Murder in the Devil's Cauldron (4 page)

Then there were the different smells. What
she noticed most was the scent of wood burning from someone's
fireplace or campfire. Under that, and much fainter, was something
moist and earthy. And mixed in to all that was a faint smell of
pine like it was Christmas.

This place didn't even remotely look like
anywhere she had ever been. Instead of cheek by jowl apartment
buildings and convenience stores, Starr saw hints of other cabins
nearby, but they were each surrounded by trees so they were barely
visible. It felt weird not to see another house right next to hers,
but in a nice way. It was almost as if no one else lived here.
Starr knew getting to live in the cabin was one of the reasons her
mother had accepted the job here. It had been hard to find a job
and place to live after Starr's father had taken off three years
earlier. Most of the apartments had been in neighborhoods where
walking to the corner, let alone all the way to school, was a major
challenge. Even taking the bus was fraught with danger and she
always breathed a sigh of relief when she made it to her
destination without being accosted.

On the other hand, she had discovered that
she could run really fast. No matter how big the kid was who wanted
to snatch her backpack, take her lunch or beat her up, she was able
to outrun them. There might be things here she wasn't wild about,
but she sure as heck wasn't going to miss running the gauntlet
several times a day.

She looked at the other cabins and wondered
about the other people who were going to be their neighbors.
Wouldn't it be great if another girl her age lived here and they
could be friends?

Even though it wasn't dark yet and the stars
hadn't come out, Starr took a deep breath, closed her eyes and
wished. Please let this work out. Please let us stay here.

She stood as still as she could for a long
time, eyes closed and fingers crossed as she waited for her wish to
take hold, hoping that if she concentrated extra hard for a really
long time, maybe it would work even without a star. Finally, afraid
her mother might come back while she was still standing there,
Starr opened her eyes. The stars still weren't out and it wasn't
dark yet, so she didn't know if it had worked. She gave a last look
around and then went back inside. She'd get holy hell if the
unpacking wasn't done by the time her mother came back, so she'd
better take care of that. She could always try her wish again
later.

It didn't take long to put everything in the
kitchen away, so Starr tackled the suitcases in her room next. She
loved her new bedroom. It was the nicest one she had ever had.
Instead of carpeting, the floor was wide planks of dark wood that
gleamed in the late afternoon light. It was large and had room for
a real bed, a desk and - thrill of all thrills - a big bookcase.
The closet was kind of small, but considering she didn't have a lot
to put in there, it was more than enough. As she put away her
t-shirts, Starr realized she wouldn't have to run any more unless
she wanted to. The reality of leaving her old way of living behind
was finally beginning to sink in and she pushed the dresser drawer
closed slowly. She went back to the window. Her smile was sudden
and wide and nearly lit up the room with joy.

She put the suitcase in the far corner of the
closet and checked her watch. There might be time to explore, but
she decided to wait until later. There wasn't
that
much time
and it would be really easy to lose track of time, especially when
there was so much to see. Then she'd be late and Starr knew that
wouldn't be a good idea on her first day here.

Instead, she went through the cabin to make
sure she hadn't missed anything and saw her duffel bag still
sitting on the living room couch. She kicked around the idea of
letting it wait until later, then thought about what her mother
would say if she came back and saw it wasn't done. Starr sighed and
decided to empty it now. No point giving her mother something else
to get upset about.

She hadn't really packed the duffel bag
carefully. It had simply been a handy place to toss all the small
stuff and last minute things. So now she simply tipped the bag out
onto the bed so she could sort through everything. Only then did
she remember she had tossed her jar of coins in there. She dropped
the bag immediately, but it was too late. The jar hit the bed and
money scattered everywhere - under the bed, the desk and into the
closet.

"Rats!"

