Final Resort (14 page)

NINETEEN

H
e was crazy. Or she was hallucinating. She wiped her eyes, but Luca was still there, sliding down the cable toward the shed, using his jacket as a harness. He’d stopped to wriggle past several sticking points along the wire and each time, her heart convulsed. The cable quivered violently now, the gondola shuddering, and Luca made tedious progress toward the shed.

She texted Stephanie, not really thinking there was much Luca’s sister could do save what Ava was doing, standing, heart pounding, praying. Could Luca actually make it back to the shed with a flimsy improvised harness? Her emotions alternated between terror and exhilaration as he moved along the cable.

He stopped suddenly, and Ava’s heart thumped. Legs flailing, Luca appeared to be fighting
against some problem she could not identify. One of his hands came loose and he hung by one fist to the cable.

“Luca,” she screamed.

He didn’t answer, but his jacket fluttered down through the air in tatters.

Of course the wire had cut through it.

She looked upslope. The cable would not hold much longer, and Luca was still thirty feet or so in the air. In the distance she saw
Stephanie appear over the top of the hill, Tate and Mack Dog at her heels. She stopped suddenly, and Ava knew that she saw immediately the danger her brother was in.

She took off toward them at a run, the heavy snow impeding her progress.

Ava turned again to Luca.

“It’s going to break, Luca,” she screamed.

He dropped down lower, now suspended from both hands and she almost
screamed again. Then he began hand over hand to make his way down the cable toward the shed, as if he was a kid on the playground monkey bars.

He moved and she kept pace below as he closed the gap between them.

The blood roared loudly in her ears but not loud enough to drown out the horrendous snap of the cable giving way. The sound went through her like a gunshot as the gondola plummeted
to the ground and Luca began to free fall.

Ava had heard people say that accidents sometimes unrolled in slow motion to the horrified observer. She now understood what they meant. Luca hung there motionless for a long moment until the recoil of the wire made him jerk like a helpless rag doll. He fell along with the cable until he was snapped free and flung to the ground, his body somersaulting
over and over until he disappeared into the snow some distance away. Mercifully, he was tossed clear from the wreckage of the gondola car which was now imprisoned in a deep crater of snow.

She ran.

It was rough going in the freshly fallen snow and she repeatedly broke through the crust of snow before hauling herself up again. She saw no sign of Luca.

Stephanie caught up, panting.
“Where is he?”

Tate was still a ways off, his weak leg slowing him down. Mack Dog, however, crossed the snow easily, leaping when the surface was too soft and scrambling through the troughs Stephanie had made in her approach.

The dog stiffened at some sound they could not hear and made his ungainly way over to the mountain of snow that had collected along the supports for the shed. Ava
could see now that the snow was disturbed, plowed into a deep trough as if a mole had made its way through the thick blanket.

Stephanie and Ava flailed around in Mack Dog’s wake, calling Luca’s name.

They followed after the excited barking until Stephanie yelled out.

“Here. He’s here.”

She had a grip on the hem of his jeans. Ava could see nothing else of Luca due to his shroud
of snow. She felt around for his other ankle and they began to pull him out of the snowbank.

“Try not to twist his body,” Stephanie said.

Ava didn’t remind her she’d had enough ski patrol experience to know not to move a patient unnecessarily. They had no choice but to free him from the freezing shroud.

His body easily slid away from the burrow, and they were able to get him onto
a relatively solid patch of snow. Stephanie feverishly brushed the icy piles away, and Ava knelt with trembling fingers to check for a pulse.

“Called for an ambulance,” Tate said as he arrived. “They’ve got to get a plow through first. Chopper’s out on another call.”

Ava’s fingers still sought the steady beat on Luca’s throat. As far as she could see, there was no trauma to his head
under which Tate was gingerly sliding his jacket to separate Luca’s torso from the freezing ground.

Please, please, please.

