Deadly Fall (27 page)

“How far along are you on the column?” Paula asked.

“I haven't started it yet. Where to begin? That's the hard part.”

Sam steered past a line of cyclists struggling up the hill. “The hike will clear your head. You'll feel fresh enough to start tomorrow.”

Was Felix's newspaper column related in any way to the murder? Sam hadn't sounded worried that it might be an exposé on Callie and Dimitri. If anything, Sam seemed amused by Felix's struggles to write the column, and Felix didn't seem the type to blatantly exploit his friends' secrets for front page newspaper fame.

“What happened to the singing?” Isabelle said.

“Fuck singing,” Felix said.

“When do we eat?” Isabelle said.

Felix's grabbed Paula's head rest. “Let's eat at home, so I can work on my piece. If I don't start right away, it won't be ready in time.”

“If I'd brought my purse,” Paula said, “I could give you a notebook and pen. I always carry them in case I get an idea about a claim.”

Felix let go of her headrest. “I can't write in a car. I need my proper space.”

Sam winked at Paula. “Ten dollars says we don't make it to a hike.”

“I want eleven to one odds.”

The picnic lunch
at the Visitors' Center assuaged Isabelle's hunger and Felix's desire to work on his column. His behavior had certainly been erratic. Now, he leaned attentively over Sam's shoulder as they consulted the trail guide book.

Sam suggested they hike up Mount Indefatigable for the spectacular views. “I did it about twenty years ago,” he said. “You might find it too strenuous.”

That sounded condescending. “I'm not in such terrible shape,” Paula said.

“I was thinking of Felix.”

She glanced at Felix's suspenders straining over his gut that hung over the waistband of his knickers.

Felix read the trail description. “Rigorous, steep climb, loose rocky sections, upper altitude might bother people with breathing difficulties.”

Hayden had warned that Felix might know too much and Sam might be using her for some plan. Was this it: push Felix beyond his limits? An accident? A heart attack? A fall? Paula and Isabelle present as witnesses? Sam looked so innocent studying the park map spread on the picnic table. He had claimed the point of this trip was to get a break from their concerns. She could either submit to paranoia or accept his words on faith.

Felix closed the guide book. “We've come all this fucking way. Let's go for it.”

“If we're lucky, we might see bears,” Isabelle said.

Paula didn't want them to think she was wimping out.

A dozen cars were parked in the trailhead parking lot. They hoisted on their backpacks, which contained water bottles and space for their jackets when they warmed up from the climb. Felix hadn't worn a jacket and refused to carry a pack so his lederhosen look wouldn't be ruined. He grabbed his walking stick and led them across the dam between the upper and lower lakes. Puffy clouds floated over the mountaintops. The rest of the sky was clear blue against rocky tips and evergreens. Beyond the dam, they caught a whiff of wild animal scent.

Sam passed Felix and halted at an opening in the woods. “Here's the turnoff.”

It looked like the start of a beaten path, not a major trail listed in a guide book. There was no trailhead sign.

Paula pointed ahead. “I'm sure we follow the main trail.”

“A friend of mine was here a few weeks ago,” Sam said. “He told me the sign was down. The main trail just takes you around the lake. For Indefatigable, you turn right, after the dam.”

“I don't remember Felix reading that,” Paula said.

“We shouldn't have left the guide book in the car,” Felix said. “I'll go back—”

“No,” Sam said. “We'll never get to the top if we lose more time.”

Paranoia crept into Paula again. Felix hailed a group of backpackers returning on the main trail. They didn't know if the turnoff led to Mount Indefatigable, as they were coming from the campsite.

“The book didn't mention a campsite on Indefatigable,” Felix said. “Sam must be right.” He plunged into the woods.

Isabelle disappeared behind him. Paula shot Sam a glance she hoped he would interpret as either “I'm game” or “I know what you're up to,” depending on his purpose for the trip. The opening enlarged to a wide path cooled by deep shade. Isabelle and Felix took the lead; Sam walked silently beside Paula. Pine cones and dried pine needles cracked beneath their feet. A butterfly flew by. She inhaled aromas of Douglas fir and kept her gaze on the forest floor so she wouldn't trip over rocks and roots.

