Jenna made a few notes and looked up at him. “Did anyone check out this morning, and has anyone else gone missing overnight?”
“No, and no one has checked out. All but two of our guests, both are authors, have booked for the full two weeks of the convention.” Brightway was checking his computer.
“Did you notice any vehicles leaving the parking lot since Miss Storm left for her chalet?” Kane walked around Brightway’s office, scanning the room.
“Not that I’m aware but I can view the CCTV footage and see if anyone drove out overnight. It might take some time.” Mr. Brightway cleared his throat and picked up his phone. “Please check the CCTV footage from midnight through to this morning and make a note of any vehicles leaving the parking lot.” He replaced the receiver and looked at her. “I’ll let you know at once if we find anything.”
Jenna straightened and folded her notebook, pushing it with her pen into a pocket. “Okay, thanks. Now if you could show us Miss Storm’s chalet?” She pulled on her gloves. “Did you touch anything inside?”
“No. I knocked, and when she didn’t reply after knocking a few times, I opened the door and called out.” Mr. Brightway scratched his head and stared into space. “Let me see. I wiped my feet and went inside to check the bathroom and then left. I was wearing gloves but only touched the door handle. The bathroom door was open. The bed hadn’t been slept in. I instructed room service to avoid the area until you’d been by.” He reached for his coat hanging on a peg by the door. “Follow me. It’s not far.”
As they walked out into the freezing air, snowflakes whirled around Jenna and the smell of winter seeped into her nose, she could almost taste it. Her mind was working overtime. “Did you notice any footprints around the chalet?”
“Not that I recall.” Mr. Brightway frowned as he led the way along the pathway. “Not that I was looking. I’m not a trained observer, more like a trained non-observer. It’s often best I don’t notice the guests. Hotel staff are more like ghosts. We drift around trying not to be obtrusive. We prefer not to know what the guests do to amuse themselves overnight.”
Jenna recalled her last visit to the resort, when she’d had to negotiate the path in the dark looking for Kane. It had been scary, the dark forest all around. The strange noises had startled her and she’d been armed. Now many pathways like a spider’s legs spread out in all directions. At least the path had been recently cleared. “How often do you clear the path?”
“It depends on the snowfall. Sometimes two or three times a day. Early in the morning, so the staff can access the chalets to deliver breakfast, or for the guests who want to make an early start on the slopes. The path was cleared last night at five and again this morning at six.” He led the way down a pathway. “To the right we have two new chalets in the final stages of building. Workmen are there most days. To the left is Miss Storm’s chalet, number forty-eight.”
Jenna looked up at the signpost. The chalets’ numbers were prominent, with an arrow pointing the way. “So, it would be unusual to get lost. I see the lights are along each pathway. Are they on all night?”
“Yes, it’s a safety precaution, and as you see, we’ve made every effort to make the guests’ movements around the complex as uncomplicated as possible.” Mr. Brightway led the way along the trail.
As they rounded a bend, a pretty chalet came into view. Very private with a trickle-fed pool and a small creek running close by. “Is that the pool where Agnes said she noticed a shoe?”
“Yeah.” Mr. Brightway crunched through the ice-covered snow and pointed. “She said it was there, but as you can see, it’s frozen over and I couldn’t make out anything.”
“Didn’t you think to break the ice?” Kane frowned at him. “Even after you discovered Miss Storm was missing?”
“Ah… no… I didn’t think to.” Mr. Brightway looked abashed.
Bending to clear a coating of snow from the edge of the pond, Jenna used her Maglite to see through the ice. The beam moved over a flash of blue. She pointed. “See that? Find something to break the ice.”
“Sure.” Kane walked off the pathway and into the forest with Duke on his heels.
The sound of wood cracking broke the quiet and Kane pushed back through the trees, peeling the branches from a pine bough. Jenna eyed the stick with doubt. “Do you think that will work?”
“Yeah, it will when I’m finished.” Kane pulled out his hunting knife and sharpened one end of a heavy branch. He moved toward the pool holding the stick like a javelin. “Stand back.”
An uneasy feeling fell over Jenna as Kane lifted the branch and smashed it through the ice. In seconds a pair of ski pants, with one leg pushed up to reveal frozen stark-white flesh clad in a bright blue snow boot, floated just under the surface. “I guess we’ve found Dakota Storm.”
“I’ll call Wolfe.” Kane pulled out his phone.
Jenna frowned. “I’d use the satellite sleeve. If the call cuts out halfway through, Wolfe will figure we’re in trouble.”
She turned to look at Mr. Brightway. His face had drained of color and she led him some distance away. “Do you have a spare key to the chalet? I’ll need to look inside.” She touched his arm to get his attention. “Mr. Brightway… this could be a crime scene. I’ll need the key.”
“I have a master key and can open the door for you, but I’ll need it to gain access around the resort.” Brightway frowned. “I’ll get someone to bring you one of the room service passkeys, but you must return it when you’re through. We have a limited supply for the staff.”
“A passkey will be fine, but this could be a crime scene and I need you to keep everyone away from this cabin.” Jenna walked with him to the door, and when he opened it, she pinned it to a hook on the wall. “Thank you.” She led him down the path. “Go back to the ski lodge and be ready to direct the medical examiner, Dr. Shane Wolfe, here when he arrives. Give him the passkey. Don’t speak to anyone, especially the media
about this. Any leaks at this stage of our investigation will cause a problem. Right now, we don’t know if this is an unfortunate accident or a murder.” She stared at him. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, I do.” Mr. Brightway turned and hurried back down the path without a backward glance.
Jenna turned back to Kane who was staring at the ground. “What is it?”
“I figure the ice under the snow formed after she fell or was pushed into the water. The flow from the falls keeps this water moving, but the sudden cold snap has frozen it solid. That happened early this morning, which means if this is a homicide, there’s a chance there’ll be evidence trapped in the ice layer.” He crouched down and gently brushed away the recent snow, revealing a patch of ice. “That looks like blood spatter. We’ll need to mark this area.” He pulled off his backpack and took out crime scene tape and yellow markers.