Garden of the Wolf

  "After you tell us what Scott talked to you about," she persisted.

  I glanced between the two eager faces of my enraptured audience and sighed. "All he did was ask about the lesson. That's it. End of story."

  Susie's face drooped. "Seriously? That's it?"

  "That's it."

  "That isn't much of a fairy tale romance."

  "Reality is harsh."

  "Did you two want to change before dinner?" Linda spoke up.

  Susie turned her depressed faced to our attendant. "You have to follow us there, too, don't you?"

  Linda smiled and gave a nod. "I'm afraid so."

  Susie sighed and looked down at herself. "I guess we'll change. I was in the water so long I think my suit absorbed half the lake."

  We reached our cabin and found a surprise waiting for us. Actually, two surprises. On the nightstand between our beds were two white vases filled with flowers. Mine held red roses, and Susie had marigolds of all colors in hers. We walked over and stood before the beautiful but unexpected presents. There were no cards to indicate who they were from.

  Susie glanced over her shoulder at Linda who stood with a smile on her lips in the doorway. "You know who sent these?"

  Linda shook her head. "I promised not to tell."

  Susie's eyes flickered to me. I grinned. We turned and strode towards Linda. Her eyes widened and she took a step back. From outside the cabin it must have looked a little disturbing as a pair of hands grabbed Linda's shoulders and pulled her inside. We slammed the door shut behind her and led her over to my bed. We plopped her onto the sheets and stood side-by-side in front of her with our arms folded across our chests.

  "Are you going to talk or do we have to get mean?" Susie threatened her.

  "'Mean?'" Linda repeated.

  "Very mean," I added.

  Linda smiled and shook her head. "I promised, and a promise is a promise."

  Susie looked to me. I nodded. We walked around either side of the bed. Susie grabbed Linda's arms and pulled them so they stretched over her head. That gave me plenty of room to go for her armpits.

  "What are you-no! No!" Linda yelped as I tickled her unmercifully.

  Linda was very susceptible to our method of torture. She thrashed and twisted in Susie's grasp, and I noticed my strong friend had a hard time holding her. Linda fell back onto the bed and kicked, but we held her tight and I didn't let up.

  "You're stronger than you look!" Susie complimented our captive.

  "Please stop!" Linda cried out with a smile on her face and tears streaming down her eyes.

  "Not until you give us the information we want," I demanded.

  "I-I can't! I promised!"

  "Then the torture will continue until moral improves," Susie returned.

  "Until we get our info," I corrected her.

  "Or that."

  "All right! All right! I give! It was my brother and Nelson!" Linda cried out.

  I stopped the torture and Susie dropped her arms. Linda wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head in bemusement. "You two make for a very strange pair. I can see why they like you," she commented.

  "That's us. The weird sisters, but without the sister part," Susie quipped. She and I performed a high-five.

  Linda chuckled. "You are both just like my brother and Nelson. Inseparable and capable of causing a lot of mischief if they put their minds to it."

  "What kind of trouble?" Susie asked her.

  Linda stood and swept the folds from her clothes. She didn't make eye contact with either of us when she spoke. "Nothing important, but we really should hurry. Dinner starts in a few minutes and I'm sure you want your usual seats."

  We slipped into more comfortable clothes and followed our attendant to the lodge. Throngs of the other guests followed. Susie sidled up to me and lowered her voice so she wouldn't be overheard among the crowd. "What do you think those guys do to cause trouble?"

  I shrugged. "Maybe play pranks on the guests," I suggested.

  "Pfft. That's piddly stuff. I bet they run some sort of a drug cartel with planes landing in the lake dropping off the goods," she returned.

  I rolled my eyes. "I think they have the best drug in the world here with their miracle-cure for aging," I countered.

  Susie looked ahead and rubbed her chin with one hand. "You're right, but maybe the cure is made with drugs."

  That thought hadn't occurred to me, and it didn't leave me as Linda seated us in our usual corner table. Linda handed us each a menu and took her seat with us. In a few seconds a waiter came to our table. In his hand was a round serving dish with a bottle of wine and a plate of steak.

