Murder in the Devil's Cauldron (58 page)

Unable to concentrate or sit for even a few
minutes, she wandered back out into the lobby. Now that the storm
had arrived, a curtain of wind and rain completely obliterated the
view and it looked almost as if they were in the middle of a
hurricane.

She checked the Norwegian Room and was
pleased to see a fire blazing in the fireplace. The room, usually
empty on normal days, was now filled with guests watching the
storm.

Karen wandered back into the lobby and pulled
open the heavy front door, assisted by the gusting wind. She
stepped out onto the porch, grateful for the overhang that
protected from rain as well as the heavy winter snow.

She stood on the steps of the Lodge and
glared at the path that went down to the cabin. Still no sign of
Starr. She looked at her watch even though she knew the bus had
long since departed. Maybe there was a chance she had read it wrong
or perhaps she was indulging in wishful thinking. Whatever she had
been secretly hoping, the time was still after 10:00 and no Starr
in sight.

If she was going to be honest with herself,
it wasn't so much that Starr was late or even missing the bus that
was cheesing her off, as much as it was the fact that the girl had
taken off in the first place.

It wasn't as if Starr had anywhere else to
go. Zach Running Bear wasn't likely to hide her at his place, so
where did her daughter think she was going to stay? No doubt she'd
show up later thinking that she could stay up here simply because
they had missed the bus.

Karen pressed her lips together grimly. If
that's what little miss Stella Elizabeth believed, she had a big
surprise in store when she finally made an appearance.

The good news for Karen was that the
Norcrofts had not yet arrived. She only hoped that meant she'd have
a chance to deal with her daughter before they got here. Her
grimace was only partly due to her daughter's vanishing act. The
rest was reserved for the downpour that was turning the parking
area into a Pond Inferior and was responsible for running her staff
ragged trying to keep the sudden pileup of guests entertained. If
only it had waited one more day, she thought. But that was
Minnesota. The weather was as unpredictable as hockey.

She was just turning to go back inside when
she saw the patrol car pull up. Karen watched, curious to see who
was showing up this time, not terribly surprised to have the large
dark form barreling towards her turn into the sheriff as he reached
the porch.

Now she supposed she'd find out what her
daughter had gotten Charlie into. Knowing the Norcrofts were likely
to show up at any minute now, Karen felt as if she had just
swallowed one of the granite boulders that littered the shore.

Hoping the dread didn't show, she merely
said, "Sheriff? What on earth brings you here in this weather?"

"Can we go to your office?" he said.

Not trusting herself to say anything, Karen
simply turned and led the way back inside and down the hall. She
walked straight to her desk and then turned to face him, one hand
on her desk for support.

"There's been an accident," he told her.
"Your daughter and Charlie Running Bear are at the hospital in
Grand Marais. I've come to bring you and Zach if you'd like and the
girls need a change of clothing."

Karen watch the hat revolving slowly in the
sheriff's hand, mesmerized by that odd gesture. "Right now?" she
asked finally.

He nodded. "Yup."

Karen picked up the phone and dialed the
kitchen. When it was answered, she asked them to send Zach to her
office immediately. Then she put down the phone.

"I take it Starr is just fine," she said
evenly.

"She is," he reassured her. "Pretty soaked,
but in one piece."

Zach Running Bear stopped in the doorway, his
eyes widening as he saw the sheriff. "Mike?"

"Charlie's been in an accident," the sheriff
said. "She's fine," he added quickly when he saw Zach's face. "But
her arm got broke and she's soaked. So she needs a change of
clothes. I'm here to drive you up to the hospital. They're putting
a cast on her arm, but she needs a change of clothes."

Zach looked at Karen.

"Go ahead," she said. "I'll take care of
things here."

"Do you want to send a change of things with
Zach?" the sheriff asked.

"Is Starr there, too?" Zach asked.

"Apparently," Karen said.

"You're not coming?"

She shook her head. "She's fine and there's
too much going on here."

Zach opened his mouth as if to say something,
then closed it again. He looked at the sheriff, then back at Karen.
"Why don't I take some clothes for her," he said finally.

