Hot Springs Murder

  Hot Springs Murder

  Alaska Cozy Mystery #8

  Wendy Meadows

  Like Cozy Mysteries?

  Join Wendy’s newsletter to stay up-to-date with new releases. As a subscriber, you’ll get BLACKVINE MANOR, the complete series, for FREE!

  Join Wendy’s newsletter here.

  wendymeadows.com/cozy

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Thanks for Reading

  About the Author

  Read more by Wendy

  1

  “Smell that?” asked Conrad, pushing Sarah's soft hair away from her eyes as they stood together on the front porch. He motioned toward the rugged, lush landscape of Alaska surrounding the cabin they both now called home. “Winter is coming.”

  Sarah looked around and studied her cabin and the land. Her cabin sat nestled up against the land like a fragile child being hugged by a dangerous yet unimaginable beauty. The early morning air was slowly turning colder and colder, filling with the scent of an early snow. The sunrise sky was a reddish-pink, mixed with a few gray clouds pushing over the blue. The breath was leaving her mouth in weak trails which would soon become thick white paths. Yes, winter was approaching and very quickly at that. Sarah felt grateful to be wearing the thick green wool sweater that was keeping her warm. “I'm looking forward to the snow,” she smiled.

  Conrad nodded and burrowed into the collar of his black leather jacket. “I like the snow, too,” he told Sarah and gently kissed her forehead. “I better get down to the station before Andrew drinks up all the coffee. Also, the new deputy is coming today, and I want to be around when he arrives.” Conrad pulled open the driver's side door to his truck. “Are you going to O’Mally’s with Amanda?”

  “Girls day out,” Sarah told Conrad in an excited voice. “Amanda and I are going to shop until we drop.” Sarah reached into the truck and grabbed the seatbelt. “We’ll probably have lunch at the diner after and spend the rest of the day at the coffee shop. Since I finished the book, I have time to devote to the coffee shop.”

  Conrad took the seatbelt from Sarah and buckled up. “I’ll meet you there after my shift,” he promised.

  “We can have dinner at the diner,” Sarah smiled. “Besides, I’m going to need a strong man to carry home all my shopping bags.” Sarah touched Conrad’s nose. “You be careful.”

  “Sarah, Snow Falls has been very, very quiet,” Conrad pointed out. “I think we’re really past the storm.”

  “Still,” Sarah said in a careful voice, “let’s not take the quiet for granted. There is still a world full of dangerous people out there, Conrad. We may be enjoying peace here in Snow Falls, but that peace can be shattered at any second by the real world.”

  “Yeah, that’s true enough,” Conrad agreed. He looked at Sarah’s beautiful face and nodded his head. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

  Sarah smiled. “I know you will,” she said, “and I’ll be careful, too. All I want to do today is go shopping with Amanda, tinker around in my coffee shop, have dinner at the diner, and then come home and cuddle up to a good book while you watch your game show.”

  “Sounds like a good day to me,” Conrad agreed. He closed the driver’s door, rolled down the window, and nodded his head toward the cabin. “You better walk Mittens before she messes up the kitchen floor.”

  “Good idea,” Sarah replied. She stepped back from Conrad’s truck and waved goodbye as he backed down the drive and drove away. “Please be careful,” she whispered and hurried back into the kitchen. Mittens was waiting at the back door, with a look of disappointment on her face. “I know, honey, I know,” Sarah apologized. She quickly hooked Mittens to a gray leash and walked her outside. Mittens made her way to the backyard, sniffed the air, and looked around. Finding a good spot to use the bathroom, she watered the land. “Good girl,” Sarah told Mittens in a pleased voice as a truck pulled into her driveway. “That will be Amanda.”

  Sarah walked Mittens to the front of the cabin and waved at Amanda. “Good morning.”

  Amanda waved back with an excited hand and burst out of her truck like a woman who had just received a million-dollar check. “Los Angeles!” she yelled in a happy voice. Amanda ran up to Sarah, patted Mittens on her head, and then fished a piece of paper out of the right pocket of a deep blue coat. “Look at this,” she beamed.