  "I have been instructed to give you ladies these plates and drink," he told us. He placed the bottle in front of me with a glass, and set the steak dinner in front of Susie.

  I glanced at the label. The wine was from the Garden stock. I looked to Linda, but nodded at the bottle. "Another gift?" I guessed.

  "Yes," she replied.

  "And a delicious one!" Susie quipped as she dug into the steak.

  I turned to the waiter. "Tell them we're very grateful," I instructed him.

  He smiled, bowed his head, and left to give the message. I poured a glass of the wine, and offered the bottle to Linda. "Did you want some?"

  She held up her hand and shook her head. "No, but thank you. Wine isn't my favorite."

  "Not mine, either," Susie agreed through mouthfuls of meat.

  I shrugged and took a sip. Over the rim of the glass I noticed Linda watched our drinking and eating with a careful eye. "Something wrong?" I asked her.

  She shook herself and straightened in her seat. "What? Oh, no, nothing at all. I-um, I just want to make sure you're enjoying the gifts so I can tell my brother."

  "And done!" Susie crowed. She set down her utensils and leaned back with a sigh.

  Linda and I glanced at her plate and saw it was empty. My mouth dropped open and Linda covered her mouth with her hand to hide her amusement. "Don't you chew anything?" I growled at my friend.

  "Chewing is for sissies," she quipped.

  "Well, while we're chewing like civilized people you can just sit there and wait for us to finish because you can't leave without Linda," I reminded her.

  She grinned. "No, but I can order dessert."

  Linda and I had to watch Susie consume the body of a helpless chocolate mousse like a Hoover vacuum stuck on suck. By the time I finished my own meal I'd lost my appetite, or so I thought. We left our table without a sighting of our gift-bringers, but that didn't mean they were far from my thoughts. Our little group stepped outside and I inhaled the dark night air. The sun was just setting in the east and the shadows blanketed the cabins in young moonlight.

  "You must get used to all this prettiness," Susie spoke up, addressing our attendant.

  Linda smiled and shook her head. "Not really. Every day is just a little bit different from the others so there's always something new. A new scent, a new view, a new day."

  "What about new employees?" Susie wondered. Her eyes wandered over the attendants to our fellow guests. "I think I saw all these guys on my last visit, but I haven't seen any new ones."

  "We have a very small turnover rate for employees. We're all sort of like a-well, a clan," Linda explained.

  "So you're Irish?" she suggested.

  Linda laughed and shook her head. "Not quite. It's more like a family without any blood-relations."

  "Like you and Mr. Young have?" I chimed in.

  "Yes. There aren't very many of us who are blood-related except for the kids-" She paused and tensed. "But I suppose you wouldn't want to hear anything about the employees. We aren't exactly a wild sort if we can help it."

  "No late-night parties after the guest are gone?" Susie inquired.

  Linda shook her head. "No. Alcohol isn't to our liking."

  "Not even if the guest is like Platt?"

  "Not even if we had a whole session of Platts," she assured my friend. We reached the
cabin and Linda turned to us. "I'm afraid I need to stay out here until I'm sure you're awake."

  Susie grinned and jerked her head towards the door to our little abode. "Why don't you come inside? I don't really feel sleepy so we could do something until we collapse."

  "What did you have in mind?" she asked her.

  "Strip poker?"

  "Susie," I warned her.

  She grinned and held up her hands. "All right, all right, we could play some wimpy card games like go-fish."

  "Maybe she doesn't want to play," I pointed out.

  "No, I love to play cards, and I'll be glad to entertain you," Linda offered.

  I sighed, but admitted to myself that I wasn't that sleepy. On the contrary, like last night I felt very much awake. "All right, but any mention of unclothing or betting and everything's done."

  She crossed her finger over her chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

  Chapter 6

  Our little game of cards steered away from the nude and kept us firmly in our clothes. It also wiled away the hours, and by the time Susie tossed down her hand it was nearing midnight.

  My friend stuck her tongue out at her cards. "I quit. The deck's loaded against me. All I keep getting are ones and aces."

  I looked over the top of my cards at her and raised an eyebrow. "You do know aces are the highest card in the deck, right?"

  She blinked at me. "They are?"

  "Um, yeah. We are playing poker."