Karen was going to refuse, then realized how
that might look. She nodded. "That'd be great," she said. "Why
don't I meet you in the lobby in a few minutes."

"I'll drive you over to the cabins," the
sheriff said.

Zach and the sheriff trooped out. Karen,
still standing at her desk, wished for the millionth time that she
had had an abortion when she'd had the chance. More importantly,
she wished she had never met Starr's father.

Starr had nearly finished telling Fae and her
boss everything she had seen and heard since Thursday when she saw
Charlie come out of the exam room.

Like Starr, she was wrapped in a multitude of
blankets and looked like a walking snowball. Starr jumped up and
waved as hard as she could.

Charlie's face lit up with a huge smile and
she shuffled over as fast as she could despite the blankets
puddling around her feet.

"Guess what," she enthused as she reached
Starr.

"What?"

Charlie awkwardly pulled the blanket off her
right shoulder. Like Starr, Charlie was wearing a hospital gown
with yellow and blue teddy bears. But unlike Starr, her right arm
was encased in a bright purple cast.

"Wow." Starr was impressed.

"Too bad it's summer," Charlie said. "I'd get
tons of signatures if I were at school tomorrow. I've never seen a
purple one before."

"Maybe we could get all the guests at the
Lodge sign it. I'll bet they've never seen a purple cast before
either," Starr said.

"What a good idea," Fae said. Then her gaze
went to the door. "Oh look, Charlie, your dad is here."

Starr and Charlie both looked towards the
door and saw Zach Running Bear dripping on the welcome mat. Charlie
grinned and waved him over.

"Look dad," she crowed, holding up her neon
arm. "It's purple!"

Zach grinned. "So it is." He scooped her up
and hugged her tightly. "Good to see you here, Fae." Then he looked
at Starr. "Are you all right, Starr?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Starr said. "I'm sorry about
Charlie's arm."

"I must say I'm looking forward to hearing
the story once we get back to the Lodge," he said. "In the
meantime, I've brought you both some clothes." He held up the
duffle bag. "At least you won't look like drowned rats when you get
back to the Lodge."

"Daaaaaad," Charlie giggled.

Starr saw the sheriff come in. Dread clenched
her stomach and she looked past him, expecting to see her mother's
angry face. But the doorway to the parking area remained clear.

Fae made the introductions, then craned her
neck to look around Zach. "Is Starr's mother still in the car?" she
asked.

Zach shifted his feet and shot a swift glance
first at Fae, and then at the sheriff. The sheriff stared at his
hat as he turned it around and around.

Starr immediately knew her mother hadn't
come. She felt a brief bubble of relief that she didn't have to
face her mother just yet. But as she looked at Zach and Charlie,
she wondered what it would feel like to have someone show up when
something happened. She quashed the thought firmly.

"She's probably super busy this morning," she
said quickly. "She told me the owners of the Lodge were coming
today."

"Well," Fae said finally. "Why don't you
girls get changed and then I'll drive you all back to the Lodge.
Bailey, do you have everything you need or do you want to come back
to the Lodge with us?"

Bailey looked at the girls. "I'll probably
want to talk to you both again, and you'll have to be witnesses
when it goes to trial. But I think we've got enough for now,"
Bailey said. "I'll ride back to town with the sheriff and go over a
few things."

Fae nodded. She took the clothes from Zach
and led the girls to a room where they could change.

By the time they returned to the waiting
room, the sheriff and Bailey Johnson were gone and Zach was talking
to one of the nurses. Starr stole a quick look out the window. The
rain was still coming down as if someone had taken the cap off a
fireplug and the trees were whipping around as if possessed.

She thought about what the Enchantment River
would be like right now and shivered.

"Let's get you back to the Lodge," Fae said
brightly. "We'll have to make a dash for the car, but you won't get
nearly as wet as you did earlier."

"If you'd like, I could get the car and bring
it around," Zach offered. "I don't mind getting a little drenched.
Besides, then I can look just like a drowned rat, too."

