Page 32 of Ms. Fortune
Running the lodge was the one goal I’d set for myself. It was the shining light that kept me moving forward when things were at their darkest. Watching it fall apart and fail before I got the chance to make it thrive was a crushing loss. I felt like I’d let my grandparents down—and even worse, proven my parents right. I wasn’t enough. I was in over my head. It didn’t matter that forces were working against me; it seemed like my dream was never meant to be.
Back at the lodge, I spent hours calling guests to tell them their reservations were canceled. I got screamed at, cursed at, hexed. I was told I ruined lives and it was the only family vacation some of them could take for years to come. The verbal abuse was on par with what came from the folks who had been sent to the ER for observation. It was the worst way to start the high season. I knew deep down there was little chance to come back from a blunder as big as this. There was no way to make amends. Once the trust was broken with both my staff and my customers, there was little hope of winning it back. Plus, I couldn’t justify putting people in danger because I was tryingto hold on to something that was rapidly slipping through my fingers.
While I battled on the phone, Risky spent the night combing through video footage and grilling anyone who had gone in and out of the kitchen before the tainted dessert was served. It was hectic and exhausting. I was practically asleep at the computer in the lobby. I felt like I’d spent the night getting beaten up, and one wrong word might make me cry. I’d never been in a hole so deep that I couldn’t see the top. And even if I could see daylight, I was too torn down and tired to try climbing my way out.
Absentmindedly, I started making a list of all the things that had happened once I opened the lodge. It was pretty clear there were two lists. One had incidents I had been lucky to survive, like getting shot at, nearly falling off the deck, the car accident. The other had things that had killed my business but left me breathing just fine—the cameras in the cabins, the computer hack, and now someone tampering with the food. Then there was the outlier—the strange scene down by the river that had started this whole mess. I tapped my fingers on the desk, trying to find a thread that tied any of the incidents together.
Life had been quiet and uneventful before I found Risky on the side of the road. Bringing Risky home felt like it was the catalyst for the big, scary things that were honestly less troublesome to me than the targeted attacks on my business.
Other than him, the only other person who was welcome to wander around all aspects of the lodge was Banner.
I frowned and tapped my fingers harder as weblike recollections started to spin together in my sleepy mind.
The night Banner had fought with her husband and came over directly from his place in Denver, I’d let her and the baby stay in one of the cabins because the rooms in the lodge were full. I remembered that I had been surprised she wanted to stay alone when she was clearly so upset. Thinking back toanother seemingly innocuous action, I recalled Banner being at the computer when I’d logged her in to look at my interview schedule for new hires.
A feeling of dread filled my belly, and disbelief stole my breath.
I was on my feet and searching out Risky before I let any of the suspicions swirling in my head land. It was hard to tell if my hurried actions were fueled by anger or anxiety.
It would make so much more sense if Risky were the culprit behind ruining my life and dashing all my hopes and dreams. He was a stranger. One who had a very shady history that came with who knew how many scorned enemies. He was a drifter and lived his life too carefree. He had nothing to lose if the lodge went under and took me down with it. I wanted to be more distrustful of him, but all he’d done since I’d found him on the side of the road was help me out. I saw the delight on his face as things around the property started to come together and some of the old shine began to show through. I’d never doubted his genuine appreciation for this tiny piece of heaven up in the mountain.
I didn’t want to believe Banner could betray me.
We’d been friends forever, even if we drifted apart after I moved away for college. She’d always been quirky, fun, and mostly reliable. She didn’t have a nefarious bone in her body. Or so I thought.
Banner was the one who had approached me to rekindle our friendship when I moved home. She inserted herself into my life and worked hard to bridge the gap left by my experiences in Denver. She was often my sounding board when dealing with the ever-present trauma gifted by my parents. She knew my strengths and weaknesses better than most, and she’d definitely put in the work to make sure I found her trustworthy and completely nonthreatening.
My chest felt like it was on fire as I stumbled over my uncoordinated feet when I pushed my way into the kitchen.
Risky lifted his head from the phone he had been staring at intently. His eyes widened when he saw my frantic state.
“The video footage from last night—” I panted the words and nearly skidded to a halt next to him. I frowned when I banged my elbow on the stainless-steel counter. “Is Banner in it? When she was mixing the frosting for the cupcakes that made everyone sick, did she put something in the batter?”
His eyebrows lifted, and a flash of surprise crossed his features. “There are too many blind spots in the kitchen. Plus, she went into the walk-in cooler empty-handed and came out with the mixing bowl full of ingredients. Why are you suddenly asking about your friend?”
There was a bite to his tone that made me realize he was further along in putting together the puzzle than I was.
I shoved my hands through my hair in frustration. “There’s nothing on the security footage? That makes things tricky.”
“Lucky, why are you pointing fingers at Banner?”
I sighed and tried to peek at whatever he had been looking at on the phone. “I made a list of all the events leading up to the food poisoning. I was trying to see if I was blind and missing an obvious thread that tied everything together. When it was written down in front of me, the only person who was there at each mishap was Banner. She was alone in the cabin before you found the cameras. She had access to my computer. I watched her help in the kitchen right before everyone got sick.” I shook my head. “I don’t have a reasonable explanation as to why she’d want to see the lodge close again, but it’s too much of a coincidence that her hands were all over the things that have been going wrong lately.”
Risky grunted his agreement and asked, “Why don’t you suspect me? I’ve also been in all the places Banner has been.”
I nudged him with my hip and rolled my eyes at him. “You saved me from getting shot that day in the valley. Why would you save me, then turn around and torture me by ruining my grand reopening? And you’re the only person who suggested moving the deed for the property into a trust. If I do that, no one benefits if I’m gone or the business goes under.” I just hadn’t found a free moment with everything going on to take care of the paperwork and legalities yet.
I must’ve said what he’d wanted to hear because a moment later, he pushed the phone in my direction and tapped on the screen.
“The security cameras didn’t catch anything, but your new chef is a social media star. He’s got a pretty big following that he livestreams all of his kitchen shifts to.”
He moved his finger across the display to fast-forward the recorded stream. He stopped when the image of the chef walking into the large cooler to grab ingredients filled the screen. He slowed the recording down, and I watched with my heart in my throat as Banner guiltily jumped, dropping a small glass bottle. She hurriedly bent to pick up the container and joked with the chef about it being so cold in the cooler that her fingers didn’t want to work. Banner hadn’t realized she was being recorded.
Risky paused the video and enlarged the image so we could look at the label on the bottle in her hand.
“Ipecac.” Risky swore. “No wonder everyone who had a cupcake tossed their cookies. Ipecac is used to induce vomiting if someone’s been poisoned or ingested something toxic. It’s strong, and it works fast, but it’s hard to come by. I’ll track down if Banner or anyone close to her recently tried to get their hands on it.”
I blew out a breath and curled my fingers into a fist. Fury blazed up the back of my throat and nearly choked me.
