Heart of Ice (9 page)

“When you hadn't come back in twenty-five minutes, I was sure something had gone wrong, so I went in after you,” Ned was saying. “I'm just sorry I didn't go in sooner.”

“You did the right thing, Ned.” Nancy reached over and squeezed his arm. “But are you sure you didn't see anyone going into or coming out of the office?”

“I'm positive,” Ned responded. “I had my eyes on the front door the whole time you were inside, and nobody went through it.”

“They must have come in through a side
door,” Nancy concluded. “Unless they were already inside. I just wish we knew who it was.”

• • •

When Nancy's wake-up call came at six o'clock the next morning, it was still dark outside. She had to be at Alpine Adventures at seven-thirty and still had last-minute packing to do. After taking a shower, she rolled her sleeping bag up and stuffed it into the bottom of the backpack that Alpine Adventures had supplied. Then she laid out all the clothing she'd need.

By the time Nancy had squeezed everything into her pack, strapped her thermal sleeping pad to the outside, and dressed, it was time to meet Ned for the drive over to Alpine Adventures.

“Bring your packs over here,” Logan called as Nancy and Ned pulled them out of the trunk of their car.

“I don't know how we're going to carry these packs up a fourteen-thousand-foot mountain,” Ned murmured as they made their way to the van.

“We only have to carry them to base camp,” Nancy offered as reassurance.

“That's a two-day hike,” Ned countered anxiously. “And even
it's
at ten thousand feet.”

Nancy smiled confidently. “I know you can handle it,” she said.

Nancy and Ned next went into the office to put on their boots and crampons so that Kara could check their fit.

With everything loaded, the group piled into the van and set off for the park. Kara had brought along warm muffins, fruit, tea, and coffee, and everyone ate as the van made its way along country highways, with Mt. Rainier beckoning in the distance.

Nancy squeezed Ned's hand as she gazed at the tall evergreens, their branches laden with white, powdery snow. The early-morning sky was clear and brilliant.

After a two-and-a-half-hour drive they climbed out of the van, and everyone gasped at Rainier. Almost completely covered in snow, it dwarfed the other mountains. They were at fifty-five hundred feet, and the remaining nine thousand feet—straight up—looked impossible to climb.

Hefting their packs and strapping snowshoes onto their boots, the group hiked over several flat, open spaces before beginning the ascent to Panorama Point.

As they hiked along, the conversation turned
from the weather to climbing experiences and gruesome climbing accidents. Hundreds of people had died on the mountain, many of them on the lower slopes and lesser peaks.

“Hikers don't realize that there's danger at lower altitudes, too,” Kara explained. “They think they're on safe, gentle territory, so they don't pay attention to what they're doing or where they're hiking, which is when accidents happen.”

Nancy felt a sense of foreboding as she lifted her snowshoes, keeping in rhythm with the other hikers. The mountain was unquestionably a dangerous one, with its glaciers, snow bridges, and crevasses, and it was even more dangerous with a possible criminal on the trip.

Sometime in midafternoon, the group arrived at their first camp near Panorama Point.

“This is it,” Alex declared, gesturing widely with his arms.

Nancy wondered exactly what he meant. The area was generally flat, with a sloping hill on one side that provided some shelter from the wind. A clump of fir trees stood off to the right, and there were a few rocky ledges about fifty yards away. They were in the middle of nowhere.

“We're going to build snow caves,” Kara explained when she saw the confusion on Nancy's face. “They're the warmest shelter out here.”

Nancy nodded and took her pack off, setting it on the snow near everyone else's. She marveled at the weightlessness she felt as she walked over to the group that had gathered near the hill.

“Okay,” Logan began as he unstrapped a small collapsible shovel from his backpack. “Alex and I are each going to start a cave by digging two holes into the side of this hill.” While Nancy and the rest of the group watched, the two men dug narrow tubelike holes into the side of the hill, about twenty-five feet apart.

“The holes should be just wide enough for one person to fit through,” Alex explained as he worked at the icy snow with his shovel. The two men dug for several minutes. While they worked, the others cleared the snow away from the openings, though Eladio was worried about getting snow in his boots.

Alex and Logan then wriggled themselves into the holes and each began to create a room. They shoved snow out through the holes, and the teams on the outside cleared it away.

Eventually the caves were large enough for a second person to fit inside, so Nancy crawled
inside one and began to help clear the space. It didn't take long for Nancy to realize that building a snow cave was difficult, tedious work. Because the entrances to the cave were long and narrow, she had to shovel the snow out in very small amounts.

The group worked on the caves for almost two hours, and when they were finished they had built two caves that each measured seven feet by seven feet—big enough for four people each.

As she set up her plastic liner and sleeping bag, Nancy commented how warm it was in the cave.

“This must be your first time in a snow cave,” Lisa said knowingly.

Nancy was slightly irritated by her tone, but she smiled graciously. “Is it that obvious?” she asked.

“Not really,” Anne assured her as she spread her thermal sleeping pad on the ground. Nancy was surprised that Anne had come to her defense. “But unless you've done a lot of winter climbing or spent time in the Arctic, there's no reason why you
would
spend time in a snow cave.”

“I guess that's true,” Nancy agreed, laughing. “I'd really miss having electricity.” Having placed her sleeping bag on top of her thermal
pad, Nancy decided to rejoin the rest of the group.

Wriggling out of the cave entrance, Nancy shivered and pulled her scarf up around her face. It was much colder outside.

Kara and Logan had set up a kind of shelter with tarps and were cooking dinner. Nancy walked over to the “kitchen” and poured boiling water into her bowl to heat it up. Logan had explained that if you put hot food into a frozen bowl, the food didn't stay warm for long.

