“All right, all right, I’ll go grab the staff member.”

  As soon as he walked off, Eddy reached for the door. But before he could grab it, the door popped open. Eddy gasped and stumbled backwards as Jo sprang forward and nearly bumped into him.

  “Oops, sorry Eddy.” Jo caught herself on the wall, then caught him by the elbow to steady him. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

  “I think I have some idea.” He quirked a brow. “What were you doing in there?”

  “Not now, we need to get out of here before those guys come back. They’re bad news.” She quickly turned the camera by the bar door back to the position she had found it in.

  “They were just delivering room service.”

  “That might be what they’re pretending to do, but trust me, that’s not what is happening here. We need to go.”

  “All right, let’s go back to your room, Walt and Samantha are already there.”

  “Okay.” Jo grimaced as her sore legs struggled to support her. She wasn’t sure exactly how long she’d been in the cabinet, but she knew that it was long enough to cause quite a bit of pain. They walked into the room just as Samantha hung up the phone.

  “Jennifer Candin, that’s the woman in room 217.” She turned to face Eddy and Jo.

  “Interesting, but what’s even more interesting, is where I found Jo. She was wedged into the cabinet of a metal cart.”

  “What?” Samantha rushed over to her. “Are you okay?”

  “I opened the door expecting to find a dead body, and out popped Jo.”

  “Jo, it’s not good for you to put so much strain on your body.” Walt studied her.

  “I think it would have been worse for those four men to get their hands on me. That would have put a lot more strain on my body.”

  “Oh Jo! What happened?” Samantha grabbed her hand.

  “I broke into the bar, as planned. Then went into the shared storage space, and there was a guy in there throwing a full on temper tantrum. He was kicking things, throwing things, he broke the nose of one of his men.”

  “What guy?” Eddy narrowed his eyes.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know, I think they called him Carlisle. But whoever he was, he was bad. The men working under him were terrified of him, basically under the threat of death if they disobeyed. He was very upset with them.” She recounted the conversation as well as she could remember it.

  “That sounds similar to what I overheard. Except, in my case, it wasn’t as violent,” Eddy said.

  “It seems to me that several people are missing one particular man. Do you think it’s possible that they’re all looking for the same person, the victim that we’re looking for?” Walt looked between his friends.

  “I’m not sure. No one actually said his name. Actually, one person did. A man who was very drunk. He mentioned to me that he was looking for Howard, and said that they always get drunk together during blizzards,” Samantha said.

  “Our Howard?” Eddy raised an eyebrow.

  “I think it must be. He said that his friend was an actor in the murder mystery as well.”

  “So he’s a drunk, like the head of security claimed.” Jo frowned. “Maybe he really is just missing.”

  “If he’s a drunk and just missing, he certainly has a lot of enemies looking for him,” Walt said.

  “We don’t know that yet. No one said for sure who they were looking for.” Samantha began to pace. “I think we need to spend some time finding out as much as we can about Howard. Clearly, we’re not going to find his body.”

  “Are you back to thinking there never was a body?” Eddy sighed.

  “No, I’m not thinking that at all. But what I am thinking is that at this point it’s going to be easier to focus on who might have killed Howard, instead of where his body is. Finding his body isn’t really going to change much is it?”

  “At least the security team will start taking me more seriously.” Eddy crossed his arms.

  “Maybe, but they still won’t be able to bring the police in, we’re snowed in. Not much will change if we find the body, other than that the murderer will know that he or she is about to get caught,” Samantha said.

  “That’s true. As long as there is no evidence of a crime the murderer is going to feel confident, as if the crime will never be solved. That will change the moment the body is found,” Jo said.

  “And let’s keep in mind that by tomorrow afternoon, if Howard doesn’t turn up, people are going to start putting two and two together on their own. I mean, where else could he be? No one can leave.” Walt opened his computer. “Let’s find out what we can about Howard.”

  “A last name would be a good start,” Eddy said.

  “I might know how to get that,” Samantha said. “Can you search the murder mystery on the computer, Walt. It might have the names of the actors.”

  “Sure.” Walt typed away on the computer. “Bingo! Howard Brance.”

  “Good work, Walt!” Eddy glanced at his watch. “I’ll see if I can find someone to talk to about Howard, but it’s getting late.”

  “Can I quickly use your computer first to do some research on Jennifer Candin?” Samantha looked at Walt.

  “Of course.”

  “And I am going to take a bath.” Jo rubbed her arms. “I need to relax my muscles after that tight fit. Does anyone mind?”

  “No, of course not. Be sure to wash the tub out first though, who knows who bathed in there last.” Walt shuddered.

  “Thanks for that, Walt.” Jo rolled her eyes. “If you find anything out just let us know, Eddy, I can be out of the bath in a snap.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Jo. We probably won’t have much to go on until tomorrow. I’ll find out what I can about Howard though,” Eddy said.

  When Eddy left the room he could feel a pressure building deep inside him. For the first time he questioned himself. Was it possible that he didn’t see what he thought he saw? All of his friends were supporting him, but what if he was wrong? Maybe Howard really was alive, and the entire search had been a waste of what could have been relaxation time.

