by Jessica Beck
“Were they together?” I asked.
“No, not from the sound of it. Still, we don’t have much time. Okay, here goes. That door is a broom closet, and this one leads to the mechanical room,” she said as she pointed to the two closest doors to us.
“What about the others?” Jake asked.
“The third room in line is where we keep some of our overflow supplies like toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels, and the next door goes down to the bomb shelter.”
“You’ve actually got a bomb shelter on site here?” I asked her.
“It’s really just for storms, but I’ve called it the bomb shelter forever, so the name kind of stuck.”
“Is there any chance that I could look around down there?” Jake asked.
“Not unless you can swim,” Shelly said with a bit of a frown. “When we have a heavy rain like today, it starts filling up with overflow water from the stream.”
“How can it be called a storm shelter if it does that?” I asked her.
“That’s kind of why I call it a bomb shelter. As a storm shelter, it’s a real bomb. Get it?”
“Okay, what else have we missed?” Jake asked, ignoring her attempt at humor.
Shelly thought about it a moment, and then she explained, “There’s just one more door down here that you haven’t seen yet. That’s another closet that houses all of our games.”
“Do you mean like board games?” I asked her.
“Those are there, but we have some outside sports as well, like badminton, volleyball, just general summer-camp kind of stuff. To be honest with you, it’s a huge closet, and I haven’t inventoried it forever. It’s hard to say what exactly is in there at the moment. The previous owners were pack rats, and cleaning that room out was one job that I just never got around to.”
“I’ll check it out later,” Jake said. “One more thing. I’ve noticed that you have candles and flashlights stashed all over the place. Do you lose power a lot here?”
Shelly nodded. “More than I’d like. The problem is that our power lines come in through the trees, and sometimes trees are taken down in storms.”
“Why don’t you have buried cables?” I asked her.
“Too expensive,” she explained. “We’re running on a razor-thin profit margin here as it is, so we save money every way that we can. I hope this was a good idea inviting everyone up here during a storm,” Shelly added, and for the first time since we’d arrived, she looked a little concerned about the situation we’d created.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure that it’s all going to turn out fine,” I said.
“Let’s see,” Jake said with the hint of a smile. “We’ve invited a murderer to join us up here, along with three other people we suspect are capable of committing the crime, and more innocent folks are joining us as well. There’s a storm raging outside, the basement is filling up with water, not to mention the overflowing stream just outside the front door, and the power is questionable at best. Sure, you’re right. What could possibly go wrong?”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Grace said with a laugh. “Jake, I didn’t know that sarcasm was one of your verbal weapons of choice, but I like it.”
He chose to ignore her comment. “Like I said before, we need to be ready for anything.”
“Don’t worry so much. We’re ready,” I said, though I was less confident than I might have sounded. I had been concerned about my plan before, but when Jake laid all of the perils out so succinctly, it sounded a bit like sheer lunacy to me now.
Jake was about to respond when the front door opened again, and I watched as Vince Dade struggled to close it when Kevin Leeds swept in behind him.
“Hey, watch it,” Kevin said as he entered the lodge.
“Sorry,” Vince said, though he didn’t sound as though he was sorry at all. “I didn’t see you there.”
“How bad is it getting out there?” Shelly asked a little anxiously.
“I followed this guy up the road,” Kevin said as he pointed to Vince Dade. “If I hadn’t been on his bumper the entire time, I don’t think I would have made it.”
“You could have always turned back,” Vince said as he took his hat off and shook it off, water flying everywhere as he did it.
“Are you telling me that you didn’t see the road behind us as we drove in?” Kevin asked him incredulously. “You’re kidding, right?”
“What about the road?” Shelly asked him, clearly concerned about the situation.
“I got through just before a surge of water took it out. The stream jumped the banks, and everything is flooded behind us. There’s no way that anyone without a boat is going to get through that mess now.”
I knew what that meant without anyone spelling it out for me.
Grace, Jake, and I were alone with our suspects. While Shelly wasn’t at the top of our list, her alibi still hadn’t been confirmed, and there was no way that was going to happen now. It would be too easy to assume that she was innocent of Chester’s murder, but that wouldn’t do any of us any good. I hadn’t liked the odds all that much before when we thought we’d have Chief Martin, my mother, and George Morris with us, but suddenly, there were more bad guys than good ones staying at the lodge.
“How long do you think that the road will be closed?” Jake asked, clearly thinking the same thing that I had.
“If it stopped raining right now, it probably wouldn’t be crossable until tomorrow afternoon,” Shelly said as the Hoffs decided to join us.
“And if it doesn’t stop anytime soon?” I asked her.
“It might take a while longer than that,” Shelly acknowledged.
At that moment, there was a tremendous crack of lightning outside, followed almost instantly by the resounding blast of thunder, and every light in the place went out as the rain continued to beat down on the lodge roof, sending a staccato echo of sound through the room that unhappily reminded me of gunfire.
It appeared that we were really in for it now.
