Peril at Granite Peak (8 page)

“Yeah?” I said. “What about him?”

Nate sighed and rubbed one meaty hand over his face. “Look, sorry for yanking you up here like that. It's just that I really don't want Cassie to know I went off on that jerk Stanley at dinner the other night. She's always after me about my temper, and I know better than to let a guy like that push my buttons, you know?”

“Okay,” I said, a little confused. “Um, so what did he say to you that night, anyway?”

“He was complaining about this place.” Nate waved a hand to indicate the lodge. “He was being pretty rude about it, saying he didn't know why anyone would want to come to a dump like this.”

I shrugged. “Sounds like Stanley.”

Nate nodded. “But see, Cassie's the one who wanted to honeymoon here, so I took it as an insult to her. Guess I was a little too sensitive, huh?” He actually cracked a smile. “It's a lot easier to ignore Stanley now that I've realized he complains about everything.”

“Yeah.”

Nate glanced at his watch. “Anyway, I should get back to Cass,” he said. “We're scheduled to attend that wildlife lecture Mr. Gallagher is giving this morning. You going?”

“Um, I don't think so. But have fun.” I vaguely recalled seeing a sign in the lobby about the lecture. The Gallaghers had scheduled several different indoor activities today. Probably trying to keep their snowbound guests from going stir-crazy.

Nate hurried for the stairs. I turned the opposite way, heading for my suite. I was pretty sure I'd stuck a notebook and pen in my bag. Might as well grab them in case I needed to jot down notes about the case.

When I emerged from the suite, I headed for the back stairwell nearby. I might as well go down that way—it was
closer, plus it would give me a chance to take a look around near the scene of last night's rescue.

As soon as I opened the stairwell door, a blast of cold air hit me. That was weird, since the rest of the lodge was toasty warm.

Or maybe not so weird. There was a window on the landing halfway down, and I could see that it was wide open. Had the wind done it? I had no clue, but I hurried down the first flight of steps and shut it. I'd have to mention it to the Gallaghers the next time I saw them.

I started down the second flight at a jog, my shoes clattering on the metal steps. Less than halfway down, my feet suddenly shot out from under me.

“Whoa!” I yelled as I felt myself falling.

A
FTER PARTING WAYS WITH JOE
and Chet, I'd started looking for Rick. A few minutes later I still hadn't found him, but I ran into Mr. Richmond in the hall leading toward the kids' playroom, which was located near the side door across from the employees' quarters.

“Find your son's boots yet?” I asked with a smile.

He chuckled. “Not yet. I'm sure he left them somewhere and forgot where. He's always misplacing his toys, and—”

He was interrupted by a faint shout. It sounded frantic and echoey—and kind of familiar.

“Is that Joe?” I muttered. “But where . . .”

Not bothering to finish the question, I rushed down the
hall. Spotting the door leading to the back stairwell, I flung it open.

“Frank!” Joe shouted.

“Joe!” I took a step inside the stairwell and skidded. Glancing down, I saw a gleaming puddle on the concrete floor. No, not a puddle—a patch of ice.

“Careful, there's ice in here!” Joe called. “On the stairs, too!”

He was clinging to the metal railing embedded in the wall about halfway up. His feet were slipping and sliding on the steps. I gulped as I realized what must have happened. Joe, in a hurry as always, had hit a patch of ice on the stairs. If he hadn't grabbed the railing in time to stop himself, he would have gone flying down the rest of the way.

Mr. Richmond peered into the stairwell behind me and caught on right away. “Oh no! Hang on there, buddy. I'll get help.” He took off in the direction of the lobby.

Meanwhile I stepped forward, being careful to avoid the ice on the floor. “Easy, bro,” I said. “Just hang on.”

“No, I'm okay.” Joe started lowering himself carefully, hand by hand, along the railing. “Stay right there to break my fall just in case, okay?”

I rolled my eyes. Then I held my breath as I watched him make his way down like an oversize spider monkey. As he reached the bottom step, I heard footsteps coming.

“Careful, there's ice in here,” I said, stepping into the
doorway. Mr. Richmond was back, accompanied by Mr. Gallagher, Chet, Nate and Cassie, and Josie, who was clutching her tiny dog.