  9

  On his way to the lobby, Eddy paused in the dining hall. It was still empty. He stared at the place on the floor where he’d first seen the body. The memory of it flashed through his mind. In that second, he realized that he’d seen Howard before. In the bar. He refused the offer of an alcoholic drink from Ben, the bartender. He just wanted water. But the person Samantha talked to, claimed he was a heavy drinker. That was a little odd. But the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that the body on the floor belonged to the same man he’d seen in the bar. He shivered as he realized he was one of the last people to see Howard alive.

  As Eddy turned to leave the dining hall he noticed a shadow cast by someone in the adjoining hallway. For an instant he froze. He thought he was alone, and hadn’t even sensed that there was someone else there. That was unusual for him. Maybe his instincts really were off. As he rounded the corner he nearly walked into the man who approached. He recognized him right away. It was the bartender.

  “Hey, Eddy right?”

  “Yes. Ben?”

  “You’ve got it. What are you doing out wandering this late?”

  “I’m having a hard time sleeping.”

  “Oh, that’s right, you’re the one that thought you saw a body, right?” He locked eyes with Eddy. “What exactly did you see?”

  “I saw a body, Howard’s body, to be specific.”

  “Howard, the actor?”

  “Yes, the man who was in your bar not long before I saw him dead on the floor in the dining hall.”

  “But it was a mistake.” Ben chuckled. “Obviously, dead men don’t get up and walk away.”

  “They’re not supposed to be able to, no. However, that does appear to be what happened here.”

  “Maybe he’s a zombie?” Ben laughed again.

  “I doubt that. But I do think that someone managed to move the body before I had the chance to get help. Maybe you could tell me a little bit about Howard. Did you know him well?”

  “Pretty well. I mean, I know all of the actors pretty well. They like to hang out in the bar.”

  “I noticed that Howard declined your offer for a drink. Was he sober?”

  “I doubt it. He’d been talking about it, but no one really took him seriously. In fact, my best bet as to where he is right this second, would be that he’s passed out somewhere, sleeping off a very large amount of alcohol.”

  “So, you think he wasn’t being serious in the bar? He was just putting on a show?”

  “Maybe. It’s hard to say for sure. This is his first show back after some time off so maybe he did change, but I doubt it. But anyway, he isn’t the most reliable. He is always making some kind of declaration, but then he doesn’t follow through with it.”

  “I bet that upset quite a few people. Did you notice him having problems with anyone in particular?”

  “You’d be better off asking who he doesn’t have problems with. Everyone is after Howard.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s in debt up to his eyeballs, from what I understand, and to dangerous people.”

  “Like?”

  “Like loan sharks, and casinos, and anyone who has ever loaned him money.”

  “Poor guy, sounds like he’s had a rough time.”

  “He brings it on himself. He gets drunk, and makes bad choices. Then everyone else has to pay for it. I can’t tell you how many times he didn’t show up in time for a show or a rehearsal.”

  “That must upset his co-workers.”

  “Yes, it does. But most of them are used to it. If he doesn’t show up they just scramble to find someone to cover him.”

  “Why doesn’t he get fired?”

  “Because, he’s a really good actor. Even though they get annoyed with him, no one wants him gone.”

  “Well, at least he has one talent then.”

  “Yes, he does.” Ben frowned. “Sorry if it sounds like I’m putting him down. It’s just that I want you to understand, if you made a mistake, it’s not your fault. He’s a great actor, and an even more talented drunk.”

  “I appreciate that, but I didn’t make a mistake. Do you think there’s some way I could speak with the other actors in his group?”

  “Sure. They have breakfast together in the café at six on show days. If you are willing to get up early you can catch them for autographs.”

  “Great. I think I’ll do that.” Eddy nodded his head. “What about a girlfriend? He must have someone around here that he likes to spend time with.”

  “No one in particular that I know of. He used to spend time with a few different women, but I rarely saw him with a woman more than a few times. Lately, I haven’t seen him with anyone.”

  “All right, thanks for the information.”

  “Sure. Like I said, don’t be down on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, especially around here. Come see me after lunch tomorrow, I’ll hook you up with a great dark beer that I only keep for special customers.”

  “That sounds delicious. Thanks again.” Eddy headed back to the second floor. As determined as he was to solve the case he realized he’d hit a dead end for the night. No one was going to give him any more information even if he managed to wake them up. Instead he headed back to the room.

  10

  Samantha only had to dig a little bit in order to get a lead on Jennifer. “Well, it’s not too hard to figure out who Jennifer Candin is.” She sat back in the chair, and looked up at Walt. “She is Howard’s ex-wife.”

  “How did you find that out?” Walt pulled up a chair beside her.

  “It wasn’t hard. She has a public profile online, and she listed more than one last name. I followed that to the record of her marriage, and discovered that she’s recently divorced from Howard Brance.”

  “Wow. That sounds like motive to me.”

  “There’s more. It seems that the divorce was pretty messy. I should say, it was a massacre.”

