Snowman by Norman Bogner Read Free Book Online Page A

Ravel was against Dan from the beginning." He took out a piece of paper and scribbled down a barely legible address and handed it to Ashby.
    "What's he doing on an Indian reservation?"
    "I don't know. I've forwarded his mail there for years. If you see him, tell him Andrew sends his regards."
    "Was he really as good as the papers claimed?"
    "Sherpas said he was the greatest climber who ever lived—better than Hillary."
    Ashby's interest was deeply engaged. The conflicting accounts of Bradford he'd heard suggested that he was tracking a strange and extraordinary man. Why, he wondered, did a man of such accomplishments drop out of sight and settle among a tribe of Indians, banishing himself to a life of obscurity?
    At Monte's insistence, Cathy had flown down to Los Angeles with him to discuss Janice's death with the board of Great Northern Development, the resort's parent company. The company headquarters were in Century City, on the twenty-sixth floor of one of those faceless towers which had sprung up in the last few years. The boardroom, a multiwindow affair with a hundred-and-eighty-degree view of the city, dazzled her, but when she saw the indignant expressions on the five men sitting at a long Italianate glass table, she ignored the view. The men did not bother to stand, and Charles Wright, the chairman, waved her to a seat between two secretaries. He simply nodded at Monte, who joined the others at the table.
    "Monte said we've got some kind of public relations problem up at Sierra," Wright began. He had shark-gray eyes, a crab-shaped body, and one of those slick tennis tans that end at the neck.
    "I checked with the paper; Ashby put in a two-line obit about the girl," Cathy informed him.
    "That's excellent." Wright looked pleased, but she seemed unresponsive. He asked, "What's bothering you?"
    "Ashby left town . . . I don't think he's going to quit on this story. I think he wants us to believe he's going to let it go. It's a smokescreen."
    Wright shook his head in dismay. "Well, for Christ's sake, fix him."
    "How do I do that?" Her voice was losing its timbre, disintegrating. Wright frightened her, and the silence of the other directors was equally unnerving.
    "We've got a fund for that reason."
    One of the other directors suggested that they buy out Ashby's advertising space for the next six months.
    "Ashby's one of those small-town editors," Cathy explained. "Integrity's his stock in trade. I'll have to finesse it, put it on a personal footing."
    "Anyone else trouble?"
    "The sheriff," Monte replied.
    "He's Ashby's closest friend," Cathy said.
    "Will he keep his mouth shut?" Wright asked.
    "Only if Ashby tells him to," she said.
    Wright opened a black folder and looked at an information sheet listing the town officials.
    "Garson's just a rubber stamp who Ashby backs each election." His gaze fell on Monte, and he pointed accusingly at him. "Didn't I tell you to buy that fucking rag before we broke ground in Sierra?"
    "Charlie," Monte pleaded, "he wouldn't deal. The alternative was to start a rival paper, and none of us knows the first thing about running a paper."
    Wright's tan was fading, and he ran a hand through his tinted hair.
    "The two of you listen. I want that son of a bitch Ashby sandbagged. I don't care what you have to do." He paused and reached for a cigarette, which he placed in a Water Pik filter; then, after lighting the cigarette, he removed the filter and threw it against the window. His secretary got up from the table, picked it up, and handed it to him.
    "Do you want a Valium, Mr. Wright?"
    "No, my wife got tickets to A Chorus Line and I want to stay awake for the first act." For a few moments he stared blankly at Cathy. No one uttered a word. "Cathy, if some kind of panic breaks out in Sierra, we'll lose twenty-five million dollars. Christ, I never should have allowed us to get into this."
    "Charlie, it'll be okay. I'll handle it," Monte said, hoping to reassure him.
    Wright glared at the other board