Upstate Uproar (28 page)

Vivian groaned inwardly. “Like weeks?”

“Could be a couple of months.”

Now she groaned audibly. “That stinks but we
understand. What about text messages?”

“There wasn’t any text history. If there ever
had been, it was wiped, but it seems odd he wouldn’t have wiped the
call history, too.”

Vivian looked over at Wendy, who was sitting
close enough to hear every word.

Wendy took the phone. “Thanks, Antonio, for
helping. I appreciate it.”

“You got it. I’ll be in touch if I hear
anything else.”

Wendy set the phone on the counter. “Weeks or
months. That sucks.”

“Antonio will keep after him. He knows you
need that info,” Vivian said.

That didn’t seem to cheer Wendy, and she
picked up a magazine the patron beside her had left and flipped the
pages. Vivian played with her new phone, waiting for her food.

They were finishing up just as Kate, Lucy and
Pierre joined them. Kate sniffed the air and Vivian moved her
jacket aside to reveal a to-go box. She opened it and held it out
to Kate. “Two side orders of bacon and a slice of ham, just for
you.”

Kate laughed. “You’re the best. I’ll munch on
it in the car.”

They walked outside to the SUV, and Wendy
consulted her directions before taking off. A short five minutes
and one side of Kate’s bacon later, she pulled to a stop in front
of the fish store, but it was closed. A papier máché seascape,
including a life-sized mermaid, decorated the front of the
store.

“We’ll have to come back tomorrow,” Vivian
said. “Cute display. I like the mermaid.”

Wendy reversed and took NY73 to the Olympic
Ski Jump Complex as Kate crunched her way through more bacon.

They took the fork to the dirt parking lot
almost hidden by trees where a gate and small alpine building
welcomed visitors. They drove to the gate and Kate rolled down her
window to a teenage girl in black pants and royal blue polo with an
Olympic emblem on the left breast pocket. Her brown ponytail stuck
out of the back of her matching blue baseball cap.

“Hi, welcome to the Lake Placid Olympic Ski
Jumping Complex, an icon of the 1932 and 1980 Olympics. Can I
interest you in our Olympic Sites Passport? It gets you into all
the sites as well as a gondola ride to the top of Little Whiteface
Mountain and discounts on other items and activities. Here at the
ski jump you’ll take the chair lift up to the K120 tower where
you’ll get to tour the Nordic ski jumps themselves.”

“How much is it?” Kate asked.

“Only $32, which is a steal compared to
paying individually for the various venues.”

“This may be the only one we get to,” Wendy
said.

“That’s okay, it’s good through next
spring.”

“We should totally do the gondola ride!” Lucy
said. “I bet the view is amazing.”

“Okay, I guess we’ll take five.”

Vivian reached into the borrowed purse and
handed the girl the credit card and Pierre forked over two
still-soggy twenties.

Lucy bounced up and down in the seat, in turn
bouncing Pierre. “We are not leaving here without taking the
gondola ride, and I’m riding with you!” She poked him in the
arm.

“Well, all right then, I’ll happily dangle by
a thin cable and be carted up the side of a mountain.” He smiled at
her as she bounced. “With you.”

The teen brought back five large,
clear-plastic lanyards on black string, the credit card receipt and
Pierre’s change. Inside the lanyards were Olympic Sites Passport
tickets, as well as a tiny brochure that looked like a real
passport. Kate handed them out. “Don’t lose this. It’s our ticket
to ride!”

Lucy and Vivian started singing the Beatles’
“Ticket to Ride,” and all five finished off with “but she don’t
care!”

They parked and hopped out, taking in the
scenery. To their right three jump platforms towered over a pool,
and rows of bleachers stood ready for spectators. A dirt path led
to the ski lifts waiting to carry skiers to their jumps during snow
season. A one-story, chalet-style building had a sign for the
restrooms, gift shop and café.

“Let’s try to to find April,” Kate said. “And
I need a pit stop before we go see the ski jumps anyway.”

Wendy slipped her lanyard over her neck. “How
are we going to do this?”

The four girls huddled together.

“I say we take the direct approach and just
ask her,” Wendy said. “Tell her we’re staying out at Turlington
Farms and want to know if we’re sleeping in the same house as a
killer.”