  “Oh? How so?”

  “From what I gathered from her rants, he was a drunk with a gambling problem. He gambled most of their savings. She won everything in the divorce. House, car, cat.”

  “Oh, not the cat.” Walt chuckled.

  “I was also able to get some financial information on him from one of my old contacts. So you can use your magic skills to use that information to get more information.”

  “Well done!” It always surprised Walt how Samantha managed to get information. Her past as an investigative journalist still meant she had some very handy contacts.

  “Thanks.” Samantha smiled at his enthusiasm.

  “Okay, let me work my magic and I’ll see what I can find out about their financial situations. It seems pretty clear that Howard was left with nothing, but if that’s the case, what motive would Jennifer have to kill him?”

  “Maybe just the bitterness over a bad marriage?” She frowned. “But it does seem odd that she would go to all of this trouble to hunt him down, just to kill him. I don’t see how she benefits from it, unless she just wanted to settle a score of some kind.”

  “I guess that’s also a possibility. Maybe he hurt her so much that she wanted revenge. Maybe there were things that went on in their marriage that she can’t forgive and move on from. It’s not logical, but relationships aren’t always logical.”

  “That’s for sure.” Samantha switched into Walt’s seat so that he could sit in front of the computer. She barely noticed as he wiped off the keyboard before he began to type. Walt’s habits rarely drew her attention anymore. Now that Walt had Howard’s full name and some financial records, it wasn’t hard for him to begin to pull together his financial profile. One of the first things that he noticed was that Howard had several closed accounts on his credit report. Some were in good standing, but most were due to lack of funds, and some had fees piling up. His credit was low as a result of missed payments, and also several open and maxed credit cards.

  “This isn’t looking good for Howard.” Walt frowned. “This man was losing money left and right.”

  “I imagine he must be paid pretty well for his role here.”

  “You would think, but as it looks right now, I’m not seeing anything but loss. I’m not sure where he’s putting his paychecks, but none of it is being used to pay off his debts. I can’t track his recent spending, because none of it seems to have been done through a bank account or credit card. The only thing I did find on him recently is that he purchased a plane ticket. However, I don’t think that the ticket was for him. It was for someone else.”

  “Jennifer?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that the flight originated in Colorado, and flew here. There’s no record of a flight out, so I can only assume that someone was flying in.”

  “Maybe.”

  Walt continued to skim through the information that he found. When he clucked his tongue, Samantha looked over at him.

  “What is it?”

  “It appears that our friend had a problem with a casino. I see several legal actions taken against him by one casino in particular, Sheron’s.”

  “Sheron’s? Isn’t that in Nevada?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Any evidence that Howard was in Nevada?”

  “Let me take a look.” As Walt continued to search, the door to the room swung open. Eddy walked in and sat down at the table with them, but remained silent as Walt held up a finger. After some time, Walt lowered it. “It appears that Howard was engaging in online gambling, which explains what happened to his paychecks. Sheron’s offers a direct payment service and paychecks can be deposited electronically into the system.”

  “He was depositing his entire paycheck into a gambling account?” Samantha gasped. “He must have been drunk to do something like that.”

  “That’s what he was doing, until he lost big, I don’t see any record of any further deposits. However, he has an outstanding balance of three hundred thousand dollars.”

  “Three hundred thousand?” Eddy looked between the two of them. “That’s a huge amount of dough.”

  “Yes it is, and the owner of Sheron’s has a reputation for ensuring that all debts are paid. The posts I’m reading are vague, but all imply violence.”

  “I wonder if that might have been who Eddy overheard in the hallway,” Samantha said.

  “It could be. Would a casino owner come all this way to collect?” Eddy shook his head. “Seems like a stretch.”

  “Maybe for most, but Tad Billings, the owner of Sheron’s, is known for taking things personally,” Walt said.

  “One of the men I overheard on the third floor had a very powerful demeanor. So, maybe Sam is right and it was him,” Eddy said.

  “Now that we have some names we might be able to check the guest registry.” Samantha jotted down the name of the owner of Sheron’s. “If he owes money to so many people, the suspect list could be endless.”

  “True, but the thing to keep in mind is that whoever killed Howard, did so in this resort, and is very likely still trapped here in this resort,” Eddy said.

  “Don’t forget about the wife.” Jo stepped out of the bathroom. She rubbed a towel through her hair. “Sorry, I was listening in. We know the ex-wife is here, we don’t know who else is here. It’s possible the guys in the storage room were from a casino, and just as possible that they work for a loan shark. The key is, everyone wanted money from Howard.”

  “Even the wife?” Eddy stood up from the table. “Did he swindle her out of a settlement?”

  “No actually. The wife made out very well in the divorce.” Walt tapped his fingertips together. “We considered that perhaps the motive had more to do with emotion than with money.”

  “Maybe.” Eddy shook his head. “Without more information, there’s nowhere we can go with any of this.”

  “I think our best solution at the moment might be to call it a night.” Samantha stifled a yawn. “Our minds will be sharper in the morning, and maybe by that time, the security team will have come to their senses.”