Blue Moon Investigations Ten Book Bundle

by steve higgs

  ‘Have you been out in the storm?’ I asked.

  He met me with a smile and said, ‘I, ah. I don’t...’ I waved him to silence and apologised for not being able to speak his language.

  ‘Deutsche?’ I asked but got a head shake in return. ‘Russkiy?’

  ‘Da!’ he replied, pleased for some reason.

  I didn’t know what good evening was in Russian so I patted his arm and went into my room. I had a box of gravy bones with me which I had placed on a table that I believed the boys couldn’t get to. They hadn’t done so far but give Bull enough time and he might work it out. They ran to sit beneath the table now, staring at it then staring at me and then staring back at the place they knew the treats were again. I fished out two biscuits for each dog, let them crunch them and get a drink of water, then plopped them both on the bed and dealt with my own needs.

  It had been a long day and I had slept in a car last night so I was not only tired but feeling less supple than I usually would. I turned the taps on to run a hot bath and scratched my head while I yawned. There was still no service on my phone so I couldn’t even text Amanda.

  I reminded myself that she would arrive tomorrow. We would be together soon enough. In the meantime, I needed to reconsider my plans. I wanted to interview Mrs Caron in the morning but the search would make that impossible. I could look for her when I returned though.

  The Search. Thursday, December 1st 0530hrs

  The hotel lobby was decorated for Christmas when I came down in the morning. Overnight, Santa’s little elves had been very busy erecting a tree that must have been eighteen feet tall and they had suspended streamers that spoked out from the top of the tree to every point in the room. Tinsel adorned every surface and there were decorations hanging in abundance from the walls.

  It didn’t feel like Christmas. As a single man I paid little attention to the season and had missed countless Christmases’ in the army because on December 25th I was hiding under a rock somewhere watching for an enemy that had no idea what Christmas was any more than I could name their religious holidays. But I knew my sister put her decorations up overnight so the children came down to the magic of it on December 1st and guessed that if I had kids I would get caught up in the excitement too.

  I had awoken early, and it had been dark in my room, but the dogs had woken me because they needed to go out. Crossing the lobby on my way to the car park, I could see that snow had piled against the glass front and doors of the hotel. It was five feet high and would take several men with shovels to clear it, but the storm had gone, and all was calm outside again. I didn’t know what time first light was, but now I was up I wouldn’t go back to bed even though the dogs would be done in just a few minutes. There were a pair of young men trapped on the mountain somewhere and I was going to do my bit in the bid to find them alive. With luck, they had found somewhere to hide from the storm and this morning would awaken to the most amazing fresh powder runs, arriving jubilant and unharmed back in the resort before the search parties even set off.

  I hoped that I wasn’t being too hopeful.

  The dogs, always keen to get somewhere, were dragging me across the lobby to the door that led to the carpark. There was no one else around at this time of the day to see me in the ski jacket, crumpled joggers and running shoes I had thrown on in my haste to get the dogs out before one of them peed on the floor. I didn’t even have socks on, which I regretted the moment I opened the door to the carpark and the cold hit me.

  It had to be five below zero in there. The dogs didn’t pause though, they were on a mission with a pressing task to perform. Checking around, I unclipped their leads and let them run off to explore. I hadn’t been checking to see if there was anyone to see the dogs peeing on car tyres, I had been making sure there was no one around to see me shiver like a weak civilian. The cold air bit at the exposed skin around my ankles and penetrated the single layer of my coat in about three seconds. Hugging myself to stay warm and encouraging the dogs to hurry up, I thought some more about the case and wished I had battery heated underpants.

  Dozing off to sleep last night with the dogs curled against my hip, I had rerun all that I knew and tried to look at it from different perspectives. A woman had been killed. If it was deliberate, then who stood to gain? Asking the question though just felt foolish because I had met a nine-foot-tall monster that would have killed me too if I hadn’t escaped. Surely, that was what had happened to Marie Caron. Was I just wrong about there being a criminal behind her death? I had slept dreamlessly, waking with the question still on my mind. There was a monster here, I knew that much. All the evidence pointed toward her death being nothing more than misadventure, but I wasn’t here to track and kill a Yeti.

