Murder in Mountain Springs

by Alene Anderson

  He wondered where that would leave him. He knew she was disgusted by his smoking. Thought it was a dirty habit. Although she had never said anything about his beer drinking, he was sure she didn’t approve of that, either.

  He couldn’t help but admire the way she had gone from being a housewife to a businesswoman. From what he had observed, it looked like the lodge was going to be a success. She also appeared to be a good mother and was always in the office when Jennifer’s daily call came in. He could tell the way Kate talked to her daughter they must have a great relationship.

  Entering the bank, Jake headed toward the reception desk to let the banker, Greg Sheridan, know he was here for his appointment. He still hadn’t decided how much would be safe to tell him. Hopefully, he would get a clue as the meeting proceeded. He hadn’t been there but a few minutes when he was told Mr. Sheridan was ready to see him.

  As Jake faced the banker across the desk, he was surprised to see how young he was. Light-brown hair waved back from a high forehead above startling blue eyes.

  Something about those eyes made his decision for him. He decided to launch right into his reason for being there and reaching into an inside pocket of his suit jacket, he took out his ID and passed it across the desk to the banker.

  Sheridan stared at it for a moment and then slid it back.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard about the body of the Asian girl, which was found in Cedar National Forest,” Jake said.

  At the affirmative nod from the banker, he continued. “From what I can gather, she worked at the Mountain Springs Health Spa which opened a few months ago in Mountain Springs.”

  “Why is the USCIS interested in the murder?” Greg asked, leaning back in his chair. “Wouldn’t it be a case for the local authorities?”

  “Asian girls are being brought to the United States by various agencies with the promise of finding husbands for them,” Jake explained. “After they arrive, the girls are told they have to work off their passage to America by working in health spas, which are actually houses of prostitution. They are given a new name and their old identities are destroyed.”

  “And you’re telling me there is one of these health spas in Mountain Springs?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Maybe I’m being dense, but I still don’t understand why a Federal Agency would be involved in what would appear to be a local matter.”

  “As hard as it may be for you to believe, international sex slavery is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world. In our country, it has spread to suburban and rural areas. In 2000, the Federal Victims Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act was passed, which said women who were forced into prostitution were victims rather than criminals. I am with a division of the USCIS, which has been assigned to put an end to this traffic here in the United States.”

  “You’re right. It is pretty unbelievable.”

  “Were you aware the Mountain Springs Health Spa has an account here in your bank?”

  Jake could tell by the shocked look on the banker’s face that this was news to him. “We don’t have any accounts under that name.”

  “Then I need to identify the name on that account and the address.”

  Greg frowned. “Are you sure they have an account here? I would think one of my employees would have informed me of this.”

  “Are you informed of everyone who opens an account?”

  “Not exactly,” Greg admitted. “But I am aware of how many accounts we have and if there are any irregularities with them.”

  “I need information on this account. If I have to, I will get an order from a Federal Judge and go through all your accounts.”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’m sure we can narrow it down by first ascertaining who from Mountain Springs makes deposits here at the bank. Can you give me any more information about who I might be looking for?”

  “I understand from one of the residents of Mountain Springs that an Asian woman named Kuri manages the spa. A limousine driver who brings customers down from Salt Lake picks up the deposits and drops them off at this bank on his way through town.”

  “That should narrow it down.” The banker smiled. “Especially if he goes through the drive-in. Not too many limousines come through this town.” He stood up from his desk. “Give me a minute.”

  When Greg Sheridan did not immediately return, Jake began to wonder if he had made a mistake by telling the banker he was with the USCIS. But when he appeared he had a smile on his face.

  “Success!” he said, waving a file in the air. “One of the tellers remembered the limousine and the name of the account the deposit was made under. Nothing to connect it to the health spa.”

  He sat down and opened up the folder. “Bring your chair around here and we’ll look at it together.”

  The banker began to slowly flip through the papers. The name of the account was Rocky Mountain Enterprises and the CEO was listed as Brad Jenner.

  “There’s a phone number here but I can tell it’s one in Mountain Springs. Let me give it a try and see who answers.”

  “What do you want to bet it is the number for the health spa?” Jake asked as Greg picked up the phone and began to dial.

  Jake was close enough to Greg to hear the heavily accented voice, which answered the phone on the first ring.

  “Mountain Springs Health Spa, thees ees Kuri.”

  “Is Brad Jenner available?”

  “No,” came the heavily accented voice. “He in Salt Lake Ceety.”

  “Do you have the number, please?”

  “No, he not geeve it to me,” was the reply, as the connection was suddenly broken.

  “So much for that,” Greg said as he hung up the receiver. Turning to his computer, he said, “Let’s see if we can find a number for either Rocky Mountain Enterprises or Brad Jenner.”

  Greg soon confirmed there was nothing.

  “And nothing for Rocky Mountain Enterprises at the address listed on the signature card, although someone has signed as Brad Jenner.”

