Fritters and Fatality Page 2

  “Hundred dollars a night…each,” Claude told Bethany. “Money includes three squares and free coffee.” Claude glanced over his shoulder at the two women standing in his hunting lodge. “That old ski resort ain’t worth your time. Shelia is throwing money into the wind. The ski lifts are rusted beyond repair, the main lodge is a mess, the ski cabins are a mess, wiring is dangerous…place needs to be forgotten about.”

  “You’ve been to the ski—” Bethany began to ask.

  “Wife and me thought about buying the place ourselves at one time. After I examined everything, I threw my hands up and walked away. The resort ain’t worth a penny. Would cost a fortune to fix the place up…even if you had the money to do that, folks ain’t gonna come piling in. Ice Mountain is a treacherous mountain. Many folks have died on that mountain. That’s why the ski resort was closed in the first place.”

  “Then why did you think about buying the ski resort yourself?” Bethany asked Claude in a curious voice.

  Claude turned his eyes back to the roaring fire he was standing in front of. “I was stupid,” he offered an honest answer, “and much younger. Wife wanted me to consider buying the ski resort before we bought this hunting lodge…was more her idea than mine. Reckon love makes a man consider stupid possibilities.” Claude shook his head. “If the ski resort was a mess when I looked at it all those years ago, I can’t imagine how bad it is now. Shelia’s husband was right to leave…but not right to leave his wife. I told him so too.”

  Julie glanced at Bethany with worried eyes. However, it was far too late to turn back. Besides, Julie had learned to never take a person’s word at face value unless her own eyes had seen exactly what the person speaking had actually witnessed. “Well, perhaps we should get settled into your rooms?” she asked.

  “Weather will be clear all day tomorrow, but then a storm front will move in. Storm front will clear in about a week or so,” Claude explained without showing any interest in walking over to a wooden front counter in order to check Bethany and Julie in. “I’ll be leaving here as soon as I take you up on the mountain. Wife and me are going to Fairbanks to visit our daughter. Won’t be back for two weeks, which means you’ll be staying up on the mountain until we get back.”

  “My friend and I are planning to stay at the resort for three weeks, Mr. Stewart,” Bethany told Claude. I’m tired. It’s been a very difficult trip just to reach this hunting lodge. I’m not in the mood to fuss with a money-hungry old-timer. And after talking to my mother and hearing her complain about my new life…over and over again…why do I even call her…my head is hurting. Bethany sighed. I’m free of an abusive marriage. I’ve braved an unknown land to start a new life. I’ve survived nearly being killed. I’ve come too far to give up…and to be nagged by my mother because I’m taking a trip to a closed ski lodge. “We’ll be very grateful if you can pick us up at the set time.”

  “Just tell me the day you want to leave, and I’ll be there if I can,” Claude said, his tone casual. It was clear that the two women standing in his lodge were going to the old Ice Mountain Ski Lodge to help a foolish woman and an old man. What was it any of his business? Claude was much too old to care for anything more than chopping firewood and making sure food was on the table.

  “Three weeks from tomorrow will be the day we’ll need to be picked up, Mr. Stewart.”

  Bethany glanced around the room she was standing in. Although rugged and very rough in appearance, it did offer a…somewhat…cozy atmosphere. A wooden table holding an old chessboard sat next to a window that was covered over with a deep green drape. Bethany imagined Claude sitting at the table with his wife on a dark, cold winter night playing a game of chess while drinking coffee and munching on a cigar. Up here the world is different. People want to rule the cities where there’s streetlights, traffic, grocery stores, running water…and plenty of crime. Up here in Alaska, the land becomes a court of justice and the winters become a hard jury.

  “Well, we better get checked in. I would like to rest a little before lunch,” Julie spoke up, hoping that Claude would accept her hint.

  Claude turned and looked at Julie. He saw a very beautiful British woman standing before him wearing a white winter coat and a white ski cap. “You best dress for warmth and not style,” he warned Julie. “My hunting lodge sits up high, but Ice Mountain sits even higher. It’s cold enough up there to freeze a man’s blood. Wind that high up can cut a man in half like a sharp razor blade.” With those words spoken, Claude worked on getting Bethany and Julie checked in to two warm rooms and said nothing more, even during lunch and dinner. Bethany and Julie didn’t mind. They were both exhausted and went to bed early, falling asleep to the sound of a howling, scary wind.