  Sarah made a curious face. She handed Amanda the leash, took the piece of paper, and read it. “Snow Creek Hot Spring Resort?” she asked.

  “You bet, love,” Amanda beamed.

  “I don’t understand?” Sarah asked, and lowered the paper. She looked at Amanda with confused eyes.

  “You will,” Amanda promised. She grabbed Sarah's right hand and dragged her inside to the kitchen. “Go lay down, girl,” she told Mittens and unhooked the husky from her leash. Mittens licked Amanda’s hand, walked to the far right corner of the kitchen, and laid down on a soft brown doggy bed.

  “Coffee?” Sarah asked, as she closed the back door. The kitchen was warm and smelled of coffee and pancakes. Sarah took a second to enjoy the atmosphere and smell, replaying the cozy breakfast she had shared with her husband over in her mind, before pouring two fresh cups of coffee.

  “Thank you,” Amanda said, taking a brown mug of coffee from Sarah and hurrying to the kitchen table. She sat down and studied a plate full of fresh cinnamon rolls. Grabbing one, she took a very deep breath full of nervous excitement. “Love, you know I love you.”

  Sarah cautiously sat down at the kitchen table and studied her best friend with alert eyes. “Uh oh,” she said in a worried voice as her mind suddenly understood just what the ‘Snow Creek Hot Springs Resort’ was.

  “Now, don’t throw me off a cliff before you hear me out,” Amanda pleaded. She took a bite of her cinnamon roll and washed it down with a sip of coffee. “Snow Creek Hot Springs Resort is a diamond in the rough.”

  “Honey, when you said you were thinking of starting your own business, I thought of a dress shop or a bakery.”

  “So did I,” Amanda said, in an excited voice. “But,” she said, as she quickly polished off her cinnamon roll, “when my dear hubby and I visited the hot springs last week I changed my mind. Oh, I feel like I’m in love. And to my shock, the resort is for sale!”

  “Amanda, honey, the resort is also a two-hour drive north of us,” Sarah pointed out. “All alone—in the middle of nowhere.”

  “I know,” Amanda nearly burst, “isn’t it great? The remote location of the resort is absolutely darling.” Amanda took a sip of her coffee. “One road in, one road out.”

  “A very dangerous, winding, mountain road as I recall,” Sarah added. “If you get caught up there in the winter, you’re snow-shoeing home.”

  “That’s why we’ll only be open when the road is passable.”

  “We?” Sarah asked and gulped. “June Bug, honey, I can’t—”

  “You said you would help me run my business,” Amanda reminded Sarah in a pleading voice. “You promised,” she said, and made a very sad face.

  “I know I promised, honey, but… a resort… in the middle of nowhere?” Sarah quickly sipped at her coffee. “I—”

  “You just finished your new book,” Amanda quickly cut Sarah off at the pass. She had to act fast and throw a net over her best friend. “There hasn't been any trouble in months, and we’ve been on our best behavior.”

  “I know, honey, but—”

  Amanda stepped on the accelerator. “You promised to help me,” she pointed out for the second time and made another sad face. “You sai
d you would be my business partner, love. I thought... we were... sisters.”

  “We are sisters,” Sarah promised.

  “Through thick and thin?”

  “Of course,” Sarah assured Amanda.

  Amanda’s face tossed off the sadness and jumped into a pool of joy. “Good, then you’ll go into business with me. I’m sure going to need all the help I can get now that my dear hubby has once again flown back to London.” Amanda stopped smiling and looked down at her coffee. “I need this, Los Angeles. I don’t like it when my husband leaves me alone. I know he’s doing what he thinks is right, but I worry about him so. I need something to take my mind off my troubles.”

  “Is buying a resort the answer?” Sarah asked.

  Amanda nodded her head. “The resort is very small, with just a few private cabins, four to be exact. There is the main lodge, of course, and the hot springs area is located behind the resort down a long trail. It’s not like I’m buying a resort on some tropical island that pulls in a million people a year. I mean, blimey, my husband and I were the only guests at the resort when we visited.” Amanda looked up at Sarah. “I want to buy this resort, Los Angeles. Because I want something to call my own, you know? And to share with those I love.”

