Tamarack County by Krueger William Kent

Author:Krueger, William Kent [Krueger, William Kent]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, thriller, Suspense, Crime
ISBN: 9781451645750
Amazon: 1451645759
Goodreads: 16130588
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2013-08-20T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

When the doorbell rang, Stephen didn’t respond immediately. He thought, This is what it’s like here. Colder than you could ever imagine. Hope you enjoy it, Skye.

The bell rang again, and from upstairs, Jenny called, “Stephen, get the door.”

He crossed the living room in no hurry, took hold of the doorknob, but gave himself another few seconds before opening up.

Skye Edwards stood in the light from the porch lamp, smiling at him out of the oval frame her parka hood created around her face. In one hand, she carried a big plastic bag with “Four Seasons” printed in elegant script across the side.

“Hi,” Stephen said, with no great enthusiasm. He stood aside so that she could enter.

She brought the cold. It not only came in the air that entered with her but poured off her clothing. She made a brrrrr sound and stamped her feet and said, “Oh, God, I think my toes are going to fall off.” She flipped the parka off her head. “Boozhoo, Stephen. Did I say that right?”

“Close enough,” Stephen replied.

She shed her parka and glanced around. “Where should I put this?”

“I’ll take it.” He nodded toward her boots, which had carried in snow on their soles. “Leave those on the mat by the door.” He hung the parka in the closet in the hallway.

Skye put down the plastic bag she carried, knelt and undid her laces. “Where’s Jenny?”

“Putting Waaboo down.”

“Oh, I’d hoped I could spend some time with him.”

“Past his bedtime already.”

“Next time,” she said brightly and put her boots together on the mat. “Would you give this to him when he’s awake?” She reached into the bag she’d brought and lifted out a stuffed orangutan two feet tall. “I picked it up in the gift shop at the hotel. I hope he likes stuffed animals.”

“I’ll give it to him,” Stephen said.

He figured he should invite her into the living room, but instead he stood more or less blocking her entrance to the rest of the house. She kept on smiling, and her eyes went past him, taking in the living room and dining room.

“You have a lovely home here,” she said.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t have anything to do with that. I was kind of born into it.”

“Lucky you,” she said.

Jenny came down the stairs. “Hello, Skye.”

The two women embraced warmly, and Stephen felt something go hard in him, like a fist.

“Annie’s told me so much about you, I almost feel like we’re sisters,” Skye said, holding both of Jenny’s hands in her own.

“Do you have siblings?”

“A mean, older stepsister straight out of Cinderella. And a brother who’s nowhere near as nice as Stephen.” She threw him an easy smile.

“Come in, won’t you?” Jenny invited and led the way into the living room. “Can we get you something to drink? Beer, wine, soda?”

“Red wine?”

“We have merlot.”

“Perfect.”

Jenny looked at the stuffed orangutan in Stephen’s hands. “Where’d you get that?” she asked.

Skye answered, “I brought it. A present for Waaboo. I hope it’s okay.”

Jenny laughed. “It’s perfect.

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