  The following morning, Claude loaded a ton of luggage into the back of an antiquated yellow snowcat that looked rusted and beaten down. While Claude loaded the luggage using a pair of snowshoes to stand on top of a mountain of deep, frozen snow, Bethany and Julie struggled into the back of the snowcat—a small compartment that reminded them of a school bus. Samantha Stewart, Claude’s wife, struggled to position herself into a tight front seat. The woman was tough as cat snot and looked meaner than a rattlesnake—yet, she possessed a heart of gold. “Goodness, that wind is awful this morning,” Samantha called back to Bethany and Julie. “Claude, hurry up!” Samantha made sure the gray muffler hat she was wearing was firmly clamped down over a set of heavy gray hair.

  “I’m hurrying!” Claude griped as he threw Bethany’s and Julie’s luggage into the back of the snowcat.

  Bethany situated herself against a small round window that was soaked with ice. White, heavy streams of water vapor left her mouth with each breath she took. The inside of the snowcat felt colder than the temperature outside. The inside of the snowcat felt unfriendly and harsh—a feeling Bethany was very familiar with. This snowcat feels like how my husband used to treat me. Yet, I depended on my marriage…like I’m depending on this snowcat.

  Julie stationed herself next to Bethany. She was now decked out in a thick brown winter coat and a brown winter muffler hat that managed to fight off the cold. “It’s very beautiful here. The lodge sits in the middle of a white wonderland. And you can hear the river from here and almost see the lake.”

  “Yes, the land is very beautiful, but dangerous,” Samantha cautioned. “Claude, don’t forget the food basket. We have a long trip up to Ice Mountain and back!”

  “I got the food basket already packed, Sam…stop your fussing at me!” Claude barked.

  Samantha rolled her eyes. She was a thin woman, but her hands still packed a good punch; and Claude knew it. “Hurry up and let’s get going. We’re going to have to stay up on the mountain tonight and then drive back down first thing tomorrow.” Samantha quickly wrapped a heavy green blanket over her lap and prepared for a very rough ride. “Hurry up!”

  “I’m hurrying!” Claude hollered. “Woman, we’ve been married forty-three years already…and you still as fussy as a yapping dog!”

  Bethany and Julie both giggled some. Marriage is beautiful…when love is true, Bethany thought as she hugged her arms over a heavy green coat and waited. It’s freezing, but the cold feels good. I feel…alive. For the first time in so long, I actually feel alive. No matter how hard this trip is going to be, I’m glad Julie and I decided to take it. I need this…I need to be away from the world. “Mrs. Stewart, can we please have some coffee?”

  “Claude, bring me the thermoses I brought out! The thermoses are in the white carry box—”

  “I know where the thermoses are at, Sam!” Claude threw a brown suitcase into the back of the snowcat and began grumbling to himself. “Women pack everything but the kitchen sink…blasted females gonna get themselves killed up on the mountain…should have my head examined….”

  Twenty minutes later, Claude removed his snowshoes and climbed into a battered gray driver’s seat, slammed a rusted door closed, and looked toward a two-story, snow-soaked hunting lodge that now seemed lonely and cold. “I left the water running. The solar generator our daughter forced us to get should hold…all them solar panels her husband paid to have put on the roof seem to be doing all right.”

  “Sure beats having to use gas all the time…saves us a pretty penny too,” Samantha told her husband. “Quit your worrying and let’s go. The lodge will be fine. The stove is off, the water is running, the pipes are wrapped real warm, the fireplace is cold, and the firewood is covered up.” Samantha handed her husband a white cup full of hot coffee. “Here, warm your insides.”

  Claude accepted the coffee with a hand that was covered with a thick black glove. “Well, we best get moving,” he decided, taking a sip of coffee. “Hold my coffee until I get us moving.”

