Snowmen In Paradise (Book 2 Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries) (27 page)

“You should come back when you
can relax and enjoy the area.” Tj handed her a card. “Call me and I’ll comp your room.”

“Really?”
Serena smiled. “That would be nice.”

It seemed like the entire town had shown up for the final day of the carnival. It was an exceptional winter day: sunny, with temperatures in the low 50s. The sky was a deep blue with nary a cloud in sight. Tj was dressed casually in denim jeans, a royal-blue T-shirt, and a Serenity High sweatshirt. She stood with her extended family as she waited for the snowball decathlon to start. There were five events, but each was brief, so Tj didn’t expect the entire competition to take more than a couple of hours. She hoped to have plenty of time to partake in the culinary delights offered by the various vendors before the finalists in the ice princess competition took the stage a final time for the announcement of the winner.

“Is Bren nervous?”
Tj asked Jenna, who was trying to work a piece of bubble gum out of Kari’s hair.

“Not really
. She mostly just entered to please Mom. I don’t think she cares whether she wins.”

“Of course she cares,” Tj countered
.

Jenna clipped the last few hairs
, then stood back in victory. “Yeah, I guess.” She began braiding Kari’s long blond hair in an attempt to avoid another near disaster. “She says she doesn’t, but I guess everyone wants to win on some level. How about you? Are you nervous?”

“Heck no
.” Tj grinned. “Why should I be nervous? This is one contest that’s all but wrapped up.”

“But you haven’t even started,” Jenna pointed out.

“Don’t need to.” Tj began stretching. “All I need to win is the certainty that I’m going to.”

“Hey
, beautiful.” Hunter walked up behind Tj and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hey yourself
. How’s one of Paradise Lake’s most wanted?” she teased.

“Not wanted
.” Hunter smiled. “I remembered that the hospital called when I was up near Quincy. Dylan pulled the phone records, which proved I was in that area when I received the call, giving me the alibi I needed.”

“I’m glad
. I was certain you didn’t do it, and I was pretty sure Dylan believed that too, but with the way this crazy investigation has been going . . .”

“S
o you’re still investigating?”

Tj grinned
. “Not anymore.”

“Glad to hear it
. Since you seem to be free, want to grab some lunch after you wrap this up?”

“I promised the girls corn
dogs.”

“I like corn dogs.”

“I promised Jenna I’d take all four girls so she could have a quiet lunch with Dennis,” Tj warned. “When you get four little girls between the ages of four and eight together, it can get kind of crazy.”

“I live for crazy.”

“Okay, it’s a date.”

“Did you see the look on Connor Harrington’s face when I beat his distance in the shot put by a good three feet?” Tj laughed.

“Yeah, it was pretty funny.”
Hunter drizzled mustard over the exterior of his hotdog on a stick. “I guess he expected you to throw like a girl.”

“I don’t know why he would
. He should know by now that I don’t do anything like a girl.”

“Oh, there’s a thing or two you do just like a girl.”

Tj kicked Hunter under the table. The gleam in his eye was unmistakable. She suspected she knew what he was referring to, and that particular conversation was not one she wanted to have in front of her sisters.

“When do you get your trophy?”
Ashley asked.

“They have a ceremony at the end of the day
. Do you want some more fries?”

“I do
.” Kristi grabbed a handful and proceeded to stack them in such a way as to fashion a fort.

“Here
, let me help you with that,” Hunter offered as Kari tried to drizzle mustard on her own hot dog.

“Can we go sledding?”
Gracie wondered.

“Maybe after we finish eating,” Tj answered
.

“Ca
n Dr. Hunter come with us?” Gracie asked.

“Sure
, if he wants to. How about it, Dr. Hunter? Do you want to try your hand at downhill propulsion via a small plastic object?”

“Sounds
like fun. I haven’t had the chance to partake in that particular type of transportation for quite a while.”

“You might want to practice on the small hill so you don’t break your coccyx,” Tj teased.

“You’re worried about me? I seem to remember a redheaded spitfire who bruised her callipygian backside on more than one occasion,” Hunter shot back.

Tj laughed.

“How come you’re talking funny?” Kari asked.

“We’re just being silly,” Hunter answered
. “Which is something else I haven’t done in quite a long time.”

“I can be silly
.” Gracie stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes.

“Me too
.” Kari giggled as she made her own funny face.

It was nice to spend time with Hunter in a relaxed atmosphere
in which past and present desires weren’t clouding the friendship she very much wanted to have with him. They’d never really stopped caring about each other or considering each other friends, but it had only been in the past few years that they could put raging hormones behind them and enjoy the easy camaraderie they’d always had.

“Your pants are quacking like a duck
.” Ashley giggled.

“Sorry, it’s my phone.”
Hunter pulled his cell out of his pocket and checked his texts.

“Your text tone is a duck?”
Tj asked. “Doesn’t seem very doctor-ish.”

“I like it,” Hunter defended
himself. “Unfortunately, I have to go. Can I get a rain check on the sledding?”

“Mayor Wallaby has been on his phone for over half an hour,” Tj informed Jenna, who had joined her and the girls at the sledding hill after her lunch with Dennis.

“So?”
Jenna looked toward the parking area, where the mayor was pacing back and forth.

“Look at his face,” Tj instructed
. “He looks like all the steam he’s building up is going to blow his toupee clear off his head any minute.”

“You think he wears a toupee?”

“Either that or he needs a different barber, but that’s not the point. I wonder who’s making him so hot under the collar.”