They crossed a log bridge over a dry creek to a hill so steep they had to grab onto rocks for support. Puffing heavily, Felix gripped with one hand, his walking stick dragging beside him in the dry dirt. At the top, he dropped down to a rock and planted the walking stick in the ground. His left hand rested on his heaving chest. His face was red; perspiration drenched his forehead and scraggly hair. Paula stood beside him, catching her breath, her back sweating beneath the pack. She took it off and got out a water bottle. Isabelle looked barely fazed by the exertion. Paula had never seen Sam's face this relaxed. His Adam's apple bobbed as he guzzled enough water to make her think he needed as much refreshment as she did.

“Let's get going,” Isabelle said.

“I'm ready.” Felix leapt up. He thrust his water bottle at Paula and bolted ahead, leaving her to screw on both of their caps.

Sam watched Felix climb. “I wish he'd take off that stupid Robin Hood hat. It's driving me nuts.”

Her hand brushed Sam's as she passed him Felix's water bottle to return to his pack. They took off their jackets.

“Felix seems to run to extremes,” she said. “Is he often this hyper?”

“He takes his work more seriously than people think.”

“It's almost like he was looking for excuses not to write his column.”

“He does that all the time; claims writers will do anything to avoid the blank page.”

Paula hoisted the pack onto her back. “I wonder what his awesome column is about.”

“Probably something more thrilling to him than to you—or me.”

Was Sam worried about the content of the piece? They rounded the path and found Felix stopped at the base of a rock pile that Isabelle was scrambling up.

Felix held a cigarette; he pointed it at the hill. “Are you sure this is a legitimate trail?”

“Dimitri described parts of it as being rugged like this,” Sam said.

“Dimitri was here?” Paula said. “Was he your friend who was here a few weeks ago?”

Sam looked from her to Felix and back. “He hiked it with Callie last fall. It was the only place they went together alone outside Felix's house.”

Paula stared at him, unsure what to say. Sam was too careful to have dropped his son's name by accident.

Felix lit the cigarette. “Dimitri phoned me last night. All I got out of it was that he came home because all this was haunting him in Ottawa. He was pretty tanked.”

Sam looked startled. “Dimitri's in Calgary?”

Felix nodded, the cigarette in his mouth.

“When did he get back?”

“Sometime yesterday, before midnight, when he called me.”

“I left him a message in the afternoon. When he didn't answer, I assumed he was still in Ottawa. Why didn't you tell me he called you when I picked you up this morning?”

Felix drew on the cigarette. “I didn't want you bothering the poor boy with a phone call. He's probably still sleeping it off.”

Sam pulled out his cell phone from his jeans pocket, opened it and closed it. “No reception. Why did he call you and not me?”

“Dimitri knows I stay up late.”

“He might have phoned me from Ottawa before he left.”

Felix shrugged. Interesting that Sam didn't like his son turning to Felix ahead of him. Jealousy?

Felix mashed his half-finished smoke in the gravelly dirt. His right arm was shaking. When she stopped by his house, hadn't he said something about an old hunting injury that acted up in damp weather? Today couldn't be dryer.

“Hey,” Isabelle hollered from the crest of the hill. “What's keeping you guys?”

Felix took out the hunting knife from his knickers pocket. He slid the blade from the sheath and slashed at a sapling.

“What did you do that for?” Paula said.

Felix held up a yellow leaf. “It would have fallen anyway.”

“Would you hurry up,” Isabelle yelled. “What if there are bears? I don't want to run into them alone.”

Felix took out another cigarette. “I need a few more minutes to get my breath.”

“I'll stay,” Sam said to Paula. “You go and save her from bears.”

The rocks were sharply inclined. The covering of dry gravel and dirt made them slippery. Paula edged up on her hands and feet, using stray roots as steps. Her foot slipped, stomach sank. She hated that out of control feeling of falling. If Gary, her ex, had dragged her onto this hike, she would be swearing at him now. She refused to show such weakness to Sam. Even worse would be to fall on her ass, which the men were getting a good view of, if they were looking. She climbed faster to get it over with. On the ledge, she looked down at Felix and Sam, their heads together like conspirators.

