The Grudge (7 page)

“Okay, let’s order. I’m starving,” Trevor said. “I’m thinking ham and salami on a cheese roll.”

“They have something called an Italian special,” Andi informed him. “It has ham, salami, provolone, and Swiss, heated under the broiler, then topped off with lettuce, tomato, and onion.”

“Sounds good. How’s the potato salad?”

“It’s good, but I prefer the pasta salad,” Andi told Trevor. “The soup of the day is usually pretty good too.”

“I’m thinking something light. Do they have salads?” Alyson asked.

“They have a spinach with hot bacon dressing that’s really good. They also have a Cobb and a pretty good chef’s salad.”

The waitress came over to serve their drinks. She read off the specials of the day and informed them that today’s soups were hearty tomato or Cajun shrimp chowder.

“So who else in on the list?” Alyson asked after they had placed their orders.

“Steve Brown and Randy Fallon, two lift operators. We can probably find both of them in the pub after the lifts close. Stella Gregson works in the deli. Carrie Brandywine and Karen Bates, who both work in housekeeping. As a matter of fact, Karen was one of the housekeepers who were sent to clean Stacy King’s room last night, so we can ask her about that while we’re at it.”

“You think she’d tell us what she found in the room?” Mac asked.

“Probably. She’s worked here a while, so we know each other pretty well.”

“Who else is on the list?” Alyson asked.

“Dawn Regency, the desk clerk you met last night; Tim Smith, a waiter at the lodge; Tanya Ford, a hairdresser; and Charlie Epson, the maintenance guy you already met.”

“So where should we start?” Alyson cut the tuna melt the waitress had convinced her to try.

“The deli is just a few doors over, so I suggest we start with Stella.” Andi poured a puddle of ketchup on her plate. “Then we can head over to the lodge to talk to Dawn and see where Carrie and Karen are working today.”

“Stella was working last night. Do you think she’s here this afternoon?” Alyson salted her fries.

“I’m not sure. If not I know where she lives.”

“You said there were a lot of intraresort calls on the twenty-sixth. Are they listed by room number?” Alyson asked Devon.

“Yeah, room number and time of call.”

“So all we need to do is look for Bruce Long’s cabin number,” Alyson said. “Do you know what that might be?”

“It’s C12.” Andi answered

“Let’s see. There was a call to C12 at four fifty-eight p.m. from the pub,” Devon told them.

“That’s not going to help us much. The lifts close at four o’clock, so the pub is usually packed by that time,” Andi said.

“Whoever used the phone at the pub could have planted the scotch, especially if the bartender was extrabusy at the time,” Eli observed.

“Are there any calls to or from room 412 in the lodge either on the twenty-sixth or -seventh?” Andi asked. “That would be Stacy King’s room.”

“There was a call from L412 to the beauty salon at nine twenty-three on the twenty-seventh,” Devon reported.

“So I guess we should ask if she was in when we talk to Tanya,” Alyson said. “Maybe Stacy told someone who she was meeting.”

After they finished lunch they stopped off at the deli to learn that Stella had used her comps for her best friend. Tim Smith happened to be there, eating lunch with his parents, whom he had comped. Tanya Ford confirmed that she had indeed done Stacy King’s hair on the morning of the twenty-seventh, but she didn’t know who the woman was meeting that evening. Tanya did say that Stacy had seemed nervous about it.

Next they headed over to the lodge. Luckily, the village was fairly compact and the distance between the various locations they had to visit was minimal.

“Hi, Dawn,” Andi greeted her as they walked into the lobby. “I’m helping HR with a little recordkeeping. You used comp nights this week. I need to know who they were for.”

“My sister and her daughter. I hadn’t seen them in almost a year. I thought this would be a good time to have them out, but with all the extra shifts I’ve had to cover I’ve barely gotten to visit with them. At least they’re opening the lifts on the front side of the mountain this afternoon, so they won’t be entirely bored.”

“Sorry about the extra shifts. Are we shorthanded?”

“Extremely, but this is the busiest week of the year so I guess extra shifts are to be expected. Next year I’ll have my family visit after New Year’s.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Actually, there is something.” Dawn paused. “I just got a call from maintenance. They want the dead woman’s car moved. It seems it’s blocking the snowplow. They asked if I could take it over to employee parking. Do you think you could move it over there for me? I’m really swamped. It’d be a big help.”

“Sure, no problem. Do you have the keys?”

Dawn handed them to her. “Just drop them back here when you’re done.”

“No problem. By the way, can you tell me where Carrie Brandywine and Karen Bates are working today?”

Dawn punched the names into her computer. “Carrie’s on the second floor and Karen’s on the fifth.”

“Thanks. I’ll move the car as soon as I check on their comps.”

