We were in the car heading out of the gravel driveway as I was comparing Jamie’s notes and sketches with the photographs I had from Ruth’s locker. Most of them didn’t add up, but there were some that could be matches.
One picture was of a man with dark black hair and a thick beard. He had a nose ring and what looked like a tattoo on his chubby arm. He was also wearing a black leather vest, like the one Mary had described.
It made me wonder how these men were so different from each other. Some looked like biker guys and others looked like successful business men. If what I think, and what Mary insinuated is going on in that hotel, then I guess it would make sense that all kinds of men used those services. I guess it doesn’t matter what kind of life you lead, you still could have secrets. I learned this from my father.
This reminded me of the odd conversation I had had with my mom. What could she be hiding? And why was she hiding it for dad, if she knew he was cheating on her? She did seem scared; maybe he would find a way to hurt her if she ever told? That would explain why she stuck around for so many years; she was trapped.
Jamie had barely spoken a word since we left the house. I assumed he was also thinking of our mom and her bizarre behaviour. I wanted to ask him what he thought and tell him what she told me, but I also wanted to get the whole story from her first. Or, find it out on our own.
“So where are we heading today?” I asked, even though I probably knew the answer.
“Well, I was thinking we would check out the rest of the hotels. That might take all day, but I think it is worth it. And maybe we will see one of those guys from the pictures. Then we could really find out what is going on…But- Liz?”
“Yeah?”
“I think it will be dangerous-real dangerous. A part of me wants to back out and go to the police.”
“Me too. I was thinking maybe we should just wait until we know a little bit more then we will contact the police.”
“Ok.” He said with hesitation. I could tell he was just as frightened as I was.
“Should we try talking to Daniel again?”
“I don’t think so. But I have a friend that works for dad and might know Daniel. Maybe he can tell us something.”
“Okay, yeah, sure.” I didn’t think that would get us anywhere but it was worth a try. We were now on a road I have never been on before and it was climbing out of the valley. “Which direction are we going first?”
“Well, we could have gone straight through and head down the coast, but I thought it would be fun to go the scenic route. As you might have noticed, we already passed the other hotel. The other ones are more south-west. Past these mountains there are a few resorts on the other side with an amazing view of the ocean.”
“So the hotels we are going to probably won’t be run down and dirty like that other one right?” I said hopeful.
“Well, I know one of them, is pretty upscale. A lot of rich people and tourists go there because there is a nice view and, there is a pretty good slope there to ski on.”
“Oh I see. Which one is that called?”
“I believe it’s called Michael Riggs Ocean View Lodge.”
“Who is that? His name sounds familiar.”
“Oh, actually now that I think about it, I think he is one of dad’s friends… Yeah! That’s right, he is. I have heard dad mention that he gets good discounts and often has business meetings there.”
“Really? Well, that is interesting.”
“Yeah, sure is. I can’t believe I forgot that. Liz, I feel like we are getting too close to this. I am beginning to not want to know. About Dad or Ruth.” I could hear the little boy in his voice; he was more vulnerable than I thought.
“I know, me too, but I really feel like it is all going to work out now. Please Jamie, you got to stick with me. I wasn’t going to tell you, but, I think mom knows something. That is why she was in my room crying. She wanted to tell me something about dad but, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She thought I was too young. Maybe we can both talk to her? We can check out these hotels today, and then if we don’t find anything, we will ask her.”
“What? She knows something? Like what Liz? If she knows what I think she does, why hasn’t she left the bastard?! Why hasn’t she got us out of this hell hole?!” His rough manly exterior was back.
“She is really messed up Jamie. And I think she is really scared. He probably threatened her.”
“So? Why couldn’t she go to the police? Or tell me? I am old enough to know. I can protect this family from that jerk, you know, right?”
“Yeah…. But I don’t know. She probably thought nothing would come of it.”
“This really angers me, Liz. Like what the hell? I don’t get her. Maybe that is why she drinks so much, but I don’t know… I just don’t know Liz.”
He was gripping the steering wheel pretty tightly now. I was worried he would start speeding. “Calm down, Jamie. I think she will tell us.”
We were both silent until we got to the resort. We walked around the hotel checking out the lobby, cafeteria, hallways, and anything else but the rooms. I looked closely at the walls to see if there were any hidden doors but, there was nothing. As we were leaving I saw a familiar face; it was one of the guys in the pictures! And with Daniel! I quickly pulled Jamie aside and asked if he had seen what I did.
“Yeah, it was Daniel. Looked like he was doing business.”
“Yeah, running another errand for Dad. That guy with him- he is in one of the pictures. That is it, I am confronting him!” I stomped over in their direction as they were heading into a board room. “Liz! Wait!” Jamie yelled after me. It didn’t stop me. I needed to know.