Charlie giggled again.

"That'd be great," Fae said and handed him
her keys.

"And," he announced. "I'll whip up some of my
super duper hot chocolate when we get back. They've got a big fire
going in the Norwegian Room and we can get all nice and toasty and
you can tell me all about your adventures."

By the time they got back to the Lodge, the
rain was letting up. Lightning could only be seen in the distance
as the storm rumbled slowly to the southeast.

Zach, who had ended up driving, parked the
car as close to the Lodge as he could and then carried Charlie
inside as fast as he could.

Starr followed, walking next to Fae, her
stomach churning. While she was really, really happy to see Storm
Point Lodge again, she wasn't going to be able to avoid her mother
for much longer.

As they walked through the lobby, Starr tried
to hide behind Fae so whoever was on the desk wouldn't see her and
tell her mother she was here.

They headed straight for the Norwegian Room.
The Lodge also had a Finnish Room, a Swedish Room and other rooms
that celebrated the rich culture of the Iron Range, but Starr's
favorite was the Norwegian room which was decorated like an old
high Viking king's Great Hall. She especially loved the huge
fireplace made of Lake Superior stone, but up until now the
fireplace had always been empty. Today, though, a huge fire was
blazing and it was even more spectacular than Starr had
imagined.

She spied Zach on the far side where he was
pulling some overstuffed chairs into a comfy semi circle. An older
couple was sitting in the group of chairs next to the ones Zach was
organizing. The woman had hair that was even a brighter red than
Starr's, although the man's hair was white.

As they walked over, the woman with the red
hair smiled. "Hello, Fae."

"Hi Marge," Fae said.

Zach turned. "Look who's here. Starr, this is
Winnie and Marge Norcroft," she said. "They own the Lodge and came
to visit on one of the most interesting days we've had up here in
ages."

"To put it in Minnesotan," Winnie Norcroft
said. He turned a warm smile on Starr and she liked him
immediately. He looked like the grandfather she wished she had.

"I hear you and Charlie have been having
quite an adventure," Marge said. "I can't wait to hear the whole
story once you settle in."

"You'll love this one," Fae put in. "Starr
here is quite the hero."

"Really?" Winnie said. "Now I know this is
going to be good."

"I'm going to whip up some of my world famous
hot chocolate," Zach announced. "Any takers?"

Winnie grinned. "
World
famous?"

"Sure," Zach said. "If the world is the North
Shore."

He took orders and then went off to the
kitchen.

Starr settled back in her chair and looked
over at Charlie, whose eyelids were sagging lower and lower.

"How do you feel?" Starr asked.

Charlie summoned up a ghost of a smile.
"Right now I feel like I could sleep for the rest of the year."

"How's your arm? Does it hurt?"

"It actually feels okay right now. They gave
me a shot and some pills I can take when it hurts. Mostly, I'm just
tired."

"I'm glad you're okay," Starr said quietly.
"I was really scared."

Charlie nodded, then reached out and patted
Starr's arm. "I was scared, too. Especially when he dropped the
rope. But I knew you'd get me out of there."

Starr turned to Fae. "I'm sorry the killer
got away."

Fae laughed and waved her hand. "Oh, he won't
get away. I know exactly where he's going to be."

Starr lowered her mug and looked at her
suspiciously. "Where?"

"I'll tell you when I hear from Bailey," Fae
said. "He'll be picking me up in a little bit so we can go arrest
him."

"Really?" Starr asked. "He won't come back
here and try something else?"

"Why would he?" Fae said. "He thinks he got
the film, so he's long gone."

"Where'd he go?"

"I'll tell you later." Fae grinned.

Fae turned to include the Norcrofts in the
conversation. "Starr here, not only witnessed a murder, she got the
evidence that's going to convict the killer and send him away for a
really long time."

"Really?" Winnie and Marge both said at the
same time.

Starr stared at her. "Really?"

Fae dug into her purse and brought out a
couple of boxes that looked like the kind slides came in. She
handed one of the boxes to Starr. "These are your slides."