  Sarah studied the eyes of her best friend. She saw a desperate woman who, for whatever reason, had her heart set on the idea of buying a remote resort that sat out in the middle of nowhere. “Winter is approaching very quickly,” she pointed out.

  “I know,” Amanda nodded, and allowed excitement to reclaim her voice. “I figured we could take a trip to the resort next Monday once all the paperwork is signed. We’d spend a week getting the place ready for winter, then go back when the snow melts.”

  Sarah took a sip of coffee. The idea of helping her friend prepare her new business for winter didn’t seem too unreasonable. After all, Sarah reminded herself, she did promise Amanda help in whatever business endeavor her friend chose to begin. Besides, winter was rapidly approaching, and what harm could there be in tying down a few cabins before the snow arrived? “Honey, who are you buying the resort from?” she asked, easing off her objections.

  “Mr. Colt Grayman,” Amanda said, in a proud voice.

  “Who is Colt Grayman?”

  “Well, my dear and not so subtle detective friend, Mr. Grayman is a seventy-four-year-old bloke who looks like a dried-up prune and talks like one, too. He built the resort in 1978 with his wife and has finally decided to move the poor old woman to Florida where it’s nice and warm,” Amanda explained. “Mr. Grayman is not a man of many words, but I got enough out of him to know he’s a decent fellow who is tired of hard winters.”

  “Keep talking.”

  Amanda took a sip of coffee. “I managed to talk Mr. Grayman into selling me the resort under his asking price. Several thousand dollars under his asking price, to be exact.”

  Sarah studied Amanda's eyes. “Your dear hubby has no idea you’re buying this resort, does he? If he did, you would be opening a dress shop. You went behind his back, didn’t you? And you unleashed your charm on a defenseless old man.”

  Amanda bit down on her lower lip and made a pained face. “I wanted it to be a surprise,” she gulped. “When my hubby returns from London and the snow melts away, we’ll go back to the resort and I’ll surprise him. He really loved the resort when we were there.”

  “Did he?” Sarah asked, and grinned at Amanda.

  “Well,” Amanda confessed and made another pained face, “he especially liked the hot springs.”

  Sarah laughed. “You’re a mess,” she told Amanda in a loving voice.

  “I know,” Amanda admitted. “I guess I should have told him, but he might have said no. Besides, I deserve to buy something I truly want. I’ve earned it, after all.”

  “Yes, you have, June Bug,” Sarah agreed. She reached across the table and patted Amanda’s hand. “I’ll help you prepare your resort for the winter—but you have to handle your husband alone.”

  “Oh, thank you!” Amanda yelled. She jumped to her feet, ran to Sarah, and hugged her. “We’re going to make our resort into something great, just wait and see. We’ll turn those stuffy old cabins into something romantic and fun. I envision charming and quaint, cozy and inviting. We’ll spruce up the trail leading to the hot springs and maybe even add a few benches. We’ll—”

  “Let’s focus on the here and now,” Sarah laughed. “First, we need to focus on actually buying the resort.”

  “I called Mr. Grayman. He’s going to meet me Monday at the resort with his attorney. His wife has already left for Florida. As soon as I sign the papers and hand him the check, he’s driving to Anchorage and taking the first flight to Florida.” Amanda let go of Sarah. “The resort is basically in good shape, minus a few bumps and bruises from some very hard winters. All we need to do is spend a week tying the place down for winter, then come home, wait out the snow, and when the flowers bloom, go back and get to work!”

  Sarah looked up into Amanda’s excited and terrified face. Her best friend was beginning a new chapter in her life that was filled with uncertain adventure. How could she say no? “I’ll bring the bleach.”

  “You bet!” Amanda clapped her hands and sat back down. She took another cinnamon roll and let out a deep breath. “I can see it now, Los Angeles, we’re going to make a splash! We’re going to turn an unknown hot springs resort into something special… and really put it on the map. Who knows, maybe we’ll build more cabins... add a restaurant... a dance hall... everything.” Amanda’s eyes shone as she continued working over the cinnamon rolls. “We’re going to make a proper go at this.”