She was afraid to believe there could be another outcome different than the terrible stillness that seemed to fall over her life when her mother died.

People died.

No, people were taken.

Violently.

Unexpectedly.

Tragically.

She’d learned
the angry truth of that and tutored her heart in the lesson.

Yet, she still found herself straining to feel that precious beat, her spirit seized with some illogical hope that she could not explain. In that moment, she knew that if Luca was lost, her heart would be, too.

She pressed the pads of her fingers against his windpipe and traced them up to the hollow of his throat.

Stephanie
was leaning over her now, her lips trembling.

And Ava felt a pulse.

“He’s alive,” she said, putting her cheek to his mouth to confirm he was still breathing.

Ava began checking his extremities for obvious injuries. He groaned when she touched his shoulder. She’d never been more thrilled at a sound before.

“Ambulance is stuck at the bottom of the mountain, waiting for a snowplow,”
Tate said, one hand over his phone. “They’ll reroute the chopper as soon as they can.”

Ava almost wailed aloud. “He can’t wait. We’ve got to get him off the snow.”

The revving of an engine made them all turn. A big bear of a man roared up on a snowmobile.

“Bully,” Ava cried, “how did you get up here?”

He climbed off. “I was out for a spin. Thought I’d check in because I hadn’t
heard from you for a couple of days. Got here just in time to see the gondola come down. What were you doing on that death trap anyway?”

“Never mind that now,” Stephanie said. “I saw a toboggan in the garage. You can take him down the road to meet the ambulance.”

“Sure,” Bully said. “Glad to help.”

By the time Stephanie and Tate retrieved the toboggan, Sue and Goren arrived, panting.
Ava filled them in.

“Is he badly hurt?” Sue asked, eyes huge.

“I don’t know,” Ava answered.

Goren shook his head. “I can’t wait to get off this mountain.”

They attached the toboggan to the snowmobile and loaded Luca aboard as carefully as possible. Stephanie climbed on behind Bully. “Meet me at the hospital as soon as you can,” she said before they took off.

Ava did not
think of it until a moment later.

The snowmobile tracks that she and Luca had seen earlier before they’d ascended to the shed. Bully said he had arrived only just in time to see Luca fall, but maybe he was lying.

* * *

Luca opened his eyes to see a blurry face staring at him. At first he thought he was dreaming, but the face steadied and drew clearer.

Ava peered at him, Stephanie
and Tate pressed in close behind her. He jerked causing them all to jump, wincing as a lancing pain cut through his shoulder.

Ava smiled widely.

“What are you grinning for?” he demanded. “My shoulder is killing me.”

“Because, aside from a concussion and a dislocated shoulder which the doctor fixed,” Stephanie cut in, “you are perfectly fine.”

He blinked as the memory came back.
The cable failing. His spectacular plummet to earth after his jacket ripped to shreds. “Of course I’m fine. I had an excellent escape plan.”

Ava laughed loud and long. He would have taken offense if he hadn’t enjoyed the sound so much.

“How did I get here?”

Ava explained about Bully. Her furrowed brow made him further question her.

“I’m going to go to the trailer park and talk
to him,” she said. “To find out what he was really doing there.”

Luca nodded and edged to the side of the bed. “I’ll go, too.”

“Oh, no,” Ava and Stephanie said in unison.

“You’re not going anywhere until tomorrow morning,” Stephanie finished. “Doctor’s orders.”

He eyed both women. “There is no way I’m staying overnight.” So maybe his head was pounding like someone was beating
his skull with a mallet, but he was not going to be imprisoned in a hospital.

Stephanie put a hand on his chest. “You can’t leave until the doctor releases you,” she repeated.

“That’s not how it works. This is a hospital, not a jail.” He tried to scoot off the bed again.

Stephanie folded her arms across her chest. “It is if you’re in restraints. They do that if they think you might
be a danger to yourself, you know, pending a psychological workup.”