“Carrie has her boyfriend visiting. I’m not sure about Karen.”

“Thanks; that’ll save me some time. Hope you get some time off with your family.”

“Thanks, me too.”

“Let’s go check with Karen; then we’ll move the car,” Andi suggested.

“I’m kind of surprised the resort doesn’t have blackout dates on busy holidays. I’m sure you could have easily sold those rooms.” Mac pushed the button for the fifth floor after everyone had boarded the elevator.

“A lot of places would, but we know it’s important for our employees to be able to see their family at this time of year. It’s not like they can ask for it off. Pretty much everyone is on the schedule.”

The elevator arrived on the fifth floor and everyone filed out. “It looks like the cart is at the end of the hall.” Andi led them to room 525. “You guys hang back. Karen’s liable to say more if it’s just me.”

Alyson waited with the others while Andi continued forward. They couldn’t see what Karen was doing, but they were able to hear the conversation.

“Karen?” Andi poked her head into the room.

“Andi, what brings you to my neck of the woods? Figured you’d be skiing. Heard they opened the lifts on the front of the mountain.”

“I’m helping HR with a little paperwork. According to their records, you used employee comp nights this week. Can you tell me who they were for?”

“My brother and his wife. They’re expecting their first baby. We’re all so excited. I’ve already put in for vacation time in June so I can be there when it’s born.”

“Congratulations. Any word yet whether it’s a boy or a girl?”

“They aren’t going to find out. They said they want to be surprised. Personally, the suspense is killing me, but the birth is quite a ways off, so they might change their minds.”

“Either way, I’m sure it will be a special event. Dawn said everyone’s been working a lot of hours. Have you had much time to visit with your guests? I saw you go upstairs to clean up room 412 last night and now you’re working here.”

“It’s been busy, but this is my regular shift. Last night I was called in on an emergency.”

“It’s too bad about what happened. I bet the cleanup wasn’t at all pleasant.”

“Yeah, it was a real mess. Water had completely soaked the carpet and through the floor into the room below. I’m certain they’ll have to replace the carpet, maybe even the floor. It’s amazing how much damage can be done by water.”

“Did you have to pack up the guest’s belongings?”

“Yeah, and that was kinda creepy. Going through someone’s personal possessions. Luckily, she hadn’t really unpacked yet, so I didn’t have to pack up too much. Just a few clothes, toiletries, a novel she was reading, and a photo album.”

“A photo album? Did you happen to open it at all?”

“No, I just stuck it in the box with the rest of the stuff. Didn’t figure it was my place to be going through someone’s private photos.”

“I see your point. Well, thanks for the info. I should be going; I need to move a car for Dawn.

“Stacy had a photo album,” Andi informed the others as they left the lodge and walked toward the parking lot. “If we can find out where they stored her stuff maybe we could get a look at it. It might tell us who she met last night.”

“Who would know where it is?” Alyson asked.

“Dawn might. I’ll ask her when I give her back the keys.”

“Is this the car?” Trevor asked.

Andi checked the license number. “Looks like it.”

“Check out the bumper sticker.”

“‘Once a Marine, Always a Marine,’” Alyson read. “I’m beginning to see a pattern here. We know Mario was a marine and Bruce Long had a marine ring in his possession. Someone seems to be killing Marines.”

“Or maybe specific Marines,” Mac added. “My guess is that the victims are all linked based on some type of commonality. Maybe they all attended the same boot camp or served in the same unit, or they all belong to the same veterans association. There are a lot of marines in the world; they must have a more specific connection. It sounds like they were all brought here by someone. Bruce Long mentioned a reunion and Stacy King was comped by one of your employees.”

“So I guess we keep looking for the link. Let’s move the car, then ask Dawn if she knows where Stacy King’s belongings were stored,” Devon suggested.

Andi moved the car to the employee parking lot, then she and Alyson went back into the lodge to return the keys.

“All moved.” Andi handed the keys back to Dawn.

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

“By the way, do you happen to know where they’ve put Stacy King’s belongings?”

“In one of the lockers in security, I guess. Why?”

“Just curious. Have a nice day.”

“Thanks, you too.”

They met the others at the Expedition, which was parked in front of the lodge. Devon had pulled into the loading zone so they wouldn’t have to walk through the snow that was beginning to fall again.

“Dawn said she thought Stacy’s personal belongings were stored in one of the lockers in security,” Andi told the others.

“Any chance we could get a peek?” Mac asked.

“It’d be pushing it, considering we’ve already snuck in there twice in as many days, but we can try. We’ll need a good plan, though.”

“Sounds like a little brainstorming is in order,” Trevor said.

“Let’s finish up the comp list first,” Eli suggested. “Who’s left?”

“Steve and Randy, the lift operators, Charlie, and of course Bret.”