She checked the time. Maybe if she worked
really fast, she could have it all picked up before her mother
returned. Hoping she wouldn't come back early, Starr began by
dragging the desk away from the wall and scooped up several
quarters and dimes. Then she pulled the bookcase away from the wall
and picked up the coins that had hidden there. However, when she
tried to move the bed, it was too heavy. Getting down on her hands
and knees, she peered underneath and saw glints of silver just out
of reach. She flattened herself onto her tummy and wriggled under
the bed. It was a bit of a stretch, but she finally managed to snag
everything. As she started wriggling back out, she heard her
mother's voice screeching at her.

"What in the hell have you been doing!"

Startled, Starr bumped her head. She hadn't
had time to put everything back yet and as she emerged from under
the bed, she realized it looked as if a mini tornado had ripped
through her room.

"I dropped my coin jar," she said as she sat
up and pushed her hair out of her face. "I'll put everything
back."

"Jesus Christ." Her mother put one hand up,
covering her eyes. She sighed and then looked at Starr. "Honestly,
Stella. I can't even leave you alone for an hour. You're a disaster
waiting to happen. God!" She looked at her watch and sighed again.
"Jesus! Get washed up. You'll have to take care of all this after
dinner."

Chastened, Starr washed her hands and
followed her mother up to the Lodge. Now that it was getting dark,
little solar powered lights were coming on to mark the way. As they
came around a bend, Starr saw that the Lodge was outlined with
strands of fairy lights that made it look like it was floating on a
dark sea like a castle out of a story.

The entry door was carved and heavy and she
half expected it to creak madly when her mother pulled it open, but
it swung open quietly, exposing dark wooden beams and thick
oriental rugs that made it feel even more like a castle.
Overwhelmed, Starr tried to look everywhere at the same time, but
there was too much to see and all she really got was an impression
of elegance and size.

She could see the dining room straight ahead,
but her mother led her down a hallway next to the front desk. Starr
could hear the rattle of pans as they passed a set of double doors
and several waiters came bursting out carrying huge platters,
crossed the hall and then went into what she figured out was
probably the main dining room. At the end of the hallway, Starr saw
a small room with a buffet.

"This is where you'll pick up your meals,"
her mother told her. "You need to pay attention because you'll be
on your own for breakfast and lunch."

She opened a door across from the end of the
buffet line and Starr saw a small area with tables. Beyond it she
could see the main dining room. "This is the only place you're
allowed to sit," her mother said. "I don't ever want to catch you
in the big dining room. That's only for guests."

There weren't very many tables and Starr
looked at them doubtfully. "What if all the tables are full?" she
asked.

"Then take your tray back to the cabin and
eat there. We'll eat here tonight, but most of the time we'll bring
dinner back to the cabin."

"Why don't we eat dinner here, too?" Starr
asked. She liked the cozy tables and homey atmosphere. Plus, eating
dinner with her mother was like trying to walk through her old
neighborhood without getting beaten up. It would be a lot nicer to
eat all their meals here.

"Because I need to get away sometimes," her
mother snapped. "I won't get a lot of time off. Especially at the
beginning. So I expect you to meet me here on time."

Starr hid her feelings behind the blank
expression she had gotten very good at putting on. "I was just
asking."

"Well now you know. Don't make me sorry I
brought you with me."

Starr didn't respond. She knew her mother
hadn't had a choice, but wasn't going to mention that at this
point. She just followed her mother's example and took a plate,
carefully selecting items from the buffet and then carried her tray
over to the table her mother selected. Although she was glad she'd
be on her own during the day, she wished she could do the same for
dinner. Back in Minneapolis, she'd managed to see very little of
her mother and knew that was the way her mother wanted it, as well.
She didn't understand why they had to eat dinner together now. But
Starr knew better than to ask. Fortunately, dinner was over quickly
and Starr was released to return to the cabin.

"Make sure you clean up your mess before you
go to bed," her mother reminded her as she showed Starr where to
put the dishes when they were done. "I'll be here until late and I
don't want to have to deal with that when I get back."

"I'll do it right away," Starr promised.

