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I read Ben Rehder’s Flat Crazy as I sat in the Bear Paw Lodge, trying not to laugh out loud and arouse the curiosity of the people around me. The stranger didn’t show up, and I wondered: Is he too busy skiing to take a break today, or did he find out all he needed to know yesterday and wouldn’t bother coming in to talk to me?
We’d only seen Maria in the food court twice—once when she was talking to the stranger, and once when she sat at our table for lunch. And it occurred to me to wonder about Gunter Bosch. If he were here for skiing, why hadn’t we ever seen him? I’d have to remember to ask Andrea whether she’d seen him on the lift or the slopes. Maybe he wasn’t the type to take a break. Still, he’d surely come in for lunch.
Just as I was thinking about Gunter Bosch and lunch, Andrea came in with David and his friend Jeremy trailing behind her. She handed David a bill—I couldn’t tell the denomination—and the boys rushed off toward pizza. “I told them I’d buy them lunch,” she said, unwinding the scarf from her neck. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes, but first, I wanted to ask you—have you ever seen Gunter Bosch on the slopes?”
“I saw him once. I can’t remember what day it was. Why?”
“It’s just that I’ve never seen him in here, and since he’s supposedly here for skiing, I’ve been wondering . . .”
“Of course, there’s another ski area near here, called Timberline. Maybe he goes there. Let’s get something to eat.”
We wandered along the food kiosks, trying to decide what to eat. “What about Maria Borodin?” I asked. “Have you seen her?”
“I think she’s here every day. I catch a glimpse of her now and then, but I think she skis the most difficult slopes. I’m not ready for the more advanced ones yet. I’ve seen David as he was coming down a couple of them, though. He’s doing well.”
I was dipping a bowl of chicken noodle soup that looked and smelled homemade. “Do you think we should ask Ivy to come with us to the torchlight event tonight, since David’s going to be in it?”
Andrea pondered this for a moment. “I think that would be good. She can stay with you when I have to get on the phone to the sheriff.”
“You’re going to be on the phone to the sheriff?”
“Don’t say anything, but he wants me to give him a rundown of who’s standing around at the bottom of the slope, getting ready to watch the procession.”
“Really? And where will the sheriff be?”
“He and some of his deputies are going to be in the woods along the ski run. I can’t stress this enough—don’t say anything to anybody.”
We sat down with our soup. David and Jeremy were already at the table with their pizza and soft drinks. I couldn’t discuss the situation in front of the boys, but it was obvious that Sheriff Sterling and his men would be keeping an eye on the procession to make sure no one was hiding in the trees to ambush Stefan. I had asked Andrea to relay the information to the sheriff about my conversation with Alex Dubek and also with Willard, when I informed him about the torchlight procession. I couldn’t help wondering if Willard would be out there in the woods. Somehow, I couldn’t imagine the sheriff turning him loose with a loaded gun in a situation like that. The only thought scarier than that was that someone might be out there, hidden by the evergreens and gunning for Stefan.