The Body in the Snowdrift Read Online Free Page B

Or not so much, she said silently to herself. “But the others—and we’ll be together for a whole week!”
    Jane gave her daughter’s hand a gentle pat—a gesture tantamount to a Gallic kiss, Eskimo nose rub, and Bavarian bear hug rolled into one. “You’ll survive, darling.”
    That night in bed—the bed she’d slept in all her life postcrib and prenuptials—Jane’s words reverberated in the familiar room that still contained a bookcase filled with childhood favorites and the Brunschwig & Fils wallpaper she’d picked at thirteen and still loved. It had been a lovely day, a great escape. Her eyes fluttered closed, then opened wide as she recalled her mother’s words. She’d survive, but would they?
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    Pete Reynolds, the head of maintenance at the Pine Slopes ski resort, stood with his thumbs looped on his belt, surveying the damage with the resort’s owners, Fred and Naomi Stafford. Naomi’s face was flushed, and there were angry tears in her eyes; Fred was biting his lower lip. Pete was just looking.
    â€œAnimals! And the chaperones swore that this was a good group!” Naomi cried.
    A high school ski club from the New York State side of Lake Champlain had rented a block of rooms over the weekend. Judging from the number of empty kegs, the kids had packed more than their ski equipment. Towels had been stuffed into toilets. There was vomit on the rugs, the drapes had been torn, and two trashedmicrowaves sat there, aluminum containers melted onto the interior walls. And this didn’t include the sheer mess—food ground into the floor, broken plates, trash everywhere, and dirt that had been tracked in from outside, since apparently no one had thought to remove boots at the door.
    â€œWell, we’ve got a damage deposit, but it won’t go far,” Fred said. “I’ll call the school and talk to the principal, but…”
    â€œBut it’s a helluva long way from here and they’re not going to do anything about it. Add ’em to the list and I’ll get Candy up here,” Pete said. Candy Laverdiere was the head of housekeeping. “When are these rooms booked for next?”
    â€œTonight,” Fred said glumly. The list of schools not welcome at the resort was growing. The room rentals, lift tickets, and often the equipment rentals, plus the revenue the kids generated at the cafeteria and the Sports Center, were an important part of the resort’s income, but in the past few years, the cost in damages was seriously cutting into their profits. He’d talk to Boyd and see if they couldn’t draw up some kind of ironclad contract that would make the school groups responsible for any and all costs incurred. He’d thought of it before. The big resorts all had them, but he had wanted the business. For the snowboarders, they’d added a terrain park with a half pipe, jumps, and a rail slide, which had been a blessing and a curse. It had brought the families with teenagers back, but it had also attracted school groups and clubs.
    â€œI’ll get Ophelia and we can help,” Naomi offered.
    Well out of Naomi’s sight, Pete raised an eyebrow atFred. The day Naomi’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Joanie, who now insisted on being called “Ophelia,” pitched in to help would be one for the record books.
    â€œIt would have to be one of the new units, of course,” Fred said. Last year, they’d renovated the existing hotel units and added some new ones. “I’ll go over and tell Mom and Dad; then I’ll get back here.”
    It was good to get away from the stench of way too much beer and cigarette smoke, which was going to be a problem, too. These were smoke-free rooms. Fred took a deep breath when he got outside and instantly felt better.
    His parents had started the resort in 1969 and he’d grown up here, attending the small local school down at the bottom of