“You’re sure that Natalie didn’t speak to anyone, tell anyone that they could come up?” Jackson asked her.
Misty shook her head. “Natalie was all about Wickedly Weird. She was married once—so I heard. I guess she scared him away. She’s very intense. Oh! She was very intense. She would call me at three in the morning sometimes. She really loved Vacation USA best. But when she had an idea for Gotcha, she would call at any hour of the day or night and tell me about it, and she’d be so excited.” She paused, shaking her head. “‘Did she have any enemies?’ That’s what they asked me! Of course, there were people who didn’t like her. But just because someone doesn’t like you doesn’t mean that they’d do something like this! And the people she deals with aren’t here in Alaska. And this was...sick! If someone is mad at you, maybe they’d smack you or at worst shoot you or...” Her voice trailed and she just stared at them, stricken.
“Misty, did you notice anyone paying special attention to her or any of you? Think about it, will you?” Thor asked gently.
“Special attention?” Misty said, perplexed. “I mean, everyone here was super nice to her, even when she was a little bit short. I mean, I guess a lot of people think that reality TV is cool, you know? Alaska—Seward!—was going to be on Vacation USA.”
“Anyone besides the hotel people,” Jackson said.
“You’re observant, Misty. I’ll bet that’s why you’re great at your job,” Clara said. “Did you get into a conversation with anyone else, say, on the street, or anything like that?”
“Anyone who looked at you strangely,” Thor said patiently.
She looked at him and shook her head, but then began to frown. “I only remember the man...the man in the chair!”
“What about the man in the chair?” Thor asked.
“She kind of brushed by him. I just thought he was kind of funny looking,” Misty said. “We were hurrying toward the elevator—the place had suddenly filled with people and she wanted to get up and away from the crowd. And she brushed by his knees. She kind of absently apologized or said ‘Excuse me,’ or something like that. He looked at her for a moment and said, ‘Not at all. No worries.’ He was polite... It just seemed to take him a minute to talk.” Her eyes suddenly became huge. “You mean it could have been him?” she demanded.
“Misty, we don’t know anything yet. We’re going to keep investigating,” Thor told her.
She nodded again. Her eyes filled with tears. “Both of them! Natalie and Amelia. I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it. My mother warned me that people might not always like getting gotten, but I never imagined...”
“Misty, we think that this is just a very sick and cruel human being,” Thor said. “And nothing would have changed what he wanted to do. Normal people just change the channel. Thank you—you’ve been a tremendous help. Lock us out.”
“Oh, I will, I will. The officer is still in the hall, right?” Misty said.
“Yes, he is,” Jackson assured her.
“I’m here. I guess for now. They asked that we stay a few days. Of course, we have to stay. The cameras, the props, the equipment...the police haven’t cleared us to pick up the props. Tomorrow morning, I think. I can’t wait... I can’t wait to leave. Except when I leave, I won’t have an officer in the hall. So, right now, I’m glad to stay. I mean, you have to get him. You have to. How will any of us be able to go to sleep at night?” she asked.
“We’ll do everything possible,” Thor assured her.
Now that she’d let them in, she didn’t want to let them go.
“You will. And you’re here, right? If I think of something else, I can...well, you can call me. Anytime of day or night. I’m used to it. I was used to it. I don’t know what will happen now. I mean, Natalie was Wickedly Weird Productions... Amelia was our media presence...it’s so horrible.”
“Yes, yes, it is,” Clara said. “There’s nothing we can say to make it better. We’re just so very sorry.”
Misty suddenly hugged Clara, gripping her tightly. Clara allowed her to cling. Then she gently disentangled herself.
At last, they were able to leave.
Thor, Jackson and Clara headed out of the Nordic Lights Hotel. Thor wanted to make one last stop: the airport.
They were able to find Ben Greenhall, head of security, who directed them to the hangar where they could find Ash McGruder, the pilot of Marc Kimball’s plane.
McGruder was playing a game at a desk at the far rear of the hangar with Vince Beardsley, a mechanic. Both were interested in speaking with them—asking the usual questions when a scandalous tragedy had taken place in the area.