“Lots of carbohydrates,” Kara joked as she filled Nancy and Ned's bowls with macaroni and cheese.

Ned and Nancy turned to go back into Ned's snow cave to eat. They huddled close together on Ned's sleeping bag, trying to keep warm as they ate.

When dinner was finished, Nancy and Ned went back outside. They asked Kara if she needed help with cleanup, but she insisted that everything was under control. Kara shooed everyone away from the kitchen area and began to do the dishes, so Nancy decided to turn in.

“Sleep tight,” Ned said to Nancy as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a tender kiss. His mouth was warm compared
to the cold mountain air, and Nancy felt herself melting in his arms.

“I will,” Nancy promised, feeling how tired she was. After giving Ned a final kiss good night, she crawled into her cave.

Since she had been the first to turn in, the snow cave was empty. Nancy pulled off her gloves, parka, and wind pants, leaving her hat and wool socks on for warmth.

After burrowing into her mummy-shaped sleeping bag, Nancy considered what the next day might bring.

A moment later her thoughts were interrupted by a loud scream that echoed through the night.

N
ANCY SAT BOLT UPRIGHT.
It was Kara who had screamed. In an instant Nancy was out of her sleeping bag and pulling on her boots and parka.

Nancy squirmed outside and saw Alex pulling Kara up over an icy ledge about forty yards from the camping area.

“What happened?” Nancy asked Ned as they watched Alex lift Kara to safety.

“I don't know,” he answered. “I was just getting settled into my sleeping bag when I heard her scream. I got out here just before you did.”

“She's okay,” Alex told Nancy and the rest of
the group, who had come to see what was going on. “You can go back to what you were doing.”

“What happened?” Nancy asked when she reached Alex and Kara.

“Someone pushed me,” Kara responded, her voice shaking. “I was standing outside, relaxing, before settling in for the night. When I walked by the ledge, I felt someone shove me over the edge.”

“Are you hurt?” Nancy asked.

“No, I'm fine,” Kara answered, but it was obvious she was shaken up.

“Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?” Nancy asked, lowering her voice.

“No,” Kara said helplessly. “It happened too fast. I was right by the edge, so it wouldn't have taken much strength to push me over.”

Nancy walked over to the area and shined her flashlight on the icy snow. She was hoping to find footprints, but the snow was so hard there were very few indentations. There was nothing discernible.

“Somebody wants you out of the way, and they're taking bold steps to make it happen,” Nancy said. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to let Lisa come on the trip, she thought.
They couldn't possibly keep an eye on her at every moment. And what about Anne?

“We've got to remember to keep a close eye on Lisa and Anne. I'm sure no one will try to pull another stunt like this.” /
hope
not, anyway, she thought to herself.

Having done all the investigating she could do in the dark, Nancy went back to her snow cave and snuggled into her sleeping bag. As she tried to fall asleep, she couldn't help but wonder what else would happen before the end of the trip.

• • •

The next morning the group ate a breakfast of hot oatmeal before repacking all their gear and continuing up the mountain. It was another perfect day for climbing, about ten degrees with a clear sky and not too much wind. The slope was steeper as they made their way onto the Paradise Glaciers. Kara led the group, with Logan in the middle and Alex at the rear. He made sure Lisa was directly in front of him and as far from Kara as possible. Alex and Logan had also done a thorough gear check that morning to make sure that nothing had been sabotaged.

“You should all be pressure-breathing,” Logan called to the group from behind Nancy. A
moment later she heard him exhaling noisily,
“Phhhhshhhhh.”

Nancy began to do the breathing exercise, even though she wasn't feeling the effects of the altitude. She felt silly making so much noise, but after a few minutes the noisy exhalation seemed natural.

Nancy began to think about the case, trying to piece together what she knew. Lisa Osterman was still her best suspect, though she wasn't sure what the girl's motive could be. Lisa could have pushed Kara over the edge. But so could almost anyone, Nancy knew—including Anne Bolle.

How did Hank Moody fit in with all this? That ticket payment tied him to Lisa—and to the case as well. Nancy sighed heavily and looked up at the beautiful sky. It was dotted with puffy clouds that were so close she could almost touch them.

After an hour and a half of climbing, the group stopped on a ledge for a break. Nancy had grown quite warm during the rugged climb and had loosened her scarf. But after standing still for just a few minutes, Nancy felt herself getting chilled. She pulled her scarf tightly around her neck and pulled her hat snugly down around her ears.

“Are you chilly?” Ned asked, coming up behind her and rubbing her shoulders vigorously.

Nancy nodded as Kara spoke up. “Be sure you're bundled up well,” she said to the group. “When you're standing still, your body doesn't produce that extra heat, and it doesn't take long for the chilly temperature to get to you.”

“Also, I want to see all of you drinking from your water bottles,” Logan told everyone. “You may not think you're thirsty, but you're losing water as you sweat, so drink up.”

Nancy pulled her water bottle out from inside her parka, where it was carried to keep the water from freezing. After taking a sip, she handed the bottle to Ned.

“Thanks,” he murmured.

Kara opened a bag of nuts, raisins, and sunflower seeds and passed them around. Nancy wasn't feeling hungry, but dutifully took a handful.

She passed the bag to Eladio, who paused for a second. “Could you scoop me up a handful and put it into my glove?” he finally asked her.

Nancy laughed, reached inside to pull out a handful, and carefully let the contents fall into Eladio's gloved palm.

After everyone had a chance to eat, drink, and take a short rest, the group began climbing again. Moving slowly, they made their way up
the Paradise Glaciers—snow-covered masses of ice with occasional rocks jutting out on either side.