  In many ways I should have expected to be wrong at some point. My career success was founded on the principle that there had to be a rational and non-paranormal explanation for every mystery I faced. That didn’t appear to be the case this time.

  But what had they been doing so far from the track? I kept circling back to that question.

  The dogs trotted back to me, the cold driving them to be quick about their business. I used baggies to deal with the necessary, depositing it in a bin as I left the frigid car park behind. Coming back through reception, I met with Hubert. He was dressed in head to toe ski-wear and carrying gloves and a hat with fold down ear muffs.

  ‘Good morning, Mr Michaels,’ he said with a small wave of greeting.

  I returned his greeting, then asked, ‘Will you be joining the search party?’

  He nodded gravely, his expression telling me what he thought about the young men’s odds of surviving the night. ‘I knew them both. I might not have liked them, but the villagers here are a community and we pull together when we need each other. Their families will want all the help they can get.’

  ‘When is first light?’ I asked.

  ‘In about an hour. It’s earlier here because the light is amplified by the snow and it will hit the side of the mountain above us to light that long before it begins to cast shadows here. There will be a hearty breakfast laid on for all those joining the search. I have a team setting that up in tents by Francois’s office now.’ That meant I had plenty of time to get ready and to prize Big Ben out from under his collection of ladies. I thanked Hubert and took the dogs back to my room.

  Hubert hadn’t asked me about the investigation. Perhaps he was preoccupied with other things. Usually though, my clients are all over me for updates, wanting to know what I have found out, what I can reveal so far. He didn’t seem interested at all.

  An hour later, I left the room and knocked on Big Ben’s door. The dogs were tucked up again with full bellies and empty bladders and were going to sleep through the morning without the slightest concern for my whereabouts. I had checked my phone but there was still no signal. Whatever damage the storm had done might take hours to fix or maybe it would take days. It seemed quite possible Amanda would find me at the resort before I got to speak to her.

  From deep in his room, I heard Big Ben’s voice calling in response though I couldn’t make out what he said. I shouted that I would meet him in the hotel lobby and went there to wait. I didn’t want to see who he had in his room this time. Thankfully the hotel was built to last and had thick walls so any noise he had been making last night hadn’t penetrated through to me.

  Downstairs, there were a few dozen people now moving around and drinking hot fresh coffee from the restaurant where staff were up and handing out warm croissants and pain au chocolat. It was still dark outside but when I crossed to see what people by the doors were looking at, I discovered they could see the sun hitting the very tip of the mountain above us. It was astonishingly beautiful. From this angle, we could only see the one mountain peak out of the hundreds the area contained. Outside, where the full spectacle of the Alps could be seen, the view must be spectacular. No one was going out though because the staff were still trying to dig their way to the doors. We could see over the top of
the snow to a team of men working hard with shovels near the hotel entrance while noise from snow-blowing machines was shifting it in volume further afield.

  I grabbed some hot coffee, the caffeine welcome at this time of the day and then drifted back to the doors as the men outside were nearly done. They would be warm despite the cold, their exertions probably making them sweat beneath the layers of clothing they had put on.

  ‘Hey, Tempest,’ said Jagjit from behind me. I turned my head to find him dressed in much the same gear as me. ‘Alice is just getting coffee. Where’s Big Ben? Or is that a silly question?’

  ‘It’s a silly question, but I expect he will be along soon. There’s breakfast waiting for us at the rally point. Is Hilary coming?’

  ‘No. I think Anthea talked him into staying here rather than joining in the fun again. They came around with leaflets last night inviting people to join in if they were able, but Anthea said there would be plenty of volunteers and he should spend some time with her. I got the impression it wasn’t worth him trying to argue. You had gone to bed by the time all this happened though.’