When I entered the room, I couldn’t see them anywhere. It was just a large empty room with a bunch of tables and chairs. It also had a projector screen at the front of the room.
Jamie flew through the door. “What are you crazy?” He said and pulled me back into the hallway. “These people could be dangerous, don’t you understand that?” He scolded.
“Yes, but I don’t care, I need to find out.”
“Liz! Are you forgetting that our sister got killed-murdered for probably doing what we are doing?” He was whispering now.
“I know, I know. I think it is time to go to the police now. Give them all of the evidence and tell them what we think we know.”
“Maybe you’re right. Ok. Let’s go home. Maybe we can get something out of mom anyways.” Jamie suggested, sounding relieved that we were leaving.
I remembered now what Ruth said; that it was okay to go to the police. Even coming out here was taking a big risk.
We were about to leave when I saw Daniel and the other guy smoking on the balcony. “Wait! We can’t go out that way. We have to find another way.”
As we turned around I could feel a gust of cool air on my back, then heard Daniel’s voice. We walked faster now turning a quick left down a small hallway. I spun my head around to see if he was following us, or even noticed. His eyes looked straight into mine.
This time his eyes were not full of charm and innocence but malice. He knew! He touched the other man’s shoulder and started to walk faster in our direction. “Jeff! Barbara! I thought I saw you guys earlier. What are you doing here?” We couldn’t run now.
“Uh, we were doing some research for our next article- about this hotel actually. I heard a lot of good things about it so I decided to check it out for myself and do a review.”
“Yeah, this hotel is really nice. I do a lot of business here- you know- for Technikol. That man is one of our biggest clients. He is willing to buy some of our software.” I was beginning to think he didn’t really know who we were, and what we were doing.
“The manager let you meet one of the biggest clients? I thought you just do errands for him.”
His face clenched; I could see I was getting to him. “Well, Barbara- if that is your real name- the manager is in the middle of some family crisis and he asked me to meet with this client for him, since he came up here all the way from California.”
“Well, couldn’t he get someone more qualified to do a job like that?” His face was now turning redder than a stop light.
“Don’t mind her- she likes to make trouble. I apologize.” Jamie said, trying to take the heat off of me.
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be having such an immature girl tag along on your job. And by the way, I checked the paper today and I didn’t see my article.”
“Oh that was becau-“
“Because what? Don’t try to play me. I know what you two are up to. And if you ever come near me again, you will pay- I will be sure of it. If you will excuse me now, I must be getting back to my client.”
“Of course.” Jamie replied acting as if nothing happened. Daniel then walked away quickly and adjusted his suit in a confident manner-too confident.
“See! I knew we were in too deep. C’mon let’s get out of here.” Jamie scolded me again as he pulled my arm. We then headed out slowly, making sure Daniel was gone.
As we were leaving, I caught a glimpse of the view; it looked like the resort wasn’t lying. The hotel was nestled in between two mountains where the road split them a part. At the back of the hotel there were other little cottages that appeared to be ski rentals, private rooms and things like that. There was only the one hill but, it was long and luxurious. A fresh powdery snow, always ready to be carved by the slick glides of skis, covered the hill. In front of the hotel there was a small dirt road, which lingered slowly down to the ocean front. In the distance, I could see a few large fancy boats, along with a pile of kayaks on a dock.
The sun glimmered on top of the soft waves that rose big enough to see from a distance but, not too big that you couldn’t go out on the water with a boat. It seemed the ocean kept going on forever, the water getting darker and darker as my eyes glided farther out.
I could see some dark clouds building up into a fluffy dark blue smoke. Even though it was colder up in the mountains, I could still feel the moist breeze colliding with the sky and water, soaking it up as it prepared to pour down in a torrent of rain - or up here, most likely snow.
I looked over to my left and Jamie was waving to me. I could tell he was in a hurry, and I guess I should have been too, but I just couldn’t help being enthralled by nature’s power. In every shape and form, it seemed to amaze me. I thought I shouldn’t make him wait any longer and, I couldn’t risk Daniel coming out and making another threat-or worse.
I should have been worried and scared but I wasn’t for some reason. I still had the confidence that I had had in the morning. If anything, I was even more relieved. Instead of panicking more, like I usually would have-about mom, then about the encounter with Daniel- I couldn’t help feeling it was all coming together for a reason, a purpose. A purpose that I knew would lead to my ultimate purpose; this realization gave me great comfort.
The drive back reflected how my insides were feeling. The mountains were so large and over protective. They stood with confidence, knowing that no matter what hit them; the winds, rain, snow, and even the constructions of man, its strength and perseverance will always come through. And I know mine will too.