He stared. “And who exactly is going to put me in restraints?”

She eyed him placidly. “Dad donated the money for the trauma unit. One phone call and I’m sure I could have you held here for an evaluation. You are just crazy enough to do yourself bodily harm.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” he rasped.

“Don’t try me.”
Stephanie settled gracefully in the chair. “We’re both staying here until you get a clean bill of health. There are still a few more tests that haven’t come back.”

Luca shot an exasperated look at Tate. “Are you going to let your wife get away with this?”

Tate shrugged. “She doesn’t need my permission to keep you from doing something dumb.”

Luca fumed, his mood made even fouler
by the sparking pain in his shoulder. “This is unbelievable.”

Even though he protested loudly and vigorously to everyone within earshot, it did no good. The best he could do was make Ava promise not to go speak to Bully until he was released.

“The police are waiting to talk to me and then I have to go finalize arrangements for my uncle’s memorial service anyway,” she said, a wave of
sadness passing across her face that momentarily derailed his ire.

She came to the edge of the bed and pressed a kiss to his forehead, her lips soft and gentle. He could not stop himself from tipping his face up, his mouth in search of hers, but she had moved away.

“That was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m glad you’re okay,” she said before she left.

Then she was gone.

For a second, his heart felt light, dancing above the pain that rolled through his body.

Sergeant Towers came in, expression unruffled as ever, listening attentively as Luca gave his account. “So you figure the person who pushed you was Sue, Harold or Goren?”

“Or Bully,” Luca added.

Towers did not seem surprised by the addition to the list. “I’ve known Sue and Harold a long
time. Bully, too.”

“And you think they wouldn’t have done such a thing.”

His mouth quirked at the corner. “I’ve learned in this job that even normal, average people can do the unthinkable if they believe they have a good reason.” He paused. “Passions can run high.”

Stephanie stood. “What kind of passions?”

“The usual. Money, power, love.”

“Was Sue still in love with Paul?”

The officer frowned. “Not Paul.”

Luca heard the slight hesitation in his voice. “Who, then?”

Towers zipped his jacket. “If you want to know all the dirt, you’ll have to rake it up yourself. I’m not a gossip columnist. Have a nice afternoon.” The door closed softly behind him.

Luca shifted, causing his shoulder to throb. “What do you make of that?”

“I don’t know, but maybe
we better take a closer look at Sue Agnoti,” she said. “For now,” Stephanie said, opening the laptop Tate brought from the lodge after the plow cleared the road, “because we’re going to be here a while, we might as well solve this treasure mystery, don’t you think?”

As much as he wanted to turn his back on his infuriating sister, he tried to put it behind him. “What do you hear from Victor?”

“Glad you asked,” she said. “He said to tell you that he’s always suspected you’re certifiably insane.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Luca grumped. “What about the printing press business?”

“Victor is a wealth of information, as he promised. He credits the invention of the first real successful press to the
German
Johannes Gutenberg
around 1440. The man was actually a goldsmith, ironically, and
he created an alloy of lead, tin and antinomy that was durable enough to be used in the press. The separate pieces of type could be reused and rearranged.”

Luca wished his head would stop pounding long enough for him to think it through. “Maybe Paul got hold of a part of the press, some of the original movable type. It would be worth a fortune. That would explain the size of the box and the
book about printing presses.”

“I’ll do a search and see if I can figure out what something like that would cost.”

“Could be he got his hands on an old book, one of Gutenberg’s early efforts.”

“I thought we were looking for the Sunset Star,” Tate put in. “What does this all have to do with a pearl?”

Luca closed his eyes and pictured the verse from Matthew and half mumbled to
himself, “One pearl of great price.” He looked up to find Tate and Stephanie staring at him. “Maybe Paul found that pearl.”

“Only it isn’t a pearl at all,” Stephanie finished.

“And someone else is after it.” Luca thought of Ava. She would not be safe until they found the treasure.