  When Claude brought the snowcat to life, Bethany felt her heart jump. Julie tensed up as well. Heavy, ugly, dark diesel smoke shot out a rusted funnel stationed on the right side of the snowcat. The smoke drifted up through a pair of snow-packed trees like a bad dream slowly vanishing. Claude kicked the gas pedal a few times. The snowcat grumbled and then growled until it settled into a steady rhythm. “Here we go,” she whispered to Julie.

  “Here we go,” Julie echoed, managing a little smile.

  “Who wants a donut?” Samantha called out as Claude pushed the snowcat into drive and slowly started to ease the machine forward. Bulldozer-type wheels began crunching over hard, frozen snow.

  “Save the donuts,” Claude fussed. “Let’s get some space between us and the lodge before we gobble down the food.” Claude’s tone told Bethany that the old man wasn’t sure if the snowcat was going to be able to make the trip or not.

  “Oh, you always worry that Cat might break down on us, you old fart, but she never does. Now stop your fussing and settle down.” Samantha le
aned back in her seat and looked through a front window that was in the shape of a large square. Claude kept a tarp over the window, which kept the ice off and saved time having to defrost the window. “Ah, I always enjoy the ride up to Ice Mountain.”

  Claude mumbled something that Bethany didn’t hear. “He’s a grumpy one, isn’t he?” she whispered to Julie.

  “I’m afraid he is,” Julie said, grinning.

  “I heard that!” Claude snapped. “You two want to walk up to Ice Mountain?”

  “Oh, leave them alone.” Samantha leaned over and slapped Claude on his arm. “Let’s all relax and enjoy the ride.”

  Bethany and Julie both smiled some and then settled back as the snowcat began moving toward a long, treacherous road that connected to a deadly mountain. Here we go…we’re on our way. Bethany whispered a silent prayer and then forced her mind to relax and enjoy the scenery.

  As Bethany settled back in her seat and the snowcat began to climb up a snow-scarred dirt road, a deadly killer pulled a frozen body into a broken walk-in freezer and then vanished. The body belonged to a dead woman—a woman who was killed by the hands of a vicious killer who was determined to kill anyone else who dared step foot on top of Ice Mountain.

  Bethany had no idea that a killer was lurking at the top of Ice Mountain and that a horrible night was waiting to greet her.

  “Who wants to sing a song?” Samantha called out.

  “No songs!” Claude barked. “Just sit back and…enjoy the scenery!”

  Enjoy the scenery. Yes. That’s what I’ll do, Bethany told herself as the snowcat continued to take her closer and closer to the arms of a hidden killer.

  Chapter Two

  The snowcat Claude was driving cautiously pushed along a snowy, icy road that was so narrow Bethany and Julie both were certain they were going to meet their doom. A massive rock wall soaked with ice hugged the left side of the road. Nothing but dark, open, snow-ripped air hugged the right side of the snowcat. Bethany knew that if Claude made one wrong move, the snowcat was going to plunge into a bottomless abyss of misery and death. And to make matters worse, the clear weather that had been soaking a pleasant winter day had been interrupted by an unexpected snowstorm. The snowcat was too far away from the hunting lodge to turn back. The ski lodge loomed closer. Claude had no choice but to keep pushing forward through the storm.

  “Can you see all right?” Samantha’s worried voice filled the interior of the snowcat.

  “Yeah…I can see all right,” Claude grumbled. The grumpy old man was hunched forward over a worn-down steering wheel struggling to see. The headlights attached to the snowcat offered very little assistance. Claude had slowed the it down to a crawl, easing forward at the pace of a sleepy turtle. “I’m more worried about the gas. At the rate we’re traveling, the cat is going to run out of gas and I’m going to have to refuel, which means we might not have enough gas to get back to the lodge…blasted storm.”

  “Mr. Stewart, how far are we away from the ski resort?” Julie asked. The poor woman was clutching Julie’s right arm with desperate, terrified hands.

  “About another seven miles or so. This road we’re on will flatten out soon but then start to climb again. Once the road flattens out, we’ll go about four miles and then travel two more miles up into the clouds. It’s like I told you, the road up to the ski resort is treacherous.” Claude spoke without taking his attention off the dangerous road the snowcat was struggling up. Heavy, impossible snow slapped the front windshield, forcing a pair of old windshield wipers to work overtime. “Used to be a decent road that led up to the ski resort back in the older days. The road was pretty much safe. But an earthquake struck this mountain and caused some of the mountain to cave in on the road. State never worked to clear the landslide. A man named Roger Liland managed to build this road we’re on. Connected this road to part of the old road that can still be used. Took some doing, so…at least that’s what I was told.”

