“It would certainly explain Jeremiah’s connection with Howard. And the fact that Howard invited him to the resort,” Jo said.

  “Maybe, but if Jeremiah was his son, why wouldn’t he tell us?” Eddy asked.

  “Maybe, he didn’t know. Or maybe, he killed Howard when he found out.” Jo sighed. “Having an absent parent suddenly come into your life could be traumatic enough to cause a rash reaction.”

  “What about Ben though?” Eddy tapped the face on the screen.

  “Don’t touch!” Walt grimaced.

  “Sorry. But Ben seems to know an awful lot about Howard.”

  “And again, if he knew he was Howard’s son, he didn’t tell us.” Jo pursed her lips. “We have a bigger problem, too.”

  “What’s that?” Samantha glanced away from the screen.

  “As long as Carlisle believes that Howard is alive, whoever is actually Howard’s son, is in danger. Carlisle might get desperate and grab him, or hurt him in some way.”

  “Then we need to find out who he is. We know that Jeremiah has a connection with Howard, and Ben knows quite a bit about him. I guess the best we can do is ask each of them,” Eddy said.

  “But what if they don’t know?” Walt looked between his friends. “Maybe Howard never had the chance to tell them. I think our best bet is to see if we can find the mother. If we connect the mother to Howard, then we should be able to find the son.”

  “All right, but the murder mystery is going to begin soon, and we need to be there,” Samantha said.

  “You three head down, I’m going to keep doing some research. If I figure out who Howard’s son is, I’ll text you,” Walt said.

  “Okay, Sam, you and Jo go ahead. There’s something I want to check on, then I will meet you at the café,” Eddy said.

  “Okay, see you there.” Jo held the door for Samantha. They walked down the hallway to the elevator in silence.

  “Are you okay, Sam?”

  “I don’t know. I guess, it was easier to think of Howard just as some drunken gambler with no one to miss him. Now that I know he had a son, it makes things more real I guess.”

  “Yes, I wonder if his son even had the chance to meet him.” Jo frowned. “Some secrets we carry, aren’t meant to be buried with us.”

  In the elevator on the way down to the lobby, Jo took a call. She excused herself as she stepped out of the elevator. Samantha walked over to the front wall of the lobby. It had been some time since she actually looked out the window. The blanket of white that covered everything she could see dazzled her. In just hours, the entire landscape around the resort had been transformed. Even though it was daylight, the sky was dark with heavy clouds. Snow swirled past the glass in a constant barrage of mystical white flakes. It was beautiful, but also intimidating. Already, the snow was piled up to the base of the windows, and with the speed of the snowfall it appeared it would continue to pile even higher. When she stepped closer to the window she could hear the wind howl past. It wasn’t just an ordinary snowfall. It was a fierce storm, prepared to bring the entire area to its knees.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Jo stepped up beside her.

  “Yes, it is.” Samantha frowned. “But also a little frightening. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much snow.”

  “Don’t worry, it’s supposed to stop in the next hour or two, then the plows will get to work.”

  “I guess we might not be staying that extra day.”

  “It depends on how much progress the plows are able to make. Some of the roads we took in may take a while for the plows to clear.”

  “Do you think that Howard could be out there?” Samantha’s eyes widened.

  “What do you mean? You believe he might have gotten drunk and wandered out?”

  “No, but maybe the killer had time to hide his body out there somewhere. If so, then we may never find the body. Or at least not for a long time. Any evidence will be ruined by the snow.”

  “It’s a possibility, but I’m hoping that’s not the case. It makes me uneasy to think that we’re trapped here with a murderer. The closer we get to finding Howard’s body, the more nervous the murderer is going to be,” Jo commented.

  “I agree. At any moment the murderer could panic and decide to do something rash. Is Bart any closer to helping us with this?”

  “He’s still claiming that Howard was just drunk, that there never was a murder, so no.”

  “Okay, then we’re going to have to ramp up our investigation. I think we should talk to Jennifer again. It’s just too convenient that she showed up now, and she had the motive of missing money, and bitterness for the failed marriage. Everyone else we suspect was just out for money. Killing Howard wouldn’t get them that.”

  “That’s true. But if they knew he didn’t have the money to pay back, they might have decided to use him as an example.”

  “Then why hide the body? Wouldn’t they want the murder to be known?”

  “Maybe they realized that they had no way out and they hid the body to try to protect themselves.”

  “Maybe.” Samantha shook her head. “Something just feels like it’s missing here. Poor guy had more targets on him than anyone I’ve ever known.”

  “A lifetime of mistakes can certainly lead to that.”

  “Let’s head to the café, that’s where the murder mystery starts. Eddy is waiting to regroup with us there and plan out our next steps.”

  “All right. Any news from Walt on Howard’s son?”

  “No, not yet. Maybe Eddy knows something.”

  Jo led the way to the café, where Eddy and several other people were gathered waiting for the murder mystery to start.

  “Any news, Eddy?” Samantha sat down beside him.

