A Case of Bier by Mary Daheim

Author:Mary Daheim
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-02-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Judith and Renie left the Odells a few minutes later. They were both so worn out that neither of them felt like speculating on the events of their very long day. Instead of entering the Flynns’ adjoining suite and going through the connecting door, Renie took out her key, mumbled something that sounded like “ni-ni,” and staggered into the Joneses’ accommodations. Judith merely nodded. She felt as if she’d talked herself numb.

The last thing Judith remembered was sitting down on the bed to undress. The next thing she heard was the muffled ringing of a phone. Bleary-eyed, she tried to rouse herself and discovered she’d gone to sleep with her clothes on. When the ringing persisted, she grabbed her purse and dug out her cell.

“Yes?” she croaked, forcing her eyes to focus on the digital clock next to the bed. It read 9:49.

“Jude-Girl?” Joe said in an uncertain voice.

“What?” Judith was struggling to sit up. “Joe?”

“Right. Are you okay?”

“Yes. Of course. I’m still half asleep. How are you?”

“Great,” he replied. “In fact, that’s why I’m calling. Bill and I are having some fantastic luck. Our guide Snapper’s incredible. We’re going to have to send most of what we’ve caught to the cannery. So far we’ve hauled in brown and rainbow trout, cutthroat, and what they call the Bow River bullet. Those babies really fight and you wouldn’t believe how high they leap out of the—”

“Joe,” Judith interrupted, feeling a bit unsteady as she headed for the bathroom, “why are you calling?”

A brief silence ensued. “Well . . . Bill and I wanted to make sure you and Renie are getting along okay without us. You are, right? I mean, no problems?”

“We’re fine,” Judith replied, more sharply than she intended. “In fact, like I said, you actually woke me up.”

“Wow! My wife sleeping in? This trip must really be relaxing for you.”

Judith leaned against the bathroom sink. “You’ve no idea.”

“Then you and Renie wouldn’t mind if we stayed another day? We’d be back in Banff sometime in the early morning.”

Judith considered. “I’d have to make sure the motel has room for us,” she finally replied. “I’d also have to ask the Rankerses to stay on at the B&B.”

“They won’t mind,” Joe said airily. “There shouldn’t be a problem with the motel either. It’s Monday.”

Joe was probably right about Arlene and Carl, but not about their lodgings. Judith had noticed no decrease in the town’s tourists. It was, after all, still August. “I’ll let you know if there’s a problem,” she hedged. “Okay?”

“Sure,” Joe said. “Here comes Bill. I’ll tell him we can go ahead and let Snapper know he can take us up into one of the lakes around here. Love you.” He rang off.

Judith wasn’t up to coping with Arlene, but she could call the desk to find out if they had availability for the night. First, however, she’d shower and get dressed. Ten minutes later she used the house phone to see if their suites were still available for that night.

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