And he had to make sure they found it before Paul’s killer did.

TWENTY

A
va felt a twinge of guilt after bumming a ride off a local and heading to Peak Season late that afternoon. She’d promised Luca, but she could not keep her word. Her heart still echoed with the terror of seeing him hanging on the cable, awakening feelings she could not tolerate. The twin urges to both run from Whisper Mountain and the ludicrous hope that she might find a
treasure that would save her family home warred inside her, too.

She could make sense of none of it except the knowledge that she needed to immediately put an end to the spiraling chaos, before anyone else got hurt.

Her fingers curled into tight fists at the memory of frantically searching for a pulse on Luca’s cold, still body. She would not allow anyone else to die on Whisper Mountain,
especially Luca.

Pushing away all disturbing thoughts, she crunched up the walkway.

It was stupid to come and talk to Bully alone, but deep down in her heart, she believed he had not harmed Paul. Not Bully, the man who used to pull her on a sled when she’d visited Uncle Paul and helped her make a massive snow monster that put the other kids’ sculptures to shame.

Hand raised to knock,
she felt someone grip her shoulder.

She whirled to find herself staring at the angry face of Luca Gage.

His face was lined with pain and his right arm swathed in a sling. “You promised me you wouldn’t come here alone.”

She caught her breath. “You look terrible. What are you doing out of the hospital?”

“Tests came back fine, and Stephanie couldn’t go through with her threat
to have me tied up like a rabid dog, so I discharged myself.”

“That wasn’t smart.”

“Neither is this,” he said, jerking a thumb at the door. “Someone is trying to kill you or me or both of us and you just walk right up here like a lamb to the slaughter. How does that make sense exactly? Explain it to me.”

“This is my problem. I don’t want you risking your life again.”

“It’s
mine to risk, and what about you? You’ve got a father who loves you and I...”

“And?”

He huffed. “And I think this whole plan to confront Bully alone is ridiculous. Besides, you broke your promise.”

She could not resist a smile at his petulant tone, like a boy whose buddy had chosen someone else for the kickball team. “I’m sorry I broke my promise, but I stand by the decision. Let
me handle it alone.”

He straightened, although the effort made him wince. “And what if I refuse to do that?”

She opened her mouth to retort when the door suddenly opened and Bully stood in his usual jeans and flannel shirt, chewing on a toothpick.

“If you two lovebirds are gonna raise a ruckus, maybe you should do it somewhere else.”

Luca’s cheeks pinked and Ava felt her own
cheeks flush. “We’re not... Never mind. I need to talk to you, Bully.”

His eyes narrowed a fraction. “Cops already came an hour ago, asked me what I was doing up the mountain. I told them same thing I told you.”

“You were there before the cable snapped. We saw the tracks,” Luca said.

“You’re mistaken,” Bully said. “All this treasure hunting is making you paranoid.” He started to
close the door, but Ava held it open as a piece of the puzzle snapped into place.

“Hang on. I finally remembered what’s been bugging me. That night when someone yanked me under the trailer. We told you about the box and you said Paul probably only found fake jewelry. You specifically mentioned a cameo.”

“So?”

Luca fisted his good hand on his hip. “We found a stash of jewelry at
the lodge and it had a cameo in it.”

Bully went still. “Cameos are pretty common. My mother had one and her sister did also. Don’t prove anything.”

Ava pulled the other detail into place. “Your vest, the down one you always wear. I noticed it had a tear in the fabric on the back.” She locked eyes with him. “You got it crawling under Paul’s trailer, didn’t you? You knew there was a cameo
in that box because you opened it.”

Bully looked from Luca to Ava, considering. “Yeah, I opened it. So what? Paul owed me a nice chunk of change for rent, and I knew he was gonna skip town again before I ever saw a dime of it. I noticed he was fussing around with something under the trailer couple days before his accident. I crawled under there while he was gone and took a look. Not easy.
I got stuck for a while.”