Chapter 16
“Everybody needs to calm down,” Shelly said as all of our suspects gathered near the big fireplace in the lobby. It was generating most of the light we had available to us now, and all of the warmth. “We’re prepared for just such situations as this here at the lodge, so there’s no need for anyone to panic.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Nathan Hoff replied.
“Nathan, hush,” his wife, Maggie, said, almost without conscious thought. I had a hunch that shushing him was as automatic to her as breathing was.
“The first thing we need to do is for everyone to take a flashlight,” Shelly said as she leaned forward and picked up a large wicker basket full of a variety of flashlights.
“There’s some light coming from the fire,” Vince said. “Why do we need flashlights of our own?”
“Because everywhere else in the lodge is going to be unlit, so unless you plan on staying right here the entire time, you’re going to need a way to see.”
Kevin Leeds took a light, tested it, and then he said, “Thanks, Shelly.”
“You’re welcome,” she answered. Everyone took a flashlight, including Jake, Grace, and me. I flicked mine on once and found a bright, strong beam. Good. It appeared that at least mine had fresh batteries in it.
“Now, if you’ll all have a seat near the fire,” Shelly said, “I’ll go over some of the things that you’ll need to know while the power is out.”
There was ample seating around the hearth, so we all took seats, though I noticed that Jake chose a spot in back where he could watch everyone else without being easily observed himself. I was happy that he was on the case, but I wouldn’t have minded all of us having some backup. That was just wishful thinking, though. Nobody was getting through that flood. I had to focus on what we had, and that wasn’t entirely inconsequential. While Jake was the only official law enforcement officer present, Grace and I were not entirely without skills of our own.
After everyone was seated, our ho
stess moved closer to the fire and began to speak. “You should all know that the lodge is prepared for any emergency, not that this qualifies as one. It’s mostly just going to be a minor inconvenience.”
“When will the power be restored?” Maggie asked.
“Doesn’t this dump have a generator?” Vince asked belligerently.
“I don’t want to be here anymore,” Nathan added.
The statement and questions came close enough together so that Shelly didn’t have time to answer one before someone else spoke up. “I’ll answer your questions, but then I’d appreciate it if you’d let me finish speaking before you ask any more. Agreed?”
There were a few reluctant nods around the room, and she took the following silence as agreement. “The power, as well as the road, will most likely be restored sometime tomorrow or the next day,” Shelly said as she glanced from Maggie Hoff to her husband. “A great deal of that depends on the severity of the storm, and how much longer we’re in for it.” She then turned to Vince. “We’ve never seen a reason to have a generator, not that we could have afforded one if we’d wanted it. Besides, sometimes this is a part of the whole experience.”
“What are we going to do for food while we’re waiting for the flood waters to recede?” Vince asked, ignoring her request to hold all questions until the end.
“There are no worries there. We have propane for our stove, and plenty of hot water, as well.”
“But no lights?” Nathan asked timidly.
“Just the flashlights in your hands.”
“What about candles?” Maggie asked. “I see them all over the place.”
“If you’ll look carefully, you’ll see that nearly all of them are decorative and have never even been lit.”
“Why is that?” Grace asked, clearly curious herself.
Shelly shrugged. “This place is constructed almost entirely of wood. One errant candle could light the entire lodge on fire. If that happened, then we’d be forced out into the elements with no immediate hope of rescue, so I think it’s best if we all just stick with flashlights.” She smiled a little in the flickering light coming from the fireplace, and I was surprised by just how dark it had gotten so quickly. Though it was late afternoon, we should have still been getting plenty of sunlight, which we probably would have if it hadn’t been for the storm clouds that were still pelting us with rain.
“I guess that explains why the place is called Storm Cloud,” Kevin said.
“We’re in a valley where clouds move in and stay sometimes,” Shelly explained. “I’ve personally always liked the drama of the name.”
“Well, it’s fitting, I’ll give you that,” Vince said. He looked around and asked, “Where’s your staff, by the way? Shouldn’t they be here to take care of us?”
“Unfortunately, my people are taking a much-needed break at the moment,” she answered. “We’ll each have to pitch in if we’re going to get through this with the minimum of unpleasantness.”
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I for one am hungry,” Kevin Leeds said. “You said the stove was working, but who’s going to do the cooking if your staff is gone?”
“I’m going to do it myself,” she said. “As a matter of fact, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go to the kitchen right now and start working on our next meal.”
Jake whispered something to Grace, who nodded and stood up as well. “I’ll give you a hand.”
“Thank you, but it’s really not necessary,” Shelly replied.
“Maybe not, but just think about how much fun we can have if we work together.”
Shelly shrugged. “Fine, if that’s what you want to do. Follow me.”
“What are the rest of us supposed to do in the meantime?” Vince asked curtly.
“You could always play a game while we’re cooking,” Grace said.
“What kind of game did you have in mind?” Nathan asked her.
“I saw Clue earlier,” she answered.
No one in the room thought that was very funny, but if it dampened Grace’s spirits any, she didn’t show it. For my best friend, life was a game to be enjoyed, and sometimes I envied her that attitude.