“Ice?” Mr. Gallagher said. He pushed past me and looked around. “How'd that happen?”

“Don't know.” Joe carefully lowered himself to the floor, picking his way to the safety of the carpeted hallway. “It goes almost up to the landing, though.”

Chet shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. “Why's it so cold in there?”

“The window was open,” Joe said. “I closed it on my way down.” He shot me a look, and I guessed what he was thinking. If someone had done this on purpose, Joe had accidentally messed up any fingerprints that might have been on the window.

“Good thing you didn't slip down the stairs and crack your head open, Joe,” Nate commented.

“He almost did,” I said grimly.

“Yeah,” Joe said. “I grabbed the railing just in time.”

“Are you all right, Joe?” Mr. Gallagher asked. Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Josie. “Get Rick—ask him to block the doors until we get this cleaned up.”

Josie didn't respond. She was staring wide-eyed at Joe. “Oh my gosh,” she exclaimed. “You could have been killed! How could something like this happen?”

“It's all right, Josie,” Cassie spoke up soothingly, putting a hand on Josie's arm. “He's okay. See?”

“But what if he wasn't?” Josie squeezed Toy Toy so tightly that the little dog squeaked and wiggled. “What if he'd fallen and hurt himself? It's just too much!”

She was getting so worked up I was afraid she might hyperventilate.

“I'll go look for Rick,” I told Mr. Gallagher. After all, I wanted to talk to the guy anyway. “Any idea where he might be?”

Mr. Gallagher was still staring at the icy stairwell, looking troubled. “Saw him last over by the main stairs.”

I nodded and looked at Joe. “Coming?”

“Right behind you,” Joe replied. He gestured for Chet to stick with the others. Good idea. He could let us know what they said.

Joe and I found Rick in the lobby near the main staircase. He was talking with Poppy, who looked worried.

“. . . and I'm pretty sure I left it on the bench by the picture window,” she was saying. “But when I remembered and went to get it, it wasn't there.”

“Something missing?” Joe asked.

Poppy nodded. “My MP3 player.”

“Bummer,” I said. Then I turned to Rick. “Mr. Gallagher needs you.”

The man's face was always kind of grim, but it went grimmer as I told him what had happened.

“Just what we need,” he muttered. “I'll take care of it. Better block the upstairs door first.”

He rushed up the stairs, taking them three at a time. Joe and I followed.

“The upper flight of steps seemed okay,” Joe told the man as we hurried down the upstairs hallway. “You should be able to get a look from the landing.”

I was barely listening. I'd just spotted someone reaching for the door of the back stairwell. Stanley!

“Stop!” I called. “Stanley, don't go in there!”

“Huh?” Stanley turned to stare as we raced up to him.

“This stairwell's off-limits right now,” Rick said. “You can use the main stairwell instead.”

Stanley frowned, looking stubborn. “But this one's closer to my room,” he said. “Why's it closed?”

“Ice on the stairs,” I said, figuring it was better to be straight with him. All we needed was for Stanley to have yet another accident.

“Yeah,” Joe confirmed. “I almost wiped out just now.”

“What?” Stanley sounded horrified. “This is outrageous! I take these stairs all the time—I could have been killed! Again!”

He glared around at all three of us, as if holding us personally responsible. Then he took off toward the other stairs, muttering angrily under his breath.

Joe winced. “Just what the Gallaghers need.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” I glanced at Rick. “You need our help?”

Rick shook his head, reaching for the door. “Got it covered. Thanks.”

Joe and I took off after Stanley. When we got downstairs, he was ranting and raving at Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher, who were in the lobby with Chet, Nate and Cassie, and the Richmonds. Josie was perched on an overstuffed sofa nearby, hugging her little dog and looking anxious.

“. . . and I'm starting to think someone's trying to kill me!” Stanley was exclaiming. “There was the situation last night, and of course the problem on the slopes the other day—”

“Wait, what problem on the slopes?” Mrs. Gallagher broke in.

Stanley looked surprised. “Didn't your son tell you? I could have been badly injured!”

