Well, it looks like the little girl, Jasmine, though everyone calls her Jazzy, will be okay. Nyura, our nurse, is looking after her right now. Why would her dad want to kill his own daughter? Who is he working for and what are they up to? It must involve a lot of money and it must have something to do with the secret to this resort. Nyura came back after a while and reported on Jazzy.

Apparently no broken bones and her head was not hurt much, she was just knocked out. Plus she has scrapes and bruises but she will be just fine. That is a relief, but I still want to know who would order an 8 year old girl to be killed, and why her father would be willing to help out with that. Nyura did not want anyone talking to her just yet however, she needs time to get over this. That should be fine. “I am not leaving you alone anymore Steve,” said Kat.

“I was not alone, Sigurbjorn was here, and the cats,” I said, “and, I know you want to tackle those hikes, so you will be going. Jenny can stay with me next time.” “No, there has to be 2 girls with you at all times, plus the cats,” she said. “Okay, who are the best fighters?”, I asked her. “Sigurbjorn, Jenny and Kristina,” she answered. “Okay, then they can take turns, two at a time,” I told her. “Fine, then it will be Sigurbjorn and Kristina tomorrow,” she said.

The evening passed quietly and we had a great meal in the main lodge. There is another couple that help Paul and Beth looking after the main lodge and doing the cooking. They seem to do their jobs very well, but they never smile and barely say a word even when we try to engage them in a conversation. Galyna said there is something about them that makes her nervous. Carine said the same thing and she does not like being around them at all.

Hmm, that is interesting, I wonder what is going on with those two? Are they mixed up with these other people? Perhaps they are here to spy on the guests. Or maybe to just keep Paul and Beth in line so they do not talk. Paul is going to talk however, whether he likes it or not. The next day was beautiful and warm, the sun shining into the log cabin made it glow in wonderful warmth. The girls set off on a longer hike today so they left earlier so they could make it back in time for dinner.

Paul came in shortly after and told us those were avalanches we heard, two of them and they blocked long portions of the road out of here. The road will likely be blocked for at least a week. That is okay, we are here longer than that anyway. But the seniors we scheduled to leave in two days time, so they will get a longer vacation, and free too. So they were actually quite happy about the news. All the others would be here longer than a week anyway so it did not affect them.

But those avalanches were not natural. I agree with Sigurbjorn, there was an explosion that caused them. Someone is trying to trap us here, or at least trap someone. At least we still have our phones to communicate with this time. And mine just rang, it was John. “Hi Steve, seems your friend Jake found me again,” he said, “so I just want you to know I am not involved in what is going on out there. Yeah, I knew those guys in prison, but that is all, we are not staying in touch.”

“Can you tell me anything about these guys?”, I ask, “they just tried to kill an 8 year old girl and I am trying to figure out why.” “They work for a woman,” he began, “she is totally ruthless, does not care who she hurts or kills, even kids, she has done it before. But the cops have never been able to catch her.” “Do you know her name?”, I ask. “No one does,” said John, “she uses the name “Q”, that is all. If someone tries to ask her name, she just has them disappear. She is a tough one to deal with Steve, do not give her a chance, or you are dead.”

“Thanks John,” I said, “nice to know you are not involved in this one.” “Hey, if I want to kill you, I will do it myself…” Then it started to get real static on the phone so we could not hear each other. I tried to call him back but there was nothing. The girls checked their phones, it was the same thing. But it was not like the other time, this was just plain static, and loud. Someone was obviously doing something to cause interference.

To Be Continued.

©2022 Steve McLeod.