Holiday Hangover

by Kathi Daley

  We entered the thankfully warm house and the man motioned for me to take the hallway to the left. He then instructed me to walk to the second room on the left, which I was to enter, keeping a firm grip on Charlie all the while. The room was a smallish parlor with a sofa and matching chairs situated in front of a fireplace. He left the room, closing the door behind him. I waited for a few seconds before trying the door, which was, naturally, locked.

  I set Charlie on the floor and began to look around the windowless room. I still hadn’t figured out what I was doing there or what sort of deal I appeared to be a part of, but I was safe and warm for the moment, so I decided to use the fact that I was alone to try to find a way out of the mess I’d gotten myself into.

  Getting out of the room would be pointless unless I could also manage to get out of the house, and the thought of escaping into the storm didn’t hold much appeal. Still, the idea of waiting for whatever was going to happen didn’t sit quite right with me either. I had a feeling the man wasn’t planning anything pleasant.

  The room was nicely furnished and had obviously been lived in. There was a desk to one side and a bookshelf in the corner. I didn’t see a computer, which was unfortunate because a peek at the contents might tell me exactly what sort of deal I’d become part of. There were family photos on the wall that looked to be at least thirty years old. Maybe older. The photo of a family of five featured a man and a woman and three children: two boys and one girl. The children must be adults by now. I squinted as I considered that photo. I didn’t recognize anyone right off, but I knew the background. The photo had been taken at Bear Mountain. The oldest child had a mole just to the right of his right eye. I was sure I had seen that mole before.

  I closed my eye and tried to picture it. “Chance,” I said out loud to Charlie.

  If I was correct in my assumption, the photo was of a much younger Daniel, his wife, and their three children. I looked around the room one more time, wondering whose home this was. I knew it didn’t belong to Chance because I’d been to his house to pick up Alex. And I knew Stephanie lived in New York, not on the mountain. That left Daniel or Theo.

  I frowned. I realized Theo’s name hadn’t come up much during the investigation. In fact, no one had mentioned him being at the party. I knew he didn’t work for the resort or even own stock in it anymore, but surely he would attend such an important party as a member of the family.

  My instinct told me I was in Theo’s house, but I couldn’t think of a single reason Theo would kidnap me. The whole thing made no sense unless this wasn’t Theo’s house after all, or someone was using Theo’s home in his absence to carry out his dirty deed.

  I paused when I heard someone at the door. I stepped away from the photo and took up a neutral position near the sofa. I had no idea what the man dressed in black was up to, but I intended to find out.

  “Izzy?” I said to the woman who walked into the room.

  “He left you in here alone? What a dolt.”

  “What’s going on? Why am I here?”

  Charlie began to growl again, so I picked him up to quiet him. I had the feeling Izzy wasn’t exactly an animal lover. “Can you tell me why I’m here?” I asked.

  “Theo didn’t tell you?”

  “Theo? The man who picked me up is Theo?”

  Izzy frowned. “Oops, my bad. I guess Theo didn’t tell you who he was because he was planning to let you go when this whole thing was over. Oh, well. Too late for that now that the cat’s out of the bag.”

  “Theo didn’t tell me anything. You haven’t told me anything. What in the heck is going on? Why am I here?”

  “Simply told, Chance called Theo earlier with some alarming news. We needed a way out, so we set a trap, but we needed bait.”

  “I’m the bait?”

  “Afraid so. Now, do be a dear and wait quietly. It won’t be long now.”

  With that, she was out the door.

  Wait quietly my ass. I looked down at Charlie. “I’m not a fan of heading into the storm, but I think it’s our best bet. We need a way out.” I looked down at Charlie and made eye contact. “Find out,” I commanded.

  Charlie immediately put his nose to the ground and began to sniff around. The house we were trapped in was an old one, which gave me hope there was an access of some sort from the room to an attic, or perhaps a crawl space. Houses that were built on an incline such as this one didn’t have slab floors and most commonly had false bottoms, where the paneling on the exterior went down to the ground but the house itself was built on stilts.