Ava felt like her heart would beat out of her rib cage. “What was in it, Bully? What was in the box?”

“Some jewelry, on top of something all wrapped up. I couldn’t get a good look at it ’cause there wasn’t enough space to open the box all the way.” He looked down. “I was going to go back later and take it out, but he must have moved it because when I looked
inside again, the contents were gone. Next day, so was Pauly.”

Ava’s throat thickened. “Oh, Bully, I wish you had told us before.”

His gaze was riveted to the ground. “I was just looking out for myself. I never hurt your uncle. Never laid a hand on him.”

“Why should we believe that? You still haven’t given us a good reason for being on Whisper Mountain this morning,” Luca said.

Bully’s head came up and he folded his arms. “That’s like I told you. Just checking in.”

“I don’t believe that,” Luca said.

His mouth tightened. “You believe what you want, sonny, but I don’t think you’re in a position to judge me.” The challenge in his eyes was clear.

“Why is that?” Luca retorted.

“You’re not from around here. You’re some rich kid who came to spend the
winters and then leave to go back to your fancy house and fancy cars. And why are you here now? Not to fix Ava’s problems or help lay her uncle to rest. You’re here to find the treasure, or maybe you’re interested in buying up Whisper.”

Luca stiffened. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I? Your rich daddy owns a share in Gold Summit, don’t he? Would be a pretty neat deal
to tack on Whisper. Sticking around until you convince Ava to sell it to you?”

Luca’s eyes went wild with anger.

Ava stepped between them.

“Bully, I’m sorry,” she said. “Of course I know you didn’t hurt Uncle Paul. I want you to come to the memorial tomorrow morning at Whisper.”

Bully was still staring at Luca. “Sure you want me to come? Seems I’m under a cloud of suspicion.”

“Paul would want you there. Please. Ten o’clock.”

Bully shrugged. “I’ll check my calendar.” He bobbed his chin at Ava. “Be careful, honey. You’re getting confused about who your friends are.”

He closed the door.

Luca stalked down the steps, stopping so suddenly that she almost plowed into him from behind. He whirled to face her.

“That’s not true what he said. I’m not here
to take your treasure or pressure you to sell. Do you believe that?”

His green eyes gleamed in the rich winter sun.

Did she believe that? When he had so much to gain? Looking into his battered face she felt a flutter deep inside, a curl of warmth that started at her toes and worked its way up to her throat. “Yes, I do.”

He sighed and reached an arm around to pull her close. Her
heart sped up at the strong embrace, the warmth of his chin on her head. “I would never hurt you,” he whispered.

She wanted nothing more than to stay in that embrace, to hold tight to the comfort he offered, but Bully was partially correct. Luca would go when the treasure was found, back to his life, his future, which would happen far away from Whisper Mountain.

You’re right, Luca,
she thought, pain trickling through the pleasure.
You won’t hurt me, because I won’t let you.
She allowed herself one more moment of tenderness before she pulled out of his arms.

* * *

They waited for Stephanie to pick them up. Luca remained silent on the trip back up to the lodge. His body protested at each bump and turn, and he was still irritated that Ava was bent on pursuing the investigation
on her own. Their time together was coming to a close. All he could do was figure out who was after the treasure, if indeed there was actually a treasure to be found at all.

The wall had fallen back into place, the connection he’d felt between them severed. Maybe deep down she really did still question his motives. He was beginning to question them himself. Why was he taking her withdrawal
so personally?

He had the sinking feeling she’d been building walls around herself since the moment her mother drowned in Melody Lake. Nothing he did or didn’t do would change that. Only God had the power, and even He couldn’t change a heart that didn’t want to be altered.

Luca noted Charlie Goren’s car was gone when they arrived as the sun mellowed into a pastel sunset. Sue was already
deep in preparations for the memorial, and Ava dived in, helping prepare sandwiches and potato salad, enough for dozens of guests, although Ava did not expect any visitors at all.