As he dramatically described the incident, making it sound even worse than it was, Mrs. Gallagher gave her husband a worried look. I was surprised. Hadn't he told her about the missing
CLOSED
sign?

A moment later Rick came down the main stairs. He hurried over and whispered something in Mr. Gallagher's ear.

Mr. Gallagher's expression went even darker, if possible. “The back stairwell is closed until further notice,” he announced to the lobby at large. He cleared his throat nervously. “I'd also like to let you all know that several items have gone missing since the storm started.”

Several? I traded a surprised look with Joe.

“What kind of items?” Chet asked.

“Small things, mostly,” Mr. Gallagher replied. “A child's snow boots, a pair of sunglasses, a hat, and now a guest's MP3 player.”

“Oh, dear,” Cassie said, huddling closer to Nate. “Is there a thief in our midst?”

“I expect it's just a prank.” Mr. Gallagher's gaze wandered briefly toward the Richmond kids, who were arguing over a toy near the fireplace, completely oblivious to the adult conversation. “Just be careful, all right?”

“What about that ice on the steps?” Stanley demanded. “Do you think that's a prank too? Because I could have been killed!”

Mr. Gallagher bit his lip. “We're looking into that incident,” he said shortly. “We'll keep you all posted.”

“Not good enough.” Stanley glared at him. “If you don't do something about this, sir, I might have to—”

“Wait!” Josie interrupted, jumping up from her seat on the sofa. “Stop, please. Don't blame the Gallaghers.” She took a deep breath as a tear leaked out of one eye. “It was me—I did it. I did it all!”

M
Y JAW DROPPED. FRANK AND
Chet looked just as stunned at Josie's confession.

“You what?” Mrs. Gallagher blurted out. “Josie, what are you talking about?”

“I did it all,” Josie insisted. The tears were flowing freely now. “I took away the sign on the closed slope by mistake, and I locked that door last night after I took Toy Toy for a walk.” She bit her lip, glancing at Stanley. “I also spilled the water in the stairwell when I was mopping in there earlier. I meant to clean it up, but I got busy and forgot. Then the window must have blown open, and it froze.”

“What about the missing MP3 player and other stuff?” Frank asked.

Josie shrugged, looking briefly uncertain. “I probably moved all that stuff accidentally while I was cleaning. I'm sure I can find everything if you give me a chance to search.”

Mrs. Gallagher took her firmly by the arm. “Come with me,” she said sternly. “We'd better go have a talk in the office.”

Mr. Gallagher nodded, still looking worried. “All right, everything's under control,” he said.

“But—” Stanley began.

Mr. Gallagher cut him off with a stern look. “It's time for our wildlife lecture,” he said. “Anyone who's interested in attending, please follow me to the lounge and we'll get started.”

The other guests were still murmuring and looking concerned. But the newlyweds followed Mr. Gallagher out of the lobby, along with Stanley and the whole Richmond family. Rick hurried off in the direction of the icy stairwell, leaving me, Frank, and Chet alone in the lobby.

“Wow, that wasn't exactly how I was expecting this case to end,” Frank commented, wandering over to the fireplace.

“No kidding,” I said.

“At least it's over.” Chet sounded relieved. “Now Stanley will have no more excuses to bad-mouth the lodge, and things can get back to normal.”

I glanced at the window. “As normal as possible during the blizzard of the century, anyway.”

Frank stared into the crackling flames. I could tell something was bugging him.

“Josie said she was out walking Toy Toy last night.” He seemed to be talking as much to himself as to Chet and me. “But yesterday afternoon she told me she was taking him for his last walk before the blizzard set in.”

“So what?” I shrugged. “Dogs have to go when they have to go.”

“Yeah. But a dog that size probably doesn't have to go outside,” Frank said. “That's what puppy pads are made for, right? And Josie seems pretty protective of Toy Toy. Can you seriously picture her taking him out into the middle of a raging blizzard?”

“Who knows? Who cares?” Chet said. “She confessed, remember?”

“I know, but . . .” Frank's voice trailed off uncertainly.

I grinned. “I get it, dude.” I clapped Frank on the back. “I'm a little bummed too. Who knew this mystery would get wrapped up so fast?”