“We can’t do that. We’ve got to be more
subtle,” Vivian said. “Maybe we talk about the newspaper article or
something.”

“Ooh, I like that,” Kate said. “Maybe she’ll
just chime in.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”

They broke the huddle and Pierre held the
door open. Kate made a beeline for the restroom while Vivian, Wendy
and Lucy perused the Olympic-themed goodies. A woman in her late
thirties sat on a stool behind the counter entranced in a
People
magazine. Her nametag read April. Her brown hair
showed bits of gray around the roots and she wore the same blue
shirt as the girl selling passports, but she had on khakis.

Vivian held up a fake gold medal and started
swaying and singing, “I-I-I-I am the champion, my friend.” She
threw in a little air guitar. “And I-I-I-I’ll keep on fighting to
the end.”

Wendy plucked the replica medal out of
Vivian’s hand. “All right, Freddie Mercury wannabe, we’ve got a job
to do.”

Vivian sighed. “Okay, okay.” She moved to a
rack of sale items, pushing the clothes hangers back and forth, and
tried to sound inconspicuous. “So do we think Brandon is a killer?
If we do, I’m NOT staying another night at Turlington Farms.”

The woman didn’t move, but Vivian saw her
brown eyes flick their way.

“I agree,” Lucy said, dangling more bait. “If
I see the cops there again, it’s over, we’re leaving.”

The woman slowly lowered her magazine.

Wendy set the hook. “That poor woman, drowned
by her own husband, I can’t believe it. And then finding the second
wife’s remains. Why is he not in jail?”

April was hooked so deep, she would have
flopped herself on deck.

She stood up behind the register. “Are you
talking about Brandon Holt?”

V
ivian placed the
sweatshirt she’d been contemplating back on the rack and walked up
to the counter at the Olympic Ski Jump gift shop. “Oh, do you know
Brandon?”

“I guess,” April said. “Mostly I knew his
wife.”

“Which one?” Wendy asked. “He’s had
three.”

April rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know. I used
to teach with his first wife, Mary Beth.”

“Are you still teaching?” Wendy asked.

“Oh god no, god no. I got so sick of those
brats, I had to leave. I was done.”

“Did you know Mary Beth well?” Lucy
asked.

“Our classrooms were across the hall from
each other. Brandon came up there a few times and went berserk.
Yelling at her about finances. One time was after school and she
was with that one kid, what was his name? The principal had to go
in there and tell Brandon to leave. I think he might’ve been
drunk.”

“Do you think he was abusive?” Kate
asked.

April shrugged. “I don’t know, but she was a
little too friendly with some of the students, in my opinion. Like
that time I was just talking about, that student was hugging on her
after Brandon left. She always had lots of students hanging around
after school, especially the boys. But I shouldn’t talk bad about
her, she’s dead.” April did the Catholic sign of the cross.

“Any boys in particular?” Lucy asked.

“You didn’t hear it from me, but I personally
thought she might’ve been doing more than tutoring that one kid,
what was his name? The hugger.” April slapped her forehead. “Damn,
I’m getting old. What was his name? He wound up becoming a
locksmith.”

“Jeremy!” Vivian yelled.

April looked at her like she was a loon.
“Where’d you say you’re from?”

Kate whisked by carrying a baby moose, tears
in her eyes. “This is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s so
gangly and ugly, yet so adorable. I have to have one. Little Plum
needs it.”

Vivian smiled and shrugged. “She gets
emotional over stuffed animals. We think it’s the hormones.”

Kate put the moose on her shoulder and picked
up a baby bear. “I need this, too.” She laid them gently on the
counter, petting each.

Wendy drummed her fingers on the counter. “So
do you know for sure that Mary Beth and her student were, you know,
working on extra credit?”

April rang up Kate’s two new critters. “I
never saw him sharpen his pencil in her sharpener, if that’s what
you mean. But they seemed to share a deeper connection than most
teachers have with their students. It wasn’t normal, just not
normal.” She looked at Kate. “That’ll be $18.48.”

Pierre stepped up and waved off Kate’s credit
card. “My gift to Little Plum.”

Kate’s eyes welled up again.

“Oh, geez,” Vivian said. “Hormone attack,
here we go.”

April looked at Wendy. “You’re staying out
there at the B&B?”

“For now, yes,” Wendy said.

