Wally saw the officers’ attention had shifted to me, and he turned to see who had come into the room.
“Detective Harris, this is Clyde Fortune,” Wally said. “She’s the one who caught our suspect. She and Detective McKenzie have been trying to identify the murderer.”
I was amused at Wally’s use of the word “our.” I supposed he deserved it after coming to my rescue.
Detective Harris stuck out his hand and we shook.
“I’ve known Mac for a long time. He told me you were here as well when we spoke on the phone. From Ann Arbor, right?”
“Formerly Ann Arbor. I live in Crystal Haven now.” I felt a calm settle over me as I said it. It felt right.
“We finally cleared the road down below,” he said. “It sounds like we got here just in time to miss all the excitement.” He turned to Wally. “Maybe you should show me where you’re keeping our suspect.”
The three officers trooped after Wally and me. We briefly filled them in on the afternoon’s events as we made our way to the small supply closet where Wally had incarcerated Linda. I summarized the situation for Detective Harris and he asked for a few minutes to talk to Linda.
I returned to the lounge to check on Vi.
She sat with a bright afghan over her lap and sipped a different cup of tea. René had provided a tray of sandwiches and cookies, which Seth eyed carefully. I saw the wheels turning in his brain, trying to figure out how to get some of Vi’s food without appearing insensitive.
Vi wasn’t paying any attention to the food; she was too busy telling her tale.
“I just knew there was something going on with her,” Vi said.
I bit my lip to keep from interrupting and reminding her that her main suspect had been Kirk.
“But she was a tricky one,” Vi continued. “She invited me to her room for coffee and cookies.” Vi looked around to be sure she had everyone’s attention. “I wanted to see their apartment and thought I could pump her for information about . . . her staff.”
Vi glanced at me and I smiled. I wasn’t going to ruin her story by telling the young swooning knitters that Vi had suspected their yarn-bombing beefcake.
“She must have put something in the coffee,” Vi said. “I started to feel funny, but she insisted she’d just seen someone sneaking around out near the shed where Clarissa’s body was.” Vi adjusted her afghan, and Tina stepped forward to assist.
I finally remembered what was missing from Clarissa’s medicine cabinet—Valium. Linda must have used that on Vi to relax her enough that she would pass out in the snow.
“She hustled me outside after I grabbed my coat and we walked through the snowbanks to the far side of the shed.”
Vi stopped and took another sip of tea.
“I don’t remember a whole lot after that. I felt really dizzy and she told me to sit down. The next thing I knew, I was freezing and I heard Clyde calling me.”
Everyone turned to look at me and I filled them in on my side of the story. By the time I finished, the police had found us again and said they’d take Linda with them. They asked me to show them where Clarissa’s body was stored.
I put Seth’s coat on again and prepared to venture back outside. Wally produced the key and handed it to me. He evidently didn’t want to join us for this part of the process.
It had gotten even colder in just the last hour or so since we’d come in. More worried than ever, my ears strained to hear the sound of snowmobiles but, except for the wind, all was silent.
I showed the officers the shed and gave them the key. I agreed with Wally’s sentiments—I had no desire to look at Clarissa again. I watched as they carried her plastic-wrapped body out of the small building and up to the crime-scene van.
I followed them back to the inn. Each step crunching through two feet of snow, I began to spin more and more dire scenarios in my mind. Where could Mac and Kirk be?
“I’m going to check on something here in the cottage,” I said and gestured at the cottage door as we passed by.
Pete Harris nodded and followed his officers as the men with Clarissa’s body veered off to the parking lot and opened the back of the van. I still hadn’t heard snowmobiles and dejectedly opened the cottage door to go inside.
I needed a moment to myself, but was greeted exuberantly by Baxter. He calmed down quickly when he sensed my mood. He sat and leaned into my leg. Tuffy’s ears drooped and he also sat and regarded me carefully. I leaned against the wall and then sank to the floor.
Baxter put his head on my knees and sighed. The tears came then and I didn’t try to stop them. I had been so worried about Vi, it was partly in relief that I cried. But Mac had been gone far too long and I was very worried. I didn’t know what I would do if anything happened to him. Tuffy walked over to me and put his head under my hand. His way of providing comfort was to demand some petting.