Snowmen are Murder - Part #19

Cozy Mystery

Recap: Paisley & Ellie moved to catch the killer, Nico Barnes, who might or might not be disguised at the resort. Either as Ziggy, the resort’s concierge, or Archie Cantwell, the British skier, but when they go to the ski patrol lodge for clues, they find a snowman waiting for them and an avalanche!

This is the 5th book in the cozy mystery series, which means four other mysteries with Paisley & Ellie are out! You can find them on Amazon. They are fun, fast short reads. I write them under my pen name, Ann Audree. You can read about the series ON MY WEBSITE.

If you’re new to Snowmen are Murder, start at Part #1.

The Fit Girls: Snowmen are Murder - Part #19

“Ellie!”

Paisley yelled for her friend, clawing her way through hip-deep snow. She’d managed to swim through the avalanche but couldn’t see Ellie anywhere. The landscape stretched around her, a lumpy white tumbled mess.

A powdery mist of snow hissed in her face.

The clock is ticking, Paisley thought. She knew the chances of survival plummeted after fifteen minutes. Heart racing, she forced herself to calm down, scan the area, and listen.

“Ellie?” she called, softer.

The snowpack settled. Its creaking crunch sounded hollow, as if it had only found a temporary resting spot. Given a little more gravity, it might drag farther down the hill. Create more havoc. Destroy more lives.

Paisley couldn’t wait to see if it was safe enough to move around. She knew Ellie had been ahead of her, but they were close to the treeline. The path of the snow had shot past them and reached the trees, too. It looked like the flow had rebounded off the trees and pushed snow sideways into them, as well as from the slope. Ellie might have gotten a double blast, although it had missed Paisley.

The extra swell of snow could have pushed Ellie farther down the hill, missing where Paisley stood. She turned, looking at the avalanche debris for clues. Only the dregs of the avalanche reached the path, but it had thrown a wicked cocktail of snow and forest debris at them.

Part of a red glove stuck out of the snow. Ellie’s glove.

Paisley had to take big steps, sinking back into the snow with each one, to get to the glove. She snatched at it, expecting to feel a hand, but it folded at her touch. Empty. She dropped to her knees, digging in the spot.

A rustling sounded along the treeline.

And an unintelligible shout reverberated across the valley.

Paisley turned. She saw movement at the ski resort. Several people had come out of the main entrance. They were too far away to clearly hear or reach the slope fast enough to offer any real help. Their screams, however, were a warning. And they were pointing.

“Hey!” a male voice shouted from a closer source. He broke away from the trees, finding it hard to move in the tousled terrain,

It took her a moment, but Paisley finally saw him. A man waved his arms as he came out from the trees, parallel to her spot. She squinted, not able to see him clearly. It didn’t matter. Paisley had to find Ellie. Everyone else could wait.

“We were only a few feet apart,” Paisley told the snow. “How far could the swell have taken her? Would we have moved together?”

Another red glove wiggled in the snow.

Fifteen feet away.

Paisley lurched toward it, tripping over a jagged rock that had been pushed down with the snow. She crawled, careful of the area around the glove. The fingers of the leather wiggled.

“Ellie!” Paisley shouted.

“Hey!” the man had closed the distance. The anger in his voice was audible. “Stop! You need to stop!” He lost his footing and crashed toward Paisley.

“Stay back!” Paisley warned, grasping for the red glove.

The man didn’t heed the warning. “You are a liar!” He raged, coming at her.

Dodging him, Paisley laced her fingers with those of the glove, and pulled the hand up. The snow shifted, loosening over a huddled form. Ellie sat up, gasping for air as the white stuff fell away. Her free hand jerked upward, and the ski pole she’d used as a walking stick made a wild arch, hitting the man in the face. He fell back, winded and bloody from the blow.

Paisley got to her friend’s side, hugging her. She brushed snow away and checked Ellie for injuries.

“Did I kill him?” Ellie asked, coughing.

“As long as I didn’t kill you,” Paisley said, pleased to see the avalanche had not permanently harmed her friend. “How do you feel?”

Ellie wanted to see the guy she hit. “Who is he? Huh? There are certain people out here I wouldn’t mind hitting, but I’d feel bad if it was the ski patrol.”

Lying prone a foot away, Paisley knew the man was not part of the ski patrol. She glanced over at him. “It’s Nico Barnes.”

“Oooh,” Ellie said, with glee, “can I hit him again?”

Hugging her friend again, Paisley laughed. “No. You already made his mouth bleed.”

The angry man, Nico Barnes, rolled on his side. “You hit me!” he roared, spitting. He spotted the white snow with blood.

“Might want to keep that to yourself,” Paisley told him. “Or a line will form. There are a lot of people here who would like to sign up for a little payback.”

Ellie pointed at Nico’s mouth. “His tooth.”

“Did you knock it out?” Paisley asked, turning to look at Nico.

His teeth were all still in the right place, but bloody.

“His teeth are straight,” Ellie whispered.

“Oh, no.” Paisley could see that Ellie was right. The fraggletooth that she’d accused the killer of having did not appear to be an issue for Nico Barnes. He did not have the Ricci family dental problem. “So, the good news, we found the prankster.”

“Bad news,” Ellie sighed, “he might not have done it.”