  I had. Fatigue had driven me to take an early night and I felt refreshed from it. There was a knock on the door and the muffled shout of the man outside as he called for someone inside to open the door. The man nearest the door looked confused until a member of staff pushed through the crowd with a set of keys. Outside, the black had become very dark grey as the sun fought back the night and soon we had joined a crowd of about one hundred people assembled by tents from which hot breakfast was being handed out.

  Francois was moving among the crowd asking if people were carrying weapons. I watched as he held out his hand for a pair of men to hand over kitchen knives, then he raised his head to address the crowd in a loud voice, ‘This is search party ladies and gentlemen. We are not hunting the Yeti. I will send for a team of appropriately trained and armed marksmen from the city to hunt the creature once the cable car is operational again. I must ask that you do not bring weapons with you today.’

  ‘Why not?’ called a voice from the crowd.

  ‘Does anyone have a rifle or high calibre long range weapon?’ the police chief asked. Then he slowly turned on the spot, scanning the crowd for any raised hands. Seeing none he said, ‘That’s why. If you are close enough to use a knife on the Yeti, you are already dead. Today we will be searching in large groups, each group led by one of our mountain safety team. In the unlikely event that the Yeti is seen, the search party will get back on its snow cat and move away. No one will be in any danger as long as there are no fools carrying weapons.’ Then he lapsed into silence and drifted back to a table and raised map of the area he was using as a gathering point.

  Another question from the crowd stopped him. ‘Why aren’t we searching from the air?’

  He didn’t have to answer though as several new voices explained that we were far too high and the air all too thin for helicopters to fly.

  ‘Did I miss much?’ asked Big Ben when he found us, a coffee in one hand and a croissant in the other. ‘Sorry, been up half the night, I’m starving now.’ As he continued to shovel food in his mouth, Francois began addressing the assembled volunteers with a loud speaker. We were to be divided up into groups that would each search different areas of the mountain. They had twenty-seven Ski-Doos and six Snow Cats, large tracked vehicles that could carry half a dozen people. These would be used to get to one of the search areas to deploy the searchers inside.

  Radios were handed out and the groups were divided up. Francois continually reminded everyone to stay safe and be wary of the fresh powder. He had to deliver the briefing in three languages which probably still didn’t cover the diversity of the crowd but took up enough time anyway. By the time we set off, the sun was lighting the mountain and we were no longer standing in the dark. It would be a while before the temperature improved though.

  I noted that there was no sign of Vermont, but just as I had that thought, I heard his voice. ‘Anyone spotting the beast is to report it to me,’ he shouted in both English and French. ‘I have a five thousand Euro reward for the person that leads me to it.’

  ‘Where’s your magic sword, Vermont?’ I asked. He looked at me then as if noticing me for the first time, but he didn’t answer me, instead he produced the sword from a sheath on his back with a flourish. Obviously, his hunt for the Yeti last night had proved fruitless but at least today he was dressed more appropriately in full winter gear like everyone else. Arthur and Stefan flanked him as always, their particular outfits stylised to match their just escaped from the Matrix/vampire hunter fashion with long leather jackets where the rest of us wore ski-gear. They were an odd pair but then with Vermont for a boss, their outfits were in keeping.

  Big Ben, Jagjit and I had been assigned to a group that would drive some of the Ski-Doos. Francois said he knew we could drive them so the three of us set off first, getting paired with Gils and Gerard Chevalier, the rival hotel owner and his son whom I had already met, and one of their ski instructors whose name I didn’t catch. She was petite and probably had a pretty face though it was hidden beneath a hat and goggles and a snood thing that covered her mouth so only the tip of her nose was showing. She got Big Ben’s attention nevertheless and I saw Gils observe their exchange with a concerned frown as if Big Ben were touching his property. Curt pleasantries were exchanged as Gils politely asked if we knew how to operate the machines, they were his after all he pointed out unnecessarily.