“Mayor Wallaby is a passionate man,” Jenna reminded her
. “It doesn’t take much to get him worked up. Why do you care?”

“I don’t.”
Tj sighed.

“But
. . .” Jenna prompted.

“But I can’t help
finding motives for Travis’s murder everywhere I look, and a passionate discussion lasting over half an hour in the middle of winter carnival seems suspect.”

“I thought you said you were going to drop your investigation and let the sheriff’s office handle things,” Jenna reminded her.

“I did.” Tj frowned as Mayor Wallaby threw his free hand up in the air in a gesture of pure rage. “And I am, at least in theory. It’s just hard to change gears at this point.”

“
You could worm your way over there and see if you can hear what he’s saying,” Jenna suggested.

Tj hesitated
. “Will you keep an eye on the girls?”

“Yeah, but don’t be obvious.”

“I know how to spy on someone,” Tj reminded her.

Tj worked her way through the cover of the trees until she was in line with the man who was running his fingers through whatever it was that topped his head
. The phone was to his ear, but he wasn’t speaking. Tj assumed he was listening to whoever was on the other end of the line. Just then, he leaned against the vehicle behind him and dropped his head in defeat.

“Okay,” she heard him say
. “Just tell me when and where.” The mayor looked at his watch. “An hour will be fine.”

The
n Wallaby hung up his phone and headed toward the snack shack that had been set up at the bottom of the hill. Tj watched as he ordered a beer and drained the cup in one long swill. She didn’t know why she cared where the man was going, but she found that she did. Pulling her cell out of her pocket, she called Jenna, who was just on the other side of the sledding hill.

“Why are you calling me?”
Jenna asked. “I can see you across the parking lot.”

“Mayor Wallaby is meeting someone in an hour,”
she told her. “I want to follow him. Can you keep an eye on the girls until I get back?”

“The last thing you need to be doing is sneaking around after a man who looks like he’s ready to kill someone,” Jenna counseled her.

“I’m not going to engage him. I just want to see where he’s going.”

“Why don’t you just call Dylan?”

“Because if he’s heading out for a haircut or some other mundane chore, I’ll have wasted Dylan’s time and I’ll look like a fool while doing it.”

“What if it’s dangerous?”

“Like I said, I won’t engage the man. I’ll follow him to see where he goes, and if it seems dangerous, I’ll call Dylan.”

“Okay,” Jenna reluctantly agreed
. “But if you get yourself killed, I’ll never speak to you again.”

Tj followed Mayor Wallaby through town toward the Angel Mountain ski area. She had been hoping she could watch him from the safety of her car, but when he parked in the lower lot and took the shuttle up the hill, she knew she’d have to follow him another way. Deciding to risk a parking ticket, she followed the shuttle with her vehicle and then double-parked in the red zone when she reached the village. Sliding out of her car, she tried to blend into the crowd as she followed the mayor past the shops and dining establishments, toward the gondola that transported skiers to the top of the hill. She knew there was no way she was going to be able to follow the man up the mountain, so she was relieved when he turned toward the maintenance station near the base of the lift.

“Did you bring it?”
Pete Quinn stepped out from behind the heavy machinery that was housed in the garage.

Mayor Wallaby didn’t say anything
as he handed Pete an envelope.

Pete opened
it and looked inside. “It’s been nice doing business with you.” He slipped the envelope into his pocket and walked back the way he’d come.

Tj assumed there must be a back door to the building
. The mayor hung his head as he made his way back toward his car. She had no idea what had just occurred, but she was fairly certain that the less-than-friendly transaction wasn’t entirely legal. Tj hurried down the hill and parked her car near where the mayor had left his. She waited until the shuttle arrived and then pretended she had just arrived.

“Afternoon
, Mayor,” Tj greeted him as she climbed out of her vehicle. “What are you doing here?”

“Had some business
. And you?”

“Same.”

“Congratulations on your victory this morning.”

“Will
you be at the awards ceremony?” Tj asked.

“I’m heading back to the carnival now.”

“You didn’t happen to run into Pete Quinn while you were in the village, did you?”

Mayor Wallaby paled
. “No,” he stammered. “Why do you ask?”

“I was supposed to meet him a while ago
. I called his shop to say that I’d be late, but his staff said he wasn’t there. I tried his cell, but he didn’t answer. I was hoping you’d seen him so I’d know where to look.”

“I hope you don’t mind my saying so
, but a nice girl like you shouldn’t be meeting a snake like Quinn,” Mayor Wallaby warned.

“Really
? Why not?”

“I know he seems like a nice guy
, but take my word for it when I tell you he’s involved in some shady dealings. I really like you and wouldn’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Y
ou think he’d hurt me?” Tj was surprised Wallaby would say as much.

“I think its best that you head back into town
. You wouldn’t want to be late for the awards show.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Tj climbed back into her car. “I’ll see you there.”

Tj followed Mayor Wallaby down the mountain and back to the carnival. When she arrived, she located Jenna and the girls, and then called Dylan. She didn’t know what was going on between the mayor and Pete Quinn, but she’d bet a month’s pay it wasn’t on the up-and-up.

“And after that?”
Dylan asked when she’d filled him in on her spy mission.

“I returned to the carnival and called you,
” Tj answered. “I don’t know what was in the envelope or what business the two men may have, but it seemed uncharacteristic for Wallaby to warn me off like that. The only thing I can think of is that the men are somehow involved in Travis’s death. I thought we should check it out. Maybe talk to Quinn.”