After Grace and Shelly disappeared into the kitchen, I moved to Jake and asked softly, “Why did you send her after Shelly?”
“No one should be alone right now,” he said just as softly.
“That’s a good idea,” I answered as I moved a little closer to him.
“I’m not playing a stupid child’s board game, but that doesn’t mean that I want to just sit here and wait for our meal either,” Maggie said to no one in particular.
Jake took the opportunity to speak, and when he did, all gazes turned directly to him. “We can go about our business and do the things we need to do despite the lack of electricity.”
“Do you honestly want to grill us while the world’s coming down around us outside?” Vince asked with a sneer.
“You’re being a little overdramatic, but think of it that way if you want to.”
“How do you think of it?” Maggie asked him.
“I’d like to believe that I’m here to help you eliminate yourselves as murder suspects,” he replied. “I don’t see why a lack of electricity should stop us from doing that.”
“You mean that you’re going to try to eliminate all but one of us,” Vince replied as he stared hard at my boyfriend.
“That’s right. All but one,” Jake repeated. “I’m going to be holding the interviews in the dining room, one at a time, so we might as well get started. Now, who wants to go first?”
“If you ask me, this is all utter nonsense, but if we must, we must. There’s just one condition,” Maggie said. “My husband and I will speak to you together.”
“No, you won’t,” Jake said firmly. There was clearly no room for disobedience in his voice. For a second I thought Maggie was going to fight him on it, but after a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “Very well. Let’s get this nonsense over with. I’ll go first.” Without waiting for Jake to answer, she stood and walked past him on her way to the dining room, turning her flashlight on as she left the light from the fire.
Before Jake joined her, he told the rest of the group, “I’d appreciate it if none of you wanders off. This shouldn’t take long, and I don’t want to have to go looking for you. Is that understood?”
The three men remaining clearly didn’t like his orders, but they didn’t dare cross him either, so they all reluctantly agreed.
I started to follow Jake into the dining room when he stopped and turned to me. In a soft voice, he said, “Suzanne, I’m truly sorry, but I need you to stay here and watch the rest of them for me.”
“I can do that,” I said, though I had really wanted to be in that room with him. This weekend wasn’t about what I wanted, though.
“Thanks,” he said with a grateful smile.
Maggie paused at the door, then turned and looked at us with a frown. “Well? Are we doing this, or not?”
“I’m coming,” Jake said.
I didn’t envy him one little bit. Maggie Hoff could be wholly unpleasant when she wanted to be, and I had a hunch that she wasn’t going to take it easy on Jake during their interview.
Perhaps I was in the right room after all.
Three minutes after Maggie and Jake closed the door, Vince Dade stood up from his seat.
“Where are you going?” I asked him.
“I need to find a bathroom,” he said.
“Jake asked you to stay here.”
“I heard him,” Vince said as he shook his head and started to walk away.
I wasn’t about to let that happen, so I stood up and followed him. I caught up with Vince out of earshot of everyone else. “Hang on a second.”
He clearly didn’t like the fact that I was following him. “What do you want, Suzanne?”
“Aren’t you afraid of looking guilty, running away like this?”
“I didn’t do it, so that’s not an issue,” Vinc
e said.
“Why should anyone believe you?”
Vince looked around, and then, his voice a near whisper, he said, “If you tell anyone this I’ll call you a bald-faced liar, but Chester didn’t hurt me one bit by pulling out of that deal, and neither did your mother or the police chief.”
“I find that hard to swallow,” I said. “You were angry, and everybody in town knew it.”
“That’s because that’s what they were supposed to think, you idiot,” he snarled. “That deal was meant to fail from the outset. I had way too many investors to ever pay off if it succeeded. All Chester did was give me a public way of wailing about how much I’d lost.” The man’s wicked grin wasn’t lost on me. “I might have lost a little capital when the three of them pulled out of the deal, but I gained a world of credibility from it, and I milked it for every ounce I could squeeze out of it. Now leave me alone.”
Vince stormed away, and I was too dumbstruck to even protest. Could it possibly be true? If it were, it would explain a lot.
When I got back to the lounge area, I took my seat again.
“Well, that went well, didn’t it?” Kevin said with the hint of a smile. “Don’t worry about Vince. He’s been in a bad mood since the day he was born.”
“Have you known him that long?” I asked the bank clerk.
“Sometimes it feels as though I have,” he said.
Even though Jake was interrogating suspects in the other room, there was no reason that I couldn’t ask a question or two of my own. “How long did you know Chester?”
“Almost as long as I’ve known Vince,” he replied. “That’s why I’m so happy that we finally patched things up between us. It took until the day he died, but he made things right with me.”
“Did he really pay off that ten dollars?”
“As a matter of fact, he did,” Kevin answered with a smile as he dug out his wallet. He selected a bill and handed it to me. In the flickering light from the fire, I read where someone had written, “This is my acknowledgment that all debts I have ever owed to Kevin Leeds have now been paid in full.”