Isabelle darted across the rock to the far side. “There's a better view from over here.”

This one was spectacular enough. Paula scanned the panorama of lakes bordered by rocky peaks. Evergreens and yellow deciduous trees crept up the mountainsides. Avalanche trails cut through them; glaciers and snow nestled in crevices. Her hair blew all over her face. She rubbed her arms, chilled by the wind and her body cooling after the exertion. Scraggly trees beside her cast long shadows over the rock.

Sam started walking up the hill. No hands. He made it look easy. Show-off. Felix plodded, his walking stick probing the rock. It slipped. His cap blew off. He should be scrambling up on his hands and feet, but either wouldn't ditch the stupid stick or was imitating Sam. The walking stick slipped. Paula held her breath. Felix would fall down the hill to the rock. She was standing here, a witness to the “accident.” This was the plan. Sam was approaching the ledge. Below, Felix's walking stick shot to the side. He tottered. Paula gasped, stepped forward, and bumped Sam. He grabbed her arms. They swayed sideways. Her heart plunged to her stomach. They would crash, rolling into Felix.

Her body steadied against Sam's. His breath warmed her face. She clutched his T-shirt, feeling his chest underneath. Felix regained his balance; he continued up the rock.

There was no plan. She had come foolishly close to pushing Sam down the hill, maybe into his friend. She might have gone with him, causing serious injury or death.

Felix hoisted himself to the ledge. “Damn arm. Gives out when I'm tired.” He stomped his stick on the rock.

“I'm sorry I knocked you,” she told Sam.

“I wouldn't have fallen. But if you want to hold onto me, I don't mind.”

Paula let go. Over Sam's shoulder, she saw Felix watching. She stepped back and stumbled onto higher rock, where it was safer.

Paula found the hike down the mountain as treacherous as the climb. She focused on not sliding on the loose gravel and dirt. With Sam, she chatted about everything other than Dimitri and Callie. Felix kept up with the others thanks to his walking stick. A few times she held onto Sam's arm, wishing she wasn't such a typically female wimp.

At the car, Sam stripped off his sweaty shirt. Dark hair formed a T that crossed his chest and scrolled down his abdomen to his belt. He got a fresh T-shirt from the trunk, plain navy blue. The fresh shirt didn't mask the scent of musky fir lingering on his body.

After a washroom break at the Visitors' Center, Isabelle and Felix fell asleep in the car. The fresh air, exercise, and vehicle motion would have sent Paula to sleep if she weren't sitting across the console from Sam. He leaned into the rear-view mirror, presumably for a view of the sleeping couple. Paula glanced back. Isabelle's hand rested on Felix's chest, the feather cap they had retrieved on the hike down the hill slipped over his eyes. He was snoring.

Sam stared ahead, at the narrow road. “When did you find out about Dimitri and Callie?”

“From Kenneth, Thursday night. I told the cops about it.”

“They said they heard from Kenneth. I was surprised he kept quiet so long.”

“What a perfect setup. Dimitri could stay at your house as often as he liked and no one would suspect he was with her. It never once crossed my mind.”

“In hindsight, it was a stupid idea. We must have been drunk when we thought it up. It was even stupider to withhold it from the cops. I take the entire blame.”

“The others went along,” she said. “Why did Kenneth agree to the plan at all? He'd hate the public scandal, sure, but I'd have thought he'd grab the chance to put the screws to Dimitri, his rival, who had far more to lose, publicly, than him.”

Behind them, Isabelle murmured.

Sam craned his neck to check the mirror. “Kenneth hates Dimitri, but he's basically rational and made the practical choice. My guess is, he thought taking the high road would win Callie back. It might have, eventually.”

“Did Kenneth speak to you about the boxes of her ashes?”

Sam's face relaxed into a smile. “I understand you received one of those gifts.”

“Did you give yours to Dimitri?”

“Not yet. I'm waiting . . .”

A van was stopped on the other side of the road. A man stood beside it, snapping pictures of curly-horned Rocky Mountain sheep.

Sam didn't slow down. “Dimitri told me that if he had charge of her ashes, he'd sprinkle them on the mountain we just hiked. It was their special place.”