  “Would it be possible for me to have a copy of the card?” Jake asked.

  Greg hesitated. “I guess it would be all right,” he said slowly. “If I didn’t give it to you, you would probably just get a court order.”

  Jake grinned. “You got that right.”

  Greg left his office for the second time and was back a minute later with a copy in his hand.

  “Is there anything else I can do for you?” he asked as he closed the file on his desk.

  “Does he run a lot of money through the spa account?”

  “Actually, it is one of our better accounts as far as a high maintained balance. The deposits are always quite substantial and always in cash. There appears to be very little money going out of it. Utilities and groceries are the only expenditures.”

  Jake stood and moved his chair back to its original position.

  “Thanks for all your help, Greg. Hopefully this information will help us find the murderer and also close down the spa.”

  “I wish you the best of luck and if there is anything else I can do, please let me know.”

  “Thank you. I would appreciate it if you would keep this meeting and my identity confidential. I had come to a dead end and I think you just might have gotten me back on track.” Jake smiled as he reached out to shake the banker’s hand.

  He couldn’t help but be pleased with the meeting with Greg Sheridan and on his way out of town, he stopped at a pay phone and called Mike to pass on the information he had obtained from him. Sometimes finding a pay phone was an inconvenience, but Mike didn’t want anyone to be able to track Jake’s location. He was to buy a cell phone only in a case of an extreme emergency.

  Jake couldn’t help but think Mike was too paranoid at times but he had to
admit more than one mission had been ruined by someone being too free with the use of their cell phone. Big money was behind the international prostitution rings, and Mike didn’t want to take the chance some agent in the USCIS might find a large bribe unable to resist.

  “I believe I will head up to Salt Lake tomorrow and see what I can find at this address,” he said as he concluded his report to his boss. “It’s a little too late today, but I’ll leave Mountain Springs first thing in the morning.”

  As Jake headed toward Mountain Springs, his thoughts turned to Kate. He couldn’t help but smile as he thought of her explanation of the miserable look on her face when she had literally bumped into him on the street in Lava Cove.

  From there, his thoughts drifted to the lodge and how much he enjoyed working on the yard. He had to admit planting the flowers and shrubs had certainly improved the looks of the place. He wondered if putting in a hot tub would be a good thing. He could see it now. Inside a gazebo. Would it get enough use to justify the expense?

  What was he thinking of? He didn’t own the lodge. He had been making plans for it as though he did. But, on second thought, maybe he could buy in as a partner. He couldn’t help but wonder if Kate would go for the idea. For some reason, he doubted it. She was pretty independent. She reminded him of one of Bob Segar’s songs.

  Thinking of his favorite music CD he reached up and punched on his stereo and the music blared out as he wound up the canyon to Mountain Springs. He reached for a crumpled package of cigarettes and took one out and stuck it in the corner of his mouth, but didn’t light it.

  How many days had it been since he had smoked?

  It was too soon to start counting. But he knew it was longer than it had ever been in the past when he had tried to quit. Must be he had more incentive now. He didn’t want to dwell on what the incentive was.

  Well, why not? He got a lot of pleasure from thinking about Kate. He loved her green eyes and when they flashed in disapproval as he stuck a cigarette in his mouth, it was all he could do to keep from reaching out and taking her in his arms.

  One of these days, he would yield to the temptation. Would she let him kiss her? He thought of her full red lips, which needed no lipstick to give them a tempting rosy color.

  He remembered how her body had felt against his when she had come flying into his arms the day she had found the snake in one of the cabins.

  He had to admit he had more pleasant memories of Kate in just the few days since he had checked into the lodge than he had in the whole time he had spent with various women in Washington, D.C., and certainly more than in the year he had been married to Amy.

  Shortly after he had married Amy, he had discovered the tale she had told him about being pregnant was exactly that. A tall tale. He had tried to do the right thing by marrying her, but as it turned out, it had all been for nothing. Amy had not been pregnant and trying to do the right thing had cost him everything he owned.

  When he had returned from a tour to Afghanistan, Amy was gone along with his car, all the furniture from their apartment, and the money from their joint bank account. He had immediately filed for divorce.

  Since he had no idea where she had gone, his attorney had inserted a notice in the local newspaper and when Amy did not respond, the divorce went through as a non-contested one.

  As he pulled into the driveway for the lodge, he looked for Kate’s car and was disappointed when he didn’t see it. Disappointed and worried.

  Where could she be?

  Chapter 6

  Parking in front of his cabin, Jake hurried down to the lodge in search of Hank. He found him in the kitchen studying over his menu for the day.

  “Hey, Jake, what’s up?” he asked, looking up from his notebook.

  “Dressed mighty fine. Hot date tonight?”

  Jake smiled. “No, just got back from Lave Cove. Where’s Kate? I ran into her in town and she wasn’t feeling too good.”

  “Feelin’ fine now. I sent her down to Westin’s Nursery for some fresh vegetables for dinner.”

