Part 31 (1/2)

I didn't argue. The warning didn't faze me. My mind was already made up. ”We'll talk later,” I said and was about to disconnect when the sheriff spoke again.

”There's another car not far from the one Graham Cavanaugh rented,” he said. ”It doesn't belong to the other Cavanaughs, but it looks like a rental. A Ford Focus, real clean, *no smoking' sticker, only six thousand miles on it.”

”You could get into it?”

”No. I used a flashlight to check out the interior,” Milo said. ”I wanted to make sure there wasn't a body in the backseat. Maybe I should've busted open the trunk.”

”Not funny,” I remarked.

”Sure as h.e.l.l isn't,” he agreed and hung up.

I considered asking Vida to come along and bring a camera. If there were any pictures to be taken, she could handle that duty much better, since I was an utter dunce when it came to photography. I called her on my cell just before going out to the car. ”I can pick you up,” I said. ”I'm leaving now.”

”I'll get dressed,” she said. ”Don't honk. You might wake the neighbors.”

Sure enough, four minutes later Vida appeared on her porch as I drove up to her house.

”What did you do?” I asked as she fastened her seat belt. ”Throw your clothes up in the air and run under them?”

”Virtually,” she replied. ”Is Milo still up on First Hill?”

”I don't know,” I admitted. ”I'm not sure of anything except that I couldn't sit still and do nothing.”

”Quite so,” she agreed. ”Have you contacted Graham or Kelsey?”

”Doe Jameson tried twice,” I said as we drove past the cemetery. I hoped it wasn't an omen. ”No luck. You want to see if he picks up now? My cell's in my purse.”

Vida dug it out. ”What's the number?”

Fortunately, I'd memorized it. But Vida shook her head after placing the call and waiting a few moments. ”Nothing. Oh, dear.”

I took a right at First Hill Road, pa.s.sing the high school and the Dithers sisters' horse farm. The rocky area on the other side of the road was the first of two hills where several old mine shafts still existed under cover of wild blackberry vines, moss, and ferns. When I'd moved to Alpine, there were only a handful of houses among the trees, but in recent years a dozen or more homes had been built to take advantage of the view.

As we approached the turnoff to Disappointment Avenue, there was no sign of Milo and his deputy. ”Now what?” I asksed, slowing down.

”I see a parked car,” Vida said, gesturing up ahead. ”Is that the one Graham was driving?”

”Let's look.” I pulled over onto the verge and approached even more slowly. ”Yes,” I said, recognizing the Chrysler symbol on the rear end. ”That might be the Ford Focus across the road from the Dithers sisters' gate.”

We got out of the car, stopping first to check Graham's rental. The car was locked. Vida had a small flashlight attached to her key chain. She clicked the light on and looked inside. ”Nothing except maps, a pair of sungla.s.ses, and bottled water.”

We trudged up the hill and across the road to the Ford. It was parked by an old railroad spur that had been used to carry logs down the steep incline to the millpond. Much of the century-old wooden portion of track had rotted away or disappeared under gra.s.s and weeds. A ramshackle Great Northern caboose sat nearby, a relic from the distant past. The stumps of giant evergreens stood like monuments to the heyday of logging. I gazed down the hill, where only a handful of lights glowed in the darkness. The wind had grown stronger, blowing through the alder and maple trees that had sprung up after the last clear-cut, in the seventies. Looking up, I saw only a few stars. The old moon had faded into a pale sliver as clouds rolled in from the south.

Using her small flashlight, Vida had been inspecting the Ford's interior. ”Milo was right,” she said. ”There's nothing of interest.”

”Where did Kelsey and Graham go?” I asked in a helpless voice. ”Why didn't they come back to my house?”

Vida didn't respond but shook her head and bit her lip. We went back to the car. My cell phone rang before I could turn on the ignition.

”We nailed 'em,” Milo announced in triumph. ”The state patrol stopped both cars just north of the King-Snohomish county line.”

”Them being...who?” I asked as Vida leaned close to me in an attempt to hear what was being said at the other end of the line.

”Platte, Sophia Cavanaugh, and the phony Graham, the other Volos,” the sheriff answered.

I was torn between relief and worry. ”What about Kelsey and the real Graham?”

”No sign of them,” Milo said. ”I'm heading to Everett, where this bunch will be booked. I'll argue jurisdiction later. I'm beat.”

”But I want to know where-” I stopped as Milo ended the call. ”d.a.m.n!” I breathed, turning to Vida. ”Did you hear that?”

”Yes.” She frowned. ”I must admit, I don't understand what's going on. Is Milo charging all three of them with murder?”

”For all I know, they've been arrested for shoplifting.” I drummed my nails on the steering wheel. ”We might as well go home. Kelsey and Graham can't be in danger if the rest of them are under arrest.”

”You don't believe that,” Vida said.

”No.” I stared through the winds.h.i.+eld. ”I'm still worried. If they had car trouble and left the rental here, I could understand that. But it's that other car that bothers me. Who could it belong to? Were Kelsey and Graham meeting someone?”

Before Vida could respond, I dialed the ski lodge. It wasn't quite one o'clock. Carlos was probably still on duty.

He picked up on the first ring. ”Have you seen Kelsey Platte and her brother since we talked?” I asked.

”No,” Carlos answered. ”Everything here's quiet.”

”Could you do me a favor? Would you see if Kelsey's belongings are still in the suite?”

”Well...okay. I'll send somebody up to look and call you back,” Carlos said.

”No,” I replied. ”I'll stay on the line. I have to know now.”

”I'll put you on hold,” he said.

Vida frowned at me. ”You're a.s.suming Kelsey didn't get her belongings from the lodge?”

”I think she intended to, but something scared her away,” I said. ”Carlos never saw her or Graham. Of course, he might have been busy and missed them, but somebody would've noticed. Kelsey didn't have her key card, so she'd have had to ask to be let in because she wouldn't risk running into the rest of that crew.”

”True.” Vida adjusted her raffia fedora, which had slipped down over her right eye. ”Where were those other wretched people going?”

”The airport?” I suggested as a click on the line indicated Carlos had taken me off of hold.

”Jerry-one of our bellboys-just called from the Queen Margrethe Suite to say that there were some things still there, mostly women's clothes,” Carlos said. ”No purse, though, nothing of importance, such as airline tickets or valuables.”

”That figures. Thanks, Carlos. I'm sorry to be a pest.”

”No problem. I hope everything turns out okay.”

”So do I.” I rang off.

I relayed what Carlos had just told me. Vida made a face. ”The others must have taken anything useful, perhaps to impersonate Kelsey. They seem very good at being other people.”