“I’ve heard rumors that they found the second
wife’s remains out in the woods. How’s Tracy handling that?”

“Do you know Tracy?” Lucy asked.

“I waited tables with her at the brewery
after I left teaching. I was shocked she married Brandon after his
first wife drowned and his second ‘disappeared.’ I should probably
go out and check on her. She never was overly friendly, yet I had a
soft spot for her. Seemed like she’d had a rough life, you know,
never showed much emotion about anything.”

“I heard her plumber ex-boyfriend ditched her
for Omaha,” Wendy said.

April laughed. “Yeah, that was the bottom for
her. She really loved that guy, I guess. As much as she could love
someone.”

“How’d she hook up with Brandon?” Vivian
asked.

“They grew up together, and then after number
two disappeared, he started hanging out at the bar a lot and she
got her claws dug in real deep. I saw the whole thing unfold, then
I got hired on here. Next thing I heard, they were married. I think
Brandon was so screwed up, so overwhelmed, he had no idea what he
was doing. Everyone hated him.”

Awkward silence.

“I imagine that was tough,” Kate said, taking
out her new moose and putting it next to her cheek.

April shrugged. “Reap what you sow. He was
never a fan of mine, but I probably should run by and see Tracy.
It’s been too long.”

“I bet she’d appreciate that,” Wendy said.
“She works hard, her breakfast kicks booty.”

“I know I’ve packed on a few since I’ve been
here,” Kate said. “Check out this pooch!”

April cracked a crooked smile. “Yeah, I’ll go
for a visit.”

“Let’s hit the chair lift,” Lucy said. “I’m
riding with Pierre!”

“Maybe we’ll see you out at the farm,” Wendy
said. “Take care.”

“Thanks, enjoy your visit,” April said as she
sat back down and picked up her
People
.

The girls and Pierre hustled to the chair
lift where a worker checked their passports, then helped them get
on the chair lifts two by two. Vivian rode by herself since Lucy
was with Pierre and they didn’t want Kate to ride alone.

The breeze blew through Vivian’s curls as she
took in the serene mountainside. Little yellow and white
wildflowers speckled the ground beneath her. The pine trees had
been groomed well away from the jump areas. The ride didn’t take
long, and before she knew it an older gentleman yelled for her to
lift the safety bar. She did, and he helped her off, scooting her
to the right as the chair swung to the left and started back down
the mountain.

Two large ski jumps towered in front of them.
Between the jumps a sign displayed the Olympic rings and Lake
Placid in red letters underneath. A cement tower stood behind the
jumps.

“Let’s go!” Lucy said, grabbing Pierre’s
hand.

A teenager greeted them at the elevator
entrance. “Good afternoon, and welcome to the Olympic Ski Jumping
Complex. Step right in.”

He turned a key and hit a button. The doors
closed and they began to go up. He started chatting about
something, but Vivian couldn’t hear anything.

Her ears popped just as the elevator slowed.
The doors opened and they were inside the tallest of the jump
towers. Pictures of past events hung on every interior wall, and
windows lined the outside. Maps indicated what was in the view that
went for miles: Whiteface Mountain, Lake Placid Village and Mirror
Lake.

“Let’s go out to the platform,” Lucy said.
“Hope no one is afraid of heights!”

They walked onto the deck with its
7-foot-tall chain-link fencing. Vivian stood at the edge and peered
through a diamond-shaped square of fence. “Whoa. That’s a LONG way
down.”

The adjustable platform was lined with wooden
planks that dropped 120 meters.

“The sign says we are on the tallest
structure between Montreal and New York City,” Kate said.

“I believe it,” Wendy said. “I’m having Sky
Screamer flashbacks.”

“Poor Astroworld is a goner now,” Vivian
said. “We spent many a summer day there. I had my first kiss on the
gondola ride there.”

“Meeeemmmmmorrrieeeessss,” Lucy sang out,
twirling around like she was Julie Andrews on top of a
mountain.

“Wrong song!” Vivian yelled.

The door swung open and a family came out, so
Lucy stopped, smiled nonchalantly and walked to the pay binoculars
next to Vivian, nudging her in the process. “I know that’s the
wrong song, but it was more fitting.”

They toodled around inside and out, looking
at pictures and reading about the two Olympic Games that had been
held there.