  After several minutes Charlie began scratching at the wall. I knelt down beside him, but the paneling looked to be undisturbed, though I felt cold air coming from somewhere. It wouldn’t normally be noticeable, I was sure, but between the frigid temperature outside, the wind, and the warm air inside, the contrast presented itself as a draft.

  I looked around the room until I found something to peel away the paneling, which had been placed on the wall over older pine paneling. There was a place on the wall that had been patched with plywood. I peeled it away, revealing a door that latched on the house side and opened out into a storage area where logs could be kept until needed. The space was empty, and while it was tiny, Charlie and I were tiny too, and able to squeeze through to freedom.

  My elation at finding a way out lasted about ten seconds; then the reality of the freezing temperatures brought by the blizzard kicked in. I looked around and noticed a shed. I picked up Charlie and headed toward it. Luckily, it was both unoccupied and unlocked, so I managed to get inside to take a look around.

  “Snowmobiles,” I said to Charlie. Things were looking up. “Now I just need keys.”

  I began to open and close the drawers on the workbench in the hope that Theo kept the keys close at hand. “Come on, Theo, don’t let me down. Where did you put the keys?”

  I spent several minutes searching without being able to find the keys. I knew I was running out of time. I didn’t know exactly what Theo and Izzy intended to trade me for, but I had to assume it couldn’t be all that far away. I was about to give up when I realized the older-looking snowmobile was similar to the old beater Levi had had when we were kids. He’d lost the key at some point and instead of springing for a new one, he’d hotwired it.

  I would have preferred to take one of the newer—and I was certain more dependable—machines out into the storm, but they had enclosed engines I had no idea how to hotwire, so I worked my magic on the old machine and prayed it would start. Surprisingly, it did.

  I picked up Charlie and opened the door to the shed. I could see Izzy running toward me. I should have realized they would have heard the motor of the noisy old model when I started it. I didn’t stop to think, just jumped on the sled, positioned Charlie in front of me, and took off just as Izzy reached the door. I heard her yell something as I headed into the dark night and the thickly forested woods.

  I knew I didn’t have a lot of time. I was sure Izzy—and probably Theo too— would come after me on the newer snowmobiles that would move more than twice as fast as the one I was on. In addition to the difference in speed, I was also at a disadvantage as I struggled forward into the dense trees on the moonless night. The older machine didn’t have working headlights, as I was sure the newer ones did.

  It didn’t take long before I heard the machines in the distance. I had the ability to go faster than I currently was, but I didn’t know the terrain and didn’t want to end up at the bottom of a ravine. I knew it was only a matter of time until they caught up with me. Finding me wouldn’t be hard; all they had to do was follow my tracks.

  “I’m so sorry I got you into this, Charlie,” I said through the tears that were threatening to hinder my vision even more. I knew if I fell my little dog would fall too, and that tore at my heart more than the thought of injury to myself. Maybe I should have stayed in the house and waited to see what would happen. It might not have been so bad.

  The noise from the other snowmobiles wa
s getting louder. I could feel them closing in on me. It wouldn’t be long before their headlights found me in the dark night. I looked around for a place to hide, but all I saw were trees, snow, and more trees.

  The forest opened up to a meadow just as the headlights hit my back. It was a high meadow with a sharp drop-off with an undisclosed depth. I sped up a bit in my futile attempt to outrun them. I was seriously considering the option of giving in and surrendering when another set of snowmobiles appeared on the horizon.

  “Please, God, let it be help,” I whispered as I turned the throttle to full power. I could feel the meadow narrowing. There was a solid pattern of trees on my right and a drop-off to my left. I began to slow down just as one of the snowmobiles behind me hit the corner of my machine and sent me falling into the precipice.

