Virginia Smith - Murder at Eagle Summit

Her shoulders rose as she drew in a breath, and in the next moment she looked up. Their gazes locked.

The breath whooshed out of his lungs.

She was even more stunning than he remembered.

Lord, this is not fair. Couldn’t she have gotten uglier?

Two faint spots of color appeared on her cheeks and she looked away, but not before Tim saw her lips press firmly together. Her shoulders angled slightly away from the group, from him. He’d received some instruction in body language in his law enforcement training, so he recognized the meaning behind her unconscious gesture. She was distancing herself. She didn’t want anything to do with him.

Tim cleared his throat. If that’s the way she wanted to play it, fine. He rounded the sofa and stood on the other side of the coffee table from Liz and Debbie’s grandmother.

“Mrs. Carmichael, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

She gave him a warm smile and allowed him to take her hand. “It’s been too long, young man. You should attend church with your parents more often.”

“Oh, you know how it is when you have to work for a living. I don’t get too many weekends off, and when I do, I have a church up here in Park City I’ve grown fond of.”

Mrs. Carmichael released his hand and gestured toward the two strangers. “Allow me to introduce these lovely girls.” She inclined her head. “But I’m afraid I’ve already forgotten their names.”

The blonde seated on the couch beside the elderly lady extended a hand. “I’m Caitlin Saylor. And this is Jasmine Delaney.”

He shook her hand and reached for the brunette’s as Mrs. Carmichael identified them. “They’re Elizabeth’s musician friends from Kentucky, here to play at Deborah and Ryan’s wedding. Girls, this is Tim Richards, Elizabeth’s former fiancé.”

The petite brunette’s expression froze as her eyes flicked toward Liz. Then her smile widened artificially. “My friends call me Jazzy. It’s nice to meet you, Tim.”

“You, too.” Thank goodness his voice sounded normal.

Mrs. Carmichael nodded at the girls. “Tim is a sheriff here in Park City.”

“Deputy Sheriff,” he corrected with a grin. “Welcome to Utah.”

He steeled his expression and turned toward Liz then. “You’re looking well, Liz.”

A smile flashed onto her lips and disappeared just as quickly, though she didn’t meet his eyes. “You, too, Tim.”

The sound of her low voice caused Tim’s heart to twist unexpectedly. He steeled himself against the assault of a million memories. Oh, the words that voice used to whisper in his ear.

Ryan came to his rescue.

“Liz, long time no see! C’mere and give me a hug.”

Liz hurriedly set her mug on the table as Ryan pulled her out of the chair and into an embrace.

“Hey, come meet the guys.”

Ryan performed the introductions and hands were shaken all around, while Tim stared out the window and battled a million memories the sight of Liz had unearthed.

He cleared his throat and nodded toward the window. “Hey, look. The lifts are running. Time to get our gear and hit the slopes.”

Ryan glanced at his watch. “We have fifteen minutes. We’re going to get first tracks this morning, guys. Ought to be some awesome powder after that storm came through yesterday afternoon.”

Patrick, one of Ryan’s friends from work, started to turn away, then stopped. “Hey, is Jeremy joining us again today?”

Everyone froze. Debbie bit her lip and cast a wary glance at Tim. Ryan’s eyes widened. Even Mrs. Carmichael stared into her coffee, uncharacteristically silent. Though it took every ounce of control he could muster, Tim forced his face to remain completely impassive. And he did not look at Liz.

“Uh, not today,” Ryan said. “I think he’s working or something.”

Thank You, Lord. I don’t think I can handle both of them in one day.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get ’er done.” Patrick, a newcomer to their group, obviously had no idea of the history he’d just unearthed. And as far as Tim was concerned, he didn’t need to know. Like he told Ryan earlier, that was water under the bridge.

“Yeah,” Tim agreed, “let’s get going.” He nodded toward Mrs. Carmichael and the girls, and continued to ignore Liz as he walked away.

While the guys headed for the door, Ryan pulled him aside. “Hey, dude, I hope you don’t mind that Jeremy hung out with us yesterday. I wouldn’t have asked him if you’d been along. You know that, right?”

Tim forced a laugh. “What is this, grade school? You can hang out with whoever you want. I’m your friend no matter what.” He grinned. “Even if you do have really bad taste in choosing the rest of your friends.”

Ryan clapped him on the shoulder. “Good man.”

A figure ran across the courtyard beyond the big windows by the fireplace, and a moment later a teenager in full winter gear ran into the lobby. He left a trail of snow on the tiled floor from his snowboarding boots as he jogged toward the front desk. His voice, pitched high with excitement, carried across the lobby.

“Where’s Mr. Harrison?”

Something in the kid’s tone drew Tim’s attention. He couldn’t hear the reply mumbled by the woman at the desk. But the teenager’s next statement carried clearly to the group by the fireplace.

“We found a frozen dead guy on the Crested Eagle lift!”

Liz sat straight up in her chair. Did that kid just say…

A memory surfaced. Last night, standing on the balcony, the figure trudging across the slopes in the moonlight. Later, the chairlift starting to move. Had she seen the man moments before he caught a lift ride to his death?

She turned in time to see the woman at the front desk point toward the coffee shop. The teenager ran across the lobby and dashed through the door.

“Did you hear that?” Debbie’s round eyes swept the group around the fireplace.

“I certainly did.” Grandma grabbed Debbie’s hand over the back of the couch. “Deborah, we must find another location for the wedding immediately, though where we’ll find someplace suitable on such short notice is beyond me. I’ll call Reverend Bowers and see if he can free up the sanctuary.”

Debbie shook her head, confusion creasing her forehead. “Why do we need to move the wedding?”

Grandma’s nostrils flared. “You can’t have a wedding on a property where a death has just occurred!”

Ryan returned to the group. Liz looked up in time to see Tim disappear into the coffee shop.

“Tim’s going to see if he can help,” Ryan told them. “He’ll join us on the slopes after the sheriff gets here.”

Startled, Liz’s gaze flew to Ryan’s face. “The sheriff? Why?”

Ryan shrugged. “Routine, I guess. A death at a local business probably needs an official statement or something. And somebody has to notify the next of kin and all that.”

Debbie looked up into his face. “Do you think we should move the wedding?”

Ryan put an arm around her waist and squeezed. “No. This place is just what we wanted for our big day.” He lowered his voice. “But I don’t think we’ll ski here today. I’m sure they’ll have to close that lift for a while, and that will shut down all the runs it services.”

Debbie looked at Jazzy. “If you’re still planning on skiing today you might want to go with the guys.”

“You’re welcome to join us,” Ryan said. “We’ll probably head over to Park City Mountain.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Jazzy said, and Caitlin nodded. “I’ve never been on skis, so I can learn there as well as here.”

“Park City Mountain’s ski school is really good,” Debbie said. “You can sign up for a lesson when you buy your lift ticket.”