  Jake didn’t know why he felt so relieved. He needn’t have worried. After all, overeating wasn’t a big deal. He knew Kate was really getting to him and in a way he had never before allowed a woman to do.

  “Got any pie?” he asked Hank.

  “Sure do. Fresh baked. How ‘bout a piece of banana cream pie?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Jake said as he shrugged out of his suit jacket, hung it over the back of a chair, and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt.

  “By the way, Jake, ya had a call this afternoon that ya might want to return,” Hank said as he put a generous helping of pie in front of Jake.

  “Who was it?” Jake knew his boss would never call him here at the lodge. Maybe Greg Sheridan had found more information for him.

  “Dave Wilson.”

  “Dave Wilson?” he asked in surprise.

  “Yep. Made me promise I would make ya return his call as soon as ya came in. Seemed very disturbed. I left his number in your mailbox.”

  “I’ll take care of it as soon as I finish this delicious piece of pie. Tell Kate I put the money for the pie beside the cash register.”

  A few minutes later as he hung up the phone from talking to Dave, he couldn’t help but wonder why he wanted to see him. Dave had refused to tell him over the phone. Insisted he had to see him first thing in the morning. He would drive up to Mountain Springs and meet him at his cabin.

  Knowing he wanted to leave for Salt Lake early, Jake had offered to meet him in Lava Cove, but Dave had said he didn’t want to be seen in Lava Cove with Jake.

  Shrugging, he had agreed. He could put off his trip to Salt Lake until after he had met with Dave.

  “Dallen and I have decided to have a barbecue and invite all our customers,” Connie told Kate as she rang up the vegetables.

  “How fun,” Kate said.

  Connie smiled. “Of course, that will include the whole town of Mountain Springs.”

  “When is this going to take place?” Kate asked.

  “This Friday night,” Connie answered. “We decided on the spur of the moment. We’re not going to send out formal invitations. We’ll get the word out by posting a few flyers around town. You know, The General Store, the library, the service station, and word of mouth.”

  “Can I bring anything or help in any way?” Kate asked.

  “Could you donate a few of Hank’s pies?”

  “I’ll be happy to,” Kate exclaimed. “I’ll furnish the ingredients and Hank can bake them. I know he will love to do it. Baking pies is his very favorite thing.”

  “And don’t forget to tell your campers they are welcome to come, especially Jake.”

  “I doubt if any of them will pass up the invitation. Everyone loves a barbecue,” Kate said as she picked up the bags of vegetables and headed for her car.

  When she arrived back at the lodge, she was happy to see Jake’s Jeep in front of his cabin. As she climbed out of her car, he stepped onto the front porch. She couldn’t help but think how handsome he was in the white shirt, loosened tie, and dark-blue pants.

  “Let me get those,” he said as she opened the back door of her car where she had set her purchases.

  As he brushed against her to reach in for the bags, she felt a moment of breathlessness and she stepped back to give him more room. He glanced down at her as though he knew how he affected her and for a moment he paused as a strange look crossed his face.

  Then it was gone and he asked, “Feeling better?”

  She smiled sheepishly and nodded. She led the way into the kitchen where Hank was stirring something in a large pot on the stove.

  “Hank, when I went to get the vegetables, Connie Morrison told me they are giving a barbecue Friday night. If I furnished the ingredients, we
were wondering if you could bake some pies. Probably most of the town will be there.”

  “Be glad to,” Hank said, not pausing in his stirring.

  “Oh, Jake, she wanted me to issue a special invitation to you,” she said as he set the bags of vegetables down on a counter.

  “I’m not sure I’ll be here,” he said.

  At her look of disappointment, he hastened to say, “I was planning to go up to Salt Lake but maybe it can wait until Monday.”

  Her radiant smile was worth his change of plans and before she could respond, the phone rang.

  “That will be Jennifer,” she said happily as she hurried from the kitchen and a minute later, she said, “Hello, Sweetie. I’m glad I didn’t miss you. I ran to get fresh vegetables for dinner and it took longer than I thought.”

  Jake made no move to leave the kitchen, but sat down in a chair at the table. He always enjoyed the one side of the conversation he could hear between mother and daughter. When Kate had rushed through the kitchen door, she hadn’t bothered to close it and he could hear her every word.

  “Was your grandma able to take you to the Boulder Dinner Theatre as she planned?”

  She was quiet for several minutes as though listening.

  “Sounds like you enjoyed Little Orphan Annie.” She laughed.

  “Of course, I’ve seen it. Hasn’t everyone?”

  When Kate hung up a few minutes later, she came into the kitchen and sat down at the table across from Jake.

  “Jennifer was all excited about going to see Little Orphan Annie at the Boulder Dinner Theatre,” she explained.

  “It is a pretty cute play,” Jake said.

  “Have you seen it?” Kate asked in surprise.

  He smiled and nodded.