by Kathi Daley
“And group three?”
“Members of the Carrington family, including Chance and Nikki, Veronica, Kyle and his date, Mercedes, Marcus, and Stephanie. They wanted to be there to greet the guests as they arrived.”
“I understand Stephanie’s husband and stepson were there as well.”
“They came later with the other guests, who began to arrive at around twelve forty-five.”
“And Daniel?”
“He was in the last tram up with Dr. Townsend at one-fifteen. Wait, I take that back. The last tram up had a single passenger: Michael Carrington, who arrived at around one-thirty.”
“Did anyone come down the mountain prior to Michael Carrington arriving at the party?”
“The only people to make a trip down the mountain before everyone started leaving the party were the maintenance men who’d gone up to fix the plumbing.”
“And did they go back up to attend the party?”
“I don’t specifically remember them going back up, but once the bulk of the guests began to arrive the tram was full up every trip. I’m careful about counting heads—it’s a strict rule to keep track of the number going both up and down the mountain—but I don’t always take the time to look at faces, so I suppose it’s possible they changed and came up to the party.”
“Do you have a total head count for the day?”
“I do. We keep a close count on how many people go up and down so we don’t accidentally leave anyone up there. I can’t remember the specific number now, but I’d say there was around a hundred. My report was filed, so if you need an exact number you can check with Kyle in the operations office.”
“Did you take a break at any time during the day?”
“I took one short break just after the maintenance men went up the mountain and another just after Michael Carrington went up. I had my radio and Isabella knew to call me if anyone wanted to go up or come down before I returned.”
“Can the tram be operated from both the top and the bottom of the mountain?”
“Yes, there are controls at both ends of the tram. Of course, there aren’t a lot of folks who know how to operate the system. The tram is one of the oldest lifts on the grounds and it isn’t automated like most ski lifts are nowadays.”
“But theoretically, if someone knew how to operate the tram they could have transported someone up or down the mountain in your absence.”
“Theoretically, yes.”
“And other than yourself, who would know how to operate the tram?” I wondered.
“Just people who have been around for a long time. The family, of course, and a few of the more senior lift operators, but I can’t see any reason why someone would make a trip and not record it on the log. The resort has a strict policy about recording all trips in the log.”
“Last question and then I’ll let you enjoy your lunch: Did you notice anything unusual that day? Anyone acting strange or nervous?”
“No, ma’am, I don’t remember anyone acting any different than they ever do. I can’t imagine who would have wanted to harm the senior Mr. Carrington. He was a strong man who could be gruff and set in his ways, but he was a good man. An honest man. I really miss him.”
After we left the sandwich shop, Zak and I decided to pay a visit to Isabella Vanderhouse, who, we’d discovered, was working in the steak house kitchen that day. It sounded like she was on the premises from the beginning of the day to the end of the party, and she and her staff had been moving around, refilling the buffet and clearing used plates, so maybe she or a member of her staff had had the opportunity to notice something others hadn’t.
Isabella, who preferred to be called Izzy, wasn’t at all what I expected. I suppose the image of an older, slightly plump woman with a white apron and practically covered hair is a stereotype; Izzy wasn’t a day over thirty, tall and thin with curly blond hair.
“Thank you for agreeing to speak to us,” I said, once Izzy had announced to her staff that she was taking a break and led us into the empty restaurant.
“No problem. How can I help you?”
Izzy tilted her head to the side slightly as she looked both Zak and me up and down, as if searching for something specific. I smiled at her, trying to ignore the slight feeling of discomfort her stare was causing me as I launched into my first question.
“I understand you, along with a staff of five, catered the kickoff party during which Daniel Carrington was murdered.”
“That’s correct.”
“You and your staff were the first to arrive and among the last to leave. I’m hoping you noticed something. Anything at all that might provide a clue as to what could have happened.”
“If you’re asking me if I saw who pushed Mr. Carrington, I didn’t.”
“At this point we’re attempting to map the movements of the family as well as some of the staff. Your group was the first up the mountain?”
“That’s correct.”
“Can you tell us who else came up here prior to the start of the party?”
“The toilets were clogged, so two men from maintenance came up to fix the problem. They were the only ones to arrive before the party, other than the family members who came early to greet the guests.”
“Were you working in the main room of the restaurant where the party was being held during lunch?”
“I was in and out, clearing empty plates and refilling the buffet table.”
“Did you notice Daniel Carrington leave the room?”
Izzy crossed her arms in a defensive stance. “No. I don’t specifically remember him leaving the room. I did notice him earlier, sitting at a table with members of his family.”
“Have you worked at the resort long?”
“I grew up here. My dad worked the lifts and my mom worked in the main kitchen before they retired.”
“So you know the Carrington family well?”
“As well as anyone.”
I glanced at Zak, who asked the next question. “We understand Kyle Carrington had a heated conversation with his father before Mr. Carrington left the restaurant.”
