The moon was bright overhead and Walker took a brief moment to enjoy the sight. There was no doubt in his mind that Ellen would be glad to see him. He’d finally gained her trust and it hadn’t been easy. Ellen was very cautious around men, and he suspected it was because she believed she was ugly. True, she was taller than average and a little on the thin side, but she was unusually graceful. And when she smiled, she was lovely.

There was a sound in the brush and Walker crouched, the gun materializing in his hand almost like magic. It vanished almost as quickly when he saw it was only a deer crashing through a thicket. Combat training. Even though there was no enemy hiding in these Nevada mountains, his quick reflexes had saved him more than once.

A sound broke the stillness of the night, the high-pitched whine of a motor from a distant ravine somewhere below him. Walker listened, his body poised. A snowmobile. Three miles away, maybe four. The sound bounced off the sheer walls of rock and made it difficult to locate with any accuracy.

Walker dug his poles into the snow and set off again. There was no use hurrying. The snowmobile would arrive long before he did. He just hoped it was someone who belonged at Deer Creek Condos. He’d have enough trouble dealing with the regular residents without adding a couple of curious visitors to the mix.

At Clayton’s insistence, they’d covered the pool with the solar blanket, but Marc drew the line at declaring the whole penthouse off-limits. “Come on, Clay. We don’t even know if those bones are real or not.”

“This is still a probable crime site and we have a civic responsibility to keep it intact for the police.”

Moira looked exasperated. “Fu . . . fudge! Those bones are old and we’ve been tramping around up there for the past four years. Isn’t it a little too late to keep it intact?”

“It’s like locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen,” Jayne jumped in. “Talk some sense into him, Rachael.”

Rachael put her hand on Clayton’s arm. “I think we’ve done our bit by covering the pool, dear. After all, that’s where the alleged bones are.”

“I don’t agree. That cover is removable. If someone enters the water, the evidence could be dislodged.”

“Yuck!” Vanessa made a face. “I’m not going near that pool until they clean it. I’ll tell you what, Clay. If it’d make you feel any better, we can all take an oath to stay out of the pool, scout’s honor. I used to be a Girl Scout.”

Laureen couldn’t resist. “And now she’s a Boy Scout. She scouts out every boy she sees.”

“Cut it out, you two and take a look out that window! Somebody’s coming up the ridge!” Alan pointed at a bright light cutting through the trees.

Marc rushed over to look. “A snowmobile. It could be someone from the ranger station.”

“That’s not likely.” Clayton joined them at the window. “We told the paramedics that we were all right and didn’t need supplies.”

Jayne came over to look. “It’s got to be someone from town. The ranger would be coming down from the other side. I bet it’s Grace.”

Moira laughed. “Not a chance! You know how Grace hates the cold.”

“Well, that thing’s not driving itself.” Vanessa came up to peer out the window. “Maybe it’s my fitness instructor. I had a workout session scheduled for tonight.”

Jayne’s eyes widened. “Lordy, Vanessa! Your fitness instructor wouldn’t drive all the way up here on a snowmobile, would he?”

“He might.” Vanessa preened a bit. “He’s dedicated to keeping my body in perfect shape. It’s almost a religion to him. And he knows that there’s no way I’d let myself get fat and dumpy like some of the women in this building.”

Hal reached out to grab his wife’s arm. “That’s enough, Vanessa. If I were you, I’d shut up.”

“You want her to shut up?” Laureen snorted. “The only way to shut her up is to stuff something in her mouth. And I don’t mean food!”

Jayne pulled Laureen over to the window. “Easy, Laureen. Don’t let her push your buttons.”

“I can’t help it, Jayne. Every time that little bitch makes a crack about my weight, I want to kill her!”

“Don’t say that, Laureen. You know darn well you’d never do anything like that.”

“Maybe not, but I’m certainly tempted.” Laureen sighed. “Vanessa’s causing problems for all of us, and I don’t understand why Hal doesn’t divorce her. He knows what’s going on.”

“I don’t understand it, either, but it’s not our problem. Come on, Laureen, honey. Let’s make sure we’ve got plenty of coffee. Whoever’s on that thing’s going to need some warming up.”

Clayton headed toward the elevator. “I’m going down to see who’s on that snowmobile, and I’m going to ask them to inform the police. We might be hindering an important investigation. Shall I invite them up here to thaw out?”

“Of course,” Marc assured him. “But I wouldn’t mention the bones, not to strangers.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve got a perfect buyer all lined up for Johnny’s unit and he’s a nervous Nellie. Even if the bones turn out to be a fake, it might queer the deal.”

Clayton looked thoughtful and then he nodded. “That does put an entirely different aspect on the situation. It’s really no one’s business except ours . . . and the police, of course.”

Jayne turned back to the window and gave a wry smile as the elevator doors closed behind Clayton. His self-righteous tone had changed the moment he thought it would cost him money. She guessed she really couldn’t blame him. Clayton had drawn up the corporation bylaws and knew they had only thirty days left to find an acceptable buyer for Johnny’s unit. If they failed, they’d have to divide the cost and buy it themselves. Of course, they’d eventually sell it and get their money back, but that might take a while.

The snowmobile approached the windows, and Jayne peered out into the darkness. She could tell that there were two people on the machine and her heart beat a little faster as she noticed that both of them were wearing ski masks.

Jayne sighed and turned from the window, reminding herself that Paul wasn’t interested in her any longer. It was probably a couple of hardy reporters, braving the wind and the snow to get a firsthand account of the avalanche. Or perhaps Vanessa was right and one of them was her fitness instructor. Jayne had met him once and while he had a perfect body, he seemed short enough on brains to head up here on that snowmobile.

SEVEN

Betty Matteo sat alone in her suite, watching the television monitor. Her secret friend hadn’t come tonight. Perhaps it wasn’t time. He’d told her he could never come when anyone else was awake.

The revolving shelf right next to her bed contained hundreds of her favorite movies. Betty could play a DVD any time she wanted, even though she sometimes had trouble remembering how to read the titles.

She knew there was something wrong with her mind. It was a disease, and at first, she’d been able to remember its name. Now that was gone, too. One of the symptoms of the disease was that people forgot its name. There was a word for that sort of thing and Betty concentrated on trying to remember it. It took a long time, but she finally remembered. The name of the disease she had was ironic.

The man called Jack had been very patient about explaining things to her. And he was so good about wearing his name sign every time. Betty knew that she loved him. There was a good, warm feeling when he came into her room. And he was much nicer than Nurse.

Sometimes Betty took great pleasure in the fact that she couldn’t remember Nurse’s real name. Nurse gave her shots that confused her, that reminded her of the piñata she’d brought back from Mexico City. The gaily painted papier-mâché sculpture shattered when a blindfolded child hit it with a stick, spilling the contents down like rain, and that was exactly what the inside of her head felt like after one of Nurse’s needles.