Rocky Mountain Mayhem

by Joan Rylen

  “Holy shit, Viv,” Wendy said. “That’s messed up. Do you think he followed you?”

  “He offered to walk me back but I said I’d be fine. He was snoring by the time I walked out the door.”

  Kate pointed to the picture. “Then who could have taken this?”

  Vivian put it down. “The same person that messed with the brakes.”

  Only one name came to mind.

  16

  IT has to be Craig,” Vivian said, looking at the picture of herself on her walk/run of shame. “I was so excited when we booked this trip, and it was before he freaked out on me, so I told him where we were staying. Even showed him the website.”

  Kate pointed to the picture. “So you think he was there in Aspen and followed you back from Eric’s?”

  Wendy stirred her coffee. “It takes some skills to tamper with the brakes enough that they don’t go out until we’re out of town and going down the mountain. Is he capable of that?”

  “I’m beginning to realize that I have no idea what he is capable of, but who else could it have been?”

  “Have you seen him in the last two days?” Kate asked.

  Vivian started to answer “no,” but then thought about it. “Yesterday morning, playing racquetball. As I opened the door to leave the court, I thought I saw him. But it was just the back of him, and the guy disappeared through a door, so I dismissed it. Figured surely, no way it was him.”

  “He’s spying on you,” Lucy said.

  “Fuck,” was all Vivian could say to that. Then something else clicked in her brain. “The cologne.”

  “We didn’t smell it, though,” Kate said.

  Vivian shook her head. “I could have sworn I did, but only for a second.”

  “Why would he try to kill you, though, Viv?” Kate asked. “For breaking-up with him?”

  “He must be super pissed-off you slept with Eric,” Wendy said.

  “Is his ego that sensitive or is he a control freak?” Lucy asked.

  “He’s obviously not the person I thought he was. Stealing people’s credit card info and spying. I found out the hard way that he has a temper when he tore up my house. The FBI agent told me that he has something like 20 aliases.”

  “Is Craig even his real name?” Wendy asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  Kate shivered. “This feels like my grasshopper dream.”

  “What?” Vivian asked.

  “Last night, I dreamt I was walking on a familiar path in the middle of a field. A few giant grasshoppers started springing up out of the tall grass on either side of me so I walked a little faster. More grasshoppers sprang out of the grass, some jumping across the path in front of me. I ran, trying to get away from them, but the faster I ran, the more there were and the less control I had over my legs. I finally had no control at all and they crowded me, their creepy little legs crawling all over me.”

  “That is so weird,” Wendy said as she brushed away imaginary grasshoppers from her arms.

  “Did you get away from them?” Lucy asked.

  “One minute they surrounded me, and the next I was at a serene, beautiful lake holding a fishing rod. I reached onto my shoulder and grabbed a big grasshopper. I looked into his eyes before I stabbed the fishing hook through his exoskeleton. I can still hear the crunch.”

  “Ewww,” Vivian said.

  “Was that the end?” Wendy asked.

  “I cast out the line and there was a sharp tug. That’s when I woke up.”

  “What do you think it means?” Vivian asked.

  “It means stay the hell away from grasshoppers!” Lucy said.

  Kate thought for a moment. “I don’t know. I usually have family visit me in my dreams, not insects. I think Craig’s not done with you.”

  “That being said, I think we should not stay at the hotel in Vail,” Vivian said. “Craig knew what hotel I was going to. I think we cancel and find something off the beaten path.”

  “Done,” Wendy said, pulling out her phone. “I’ll call them and cancel the reservation.”

  “Where should we go?” Kate asked. “I think somewhere not near a lake.”

  “I’ll call my friend Blair,” Vivian said. “She just took her second honeymoon near Vail.”

  “Second?” Lucy asked.

  “Yeah, her first husband died about two years ago.”

  “That sucks. Was he old?”

  “In his mid-50s. Not old by any means. She’s totally loaded now.”