A strange look flashed across Izzy’s face before she answered. “I’m not surprised. Kyle and Daniel hadn’t gotten along since Daniel promoted Chance. Kyle loves this place. He dedicated his life to it and has made it his number one priority, unlike his brother and sister, who both went off to college and then only returned to the mountain out of some misplaced sense of guilt. When Daniel had his stroke, he should have put Kyle in charge, not Chance. Kyle has been running things for years and everyone knows it.”
“Do you think Kyle was angry enough about the way things worked out to kill his father?”
Izzy shrugged. “I guess only Kyle knows the answer to that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”
“Before you go, can you tell me where I might be able to find either Tom Walters or Fred Grant?” I asked.
“I don’t know where Fred is, but Tom is working up at the summit today.”
“The summit?” I inquired.
“The miniresort with the ice skating rink at the top of the mountain,” Zak offered. “I know how to get to the gondola that goes up to the top.”
It turned out you could ski or snowboard down from the top of the mountain if you chose, so Zak and I decided to mix sleuthing with pleasure and brought our snowboards with us. The plan was to ride the gondola up, take a look around, and speak to Tom, then leisurely snowboard back down. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but of course, things rarely go quite the way you plan.
When we arrived, Zak saw Kyle talking to a small group of men, so we agreed I’d speak to Tom while Zak spoke to Kyle.
“Are you Tom Walters?” I asked the man who was fixing a section of the railing that surrounded the ice skating rink.
“I am. Who’s asking?”
“My name is Zoe, and the man over near the arcade talking to Kyle is my husband, Zak. We’re visiting the resort this week as guests of Chance Carr
ington.”
“Izzy called and told me there was a dame coming my way who’s been snooping around, asking questions about Daniel Carrington’s death. I’m guessing you must be her.”
“Yes, that would be me.” I smiled. “I understand there was a problem with the plumbing that day.”
“Someone stuffed a bunch of paper towels down the toilets. That clogged up the whole system, but we managed to get everything working again before the guests arrived.”
“Do you have any idea how the toilets became clogged in the first place?”
Tom frowned. “Not a clue.”
“Prior to the day of the party, when was the last time the restaurant was used?”
Tom furrowed his brow as he seemed to consider my question. “I guess it must have been last summer. The restaurant is only open to the public during ski season, but it can be rented out during the summer months for special events like weddings.”
“So the restaurant had been unused for at least a few months prior to the party welcoming the new ski season?”
“Yeah, I guess. Is that somehow important?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I understand Izzy and the kitchen staff arrived at the restaurant earlier that morning. Do you think one of them could have clogged the toilets?”
“Why would Izzy or her staff do that?”
“Why would anyone do it?”
Tom shook his head, a look of disgust on his face. “I don’t know. I suppose someone could have been trying to prevent the party from happening. To be honest, it was touch and go for a while. Whoever clogged the toilets did a thorough job.”
“Who notified you that they were clogged in the first place?”
“Izzy called down and informed us of the problem.”
“Were all the toilets clogged?”
“Yup.”
“Izzy and her staff went up to the restaurant at eight and you weren’t called until ten, which means either no one noticed the toilets were clogged for two hours or someone on the premises that morning clogged them prior to your being notified.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I was just calculating the odds of seven people not needing to use the facilities for two hours. If the toilets were clogged before that day it seems someone would have noticed sooner.”
“Maybe, but maybe everyone skipped their morning coffee. Look, I need to get back to work, so if there’s nothing else…”
“That’s all for now. Thank you for speaking to me and have a good day.”
Zak wrapped up his conversation with Kyle just as I was finishing with Tom. We decided to head over to the bar for a hot drink before heading down the mountain. We ordered, and I filled Zak in on what I’d discussed with Tom.
“Clogged toilets does sound like a deliberate act,” Zak agreed. “I can’t imagine what anyone hoped to accomplish.”
“Tom suggested perhaps someone wanted to prevent the party from happening, although I can’t imagine why anyone would want to do that.”
“I suppose it’s a theory to consider.”
“So what did Kyle have to say?” I asked.
“He didn’t say a lot, which isn’t surprising because there were others standing nearby, but I did get the very distinct impression he wasn’t happy about the fact that Chance invited us here to snoop around.”
“You don’t think he’s guilty?”
“No. I’ve known Kyle for a while now and I don’t think he would kill his father. In fact, when I used to come to the resort Kyle got along with Daniel better than Chance or Veronica did. That might have changed after Chance was promoted and Kyle began dating Mercedes, but I absolutely don’t see him killing his father for any reason. I do, however, think he might know something he isn’t sharing. He seemed evasive. Of course, things are pretty volatile right now, so maybe he was just choosing his words carefully. Are you ready for some snowboarding?”
“Definitely.”
Zak took my hand and we began walking toward the lift to the black diamond run. “The run down from here is really spectacular, but there are a lot of trees, so we should probably take it slow. Venturing out of bounds isn’t a good idea given the terrain.”
“I’ll be careful. Not only am I using a new snowboard for the first time but this will be my first time out this year.”