  "Oh. Damn."

  Linda folded her hand and leaned her elbows on the table. She listened to our conversation with a small smile on her face. "I can't believe how wonderful friends you are," she mused.

  "It takes years of annoyance to be tolerant of Susie," I commented as I dropped my cards.

  "Yep, and it takes years to crack Abby's calm, cool exterior to get her to smile," Susie chimed in. She paused when her stomach rumbled to life.

  I stared at her like she was a new and ugly species. "You're still hungry even after all that food earlier?"

  She grinned and shrugged. "I guess my stomach forgot about all that stuff." She turned to our attendant. "Any way we can get a bite to eat?"

  Linda checked the time on her wristwatch and shook her head. "I'm afraid the kitchen closed two hours ago."

  Susie scooted back her chair and stood. "Great. That means we can pick out whatever we want."

  "But the kitchen is closed," Linda reminded her.

  That evil grin graced Susie's lips. "I know, but I also know about a secret way of getting inside. My last attendant let it slip."

  "But that's against the Garden rules, and it's stealing," she insisted.

  "Not if they don't catch us. And we'll be in and out of there so fast it'll look like a cold draft swept through," Susie argued. I opened my mouth to argue against my friend's foolish plan, but my stomach grumbled. I looked down at the offending body part and frowned. Susie stepped to my side and laid a hand on my shoulder. "Looks like I'm not the only one who didn't eat enough," she teased.

  "But we'll get in trouble if we're caught," Linda persisted.

  "We won't be caught, or at least they won't know who swiped the food." Susie leaned over the table and put on her most pathetic face. Her lips trembled and tears pooled in her eyes. She set a hand over her heart and clasped her shirt. "You don't want your guests to starve to death, do you?"

  I rolled my eyes. "We're not going to-" There came another rumble from my stomach. It sounded like a grizzly bear was in a life-and-death struggle with a cougar.

  Susie laid her hand back on my shoulder and gestured to me with her free hand. Her eyes were ever on Linda who sat across from me. "See? Any moment we may collapse and die from hunger. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

  Linda bit her lip. "I suppose not, so long as we don't get caught."

  Susie clapped her hands and rubbed them together. "Great! Let's get going before I forget how to chew and swallow."

  "You don't chew, remember?" I reminded her.

  "No, but I don't want to forget how," she quipped. She pulled me out of my chair and walked around to do the same to Linda. "Now come on before our stomachs give us away."

  "Why does Linda have to come?" I pointed out as Susie herded us to the door.

  "Because she's not supposed to leave our sight until we're asleep, remember? Sheesh," Susie teased. We reached the door and Susie peeked out. She beckoned to us with her hand. "All clear," she whispered.

  Susie slunk outside and flattened herself against the side of our cabin. I rolled my eyes when she slid against the boards. The only source of light came from the moon, but that was half hidden behind a few wandering clouds. Linda and I followed along the path while Susie played Mission Impossible and kept to the shadows of the cabins.

  She slid behind the side of one of them and glared at us as we sauntered past. "You're doing it wrong!" she hissed at us.

  "No, we're doing it in the not-stupid way," I retorted.

  Susie's shoulders slumped and she stepped out of her hiding spots and followed behind us. "You're no fun. . ." she mumbled.

  "No, but we're smart," I returned.

  In a few moments we reached the lodge, and Susie led the way around the back. At the rear of the building and closest to the nearest corner was an old metal door marked 'Kitchen' with a hefty knob lock. Along the same wall there were tainted windows and a vent above and to the right of the door. Susie pointed to the vent.

  "That's how we get in," she told us. She plastered herself against the wall and looked over her shoulder at us. "One of you two needs to give me a boost and I'll slink inside."

  Linda sighed and pulled out a set of keys. "I have the key to the door."

  Susie blinked at her and stepped away from the wall. "Or we could do that."

  Linda moved to the front and grabbed the knob. She paused with the key suspended just in front of the lock. "That's strange. The door's unlocked," she told us.

  "Maybe they forgot," I suggested.

  She shook her head. "No, they never forget. The door is never unlocked, and all the staff are required to check the door as they leave."