  Chapter 12

  Tuesday, January 3

  I had been having a nightmare that I was falling into an endless chasm, so I couldn’t help but be relieved when I woke up at home in my own bed. I reached for Zak, who had been replaced by my cats, Marlow and Spade, who seemed content to sleep in with me after having been deserted the previous week. I glanced out the window at the falling snow before pulling the covers over my head and closing my eyes. Hadn’t this been where I’d started off a week ago?

  After my ordeal on New Year’s Eve, we’d made arrangements for Coop to bring us home the next day. The storm had delayed our ability to take off, so by the time we’d arrived in Ashton Falls I was so exhausted I’d gone straight to bed.

  “Zoe?” Alex queried from the other side of the closed bedroom door after knocking softly.

  I pulled the cover from over my head and called for her to come in.

  “Are you doing okay? It’s late and I was getting worried.”

  “I’m fine.” I adjusted the pillows behind me and sat up. “Where’s Zak?”

  Alex grinned. “He went with Coop to pick up Scooter.”

  I smiled back. “Really? I thought Scooter wasn’t coming home until school started next week.”

  “His dad called this morning and told Zak that Scooter was having a hard time adjusting, so maybe they should start with shorter visits.”

  I patted the side of the bed, inviting Alex to join me. “That’s wonderful news. Just the thing I need to chase away the blues.”

  “I thought we could make cookies. Those soft ones Scooter loves.”

  I reached out and hugged Alex. “That’s a great idea. Just let me grab a shower and get dressed and then I’ll be down.”

  Alex hugged me once again before hopping off the bed. “I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee,” she offered. “I can’t wait for Scooter to get home so we can be a family again.”

  “Me too.”

  “Oh.” Alex turned as she reached the doorway. “Jeremy called. He wants you to call him. He said it isn’t urgent and he’s at the Zoo.”

  “Okay, thanks. I’ll call him as soon as I wake up all the way.”

  Once Alex had gone I grabbed some clean clothes and headed toward the master bath. The past week almost seemed like nothing more than a distant memory now that I was home safely and my family was once again going to be together. I slipped out of my pj’s and stepped into the shower. I turned the water on as hot as I could tolerate and then stood under the hard spray as I willed my muscles to relax and the tension to drain from my body. The past two days had left me feeling bruised and battered but happy to be alive. Talk about a dramatic way to start the new year.

  I squirted some of the rain-scented shampoo my mother had given me into my hand and worked it into my hair. I flinched when I came into contact with the knot on my forehead. I had a feeling I was going to look like scary Zoe for another week at least.

  At least Charlie was okay. I swear, my heart had stopped beating for those first several seconds after I’d recovered consciousness after the crash but didn’t know if my best little fur baby had survived. Not knowing if someone—or, in this case, something—you loved was dead or alive was the worst feeling in the world.

  I touched my flat stomach after I rinsed the shampoo from my hair. I supposed if I was serious about starting a family I was going to have to find a way to stay out of dangerous situations. I guess a change in my lifestyle was something I hadn’t really considered when I’d decided it was time for Zak and me to start a family. It wasn’t like I ever planned to put myself into life-or-death situations, but the reality was that life-or-death situations seemed to have the knack of finding me.

  I finished my shower and dressed in warm clothes, then returned to the bedroom. I thought I’d call Jeremy before starting the cookies so I didn’t forget.

  “I have good news.” Jeremy jumped right in upon answering his phone.

  “Great. I could use some good news.”

  “We found all five of the stolen dogs. They’ve been returned to their very grateful owners.”

  I smiled. “That’s wonderful. Who had them?”

  “One of the residents in the neighborhood where the dogs disappeared had asked her nephew, who has some psychological disorders, to visit for the holidays. The boy, who’s fifteen, usually lives in a residential treatment center, where he receives the support and living conditions he needs to deal with his issues. I guess the black of the dogs, the shovel, the garbage can, and the other items he collected looked dirty against the white snow, so he was collecting all the offending objects and stashing them in a shed. The aunt had no idea what was going on until we searched her property this morning.”