  “The earthquake put the ski lodge out of business. No one wanted to risk traveling this road,” Samantha explained. “I can’t blame them.”

  “Wouldn’t be so bad if the landslide could be cleared and the ski resort could be fixed up,” Claude grumbled and then shook his head. “Would take an army of machines to clear the landslide…would take at least a year. Even if the landslide was cleared and the road was put back in order, the ski resort is too battered down. You’d have to tear down the entire ski lift, all the old buildings…just clear out the entire resort and build everything new.”

  “I’m afraid you’re right,” Samantha agreed while holding on to her seat with firm hands. “I wasn’t aware of how dangerous this road was and the awful shape the ski resort was in. I don’t even like making this trip…but money is money. No offense,” Samantha called back to Bethany and Julie. “You two are darlings, but my husband and I have to earn a living. Danger or no danger, six thousand dollars goes a long way for two old mules like us.”

  “We’re going to be fine,” Claude assured his wife. “We’ve traveled this road with the cat. I know my way.”

  “It ain’t you I’m worried about. We’ve never traveled this road in the snow before, Claude. I can barely see a foot in front of the cat,” Samantha pointed out.

  “Well, what do you expect me to do, Sam? Turn back? Impossible. I have to keep the cat moving. You feel how strong the winds are? I have to get up to the top of the mountain and settle down. There’s no way we can travel back down in this storm.” Claude quickly slipped his right hand into the right pocket of the coat he was wearing and snatched out a half-smoked cigar. “I’ll keep us moving.”

  Bethany looked over at Julie. “Are you all right?”

  Julie winced. “All I see is ice on one side of me and a steep drop-off on the other side, love. I’m not going to lie and say I’m prepared to start singing darling little jingles.” Julie focused on the back of Claude’s head. “Mr. Stewart, I know the weather changed very suddenly and the situation we’re in isn’t your fault. I know you’re doing your best and I have full confidence in you. So please excuse me if I sound like a tattered rag doll that’s about ready to wet her pants.”

  “No need to worry about bothering me,” Claude told Julie as he chewed on his cigar like a tough old cab driver. “I’d be lying myself if I said I ain’t a bit worried. Ain’t got no choice but to keep going, though.”

  “The things we do for money,” Samantha sighed.

  “Sam—”

  “Well, it’s true,” Samantha insisted. “Claude, they raised the age of Social Security to sixty-seven. You’re sixty-three and I’m sixty-one. We barely get anybody to stay at the lodge. We live off the money your folks left you before they died…and Claude, you and I both know that money isn’t much. We spent our golden egg buying that hunting lodge.”

  “Our problems are our problems,” Claude snapped in a way that told his wife he didn’t want two strangers hearing about their financial problems.

  “Oh, go fuss to the wind. It’s not like Bethany and Julie are going to go blab our problems to the polar bears,” Samantha snapped back. “All I’m saying, Claude, is that we scrape and save and fight our way through one hard winter after the next…for what?”

  Claude bit down on the cigar in his mouth. “Are you saying you want to leave the lodge?”

  “Of course not. That lodge has become my home. I’ll be buried next to the lodge someday if Jesus don’t come first. All I’m saying is that maybe we should take Max up on his offer and start—”

  “No,” Claude snapped again in a hard tone. “Sam, Max ain’t a bad fella, but his idea to turn our lodge into some Christian marriage retreat center…Sam, I’m a hunter. I take men out to hunt. I don’t want to hear a bunch of whiny people crying over their marriages.”

  Samantha sighed. “Max, that’s our daughter’s husband, is a pastor,” she explained to Bethany and Julie as Claude carefully drove the snowcat forward through a growling snow. “Max suggested we turn the hunting lodge into a kind of…a Biblical marriage retreat place…where people can come and heal their marriages.”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” Julie told Samantha.