  Sarah reached out and took a cinnamon roll. “You’re paying for the gas,” she joked. “And you’re the one who’s going to have to convince Conrad to let me go. After our last case Conrad doesn’t like me leaving his sight that much.”

  “Can you blame him?” Amanda asked. “You were attacked by a madman and we were all nearly killed. I can’t fault Conrad for worrying.”

  “It’s been peaceful since our last case,” Sarah told Amanda. “I truly think the storm is over. We’ve dealt with some pretty harsh foes and come out into the sunshine.”

  “Yeah, that’s true,” Amanda agreed. “My dear hubby felt that it was safe enough to leave me alone again.” Amanda tossed a thumb at the back door. “I don’t walk around town looking over my shoulder half as much as I used to, either.”

  Sarah nodded her head. “I know just what you mean,” she said, and took a sip of coffee. She grew silent and let her mind think. “We’ll be traveling two hours north to a very remote location. I doubt we’ll encounter a gang of killers out there.”

  “Maybe a grumpy bear or two,” Amanda joked. “Or maybe a skunk taking a dip in the hot springs.”

  Sarah smiled. “If we find a skunk taking a midnight dip, I’m going to run straight home.”

  Amanda clapped her hands. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Just think—little ol’ me owning a resort. Why I could just cry.”

  “Don’t cry until after you’ve convinced Conrad to let me go,” Sarah laughed, and stood up. “In the meantime, we have some shopping to do.”

  “Yes, we do!” Amanda cheered and prepared for a great day.

  Sarah’s jeep crawled up the narrow dirt road surrounded by rugged mountain land. She had come to adore the Alaskan wilderness, with its untamed voice that man would never be able to harm. The wilderness made her feel free; free from the loud, crowded world of Los Angeles she’d once called home, where society was spoiled with large cities and people were unwilling to even venture into the forest, much less the wild landscape of Alaska. Alongside her admiration, though, was a respect for the dangers the wilderness presented—including the road she was currently navigating. “My goodness,” she said, the engine revving as the vehicle crawled over a deep bump, “this isn't a road, Amanda, it is more like a goat trail!”

  Amanda, holding on for dear life, quickly rolled down her window an
d stuck her head out. Crisp, cool, fresh air struck her face. The air was meandering through tall, winter-worn trees that reached up toward a powerful mountain that had yet to be scarred by the footprint of man. All she saw was miles and miles of wilderness stretching out forever—or so it seemed. Through a group of trees, she spotted the shimmering waters of Snow Ice Lake—a small lake that Mr. Grayman had told her about, which was very difficult to reach but full of delicious fish. “There’s the lake—I think—so we have about a mile or so left,” she told Sarah in a quick voice.

  “Thank goodness,” Sarah sighed, as her jeep moved forward and maneuvered over a deep rut. She was wearing a brown long-sleeved dress and felt very hot, even though the air was cool. Amanda, on the other hand, was wrapped up in a heavy blue coat and brown boots, ready for war—or so it seemed. “June Bug, this road is going to need some work.”

  “I know, I know.” Amanda sighed and pulled her head back into the jeep. “My dear hubby complained about this road more times than I care to relate. But,” Amanda said in a determined voice, “one step at a time. We’ll go meet Mr. Grayman, hand him the check, and get to work preparing our resort for the winter.”

  “Our?” Sarah asked.

  “Yes,” Amanda smiled. “Los Angeles, I consider your coffee shop yours and mine. I want the resort to be the same. I want us to share everything. Besides, if my dear hubby thinks you’re my business partner, I’ll have a better chance at maintaining ownership of the resort when he returns home from London!”

  Sarah grinned, “I am but a pawn on your chessboard of life.”

  “You sure are, love.” Amanda grinned back and patted Sarah’s arm. “Now, keep driving very slowly and keep your eyes on the road.”