  Things got stranger when a sound floated through the door and to our ears. Susie frowned. "Did somebody just hear something?" she asked us.

  "Unfortunately, you're not being delusional this time," I replied.

  Linda turned to us with a deep frown. "You both should go back to the cabin."

  Susie snorted and shook her head. "Oh no, we're not leaving you just when things are getting interesting."

  Linda looked us both in the eyes and her expression couldn't have been any more serious. "For once, you must listen to me. There is something-" A loud crash from inside interrupted her speech.

  "Come on, girls! We've got ourselves a thief to bust!" Susie yelled, completely forgetting that we had just attempted such a theft. She brushed aside Linda's hand, swung open the door and rushed inside.

  "We must stop her!" Linda insisted.

  "Always," I agreed as we both hurried after my insane friend.

  The door led into a narrow entranceway because rows of pantry cupboards covered most of the wall on either side of us. The kitchen was wrapped in darkness, but light from the windows allowed me to see forms. In front of us was a large, modern, stainless-steel kitchen with rows of tall islands and counter tops along the walls. Cupboards were above and below the counter tops, and there was at least a dozen sinks. A large walk-in refrigerator stood in the far wall to our right.

  I suspected that on a normal night everything was in order with the pots and pans put away and the fridge door secure, but that night was not a normal night. The pots and pans were scattered across the room and some of the sinks were going full-tilt. The fridge door was ajar and cold air swept into the room. Noises came from the fridge, and a light was on. The beam streamed across the floor and a shadow flickered to and fro from inside the fridge. There were grunts and growls, and sounds as though something tore the frozen food from the shelves
and onto the floor.

  Susie was five yards ahead of us and slinking fast towards the fridge door. "Susie!" I hissed. "Get back here!"

  Susie waved her hand at me and continued to tiptoe over to the door. She reached the fridge and leaned to the side so she could look through the opening. I couldn't see her face, but her tone of astonishment was enough for me to guess her eyes were bugged out. "Holy shit!" I heard her whisper.

  She must have spoken a little too loudly because the same stuff hit the fan when the door flew open. Susie was knocked do the ground and dropped out of view behind one of the stainless-top islands. Light flooded the kitchen and silhouetted a figure that flew out of the room. The shadow landed atop one of the islands just a few feet away from us. It was hunched over and made animal noises, but I still recognized it as human. Worse still, I recognized the human as Miss Platt.

  Chapter 7

  Susie's hand slapped the top of the island and she pulled herself partially up to look over the top. "She's gone senile!" she yelled at us.

  That was probably the most accurate description Susie had ever given. Platt's face, flowered nightdress, and slippers were covered in blood. Her fingers were curved into claws and held a slab of uncooked steak. Her eyes glowed with a strange yellow light. She snarled and showed off two rows of sharp, long teeth. The old woman was a monster of hunger, and she didn't like her dinner interrupted by us.

  "Duck!" Linda yelled as she shoved me to the ground.

  It wasn't a moment too soon as Platt dove at us. Her clawed hands missed my head by an inch. Linda and I tumbled to the hard linoleum floor with Linda atop me. Platt landed on the counter to our left and collided with the utensils that sat in tall vases against the wall. Linda pulled me to my feet with more strength than I gave her credit for and pushed me towards the lobby.

  "Get out of here!" she ordered us.

  "We're not leaving you with a senile old woman!" Susie insisted.

  Platt recovered from her crash and turned to us with a hideous growl. We hadn't moved more than a few steps when she flung herself at us. Linda pushed me towards Susie and jumped at Platt. She tried to grab Platt between the islands, but the bony old woman twisted out of her grasp and slid over the top of one of the islands and onto the floor close to Susie and me. I grabbed Susie's hand and pulled her around our foe and to the back door which was the closest exit.

  Platt recovered from her spill and swiped at us as we passed. She missed, but in our efforts to avoid her claws we tripped over each other and fell hard to the floor. Susie and I fell side-by-side, and we both flipped onto our rears to look behind us. Platt stood hunched over on her dainty slippers and growled at us. Susie and I took that as our cue to flee and scurried backwards on our hands and rears. Platt roared and leapt at us.