“The new snow we had yesterday should provide ultimate conditions, which will help as long as the run was groomed properly.”
“If not, I don’t mind the powder. I’m just excited to be out here on this beautiful day with the man I love.”
Zak smiled and gave me a quick kiss as we fell back onto the chairlift. Once we reached the top of the mountain we quickly found the run we wanted to try.
Our journey down the mountain started off pleasantly enough. There was a terrific view from the top of the mountain that reminded me a lot of the view from one of the ski areas near the lake back home. I did as Zak had suggested and slowly made my way down the steep terrain, taking the time to enjoy the serenity of the moment. Zak was making his way down the run slightly behind me so we wouldn’t accidentally trip each other up. I was thinking how nice it would be to make the same run the following day when I heard Zak yell something seconds before a man dressed all in black swerved in front of me, causing me to veer off course and head directly for the trees. Luckily, not only was I taking it slow but I was an excellent snowboarder, so I managed to swerve to avoid the trees at the last minute before stopping midmountain.
“Did you see that?” I asked Zak when he came to a stop just feet away from me.
“That guy almost ran into you.” Zak put his hand over his heart as if he were trying to prevent it from leaping out of his chest.
“Do you think it was intentional? He almost ran me into the trees. He would have if I’d been any less experienced.”
Zak took a deep breath before he answered. “I’m not sure. He seemed to come out of nowhere. One minute it appeared we had the run to ourselves and the next he was on top of us. I suppose it’s possible he was an inexperienced skier who lost control on the steep terrain, but it almost looked like he was headed straight for you.”
“I don’t suppose you got a look at him?”
Zak shook his head. “Not really. He was about six feet tall. Fit. He had on a full-face ski mask, so I couldn’t make out any specific features.”
I had to wonder if the man who could have killed me was simply a novice who should never have been on this hill or someone who’d overheard our conversations with either Tom or Kyle and decided we were asking too many questions or getting too close to something.
Chapter 7
Later that afternoon I sat with a notepad and pen trying to make sense of the information we’d gathered. On the surface it seemed a lot of people had reasons to want Daniel Carrington out of the way, but my experience told me that having a motive doesn’t make you a killer.
First there were Daniel’s three children, who had gone from being employees of the resort to owners with Daniel’s death.
Chance had inherited not only stock in the company but control of the operation, so he’d gained the most, but he was the one who had invited us to come to the resort to help him track down the killer, which made it unlikely he was the guilty party. It certainly seemed as if he cared about both his family and the resort, although I didn’t want to discount the fact that, like Veronica, Chance might actually see the resort as more of an anchor than an opportunity. Still, my Zodar told me that he probably wasn’t the killer.
My next suspect was Veronica. She’d admitted she felt her role at the resort was more of an obligation than an opportunity, but she too seemed to care about her family and had also freely discussed her struggle with her decision to sell. Like Chance, I doubted we’d find she was the killer, although Zak had made an interesting point regarding Dr. Townsend. If he indeed was waiting for her, he had as much of a motive as anyone to want her father dead.
I wasn’t sure what to make of Kyle. It wasn’t ev
en clear whether he supported the sale of the resort or opposed it. There seemed to be varying opinions as to whether a sale would benefit or hinder him, but ultimately, Daniel was his father, and Zak didn’t think Kyle was the type of guy to go all Rambo on a member of his immediate family. Still, he had left the party with Mercedes, so I couldn’t be sure of his whereabouts when Daniel died. I left him on the list.
Which brought me to Daniel’s siblings. Zak had explained that when Chance’s grandfather, Robert, had died he’d left equal shares in the resort to his three children, Daniel, Theodore, and Stephanie.
Zak had told me Theo had sold his shares to Daniel, giving him two thirds of the stock, which also had given him control. I should probably find out more about the sale of the stock between brothers and whether there were any hard feelings regarding the transaction.
Stephanie still had her shares, and although I hadn’t spoken to her personally, popular opinion was that she wanted to sell her shares in order to divide her assets equally between her two children, Jordan and Marcus. While I could see Daniel’s death may have brought Stephanie closer to her goal, I had to ask myself if she had been in some way responsible for Daniel’s death, why had she done it now? Daniel was sick and it seemed he probably didn’t have long to live, so why wouldn’t she just wait? In fact, if the sale of the resort was indeed the motive for murder, what did anyone have to gain by rushing things along? I had to wonder if there was more going on than I currently knew.
In regard to Stephanie’s two sons, it seemed Jordan had much more to gain through the sale of his mother’s stock than Marcus had to lose. And then there was husband Brian. Could he have killed Daniel in an attempt to protect the interests of one of his sons?
I tapped my pen against the pad as I tried to sort out the remaining suspects. Michael Carrington was the number one suspect in the eyes of many, and he had shown up at the party, which, based on what I’d learned, was out of character. He’d said he’d come to mend fences, but if that were true, why wouldn’t he have chosen a more private and intimate time to do so?