  Vivian called Blair, who suggested The Ridge in Bachelor Gulch. She raved about the impeccable service and the luxurious spa at the isolated mountaintop resort 15 minutes outside Vail.

  Kate called the hotel and made a reservation.

  “Vivian, you need to call the FBI,” Kate said when she got off the phone. “This is serious.”

  “Yeah,” Lucy said in a huff. “Craig tried to kill us. All of us!”

  Vivian rifled through her wallet. “I have his card right here, I’ll step outside and call him now.”

  “Not alone,” Wendy said. “The buddy system is officially back in effect.”

  “We’ll go get the car,” Lucy said, motioning to Kate. “Then we’ll pick y’all up.”

  Wendy and Vivian went outside. Her hands shook as she dialed the number.

  As soon as he answered the phone Vivian said, “Hi Agent Tucker, this is Vivian Taylor again and I think Craig may have tried to kill me.” Her voice caught and tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Are you safe? Are you okay?”

  “I feel like I’m safe for now and I wasn’t hurt.”

  “What happened?”

  “I’m on vacation in Colorado with my friends and our brakes went out. We almost flew off the side of a mountain, literally. We had the car towed and the mechanic told us the brakes valves were loosened.”

  “What makes you think Craig played a role in this?”

  “Someone left an envelope for me at the front desk of my hotel, and it had a picture of me from late last night.”

  She hesitated. Should I tell him the whole story?

  “I was, uhhmmm.”

  God this is embarrassing.

  “I was leaving a guy’s apartment.”

  “Go on.”

  “I also think he may have broken into our room. I thought I smelled his cologne on two different occasions.”

  “Was anything in the room tampered with? Was there a note with the envelope?”

  “The room seemed fine, and there wasn’t a note in the envelope. It just had my name on the front and my room number.”

  “Don’t handle the envelope or picture anymore. If you have a bag or something you can seal them in, that’d be best.”

  “I’ll find something.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “We’re still in the town where the tow truck driver brought us, El Jebel. We’re about to leave, though, for The Ridge Hotel in Bachelor Gulch. We canceled our original reservations at the hotel in Vail and just booked this one.”

  “That’s good. I’ll send agents from our Denver field office to meet you this afternoon. Have you contacted the local authorities?”

  “No. Were you able to find out anything about the phone number Craig called me from yesterday?”

  “It was a disposable cell and he’s probably ditched it by now. I was able to trace it to a retailer in Denver but he paid cash. He is obviously escalating. Get in the car and go to The Ridge. Don’t make any additional stops. Be aware of anyone who could be following you.”

  “Okay.”

  “Is the number you’re calling from the number I have on record as your cell?”

  Vivian needed to sit down. She felt lightheaded and reached out to Wendy for support. “Yes, it’s my cell,” she said, and they disconnected.

  Vivian pulled the phone away from her ear, still dazed.

  “What’d he say?” Wendy asked.

  Before she could answer, Lucy and Kate pulled up and they got in.

&n
bsp; “Tell us, what’d Agent Tucker say?” Wendy asked.

  “He said that Craig’s behavior is escalating and we need to be careful and watch out for him in case he’s following us.” She used the side-view mirror to look behind them. “And to go straight to the hotel.”

  “You got it,” Lucy said and pulled onto the highway.

  “Did he say anything else?” Kate asked.

  “He told me to not touch the envelope or picture anymore and to put it in a bag. I guess they’ll try to get prints off of it. Lucy, do you have something I can put it in?”

  “There’s a grocery bag in the back seat pocket.”

  Wendy held open a bag and Vivian dropped in the envelope before continuing. “The only other thing was that he’d call the office in Denver and have agents meet us at the hotel.”

  “At least he’s taking it seriously,” Lucy said, “because I was ready to send a strongly worded letter to the oil change place. If I find out it was Craig who did this, I may go ballistic on his ass.”

  “Let’s have them check for bugs in the car,” Wendy said. “I realize we’re not in Mexico, but we’re not taking any chances.”

  “And tracking devices,” Kate said.

