately, the two of them sprang aside, with Cara saying, “Dee, why don’t you lie down in my room? I’m sure you don’t want to be alone in yours. We’ll order some tea.”
Deedee nodded. “That sounds good,” she said. “I just… I can’t take any more. Please. I just need to be somewhere quiet.”
“Deedee.” Clay had a pleading note in his voice, but she put up a hand, silencing him.
“I just need to be quiet.” She said.
Chapter 10
Simon coughed, breaking the silence that had enveloped them all. “Food.” He said, “Seems like an excellent idea to me. If everyone would follow me to the conference room, Leo had booked it, and it’s a shame if Victoria’s food goes to waste.”
“I’m not hungry,” Tess said, with a toss of her head.
“It’s a good idea,” Gray said. Moving to Clay, he enveloped him in a hug. “Little brother. I haven’t seen you in a very long time.”
“I guess that’s mostly my fault,” Clay said. “I… I guess I should have called more often, but I was just… busy.”
“Tell me all about it over lunch.” Gray was all smiles.
“Hey, Jim,” Clay said, reaching forward to shake his hand. Jim shook hands with him, looking morose, and then his eyes widened in surprise as Clay reached over to envelop him in a hug.
Matt was smiling awkwardly, still looking diffident.
The group moved to the conference room, one floor above, half of them choosing to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Once they were seated, and chatting with each other, Simon took Victoria outside, and said, “Victoria, I need a big favor.”
“What’s that?” She asked.
“I need you to make sure these people stay in this conference room together as long as possible,” Simon said.
Victoria raised an eyebrow.
“Look, this is a volatile situation, and our best bet is to manage it. Luckily for me, the entire fourth floor was booked out by this group, so no one heard all the shouting. But I can’t risk them mingling with the other guests; they’d do some real damage. I don’t want any emotional overreactions.”
“I see.” Victoria nodded.
“So.. maybe if you just served them all whatever food you were planning to?” Simon asked. “I’m going to ask one of my staff to set up the projector, and give them a movie or something to watch while they’re in the room. The important thing is, I don’t want them to move about the hotel too much. They can stay in their room or the conference area. I don’t want them shouting or being loud about the murder down in the lobby or bar.”
“I’d recommend also sending up a steady stream of alcohol, then,” Victoria said. “On the house, that way, they have less incentive to leave. I think they’ll be fairly satisfied with that arrangement.”
Simon groaned. “Well, yes. You’re right. Fine. You supply the food; I’ll supply the alcohol."
“Any luck contacting the RCMP yet?” She asked.
“Randolf Jager is a friend of mine,” Simon said. “He told me he’d tried driving up, but the cars couldn’t make it. He was thinking about snowmobiling over when the snow lets up.”
“In this weather?” Victoria shook her head. “I hope he doesn’t.”
“He’s a professional. He does what he needs to do.” Simon said. “I also got the feeling that he’s concerned about a certain catering lady who’s stuck here with this gang.”
Victoria blushed.
“Well, well.” Simon gave her an indulgent smile. “So that’s how it is.”
“Honestly, Simon, we have bigger things to worry about,” Victoria said.
“We do indeed.” But the mischievous smile lingered on his face.
Changing the topic, Victoria asked, “How many rooms does the fourth floor have?”
Simon counted off his fingers. “That floor’s completely occupied by Leo and his gang like I said. It has seven rooms in all and a broom closet. There’s Leo’s suite. The connecting room to the left of Leo’s, where the secretary Deedee was staying. The broom closet is next to her room. Now, let’s see. Who else? Cara, Tess, Matt, Gray and Jim had one room each. Tess stayed in the room to the right of Leo’s suite. Matt was staying in the room facing Leo’s. Jim was staying in the room facing Tess, to the left of Matt’s room, and Gray was staying in the room facing Deedee’s, to the right of Matt’s room. Cara’s room, as you saw, is at the end of the corridor. The other end of the corridor has the elevator and stairs. That’s it.”
Victoria pictured it in her head, the large corridor, with seven rooms, three each along the length, and Cara’s room at the very end. She frowned.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I’m trying to figure out the timings in my mind,” Victoria said. “I’m thinking about the logistics of it all.”
Simon gave a little cough but didn’t comment.
“The Larch Luminary is an old hotel,” Victoria said. “So the doors aren’t self-locking. Is that right?”
“That’s correct, yes,” Simon said. “We believe in mechanical keys, not all this swiping cards business. I’m an old fashioned man. For aesthetic reasons, I think a heavy iron key is far more pleasing to the senses than a plastic card.”
“Didn’t you ever worry that people could make copies?” Victoria asked.
Simon shrugged. “To be honest, no. I thought… well, I thought this was a safe, happy area.”
“In any case, when I left the door was partially open,” Victoria said. “It swung almost shut, but you could see Leo through a crack in the door. I presume that’s how it was when the murderer walked by.”
“That’s what I don’t understand,” Simon said. “Just… what happened? Did the murderer walk by, decide that it was time to rid the world of Leo, let himself in, and then immediately just kill him?”
“What time was it?” Victoria asked. “That’s another consideration. Let’s see. When did I arrive at the Larch Luminary? At about 8:15 a.m. I think.”
“Sounds about right.”
“As soon as I arrived, in about ten minutes, Leo had asked me to come up to his room.” She said. “That
makes it 8:25 a.m. I remember being a little irritated because I wanted to stick to my schedule. Well, we spoke for maybe ten minutes, it was 8:35 a.m. when I left the room. Yes, I remember checking my watch and irritatedly wondering when I’d be able to get to work. He told me he had a headache, and wanted something to eat. I took maybe, fifteen minutes to plate his breakfast when I heard the noise. So that makes it 8:50 a.m.”
“Yes,” Simon said. “I’d have put the time of death at about 8:45 a.m.”
“Didn’t you think it was unusual?” Victoria asked. “I mean. Think about it. I found that hallway deserted when I went downstairs to the kitchen. So, between precisely 8:36 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. someone came walking by, saw the door open, talked to Leo, or let himself in, then threw Leo out the window!”
Simon shrugged. “I have no idea how murderers work. I imagine they’re just very unusual people. They have to be, to kill a man in cold blood.”
“What’s hard for me to figure out is the motive,” Victoria said. “There was no premeditation here. Someone saw the chance and took it. That’s all it was. Do you agree?”
“Yes,” Simon said. “There’s no way someone could plot out the exact time you would leave. At the most, I could imagine the murderer watching you and Leo enter the room, then throwing him out of the window afterward.”
“But who could hate Leo enough to do this?” Victoria wondered. “Consider, Simon, the amount of sheer effort required, to grab someone and throw them through the window.”
“That’s why I’m sure it’s suicide,” Simon said cheerfully. “It could be, you know. There were no signs that...”
“He fell through the window head-first,” Victoria said. “I’m quite sure of that.”
“Well…”
“It’s cold in the hotel,” Victoria added. “That’s unfortunate too.”
Simon shrugged. “I keep it as warm as I can afford to, but this blizzard has made it extra cold.”
“Well, it’s unfortunate because even though we’re indoors, most of us were wearing gloves today,” Victoria said. “I’m prepared to bet that there are no fingerprints available. I also couldn’t see anyone’s knuckles; I wanted to check if there were any odd cuts on them.”