Death Checks Inn (Aspen Valley Inn 1) Read Free Page A

realized that the honeymooners had not emerged from their suite and even Heather Mason had only briefly attended the gathering before heading to her room. Oh well, she thought, it did take a few days to adjust to the six thousand foot altitude. She would be sure to remind all of her guests to drink plenty of water and not exert themselves too much on their first day.
    Just then, the old-fashioned dinner bell located on the deck near the entryway jingled.
    “ Ah, my final guests are here,” she said. She opened the door and greeted the two young girls who were standing on the wide wrap around deck. “Suzy and Joan, right?” Lacey asked.
    The girls giggled and smiled. They looked to be around eighteen to twenty years old and wore the standard uniform of girls that age, worn jeans and a t-shirt. Each held a bulging backpack as their only luggage. She offered to fix them a snack or something to drink.
    Joan, a petite redhead, said, “Oh no thanks. We’re tired and have a lot planned for tomorrow so if you’ll just show us to our room we’ll be fine.”
    Suzy who was blonde and slightly taller added, “Yeah, we are planning to bike through Garden of The Gods tomorrow and we are so psyched!”
    She was referring to a beautiful national park nearby that was famous for its red rock formations and fabulous bike and hiking trails.
    Lacey led them upstairs to the only double suite and watched as they chose beds and threw their backpacks onto the floor. After making sure they didn’t need anything she told them goodnight and wearily dragged herself up to the third floor. Suddenly she was too tired to even shower. Washing her face and brushing her teeth she fell into her bed and into a deep satisfying sleep.

Chapter 5
     
    After what seemed like only seconds, she jumped up, not sure what had awakened her.  Alert and listening she realized someone was screaming. Not even bothering with her robe she quickly headed down the stairs to the second floor, turning on lights as she went.
    As she reached the second floor landing, she noticed the Braverman’s looking confused and disoriented in the hallway. Joan and Suzy were huddled together nearby and Suzy was crying. They all seemed to be unharmed.
    As she moved down the hallway, she almost ran into Heather Mason. She was standing at the top of the stairs staring down to the ground floor with a stricken look on her face. Lacey followed her gaze and there at the bottom of the stairs was a man. Not moving, unnaturally still, with what looked like blood pooling under his prone figure.
    Shaking her head to clear her brain, Lacey hurried to the bottom of the stairs. She leaned over the body and struggled to turn him over. As she stared into the sightless eyes, she knew he was dead. She checked for a pulse and confirmed that he was indeed dead. As she pulled her hand away, she stifled a gasp as she noticed that her hand was covered in blood. Sticking out of the victims’ chest was an antique railroad spike.
    She looked up at t he huddled group on the landing above.
    “Who…what…happened….who is this? ” she shouted.
    Heather Mason pointed shakily and said, “It’s my husband. It can’t be but it is, it’s my husband, Adam.”
    Just then, the front doors burst open. Wyatt Graves and another man who appeared to be a deputy rushed in quickly taking in the scene.
    Wyatt pulled Lacey back from the body, leaned down to check for a pulse and said, “What happened here? We got a nine one one call from someone in this house.”
    Joan said, “It was me, I called. ”
    The deputy who had been going from room to room came over to Wyatt and said, “There’s no one else here. I’ve called for the coroner. Anything else?”
    For a moment, no one spoke and Lacey could hear the steady tick tock of the antique clock on the wall. As the horror of what had happened sunk in Lacey began to shake. Wyatt reached over and held her arm as if to support her if she fainted.
    He turned her to face him