  “Walt said he’s found a woman that Howard saw a few times, and right now he’s tracking down whether she had any children. We should know something soon. I think the best idea is for us to just play along with the murder mystery. That will give the impression to anyone observing that we’ve given up on the real murder mystery. Maybe someone will let their guard down.”

  “Okay, you two solve the mystery. I’m going to go check out the storage room by the dining hall again. If Carlisle did have something to do with this then he might have used that room to stash the body somehow,” Jo said.

  “All right, be careful.” Samantha met her eyes. “Make sure that you check in with us before you go anywhere else.”

  “I will. You and Eddy make sure that you win that cruise, and keep an eye on anyone acting suspicious.”

  “Will do.” Eddy nodded. “As Sam said, be careful.”

  18

  Jo walked off towards the bar as her friends stayed at the café. She wondered if Carlisle would tolerate another run-in with her. This time she planned to avoid being seen by him. When she neared the bar she noticed that the camera that usually pointed to the door had been turned away from it. Her heartbeat quickened, she had put the camera back in its original position so someone had to have moved it. Which meant that someone was up to something. She slipped into the bar, which was empty, then into the storage room. As quietly as she could she backed into the shadows and surveyed the room. Maybe someone was in there with her, already hiding. After a few minutes of silence she decided that there was no one else there. She began to look through the storage area, then crossed over into the kitchen section. One of the large freezers had an out of order sign on it. She stared at it for a long moment. If she wanted to hide a body, somewhere that no one would see or smell it, a freezer would be a good option.

  An out of order freezer would be the best idea. If it wasn’t actually broken. She walked over to the freezer and placed her hand on the side of it. Right away she felt her skin cool. If the freezer was out of order, why was it still plugged in? Why was it still so cold? She bit into her bottom lip as she reached for the handle. When she opened the door there would either be a body or a lot of spoiled meat. She wasn’t sure which she preferred. A part of her still held on to a small sense of hope that Howard might be alive.

  Jo tugged at the handle until the door swung open. Right away she was hit with a blast of cold air. There was no way the freezer wasn’t doing its job. The space beyond the door was just large enough to be considered a walk-in freezer. There were several large blocks of ice, but no food. She inched a little further in, while trying to make sure that the door stayed open behind her. Beyond a few blocks of ice she noticed something much darker. Her stomach twisted as she realized it was a bedspread identical to the one she’d slept under the night before. Why would anyone put a bedspread in a freezer? They wouldn’t.

  Jo took a deep breath and stepped all the way into the freezer. It was easy to see that there was something hidden beneath the bedspread. She grabbed the corner of it, and tugged. But the bedspread was frozen to the floor, and to whatever was under it. She tugged again, and this time it was hard enough to discover a pair of shoes under the bedspread. Her stomach churned again as she noted the feet that were tucked into the shoes. This was definitely a dead body. This was definitely Howard.

  “Jo?” The voice echoed from the entrance of the storage area. She recognized it right away as Bart’s. Had he stashed the body in here to hide it? What would he do if he found out that she discovered it? Her heart raced as she backed out of the freezer. She pushed the door closed and turned to face Bart just as he walked up to her. “What are you doing in here?”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “I saw you on the camera. I wanted to see what you were up to.”

  “Well, that’s a little unsettling. Are you watching me now?”

  “I just wanted to be sure you were safe.” He reached out to take her hand, and gasped when his fingertips grazed it. “You’re so cold. Were you outside?”

  “No, I just, uh. I was looking for some ice cream. You know, stress eating.”

  “Ah.” He nodded. “I’m very familiar with that myself. Here, let me show you where the chef hides his stash. It’s the best Dutch chocolate you’ll ever taste.”

  “That’s okay, I think my sweet tooth has passed. I’m just going to head up to my room.”

  “All right. Are you sure you’re okay? Did something happen?”

  “No, nothing. It just hit me that I’m not really hungry, I’m just tired.”

  “I’ll walk you up.”

  “Great, that would be nice.” As they left the storage room she glanced back over her shoulder for just a moment. Now that she knew where Howard was, the question was, who else did? If Bart knew the body was there, he was hiding it well. She was tempted to tell him what she found, but she couldn’t be sure if she could trust him. In the elevator on the way to the second floor, she rubbed her hands together to warm them.

  “I know you’re up to something, Jo. Whatever it is, I can help you if you need it. You don’t need to see me as your enemy.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Then, what were you really doing in the storage room?” He looked into her eyes.

  “Like I said, I wanted a snack.”

  He reached over and pushed the emergency stop button on the elevator. Her heart jumped up into her throat. Maybe he knew what she found. Maybe he was the one who put Howard in the freezer.

  “Why don’t you start telling me the truth? Is it because you don’t trust anyone in a position of authority?”

  “Excuse me? What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the update that you and your friends promised me. I know that you’re on to something. I want to know what it is.”

  “Why? According to you Howard’s out there somewhere under a snow drift.”

  “Maybe I have reason to believe otherwise now.”

  “What reason?” She studied him.

  “Is there a reason you’re holding back information? You keep looking at me as if I’ve done something wrong.”

