Avalanche (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 3) by Kristina Stanley Read Free Book Online

jerk going into Helen’s place at night, too drunk to notice her a few steps behind him. When he’d left the bar, her intuition told her to follow him. Why did he have to choose one of her employees? Not that he’d ever sleep with someone as fragile as Helen.
    Jessica loved skiing with Roy. He’d learned to ski with his sister when they were kids, and with his aggressive nature, he’d excelled. She didn’t know why, but she liked guys with an edge.
    The problem with the edge was the cuts that came along with the adventure. For the first time in her life, the beginnings of heartbreak nipped at her.
    Her desk phone rang. She ignored the ringing until the call switched to voicemail. Roy never called her landline. Her cell rang. She checked the display in case it was Roy, but no luck. Ben Timlin was on the other end. Too bad. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to him.
     
    * * *
     
    Jessica figured Constable Miller had finished interviewing employees, and she left her office in search of Helen and Eric. Her two clerks. One shy and typically nervous. The other a contrast with his loud voice and outspoken demeanor. Jessica found them and led them into the maintenance closet at the end of the hallway.
    In the cramped room, Helen leaned against the shelves containing cleaning products, and as usual her face became a host to stains of red and uneven goose bumps. And what was with the flat shoes? If she was going to wear a skirt, why not wear flattering pumps to go with it?
    Eric ducked his head as he walked through the doorway, shifted a mop and stood beside Helen. “Why are we meeting in here?”
    “I don’t want anyone to see us together.”
    Eric looked at her as if she was an idiot.
    “If we meet in my office, anyone passing by can see through the window. Look, it’s better if we keep a low profile. This has been a tough morning for all of us.” Jessica rested her backside on the edge of a commercial vacuum cleaner. A plume of dust rose behind her, releasing a musty odor into the air. Grit from the machine stuck to her sweating palms. “I don’t think either of you had anything to do with the theft, and I don’t like the way Turner’s treating us. We’re not criminals.”
    “I agree. Turner’s being a jerk,” Eric said.
    “Why did you ask Helen to cover for you this morning?”
    Eric slid his eyes toward Helen and licked his bottom lip. “I had something personal to do.”
    “Which was?”
    “Personal.”
    “I don’t think the RCMP will let you get away with being so vague,” Jessica said, suppressing the annoyance in her voice.
    “They didn’t ask if I was supposed to be on duty. Why do we have to fill out questionnaires if Constable Miller already interviewed us?”
    Nice change of subject, Jessica thought. “I guess they want to look for inconsistencies or maybe they want our answers in writing. Who knows? Have either of you agreed to a polygraph test?”
    Helen looked to Eric. He nodded and she copied.
    Jessica hired Eric for the winter season because of his previous banking experience. Most of the time, Eric’s friendly and outgoing nature drew people to him, although Jessica noticed he’d put his joking aside for the moment. But really, what did she know about him? He was confident enough to pull off the theft. All he needed to do was hide the money until he left the country at the end of the ski season. “Eric, do you want to take the test?”
    “What choice do we have? Helen said Turner would fire anyone who didn’t.”
    “If we all refuse, he can’t fire the entire team,” Jessica said.
    “What if the cops don’t catch the thief? Turner’s going to think one of us did it, and he’ll fire someone,” Eric said. “We could clear our names, and the RCMP would target someone else.”
    “Our names are clear. It’s their job to prove otherwise,” Jessica said.
    Helen fidgeted with a bottle of bleach. She picked at the label with her fingernail, ripped off the top corner and searched