“You said the lift operators would be in the pub after the lifts close. Let’s see if we can find Charlie, then swing by Bret’s again,” Alyson said.

“Should we try the maintenance yard?” Devon asked.

“I guess. He could be anywhere, though.”

“Like getting gas?” Mac asked.

“Yeah, I guess. Why?”

“Because I see a plow over in the fueling yard. Maybe it’s him.”

“Let’s check it out,” Andi said.

“Charlie. Hi, again,” Andi greeted him. “Still working hard, I see.”

“Tell me about it. I’m exhausted. It’d help if this snow would stop. By the time I finish plowing it’s time to start again.”

“I won’t keep you. I’m just helping HR out. They have a record of you using comp nights this week. Can I ask who they were for?”

“My brother, although he never made it. The slide closed the road before he could get here. I’m hoping Bret will show up by the time they get the road open so I can spend some time with him.”

“Why don’t you just report Bret as AWOL? I’m sure HR would send someone else to help you.”

“Bret’s a friend of Mario’s, served with him in the war. Mario was the one who got him this job, and he’s always covered for him in the past when he’s flaked. He told me he had a tough time and is still going through a period of adjustment. I figure Mario isn’t here, so it’s up to me to cover for his friend. I hope he shows up soon, though. I can’t take this pace much longer.”

“Have you been by his place today?” Andi asked.

“Yeah, a little while ago. There’s still no sign of him. Probably hooked up with one of the female guests. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Hang in there. If you do decide to report his absence and ask for help I doubt that anyone, including Mario, would blame you.”

Charlie shrugged, then paused for a moment. “Did you hear there’s been another accident?”

“What happened?”

“Some guy fell off one of the lifts. Security’s doing an investigation, but it looks like the safety bar on the chair wouldn’t fall into place. There was an interruption in the flow when the lift somehow jammed and it stopped suddenly. Guy fell to his death.”

“Oh my God. Which lift?” Andi asked.

“Patty’s run, I think. It’s a real shame; there seems to be so much going wrong all at once. Your poor dad must be beside himself.”

“I should check on him. I’ll catch you later. I hope your brother finally makes it.”

“We need to get over to the mountain,” Alyson said as they got into the Expedition. “There’s no way I’m buying the fact that this was an accident.”

“What could cause the lift to stop so abruptly?” Devon asked Andi after they were all loaded.

“The lifts are powered by generators, but even if a generator lost power the lifts would sort of glide to a stop. There must have been an obstruction of some kind to cause such an abrupt interruption.”

“What are the odds that a certain skier could be targeted to ride a certain chair?” Mac asked. “If we’re continuing with our theory that specific people are being targeted, a lot of variables would have to fall into place to ensure that a specific person was riding a specific chair at the exact moment the safety bar stuck and the lift met with an obstruction.”

“Seems unlikely,” Alyson agreed.

“Take a left at the parking lot,” Andi instructed. “We’ll need to park and ride the lifts up to Patty’s run. It’s one of our black diamond runs at the top of the hill.”

“Too bad we don’t have our skis; we could ski down,” Eli commented.

“Somehow it doesn’t look like skiing is in the cards for us. At least not today.” Devon sighed.

They rode a series of lifts to the top of the mountain, where the Grizzly Mountain security patrol had Patty’s run closed. The body had already been transported down the hill by the time they arrived.

“Martin, what happened?” Andi asked one of the uniformed officers.

“Lift jammed and one of the skiers fell out of his chair. Unfortunately, it happened at the worst possible spot.”

“Over Crandall’s Gorge?” Andi guessed.

“Exactly.”

“This particular lift mostly follows the ski run and in most spots a fall from a chair probably wouldn’t be fatal. But there’s one spot where it crosses Crandall’s Gorge and the drop increases dramatically,” Andi explained to the group.

“Do you know why the safety bar failed?” Devon asked the security officer.

“Someone jammed something in the mechanism. The lift operator, Randy Fallon, said the bar had been working fine all day. Whoever tampered with the arm must have done it during the previous run.”

“Do you know what caused the lift to jam?”

“Not yet. The lift’s been running fine all day. They’re checking it out, but it has to have been some type of debris from the storm. Although to be honest, that seems unlikely. These lifts are built to withstand some pretty intense weather conditions.”

“Do you think someone might have tampered with it?” Andi asked.

“Don’t see how. Lift’s been running all day. Randy said he never left his post.”

Andi looked up the mountain in the direction of the lifts and frowned.

“Have there been any manual disruptions to service?” Andi asked.

“There was a brief interruption a few minutes before the accident. Randy had to manually stop the lift to load a disabled man who wanted to ride. I guess the disruption could have jarred something loose.”

