“It’s morning, hon,” Del said. “Or almost. Sun will be up soon. You need to get some rest.”
“I don’t mind staying.”
“But you’re tired. You need sleep.”
She wasn’t wrong. Maya let her gaze flick back around the people who needed care. Two other vacationers-turned-medical-workers had things under control. Maybe she could leave for a bit.
Delilah pressed her fingers against her eyes, then shot Maya a smile. “How’s Mr. Webb?” Rodney Webb. The heart attack victim.
“He’s hanging in there.”
“Yeah.” Del sighed.
“What about you?”
“I’m good for the next twelve hours or so. We’ve got more people coming to help.” Del quirked a small smile. “Lots of doctors like to ski.”
Maya let her lips turn up in response. There were other doctors, but she was the only one qualified to do surgery should someone need it. Then again, it wasn’t like she had the tools to do it. “Has it finally quit snowing?”
“Yeah. A few hours ago.”
“Thank God. Where do you think the satellite phones went?” she asked.
Del pursed her lips. “There were two in the medical clinic and three in the ski patrol building that got wiped out along with the cell tower. Thankfully, no one was in the ski patrol building, but I can’t believe there aren’t more phones somewhere. Once we realized the avalanche could hit the clinic, we got so busy evacuating that we didn’t grab the phones.” She shook her head. “Stupid. All that aside, this place is top of the line. Seems like they’d have more sat phones in different locations readily available for emergency situations.” She shrugged. “Then again, cell service isn’t usuallyan issue, so who knows? But I will say, the one at the front desk being gone? That’s sketchy if you ask me.”
“You think someone took it?”
“I hate to accuse, but yes, I do. It’s the only explanation I can come up with and I haven’t heard a better one yet.”
“Yeah, me either.” Maya frowned. “I just don’t understand why someone would want to keep us from calling for help.”
“Someone up to no good, that’s who.”
Maya rubbed her forehead. “Okay, well, I guess we’ll have to watch our backs and hope it’s really just lost.” And not because someone had something nefarious up their sleeve.
“Hope all you want. I know what I think.”
Unfortunately, Maya was inclined to agree with her but wanted to give the staff the benefit of the doubt. “Maybe one will turn up. On another note, I’m hungry. Before I grab some sleep, I’m going to head over to the lodge to snag a bite to eat. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
“No. I can’t believe the gas and power lines are still working. No internet, but I’m not going to complain. The slide was on the opposite side of all of that, so I’ll just be grateful for what we do have.”
“So will I,” Maya said. But she’d still pray for everything else. She suspected Del would too. “Please find a way to get word to me if you need me. I’ll be in the café for the next little while, then my cabin.”
Since there was no cell phone service, some of the teenagers were acting as messengers. They still hadn’t reached anyone outside the resort, so all they could do was hope that someone had noticed the avalanche or had tried to contact a loved one at the resort and failed. The one silver lining was that this would likely prompt a report, and with any luck, someone would come searching.
Hopefully.
She made her way outside, zipping her coat, then pulled on hergloves, and even though the lodge was close by, snow had fallen off the roof and spread onto the usual walking path. Snowplows had made a new one and she set out on it. It was still early morning, the sun just starting to peek above the horizon, which made it a quiet walk, the stillness nice and calming. Like it was just her and nature, but something changed about halfway to the restaurant. She wasn’t sure what, but the sensation of being watched slithered up her spine and settled at the base of her neck.
She stopped and scanned the area. Huge piles of snow bracketed the path, so someone could be hiding behind one, but ... why?
“Hello? Is someone there?”
Silence. Eerie silence. Heavy silence.
A shiver ran through her and she hunched her shoulders. The sun continued to rise, pushing through the darkness, bringing a hint of light to the sky and the path in front of her. Maybe she was just jumpy for no reason.
Three loud pops sounded behind her, and she froze, her mind whirling back to Afghanistan before her platoon was ordered to withdraw. She stood still. “It’s not bullets. It’s not bullets, it’s not bullets.” A branch, weighted by the snow from the night before, crashed to the ground.