While her mother didn't say anything, her
face spoke volumes and Starr hurried back to the cabin. She'd been
trying so hard to do everything right, but had already managed to
mess up. For a moment she wanted to cry. She just wished it wasn't
so hard to get everything right.

Then she perked up. Maybe when she got her
room put back together she'd have time to check things out. And it
was always possible her mother would relax the dinner idea after
they had been here for awhile. The thought made Starr feel
better.

Normally she would have done a little
exploring on her way back, but figured that since she didn't
actually know when her mother would return, it might be safer to
get back right away and finish up. There would be plenty of time to
look around later.

She followed the path back to the cabin. All
the fairy lights were on now and the woods had taken on an
enchanted glow. As she came around a bend in the trees, she saw the
cabin with the blue dreamcatcher hanging on the porch. She stopped
and put a hand to her mouth in surprise and recognition.

That's where I live now, she thought with
delight. I have a porch and a dreamcatcher and live in a cabin in
the woods.

She hugged herself happily and then skipped
the rest of the way, feeling as if she was going to burst with
joy.

By the time Fae pulled into her yard, her
back was radiating spikes of pain and it hurt to even think.
Wearily she turned off the ignition and closed her eyes for a long
moment, summoning the energy to at least get out of the car. The
boxes Bailey had given her were safe in the car for tonight, so all
she had to do now was get herself into the house, but the thirty
feet or so from the car to the door felt as if it was more like
thirty miles.

Reaching into her purse, Fae groped for the
prescription bottle. Fortunately it was large and she found it
immediately. She pulled it out, pried off the top and took out two
pills. The water bottle had rolled under the seat, but she soon had
it in hand and washed the pills down. She pulled the lever on her
seat and pushed it back until she was nearly reclining.

While the pain didn't immediately disappear,
taking the weight off her low back brought a certain measure of
relief and she closed her eyes gratefully. Concentrating on her
breathing, she waited for the pain medication to take effect.

She should have taken them before she left
Duluth, she thought, but hadn't wanted to chance it. Besides, she
knew Bailey would have reconsidered his request if he knew how
difficult things still were and she didn't want that. She was tired
of sitting around (well, lying around would be closer to the truth,
if she was going to be totally honest) contemplating the lake, the
cats and the ceiling. Working a case would give her mind something
to do. She'd figure out how to manage the physical side effects as
she went along.

Fae considered the room she used as her
office, thinking about how she could reconfigure it so she could
either sit or recline most of the time. It shouldn't be
that
hard to set it up. She thought about how she would organize the
files and how she wanted to work the case.

By the time she got around to thinking about
the conversation she'd have with Harry at the Bide-A-Wee Motel, the
pain had dimmed and she finally felt able to walk into the
house.

Before she even had the door unlocked, she
remembered that her pantry was pretty close to empty and her frig
contained little more than a spoonful of rice and some nearly dead
carrots. She sighed, wishing she had thought of it sooner. She
could have stopped at the store in Silver Bay on the way back. She
looked at her watch and knew that the little store in Ruby Cove
would be closed by now. So if she wanted a decent meal, she was
either going to have to drive all the way to Grand Marais or eat at
Storm Point Lodge.

Fae groaned. She really didn't feel like
dealing with the Lodge, but knew she wasn't up to going all the way
to Grand Marais.

Once in the house, she went straight to the
phone and dialed the Lodge from memory.

"Hi, Donna. Is Jessica there?"

Jessica came on the line a minute later and
Fae ordered dinner. "I'll be there in about ten minutes. That
okay?"

"Better make it fifteen. It's a little crazy
here tonight."

"Okay. Thanks."

Fae hung up and went into the kitchen and
refilled the food and water dishes for the cats. She checked her
phone for messages out of habit more than anything else. Most of
her calls had dried up shortly after the accident, so she wasn't
surprised when the little red message light simply stared at her,
unblinking.