  “I don’t know. Have you? Maybe you wanted to protect the reputation of the resort no matter what it took to do that?”

  “I can’t believe that you would even consider that.”

  “Why not?” She stood her ground as he took a step towards her.

  “You think I’m a murderer?”

  “Maybe not. Maybe you just hid Howard’s body to protect the resort.”

  “Wow!” He stared at her, then turned and restarted the elevator. “Never mind. I can handle the investigation on my own. Obviously, you’ve decided who I am based on a short time of knowing me. On the other hand, I know that you’ve committed crimes in the past, and yet, I didn’t assume that you were still a criminal. So which of us should be trusted?” The elevator lurched into motion. Jo grabbed on to the railing and watched him as he stared hard at the elevator doors. Had she misjudged him?

  “All I’m trying to do is find out what happened to Howard. What new information do you have?”

  “Like I said, if I’m on my own, then so are you.” He stepped off the elevator and headed down the hallway. She stepped off the elevator and followed after him.

  “Bart wait.”

  “What is it?” He looked over his shoulder. “Are you ready to tell me the truth?”

  “The plows are going to be here soon, and then we’ll be leaving. Are you just going to pretend that Howard wasn’t killed? Are you going to tell the police to investigate a murder, or a missing person?”

  “That’s entirely up to the evidence, isn’t it?” He stared hard into her eyes. “Unless you have anything new to add, I can only assume that Howard is missing. I’m sorry if that disappoints you.”

  “That’s all I need to know.” She started to walk towards her room, when she turned around and saw that Bart was no longer in sight she walked towards the stairs instead. She walked back down the stairs to the lobby. If he wasn’t willing to even consider the idea that Howard was dead, then she didn’t trust him. Any good security officer, or detective, would at least consider it. At least, she thought they would. In the hallway on the way to the lobby she caught sight of Eddy as he stepped out of the stairwell.

  “Eddy! Over here.” Jo waved to him as she approached him.

  “Jo, what is it? Did you find something?”

  “Yes, I did, sh.” She glanced over her shoulder to be sure no one was close enough to hear her. “I found him.” She tugged on his arm until he was away from a woman who hurried towards the lobby, most likely to catch the tail end of the murder mystery.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I found Howard.”

  “Are you kidding?”

  “No. He’s in a freezer in the storage room behind the bar.” She shuddered at the memory. “It has a sign on it that says out of order. No one would have bothered to look in there. I decided to take a peek and I found him, very much dead.”

  “This is great news, well I mean, not great news, but at least we know what happened to him now.”

  “No, we really don’t. All we know is where he is. How are we going to find out who put him there?”

  “Have you told anyone about finding the body?” Eddy asked.

  “No, just you. But Bart suspects something. I was afraid to tell him, in case he’s the one who put Howard there.”

  “Now that we know where Howard’s body is hidden we can hopefully use that to figure out who killed him.”

  “The freezer is in the same room I was in when Carlisle and his goons were arguing,” Jo said.

  “They could have stashed the body there.”

  “Yes, it’s possible, but when I spoke with Carlisle he seemed to be genuinely surprised at the thought of Howard being dead.”

  “That can be faked, easily.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Let’s gather everyone and see if we can get to the bottom of this,” Eddy suggested.

  “Where’s Sam?”

  “She is still solving the murder mystery, I went to snoop around while most of the people were preoccupied with the mystery.”

  “All right, I’ll grab Samantha and Walt. Where are we going to meet?”

  “Your room?” Eddy suggested.

  “No, there’s cameras everywhere. If Bart suspects that we know something he will likely be watching where we go. I think he said one of the few places that doesn’t have a camera is the dining hall. It’s still too early for dinner so it should be empty. Let’s meet there.”

  “Okay, I’m going to check on the body and make sure it’s still there.”

  “Eddy, do you think that’s a good idea? What if someone sees you?”

  “Did you get any pictures of the body?”

  “No, I didn’t. Bart was right outside, so I had to hurry.”

  “I understand, but I need some pictures of Howard’s body in case whoever put him there decides to move him again. I’m going to have proof this time, that he’s dead.”

  “All right, but be fast and be careful of the door.”

  “Okay, I will be.” He headed off towards the storage room.

  19

  After Jo texted Walt to meet her she walked towards the lobby. She could hear the questioning being conducted for the murder mystery. One voice was quite familiar.

  “Sir Duncan, you claim that you were in the spa during the time of the murder, but upon review with the staff members that operate the spa, they insist that the spa was closed for repairs at that time. So dear sir, how could you have been in the spa if it was closed?”

  “All right, All right, I wasn’t in the spa.”

  The crowd gasped. Sir Duncan, played by Jeremiah, began to pace back and forth.

  “Tell us the truth, Sir Duncan. Where were you? Why did you lie?” Samantha asked.

  “I cannot!” Sir Duncan turned his back on Samantha.

  “Then you must be the killer!” One of the women from the event planning committee waved her hand through the air. “I want to solve the murder! It was Sir Duncan!”

  “No wait!” Samantha shook her head. “Give him a chance to defend himself. Sir Duncan?”