Read Online Cold Dawn by Carla Neggers - Free Book Online
Authors: Carla Neggers
Tags: Suspense
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menu, but he'd already made up his mind. "I'm going with the Vermont turkey."
She finally relented and ordered a salad and butternut squash soup with nutmeg.
"Tell me about winter fest," Nick said quietly.
"Nick--"
"Will there be sleigh rides?"
She ignored his slight sarcasm. "Sleigh rides, maple sugaring, guided snowshoe hikes, backcountry ski treks, a bonfire. We're auctioning off a quilt that Myrtle, Dominique, Beth and I stitched from old fabric pieces Hannah discovered in the trunk in her cellar. It'll be the centerpiece of a silent auction to benefit the local volunteer mountain rescue organization."
"I didn't know you could quilt."
"I imagine there are a lot of things you don't know about me," she said. "Winter fest will run all weekend. It's as much for the town as for the guests. Vice President Neal and his family want to come if they can. They were all here two weeks ago."
"So I heard," Nick said.
"They were quite taken with the old sugar shack. They cross-country skied out to it. It's just in the woods across the meadow. It was built around 1900, but it's in great shape. Lauren and I are trying to get it up and running and trees tapped in time for this year's sugaring season."
"Starts soon, doesn't it?"
"As soon as the temperature warms up a bit. We need freezing nights and above-freezing days."
Nick smiled at the prospect of maple sugaring. "Sounds romantic."
She smiled back at him. "It's fun work. I've been trying to do more here at the lodge, but Lauren's in charge of winter fest. I just do what she says."
"The Secret Service doesn't object to the Neals coming?"
"Not enough to stop them, at least not right now."
"Do you believe that all of Lowell Whittaker's contract killers have been accounted for?"
Rose's smile vanished, her eyes distant, cool again. "You get talking about sleigh rides and such, then spring that on me. You're testing my reaction. Nice, Nick."
He shrugged. "What's the answer?"
"The answer is no. No, I don't believe all of Lowell's killers are either dead or in custody. I don't think anyone does. It would be reckless to assume otherwise."
A.J. joined them, giving no indication he noticed the tension between his sister and guest. "I know better than to ask how you are--you'll just say you're fine, no matter what." He pulled out a chair and sat down, but clearly had no intention of lingering. "You can't stay up in that house tonight by yourself. Listen to me, Rose. You can't."
"I feel safe there."
"I'll come up--"
"You can't leave your family, A.J. You know I won't let you do that."
"We'll all come. The kids would love it."
Rose shook her head. "I don't feel unsafe, A.J. If Derek was murdered, his killer had every opportunity to attack me, too."
"Maybe Nick here scared off the killer," her brother said.
Nick picked up his whiskey but didn't drink any. "I don't think anyone was lurking in the woods when I arrived, but it's possible."
A.J. glanced at him but made no comment.
Rose sighed and took a healthy swallow of her martini. "The police will have checked for prints in the snow, tire tracks. If they believe Derek's death wasn't an accident or suicide and I'm in danger, they'll tell me. I don't take undue risks, but I'm not one to panic, either. But tonight," she added, "for your sake, A.J., Ranger and I will stay here at the lodge." She gave her eldest brother a faint smile. "I anticipated this and brought my things."
"You always were the smart one," A.J. said with a grin.
Rose waited for him to leave before she picked up her drink glass. "This means I can have another martini, this time with pomegranate juice." She gave Nick an enigmatic smile. "I like my martinis a little on the sweet side."
The radiator in Nick's room clanked as if just to remind him he was out of his element, on Cameron turf. He didn't have a radiator at home in Beverly Hills.
After dinner, Rose had ventured off to another part of the lodge with Ranger, his dog dishes and a backpack. Nick
She finally relented and ordered a salad and butternut squash soup with nutmeg.
"Tell me about winter fest," Nick said quietly.
"Nick--"
"Will there be sleigh rides?"
She ignored his slight sarcasm. "Sleigh rides, maple sugaring, guided snowshoe hikes, backcountry ski treks, a bonfire. We're auctioning off a quilt that Myrtle, Dominique, Beth and I stitched from old fabric pieces Hannah discovered in the trunk in her cellar. It'll be the centerpiece of a silent auction to benefit the local volunteer mountain rescue organization."
"I didn't know you could quilt."
"I imagine there are a lot of things you don't know about me," she said. "Winter fest will run all weekend. It's as much for the town as for the guests. Vice President Neal and his family want to come if they can. They were all here two weeks ago."
"So I heard," Nick said.
"They were quite taken with the old sugar shack. They cross-country skied out to it. It's just in the woods across the meadow. It was built around 1900, but it's in great shape. Lauren and I are trying to get it up and running and trees tapped in time for this year's sugaring season."
"Starts soon, doesn't it?"
"As soon as the temperature warms up a bit. We need freezing nights and above-freezing days."
Nick smiled at the prospect of maple sugaring. "Sounds romantic."
She smiled back at him. "It's fun work. I've been trying to do more here at the lodge, but Lauren's in charge of winter fest. I just do what she says."
"The Secret Service doesn't object to the Neals coming?"
"Not enough to stop them, at least not right now."
"Do you believe that all of Lowell Whittaker's contract killers have been accounted for?"
Rose's smile vanished, her eyes distant, cool again. "You get talking about sleigh rides and such, then spring that on me. You're testing my reaction. Nice, Nick."
He shrugged. "What's the answer?"
"The answer is no. No, I don't believe all of Lowell's killers are either dead or in custody. I don't think anyone does. It would be reckless to assume otherwise."
A.J. joined them, giving no indication he noticed the tension between his sister and guest. "I know better than to ask how you are--you'll just say you're fine, no matter what." He pulled out a chair and sat down, but clearly had no intention of lingering. "You can't stay up in that house tonight by yourself. Listen to me, Rose. You can't."
"I feel safe there."
"I'll come up--"
"You can't leave your family, A.J. You know I won't let you do that."
"We'll all come. The kids would love it."
Rose shook her head. "I don't feel unsafe, A.J. If Derek was murdered, his killer had every opportunity to attack me, too."
"Maybe Nick here scared off the killer," her brother said.
Nick picked up his whiskey but didn't drink any. "I don't think anyone was lurking in the woods when I arrived, but it's possible."
A.J. glanced at him but made no comment.
Rose sighed and took a healthy swallow of her martini. "The police will have checked for prints in the snow, tire tracks. If they believe Derek's death wasn't an accident or suicide and I'm in danger, they'll tell me. I don't take undue risks, but I'm not one to panic, either. But tonight," she added, "for your sake, A.J., Ranger and I will stay here at the lodge." She gave her eldest brother a faint smile. "I anticipated this and brought my things."
"You always were the smart one," A.J. said with a grin.
Rose waited for him to leave before she picked up her drink glass. "This means I can have another martini, this time with pomegranate juice." She gave Nick an enigmatic smile. "I like my martinis a little on the sweet side."
The radiator in Nick's room clanked as if just to remind him he was out of his element, on Cameron turf. He didn't have a radiator at home in Beverly Hills.
After dinner, Rose had ventured off to another part of the lodge with Ranger, his dog dishes and a backpack. Nick
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