  “We should stop now and look for tracking devices,” Wendy said. “Al showed us the one he found, maybe we’d be able to recognize another.”

  Lucy pulled onto the shoulder and the girls got out.

  Holy crap, Vivian thought. Here we go again.

  17

  THE search for listening or tracking devices on Lucy’s SUV turned up nothing, so the girls got back on the road. It took an hour to reach Avon, where Lucy turned off to ascend the mountain to Bachelor Gulch. About a quarter of the way, she rolled into a security checkpoint. The guard called the hotel and confirmed they were guests prior to allowing access.

  “That makes me feel better,” Vivian said as the gate arm lifted.

  The road wound up the mountain a few miles. Just past the tennis courts, Kate gasped.

  Lucy slammed on the brakes, which were now working quite nicely. “What? What is it?”

  Kate pointed out the window to the left. “Bighorn sheep!”

  “Jesus, you scared the crap out of me. I’m on edge here!”

  “Sorry, but I’ve never seen one.”

  “Me, neither, but it’s just a sheep. It’s not Bigfoot!”

  “Aren’t bighorn sheep just about as elusive?” Vivian asked. “I’ve stopped at that stupid scenic overlook in Georgetown several times and have never seen one. Ever.”

  “Well, I’ve seen ’em, and now so have you,” Lucy said. “I have a constant fear when I’m driving in the mountains that one is going to fall off a cliff and land on my windshield.”

  “It is weird how they can balance like they do,” Vivian said. “Lucy, if only you were that sure-footed.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m a klutz. I know it.” She followed the signs to the hotel and pulled under the portico.

  Two valets opened their doors and helped them out. One asked Lucy if they needed assistance with their luggage.

  “Wow,” was all she could manage as she took in The Ridge.

  Wendy spoke up as she opened the back hatch. “We need help with all of this.” The cargo area was completely full, as in up-to-the-ceiling, can’t-see-out-the-rearview full.

  Kate and Vivian were oblivious to the luggage conversation and had moved toward the double front doors that the valets held open.

  “Gorgeous,” Kate chimed, in awe of the stately stone and timber-beamed lodge with its two guest wings angled out like massive rock shoulders toward the entry court.

  “When do we move in?” Vivian asked. She liked the seclusion and the security and was glad she called Blair.

  The girls were drawn into the cozy lobby where four armchairs and a table sat in front of a wood-burning fireplace. Before they could sit, a host appeared and introduced himself as Matt. He welcomed them and offered a complimentary glass of champagne.

  “That sounds lovely,” Lucy said, looking over at the girls with amazement.

  Kate stopped him. “Thank you, but can I have a glass of sparkling water instead?”

  “It would be my pleasure,” the host said and walked off to fulfill their requests.

  The girls giggled and golf clapped at his response. They turned to the left and walked past a swanky restaurant on their way to the front desk. A large basket of fruit graced the polished mahogany counter. Bananas, apples, oranges, you name it. A beverage station held two 3-gallon glass servers, one containing lemon slices, the other strawberries.

  A man whose name badge read Trey checked them in.

  Vivian leaned against the check-in desk and asked, “Did you used to have a masseur here named Rodney?”

  Trey looked up from his computer and grinned. “We sure did. Rodney is a good friend of mine.”

  The girls laughed and Vivian clapped. “He was my masseur on the beach in Playa del Carmen. He was so much fun.”

  “He knows how to have a good time, that’s for sure,” Trey said. “We miss him around here.”

  “If you talk to him, tell him we said hi!” Lucy requested.

  “You got it.” He got back to checking them in and due to construction on the fourth floor, he upgraded them to a mountain-view room with a fireplace. “Your room is on the eighth floor. You are on three, which is the main floor, so the construction shouldn’t be a problem, but we like to let all our guests know to avoid four. You shouldn’t be disturbed by the noise, but if you have any problems, don’t hesitate to call the front desk. We want your stay to be as pleasant as possible.”