They would be lucky to round up a half dozen people bent on showing their respects but Luca kept that comment to himself. Everyone worked hard to keep him idle. He was not allowed to move a single table or even
wipe down the counter. Aggravated to no end, he was relieved when everyone grabbed quick sandwiches and excused themselves to go to bed.

“I’m staying in Uncle Paul’s room,” Ava told him firmly.

He didn’t have time to muster a reply before she continued. “I’ve made up my mind.”

“I’m selling the resort to the highest bidder right after the memorial. If that’s your dad, he’s welcome
to it.”

“There’s still a chance we can find the treasure.”

“It’s not worth the risk. I’m selling Whisper.”

A small cry came from the hallway. Sue came in, arms wrapped around herself. “No, Ava, don’t do that. Your father needs more time to heal, then he’ll come back and things will turn around.”

Ava showed surprised at Sue’s naïveté. “My dad isn’t going to walk again. He’s
accepted that.”

“We can help him. Put in more ramps.” Her eyes glittered. “Have his car outfitted with hand controls.”

“No, Sue. He’s behind my decision to sell.”

“But, but I thought...” her mouth went slack.

“What did you think?” Luca asked gently. Towers’s strange comment flashed through his memory.

Was Sue in love with Paul?

Not Paul.

He exchanged a look with
Ava and he saw his own confusion mirrored on her face. “Sue,” Ava said, taking her hand. “Why is it so important to you that my father come back?”

Sue clenched Ava’s fingers. “I just wanted it to be all right again, like it was before.”

“It can’t be that way, not after my mother killed herself.”

“Maybe she didn’t,” Sue said, yanking her hands away. “Maybe it was an accident and
she fell in.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’ve just had a lot of time to think over the years. This place doesn’t have to be a place of sadness, honey. It can be a new start.”

“It’s not going to happen. You’ve done a great job trying to keep Whisper in one piece. I’m grateful, and so is my father.” Ava moved closer as if to embrace Sue, but she kept out of reach.

Sue’s voice was
low, intense. “Your father has nothing to thank me for.”

She walked stiffly away.

* * *

Ava puzzled over Sue’s odd reaction as she pulled on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt and got between the cold sheets. Mack Dog seemed disgruntled to be keeping Ava company instead of his newly adopted master, Tate, but Luca insisted. Sue had to know selling was the only option. What bothered her
more was Sue’s suggestion that her mother’s death was an accident.

Ava’s mind drifted back to that horrible night. Her mother and father had been fighting. She’d heard their voices loud, though muffled, through the bedroom walls. Her adult mind found it perfectly understandable.

A man dealing with his sudden crippling.

A woman with a history of depression struggling over near bankruptcy
and her husband’s frail condition.

Fights were natural and this one had seemed no worse than the others.

Then the squeak of her father’s wheelchair as he banged away down the hallway, past her door. Later, a quiet descended on the house until she heard the door open and saw, through the tiny upstairs window, her mother walking along the path into a delicate curtain of falling snow.

Ava’s body tensed, as it always did when she allowed her mind to travel back in time. Why hadn’t she run after her mother? Pressed herself into that dark cloud of sadness until she forced a smile out of Marcia Stanton. Would one smile have been enough to change her terrible decision that day?

Tears coursed down Ava’s face.

Why, Mom?

Why, God?

She had not asked Him in a
very long time. It was like she’d told Luca.

I can’t pray. I can’t pray anymore.

Then I’ll pray for both of us.

She’d never imagined that someone else would hold her up to God. Would God reject her? she wondered. Cast His eyes away from her rage and bitterness?

He knows how hard that is for us sometimes.

God knew. Then why didn’t He send comfort?

She thought about
Luca who was praying for her.

Why, God?

There was still no answer, just the same silence as before, but she felt a sense of something different. Something that felt strangely like comfort.