The Hidden

Adam nodded. “I was a guest there years ago. It’s been changed since King made it famous, though.”


“Wasn’t the movie filmed there?” Terry asked.

“No, that was Oregon’s Timberline Lodge,” Adam said.

“I think we should go,” Meg said to Scarlet. “It’s a perfect opportunity.”

“Okay,” Scarlet murmured, giving in to the inevitable.

“Great!” Terry said.

“I suppose if we made a thing of it,” Gwen said, “it would almost be like a party.”

“We might be in,” Gigi said. “We’ve been there before, of course, since we come up here every year. It would be fun to go with the rest of you, though. I mean, come on, we can’t all sit around here morosely day after day.”

“You’ll definitely have fun if you come with us,” Terry said.

“You’ll have to count me out, I’m afraid,” Clark said. “My back is acting up on me.”

“In that case, I’ll stay here, too,” Gigi said. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“Charles and I will go,” Gwen said decisively.

“Sure. Why not,” Charles agreed.

“And I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Adam said.

“Scarlet, why don’t you see if you can make tour reservations there for tonight?” Diego said. “I’m sorry Matt and Brett and I won’t be able to join you.”

“What about you, Linda? Would you like to come with us?” Terry asked.

“God, no,” Linda told him. “I’m as weary of the history of this area as it’s possible to be. You’ll all have much more fun without me.” She waved and walked into the house.

“She does have attitude,” Ben said to Trisha, but he was smiling.

“That’s why we keep her, sweetheart,” Trisha said, matching his smile.

“So...six of us?” Scarlet asked. “Don’t get your hopes up—the ghost tours sell out fast.” She headed inside.

When she returned a few minutes later she was smiling. “We lucked out. They had a cancellation. Let’s be ready to leave in an hour, okay? It’s only a short drive over, but the views are gorgeous, and you may all want to enjoy the lobby before we head down to the basement to start the tour.”

“I’ll head right up to get ready,” Meg said.

She and Matt headed inside, and Brett waved a goodbye and started toward the museum.

Diego walked over to Scarlet. “You need to get changed, too. Come on.”

As he led her away, she studied him curiously.

“What?” he asked.

“With everything that’s going on, do you really think we should be sightseeing?” she asked.

“Sightseeing is exactly what you should be doing.”

“I’ve seen the sights.”

“Yes, but not with this mix of people. And it’s intriguing to see who’s going and who’s staying.”

“And why aren’t you going?”

“I have to see a man about a horse,” he said.

“Right.” Her skepticism was plain.

“I have to see a woman about a face.”

“What?”

“That artist who’s also a Krewe member is flying in tonight,” Diego explained. “If she can help us ID the remains found up on the mountain it could help.”

“That’s how you’re investigating? By trying to identify a dead man who might not have anything to do with the murders? You’re not going to grill a lot of people—the way the police grilled me?”

“I need to have a reason to grill them. You were taken in because of those pictures on your camera. We don’t have a reason to prioritize anyone over everybody else. But we will. Sooner or later the killer will make a mistake.”

“What if the killer is long gone?” she asked.

He shook his head. He was serious, the light gone from his dark eyes as he looked at her. “Stay close to Meg. She’s a crack shot, and she’ll be armed. Adam will look out for you, too, but he leaves the action to the Krewe. Be careful and listen closely. You just don’t know what insight you might gain tonight. Or what ghosts might speak,” he said lightly.