Snowmen are Murder - Part #5

Cozy Mystery

Recap: Mingling with the resort guests, Paisley & Ellie try to get a feeling for the room—and what they’ll face once they start class—when their host Pietro Ricci makes a grand entrance with a knife in his back.

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 Snowmen are Murder, start at Part #1.

Fit Girls: Snowmen are Murder - Part #5

“Murder used to bother me more.”

Ellie’s statement should have alarmed Paisley, but she felt the same way. The pair stood on the far side of the lobby. All the guests had been herded together and asked to wait until an investigator arrived.

None of the local police wanted to touch the case, it appeared to Paisley, carefully watching a three-person team work the crime scene. One was taking pictures of everything and everyone with their cell phone. At the same time, another wrangled the guests—presumedly because he spoke the best English and French, the predominant language of lodgers. The last officer stood just outside the front entrance. He’d only spoken Italian and seemed to be in charge, curtly directing the other two. The boss gave a wide berth to the guests and the dead body. It was a toss-up, which he avoided the most. Despite the cold, he stayed outside and appeared to be waiting for a dignitary to arrive.

“Interesting to see the process in another country,” Paisley whispered to Ellie.

Blowing air softly out of her mouth, Ellie only had eyes for one woman. “I’m sure I’ve seen Janine before.” She pivoted slightly to peek through the guests, getting a shock. Janine was ten feet away, looking right back at her. Ellie flashed a smile, but it was not returned.

“The odds of running into someone you know…” Paisley stopped short of guessing a statistic but figured it had to be slight. “It’s not like this resort is on the map for a casual visit. Where do you think you know her from?”

Ellie considered the question. “Could be I only met her in passing, so it wouldn’t really register. Or maybe it’s just out of context.”

Thinking through their journey from the airport, including a quick coffee stop at the base of the gorge, Paisley decided they’d had several opportunities to cross paths with other guests—although the woman didn’t look familiar to her. “Could have seen her on our way here. We might have arrived around the same time. Maybe you spotted her somewhere in the village?” She kept her eyes on the Snowflake Hotel entrance, not wanting to miss the Inspector’s arrival. “Don’t force it. Like you said, it will click with a little more context.”

Thinking hard for a moment, Ellie suddenly shook her head. “Whatever.”

A churning of tires slid on slick pavement, alerting everyone to activity at the chalet’s entrance. “It’s the inspector,” Paisley whispered, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

That emotion turned into a pleasant surprise when a woman exited an SUV and came up the front stairs. The local police chief fell into step behind the female Inspector, leaning forward to fill her in on the details. They quickly crossed the lobby to stand over the body. The woman took in the scene. Her attention, however, focused on the knife in Pietro Ricci’s back.

Paisley knelt down, also curious about the body. The different angle revealed something new. Pietro’s left arm twisted in her direction, and she could see something white clenched in his fist. She hadn’t noticed the object blocked by his fingers when viewed from above. She quickly stood.

The Inspector bent over the body, but still at a bad angle to see the evidence. Her husky voice remained low, giving orders to the policeman. He’d stayed close, writing on a notepad, seemingly familiar with how she worked. At her command, he turned to the other male police officer and barked out an order in Italian.

“We move you now to eating room,” the subordinate male officer translated to the guests. Extending a hand, he pointed them toward an area behind the reception desk that served breakfast and dinner in a buffet setup. The permanent serving tables dominated the center of the space.

As the guests headed to the dining area, Paisley hung back. Ellie noticed. “What are you doing?” she whispered to her friend, certain she really didn’t want to know the answer. “Let’s be good guests, huh, and let the police do their job.”

“I will…” Paisley said. “If they see what I see.”

Ellie almost stuck her tongue out. “Give ‘em a minute. I’m sure they will.”

“Yes, please,” the policeman wrangling the guests waved his hand for Paisley and Ellie to follow the others. They were the only ones hanging back. “Continue on, si?”

The extra prompt caught the attention of the Inspector. She zeroed in on Paisley, possibly seeing a kindred spirit—or an annoying looky-loo. She held a hand up. “Who are you?” she asked Paisley, taking a step in her direction.

Ellie sighed. She knew her friend attracted attention with her long, ash-blonde hair and striking features. She was breathtaking to most mere mortals, but Ellie doubted the Inspector was captivated by Paisley’s beauty.

The sudden attention also took Paisley by surprise. She didn’t mean to start off wrong with the Inspector. She never meant to interfere, it came naturally. Still, she stalled, searching for a nice way to say what she wanted without showing up all the officers.

The Inspector snapped her fingers. “Do you understand?” she pointed at Paisley, her perfect English full of disdain. She talked to her like a spoiled child. “Who are you?”

Paisley raised an eyebrow. It represented a silent warning that she didn’t care for the Inspector’s tone. “Well, I’m the one who’s noticed that Mr. Pietro Ricci is holding a note in his left hand.” She cocked her head to one side. “And since it’s so wet around the body, the water could saturate the note, and you’ll lose the evidence.”

Angry voices shouted orders in Italian; at least, that’s how it sounded to Ellie. She cringed. “Now you’ve done it,” she muttered.

With a little pout, Paisley tried to feel bad, but she couldn’t. The predominant emotion welling in her heart was desire, creating an itching sensation to join the investigation. She had to believe it was in everyone’s best interest based on a tiny bit of mystery-solving success.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Ellie whispered, “so stop! They don’t need your help.”

While that might be true, Paisley silently agreed to disagree. They faced a delicious challenge: a mystery that included a creepy snowman, a resort full of atypical guests—making them unusual suspects—and a dead body. It screamed for help.

“That one,” the Inspector pointed at Paisley, “remove her to her room.”

Using English to give the order sent a clear message. The Inspector wanted everyone to know where Paisley stood regarding the investigation—nowhere.

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