Murder at Eagle Summit. Virginia Smith
pressing gambling debts.
“It won’t be like before.” He gulped, remembering Duke’s blistering tirade when he’d roughed up an old guy last week. Duke had been furious with Jason, but who knew the guy would come home early and catch him? At least he got the goods, and was well away before the cops arrived. “Let me talk to her nice. I’ll bump into her in a restaurant or something, pour on the charm. I’ll get it out of her.”
“I don’t want to risk you being seen. Again.” The last word dripped derision. “Besides, I don’t think that will be necessary. Our friend says he can get Miss Carmichael out here, and he’s confident she’ll bring it with her.”
“But that’ll take months.” Jason did whine then. He needed money now. “I’m sure I can—”
“Don’t do another thing. You just get yourself on a plane.”
“The job’s still mine, though, right? You ain’t gonna take me off of it after I put in so much time?”
The low chuckle could have been insulting, or it could have been meant to comfort him. Jason gnawed his lower lip. He didn’t want to tick the guy off.
“Don’t worry, my friend. I’ve got several little tasks lined up to keep you busy until Miss Carmichael gets here. Just come home.”
The line went quiet.
Jason straightened in the seat and reached for the ignition. As he started the rental car’s engine, a shadow walked across the apartment window. Too unclear to identify, but it could have been her. He shifted into Drive, and when the car started to roll forward, he touched a finger to his forehead in a farewell gesture.
“I’ll be seeing you, girlie.”
TWO
Six Weeks Later
“What are you doing on your day off tomorrow?”
Deputy Tim Richards picked up his Coke and took a pull on the straw before he answered. “Skiing with the wedding party.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember.” His lunch buddy, Deputy Adam Goins, unwrapped a cheeseburger as he answered. “This weekend’s the wedding thing.”
“Uh-huh. The others are out on the slopes right now without me, in fact.” Tim glanced through the fast-food restaurant’s windows. High above their cruisers, an American flag flapped wildly in a strong breeze. The vivid colors stood out starkly against a totally white sky that held the promise of powder soon to come. In fact, a few wind-whipped flakes were already stabbing at the glass. “That’s all right. I wouldn’t want to be out there today, but tomorrow’s going to be great.”
Adam’s silent laugh shook his shoulders. “You sound like me. If there isn’t a clear blue sky, no wind and at least six inches of fresh powder, I’d rather stay home. I’m not surprised you’ve become a snow snob, now that you’ve been in Park City a while. You’ve lived here three years, right?”
“Right. But I’ve lived in Utah all my life.”
Born and raised not forty minutes from here, Tim hadn’t even left his hometown for college. He’d attended the University of Utah, down in the Salt Lake valley, and roomed with his childhood friend, Ryan, the groom-to-be.
“Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. So you’re off until, when? Monday?”
“Sunday. The wedding’s Saturday night.”
Tim bit into a couple of fries. Ryan and Debbie had decided to get married up here in Park City, instead of down in Salt Lake where they lived. Some romantic idea of Debbie’s, probably, to get married at a ski lodge. Tim figured it must be costing Debbie’s family a bundle. Nothing in Park City came cheap.
Of course, they were probably getting the musicians for free.
He took another drink from the straw, but his throat felt suddenly clogged. It wasn’t the fries. It was the thought of the musicians. Or rather, one musician.
Liz would arrive late tonight. After three long years, he would see her tomorrow.
If he choked on the mere thought of her now, how would he act when he actually saw her?
Snow swirled around Jason as he glided down the slope. The place was practically deserted. The lifts would stop running at four, in ten more minutes. Most everybody had already headed down the mountain toward the lodge. Big flakes slapped at his goggles and gathered in the creases on the front of his ski suit. He could barely make out the trees on the other side of the run. A miserable day to be out on the slopes, but he had a meeting to attend. One he couldn’t miss.
He glanced backward to make sure nobody was coming around on his left, then zipped into the thick evergreens lining the west side of the slope. The wind wasn’t nearly as bad here, and he was shielded from the worst of the heavily falling snow. Weird place to hold a meeting, if you asked him. But nobody did. Just told him where to be and when to be there. Jason made it a practice to do as he was told.
A snowboarder in a dark jacket waited at the appointed spot, one foot planted in the soft snow and the other still attached to the binding of his board. Jason glided to a stop nearby. At first he thought it might be Duke, but when the guy pushed his goggles up on his hat, he realized it was someone new. Jason’s pulse kicked up a notch or two. Was he finally going to meet Duke’s mysterious boss?
“Hey, how’s it going?” The man clipped his words short.
Jason replied with a guarded nod. “Some day out there, huh?”
A sound from behind made him turn in time to see a skier zigzag through the trees toward them. Jason admired the way the man maneuvered in the close area, the precision with which the edges of his skis carved through the deep snow. He zoomed up to them, planted his ski poles and raised his goggles like the first guy.
About time Duke got here.
“I see you two have met.” Cold blue eyes slid from Jason toward the stranger.
“Not proper like. I didn’t catch your name.” Jason kept his tone deferential, just in case.
The man stiffened, and his eyelids narrowed.
Duke pulled off his knit hat and slapped it against his thigh. Dislodged snow flew through the air. “I don’t think names will be necessary.”
Jason had taken off his glove, ready to thrust his hand toward the man by way of introduction. Instead, he shoved it back on and grabbed the handle of his pole.
“I don’t have long.” The stranger pulled back the cinched wristband of his jacket to look at his watch. “They’re going to wonder where I’ve gone. So say whatever you brought me here to say and let’s go before we’re spotted.”
Jason studied the man with interest. So Duke had invited him to the meeting, not the other way around. He wasn’t the boss, then. Duke had mentioned another guy who was in on this job, a new guy. Someone who insisted he could get the Carmichael chick out to Utah.
Duke pulled the hat back on and settled it over his ears. “I just wanted to touch base with you both. Make sure we all understand the plan.”
“I don’t need to understand any plan. I’ve done my part.”
Jason dipped his head to look at the snow between his ski tips. This guy had nerve, he’d give him that. Jason wouldn’t dare talk to Duke in that tone.
But when he risked an upward glance, he saw that Duke’s face remained impassive. “She arrives tonight?”
The man nodded. “As arranged.”
“And you’re sure she’ll have it with her?”
The other man gave an impatient grunt. “I don’t see why I have to repeat myself. I’ve assured you she’ll have it.”
A flash