  “And the dogs? Are they okay?”

  “They’re fine. The boy knew to feed them.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I assume the boy won’t continue to collect black dogs?”

  “He’s heading back to the home where he lives and the aunt has promised that if she has him visit again she’ll keep a closer eye on him.”

  “I’m glad everything worked out all right. I was really worried when we couldn’t find the dogs right away. It’s been the strangest week.”

  “I heard about your ordeal. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” I answered. “I will be.”

  “Zak told me the brother turned out to be the killer.”

  “Actually, that isn’t entirely true. The brother was an accomplice, but it was an employee who killed Daniel Carrington. I’ll tell you all about it the next time I see you.”

  I spoke to Jeremy for a few more minutes and then went downstairs to help Alex with the cookies. I couldn’t wait for Zak and Scooter to get home. There’s a certain comfort in having your entire family safe and sound inside the house you call home. I’d played the scenario of that dark and snowy New Year’s Eve through my mind so many times that the memory no longer had the ability to send my heart pounding as it once had.

  As it turned out, Theo had been at the kickoff-the-season party after all. I’d never met him nor had he come to mind as a suspect, so I’d never asked about him or whether he’d attended the affair. I guess he hadn’t initially planned to be there and hadn’t sat with the rest of the family, but he’d had an important matter to discuss with his older brother, who had been refusing all visitors, including his siblings. When Theo realized Daniel would be at the party he’d decided to attend too and force the issue.

  It seemed Theo had once again indulged his gambling habit and gotten himself into hot water with the wrong people. He knew his family had come to the end of their rope when it came to giving him money to bail himself out of bad situations, but he remembered that Michael had offered him a lump sum of cash to compensate for his lack of stock if he was successful in buying Bear Mountain. Theo knew the cash Michael had promised him would get the people who were after him off his back, so he had been trying to get in to talk to Daniel for weeks.

  At some point after Daniel arrived at the party, Theo texted him, telling him he had an important matter to discuss and asking his older brother to meet him on the deck. It had been Theo’s intention to force his brother either to g
ive him the money he needed to pay off his creditors or sell the resort to Michael. But Daniel had refused both propositions, so they argued. During the course of the heated exchange, Izzy happened to walk by, and something that was said had caused her to snap. She blamed Daniel not only for the loss of the job she felt she deserved but the loss of Kyle, who she felt she was destined to marry. When she saw the opportunity to intervene and help Theo, she joined the men and wound up shoving Daniel off the deck.

  When they’d realized the entire event would have been recorded, Izzy convinced Theo to help her erase the evidence. As a family member, Theo had access to the computer room, which allowed him to sneak in an acquaintance of Izzy’s who had the technical knowledge to pull off the feat.

  “Be sure to separate the eggs,” I advised Alex. “We need six whites but only three yolks.”

  “I remember. Scooter is going to be so happy. When I spoke to him earlier he said he wouldn’t trade living with us for living anywhere else in the world.”

  The news made my heart happy, although the reality was that nothing had really been settled. Scooter’s dad had given us a reprieve, but he’d never actually said he was abandoning his plans to have Scooter live with him in the long term. I supposed all Zak and I could do was wait patiently to see how everything worked out.

  Alex put down her spoon and hugged me. I know the crash, combined with my role as a thing to barter, had really scared her, and she’d been feeling anxious and unsettled.

  If I’d had time to think things through, I would have done things differently, but once Zak realized that, while the original footage on the tape that would have shown the murder had been spliced and replaced, the backup had only been erased, things had happened quickly. Zak, being the genius he is, had managed to recreate enough of the erased footage to figure out what had happened. After they had the proof they needed, Chance called Theo and asked him to come to his office. Theo must have realized what had happened and seen the handwriting on the wall and called Izzy. It turned out it was Izzy who’d suggested my kidnapping. They’d planned to offer me in exchange for all the evidence they had uncovered and a promise never to tell anyone what they had found.