Page 18 of A Christmas to Die For
"Phoebe's right," Mara agrees. "But we could cover more ground. Let me check my itinerary."
The snow has settled into a hushed blanket over the dreary mountainside. The wind has quieted too, leaving only the occasional soft drift of flakes as they float lazily to the ground. This might be our best chance to interview the townsfolk before it picks up again. We can't afford to wait too long. It feels like the calm before the storm, and we need to move while we still can.
"I call dibs on Chet," I say, raising my hand like he's up for grabs.
"You would. Fine, I'll visit the convenience store. What about you, Phoebe?"
"Do you care if I do a little work and research from the room?" she asks.
"Knock yourself out. Keep your location tracking on and text if you need anything, cool?"
Heading back to the check-in desk to see what I can squeeze outof Chet, I also send Aiden a quick text.
I see bubbles appear as he's typing something out, but then they disappear. They reappear in a quick burst, and then they're gone.
Shit, was the term of endearment too much?
I don't receive a reply for five minutes before I realize I'm wasting time. What the hell am I doing? I'm about to ruin a friendship that means so much to me. I know when Phoebe finds out, or if she finds out, I'll be dead to her. I'll have to find someone else to edit out all my "umms," someone I won't love as much as I love the two friends here on this wild goose chase. I wonder if Mara will drop me when she finds out I can't be trusted. Our little tripod is threatening to fall, and it's all my fault.
I'm focused on my phone, not paying attention to where I'm going. As I keep my eyes on the screen, I collide with someone on my lonely trek to the front office.
"Excuse me," she apologizes, both of us grabbing each other's elbows to keep from slipping on the snow.
We both laugh, guilty of not looking where we're going and being lost in our phones.
"I'm so sorry." I lean on her a bit longer to regain my balance. This snow and ice are a nightmare to walk on.
"No, my fault. Hey, were you coming from six?"
"Yes, my girlfriends and I are here for a fewnights. You?"
"Oh, I live here in town. I was visiting my boyfriend, Chet. We live onsite, in cabin one."
Must be weird living where you work, but I guess it's no different than a property manager at an apartment complex.
"I'm Sabrina." I extend my puffy gloved hand to hers.
"Hi, I'm Jessica."
"So, you live here? What's it like?" I ask, figuring I can use this as an excuse to talk to the locals and see if she has any dirt to share.
"It's amazing if you love snow," Jessica chuckles, offering little else. "Will you go skiing while you're here?"
Since she's not giving me much to work with, I decide to keep our plans to myself.
"I hope to. Hey, when we were driving in, some creep helped us. He lives off Deadwood Grove? Chet said no one has lived there for a long time, but the guy freaked us out. Pretty sure he'd get caught for indecent exposure, if you get what I'm saying? We just saw him walking around the town and it has us all pretty spooked. Should we call the police?"
"Huh, I really don't know who that could be."
She's lying. I may not be great at a lot of things, but I can see the way her eyes drift up to the right, like she's hiding something. I know my judge of character hasn't been ten for ten, and sure, Mara thinks I'm helpless, but I can see she's holding back.
I let an awkward pause stretch between us, waiting for her to give me something else. Instead, she says, "Well, I better get going. Enjoyyour time here."
"Will do. I need to go talk to Chet about something anyway." I dangle that in the air like a threat, something for her to worry about since she seemed to be worthless after all.
Jessica. I'll have to tell the girls that, whoever she is, she gave me nothinguseful.
As I make my way through the streets from our room, the sun starts to peek through the clouds, and I feel its warmth cutting through my layers, just enough to make the walk bearable.
