Page 15 of The Anniversary Party

Hank pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Nothing that jumped out. There’s a wet spot on the kitchen floor near the stove. Probably from the wassail spill.”

Sasha rubbed her hands along her arms, trying to generate some warmth through friction. “Speaking of wassail—”

Naya grinned. “Say no more. Bodhi, want to lend me a hand in the kitchen?”

He padded across the floor in his wool socks. “Lead the way.”

The kitchen door was still swinging shut in their wake when someone pounded on the front door. Sasha jumped. Hank moved to the narrow sidelight to the right of the door and peered through the glass.

“It’s Aroostine and Chris,” he announced as he opened the door.

They tromped inside, stamping the snow off their boots.

Chris ripped his gloves off and rubbed his hands together vigorously. “Brr.”

Sasha knew the feeling. “Hot wassail? Or are you still abstaining?”

“Pour it right down my gullet,” he answered.

Aroostine blinked the snow from her eyelashes. Her cheeks were rosy and raw. “Wonder if there’s tea in the kitchen?”

“I’m sure there is. I’ll fix you a cup,” Leo told her. “You’re probably frozen through.”

“Wait. Let me update everyone at once. Well, the three of you, at least.”

“Bodhi and Naya are in the kitchen. Should I get them?”

“Might as well. And if you’re going anyway, I wouldn’t say no to that tea.”

“Consider it done.”

She busied herself removing her layers of outdoor gear while Naya and Bodhi carried a tray of drinks, nuts, fruits, and cheese into the library. Leo pressed a mug of tea into Aroostine’s hands and handed Chris and Sasha each a glass of wassail. Hank directed them to the semi-circle of chairs arranged around the fire, and they made themselves comfortable.

When Naya and Bodhi joined them, Aroostine took a final sip of her tea and said without preamble, “Chris and I searched the woods until we reached the ravine.”

“There’s a ravine?” Hank asked.

“Yeah.” Chris nodded. “It’s hard to gauge the distance with all the blowing snow, but it’s probably a mile from the cottage. A bit further from the farm manager’s house.”

“Give or take. At the bottom of the ravine, there’s a stream. I’d say it’s twenty, twenty-five feet wide. It’s mostly frozen, but there was some water churning. On the other side, there’s a steep hill up to more woods that back up to the road we came in on.” Aroostine summarized the topography, tracing the shapes in the air with one finger as she spoke.

“Did you see anyone? Or anything?” Leo asked.

“No. No signs that the killer escaped into the woods. Of course, the snow’s coming down so fast, and the wind’s blowing hard, so if therehadbeen footprints, they’d been covered or swept away by now, anyway. There were also no broken branches, disturbed bushes or leaves, or cigarette butts or other debris. Nothing to suggest a human went into the woods.”

Sasha eyed her friend. “I sense a ‘but.’”

Aroostine and Chris exchanged a long look. Then she said, “But there’s reason to believe Rex’s killer is still on the property.”

“Why?” Sasha pressed as they all leaned forward, intent and alert.

“We stopped at the barn to check it out. It was locked up tight, but the tool shed behind it wasn’t. The door was wide open, hanging off its hinges. Therewerefootprints in the shed. But they were overlapping, so it’s hard to say much about the shoes that made them.”

“Except Roo’s sure there was just one set,” Chris interjected.

“Right. One set. They led to a snowmobile.”

“There’s a snowmobile?” Bodhi’s excitement was palpable. “One of us can go for help.”

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