  ‘Still here?’ he had said when we approached the Ski-Doo he was sat astride. ‘I thought you would have gone home after your run in with the Yeti yesterday.’

  I tilted my head to the side as I met his eyes. ‘How do you know about that?’ I asked.

  He opened his mouth to answer but paused as if he didn’t know the answer, then replied, sounding almost flustered, ‘It’s a small village. Everyone knows everything.’

  I pursed my lips but decided not to pursue it. ‘Well, I saw a creature I couldn’t identify but I have not been convinced the creature killed Marie Caron. Until I do, I remain here.’

  ‘What,’ he scoffed, turning to his father on the Ski-Doo next to him. ‘He thinks there’s a murderer in the mountains and the Yeti is just a friendly woodland creature.’

  His father pulled down the scarf that covered his mouth, then smiled broadly as he said, ‘I dare say he does, Gils. Let’s hope we don’t see him today anyway.’

  I didn’t rise to their goading, there were more important tasks to focus our effort on, but I saw Big Ben squinting at Gils as if trying to decide whether to say something or not. I guess he filed the insults away for later as he took another bite of his croissant and chewed it slowly while continuing to stare at the back of Gils’s head.

  Francois finished organising the crowd into groups and set the search party in motion. Gils waved his hand as he twisted his throttle. Then he pulled away, his father following and the rest of us peeled off to form a snaking line as we set off up the mountain.

  The call to tell us the search was over came at 1047hrs. They probably would have been found sooner but the deep snow that fell overnight hampered everything the search party were attempting to do. It was Hubert’s team that had found the bodies, the news that they were dead quickly followed by a report that they had been killed not by the storm but by the Yeti. Big Ben and I exchanged grim looks and the ski instructor made horrified noises until Big Ben calmed her with a strong arm around her shoulders that might have been what she was angling for anyway.

  Each group only had one radio, ours was controlled by Gils, so I asked him, ‘Where were they found?’

  ‘At the bottom of Trevalle Bluff. It’s on the western face on one of the black routes. Why?’

  ‘Because that’s where we are going. I need to see the site for myself.’

  Gils cranked his throttle to swing his machine around and position it in front of mine like the top of a tee. ‘No. You’ll be coming back to the hotel now. These Ski-Doos are exp
ensive to maintain and run. The search is over, which means play time is over.’ He swung his head around and stood up in his seat to address everyone. ‘We’re heading back down now.’ Then he looked right at me, using his extra height so he could look down. ‘That means you too.’

  I laughed. I hadn’t really meant to but watching him try to intimidate me was funny. I raised my voice, ‘Ben.’

  ‘Yup?’ he had been comforting the ski instructor still, his head down and probably whispering something in her ear until I called.

  ‘We are off to see the attack site. Are you ready?’

  ‘No, you’re not,’ snapped Gils.

  I leaned forward on my handlebars to get in his face. ‘I’m not sure what is motivating you, Gils, but unless you plan to wrestle this machine away from me, I am going to the attack site. They may need a hand there, but either way, I am here to conduct an investigation and that is what I am going to do. Trying to stop me will not profit you in any way.’ I was going to add that the Ski-Doo would be returned shortly and in the same condition it was in now and that I was happy to pay for the fuel or even a rental charge, but I didn’t get to that bit because he tried to hit me.

  Maybe he just wasn’t used to being argued with or challenged or maybe he is just a bully, but his arm shot out toward my jaw and I was well within striking distance.

  Big Ben caught it easily though, hooking a hand into the crook of Gils’s arm as he threw it forward. Gils had been focused on me, and with a padded helmet on, he hadn’t heard my friend walking up behind him. Gils’s face registered surprise before Big Ben levered upward to yank the man from his Ski-Doo and dump him on his arse next to it.