“Does that seem likely?” Andi asked.

“Not really, but I don’t have a more likely explanation. I guess the whole thing could just have been one of those freak accidents.”

“I guess. Thanks for the update.” Andi and the others walked away from the crowd gathered around the loading area for the lift.

“So what do you think?” Andi asked after they’d wandered to a more isolated spot.

“This one’s going to be tough to figure out. Let’s head back to the house and put our heads together,” Alyson suggested.

“Yeah, it’s freezing out here,” Mac agreed.

They rode the lifts back down to the parking lot, then drove back to the house. Alyson made coffee while Andi called her dad to see if she could find out the identity of the victim.

Alyson pulled a blanket over her lap. It seemed like she couldn’t get warmed up today, no matter how hard she tried.

“Victim’s name was Todd Wallford,” Andi informed the others. “He was a guest at the resort. So far that’s all I know. My dad wasn’t answering his phone, so I called Dawn in reception.”

“Maybe this one really was an accident,” Trevor speculated. “You know how many variables would have to come together for this to be orchestrated for a specific victim.”

“Trevor’s right.” Mac nodded. “But the odds of all the variables coming together at the exact time for the accident to occur are astronomical. It has to have been planned.”

“Okay, let’s break it down,” Alyson said. “We have several separate things that had to happen for the accident to occur in the first place. The safety bar failed to close and we’re assuming it was tampered with. Something jammed the operation of the lift, which, according to security, is unlikely to happen. The specific chair in question had to be exactly over an area where a fall would result in death, and if we’re assuming a specific victim, that specific rider would have had to be in that specific chair at the time of the incident.”

“Sounds unlikely,” Andi confirmed.

“Let’s start with the victim,” Devon began. “For our conspiracy theory to hold true, the most recent victim should be linked with the others. Mario, Bret, Bruce, and Stacy were all marines or connected with the marines in some way. Bruce and Stacy are dead, Mario almost died, and Bret is missing. At this point we’re assuming the link between all these incidences is the Marines. Is there any way we can find out more about Todd Wallford?”

“His body was taken to the clinic,” Andi added. “I doubt we’ll be able to get a look at it until tonight, although that might not be all that important. We already know how he died, which wasn’t the case with the others.”

“We need to get a look at his room,” Mac announced, “hopefully before someone cleans it out.”

“Let’s head over to reception and I’ll see what I can do.” Andi rose. “It would be great if he was staying in one of the cabins; it’ll be easier to break in. If he’s in the lodge we’ll need a diversion while I get a key.”

“Back again?” Dawn asked.

“Yeah. With all the accidents I’m trying to help out where I can. Everyone seems to be on overload.”

“Do you think you could watch the desk while I run to the ladies’ room? I haven’t had a break all day.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Andi slipped behind the counter as soon as Dawn ran off and quickly punched up the reservation for Todd Wallford.

“He’s staying in Moose Lake Lodge, room M321. The keys for those rooms will be over there. We can head over when Dawn gets back,” Andi told Alyson.

“Does the reservation form say anything else?”

“He’s been here since the twenty-sixth. His home address is in San Francisco. He appears to be here alone. Hey, that’s strange; he’s here on an employee comp too.”

“We only have three employees left,” Alyson pointed out. “The two lift operators and Bret Robbins.”

“I guess we’d better keep checking,” Andi said.

Dawn returned. “Thanks! Things were getting a little desperate.”

“No problem. Glad I could help.”

Moose Lake Lodge was situated at the foot of the mountain. Skiers could ski from the front door of the lodge over to the lifts. The lodge didn’t possess the same luxuries as the Grizzly Mountain Lodge, but diehard skiers preferred its proximity to the lifts. Alyson followed Andi into the rustic building.

“Hey, Andi, what are you doing in our neck of the woods?” the handsome young man behind the reception desk asked.

“I’m giving breaks. I heard we’re really short-staffed today so I volunteered to help out.”

“I’d love a break. Thanks tons. I’ll be back in thirty.”

“The room is on the third floor,” Andi informed the others as soon as the desk clerk was out of sight. “Danny said he’d be back in thirty, but you’d better make it twenty just to be safe.”

Alyson and the others rode the elevator to the third floor. Room 321 was decorated in the same mountain green as the rest of the resort, but it offered a spectacular view of one of the beginner runs. Skiers young and old with brightly colored jackets swished and snowplowed down the gentle slope.

They started opening drawers and closets in their search for a linking clue. As with the other rooms, the closet was filled with clothes and the bathroom with toiletries. On top of the bedside table was an empty glass and a current best seller. There was a folder with airline tickets, a car rental agreement, and various receipts in the drawer.

“I don’t see anything personal,” Mac said. “He must have had his wallet on him. It’s probably locked up in security.”