  “Why, thank you,” Vivian said. “We want our stay to be as pleasant as possible, too.”

  “Yeah, especially after the drive up,” Wendy said. “How secure is this place, by the way? We’ve had some security issues recently.”

  Trey’s demeanor turned serious. “Our guests’ safety is of utmost importance. We’ve had numerous political figures, sports celebrities and movie stars on our property and have never had an incident. Do you have any special needs?”

  “No, no. Everything’s fine,” Vivian said.

  Wendy leaned over the counter. “We’ll let you know.”

  Trey gave a smile, then said, “Would you ladies like a tour of our very safe and spectacular facilities?”

  Wendy looked pleased and Lucy answered, using her line from earlier, “That would be lovely.” She held up her glass and clinked with the girls.

  Trey looked past them and snapped above his head. Matt, the host, appeared by their side and led them a few steps away into the great room. Vivian tuned out whatever he was saying and focused on the view out the windows, which perfectly framed the snow-covered mountains. The snow had melted off in places, but it was a beautiful sight for this Texas gal all the same.

  “Cocktails, blah blah…Timberline…blah blah…wireless.” She didn’t hear much. The majestic view overpowered her senses, and she felt herself start to relax.

  The girls looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows in awe. “I need my camera,” Kate said, digging in her purse.

  Matt held the door open leading to the back of the property and continued the tour. “We have a large patio for you to enjoy, including the fire pit. We light this every evening and have s’more kits available for purchase in the Timberline Restaurant.”

  The view was even more amazing outside, and the girls posed in front of the ski lift for a picture. Matt snapped a few, then escorted them past the fire pit to a patio filled with tables and chairs. “This is the outdoor dining for Felix, our signature restaurant.” He swept his arm out in a grand gesture to the left. “As you can see, here is our heated, Olympic-sized swimming pool. Nestled in the aspens just beyond are two hot tubs.” He spun to the right and gestured again. “And here is a third, larger hot tub.” He walked up a few steps and through a door, back into the hotel and the fitness center. “Towels are available here,” he said, pointing to a large wooden shelf f
illed with fluffy, bright-white towels.

  “We have state-of-the-art exercise equipment and a workout room with free weights, yoga mats, exercise balls, jump ropes and a number of other items to ensure a perfect workout.”

  Lucy nudged Vivian. “We’ll be spending some time in here. Circuit training, here we come!”

  Vivian rolled her eyes and took a sip of her champagne.

  They walked down a short hallway. “This elevator will take us down to the spa where we have steam rooms and a dry sauna, plunge pool, showers, the grotto, a lounge and numerous services available such as facials, massages and more for your relaxation pleasure.”

  “Now we’re talking,” Vivian said as they entered the elevator. Matt pushed the B button.

  As the doors opened Vivian knew she was in heaven. The aroma de spa, hidden lighting, soft music and muted colors exemplified tranquility and instantly melted the knot in her chest.

  “I love the feel in here,” she said. “Blair rocks!”

  A beautiful young woman introduced herself as Suri and guided them through the spa. They passed a desk with robes, then entered a locker room complete with a long vanity supplied with brushes, combs, deodorant, lotions, razors, cotton balls, blow driers and an array of hair products.

  “Look, y’all,” Kate said. “There’s enough stuff here for us to do up some big-ass Texas hair.”

  “I may be inclined to tease it up for a special occasion while we’re here,” Vivian said.

  “Hell, just being here is a special occasion in my book!” Wendy said.

  “Yeeeeeeehaw!” Lucy yelled.

  A pair of women in robes, their hair wrapped in towels, walked into the locker room and stared at them. Vivian waved.

  Suri led them down a dark hallway and turned to the door on her right. “Here you will find the ladies-only grotto, dry sauna and steam room. The small pool at the end of the room is the cold plunge, which I highly recommend you dip into after detoxifying in any of the three amenities here.”

  “I see myself needing to detoxify,” Wendy said. “Can’t wait to try the steam room.”