He was wrapping up when he was interrupted by swearing from Chase. Everyone looked to the bench.
Chase sat with one foot poised above his ski boot, something white and wet dripping from his sock. “Someone filled my boots with shaving cream,” he said.
Nina was the first to laugh, but the others soon followed suit. Connor had a hard time holding back his own mirth.
“It’s not funny!” Chase said and turned the boot upside down.
“Don’t let it drip on the floor!” Nina protested. She grabbed a T-shirt from the corner of Connor’s desk and launched it at Chase. “Clean up your mess.”
“Which one of you did this?” he demanded as he wiped the floor.
“Where were your boots?” Brian asked. “You carried them in with you just now, right?”
“I had my hands full of gear on the way to my car yesterday, so Cerise volunteered to keep them in the lift tech’s locker room overnight. I picked them up from there this morning.” Realization dawned. “You think the lifties did this?”
“Didn’t you put a bag of plastic spiders in Cerise’s locker last week?” Lily asked.
Chase made a face. “She loved them. She told me so.”
“Maybe she thinks you love shaving cream,” Renee said.
He looked down at his dripping boots. “This is going to take forever to clean up.”
“Look at it this way,” Connor said. “At least now they’re going to smell fresher than they ever have.” He looked to the others. “Anything else I’ve forgotten?”
Anders’s hand went up. “Any news on the stolen cast boosters?” he said.
Connor glanced at Stacy, who had her head down, brushing something from her knee. Everything about her posture said,Pretend I’m not even here.
He turned back to the group. “I haven’t heard anything. If any of you know anything, even if it’s just a rumor, let me or Doug know.”
“Does this have anything to do with the people who are protesting the resort expansion?” Nina asked.
“Has someone said something to make you think that?” Connor asked.
“No, but there are people who are pretty upset about it,” she said. “Maybe they’ve decided to go from chaining lift chairs together to blowing things up.”
Several of the patrollers exchanged worried looks.
“Again, if you hear anything, speak up,” Connor said. “And be on the lookout for anyone acting oddly or in places they aren’t supposed to be.”
“If I see anyone with a pocket full of cast boosters, I’ll be sure to let you know,” Raz, a tall redhead, said, garnering nervous laughter from her fellow patrollers.
Stacy stood. “I’ll just wait for you outside, Connor.”
“Little late for that,” Brian said as the door closed behind her.
“What are the local cops doing about the theft?” someone at the back of the room asked.
“They’ve called in the feds,” Connor said.
“You mean ATF?” Brian asked. “I’ll bet Doug is thrilled with the idea of a bunch of uniformed federal agents hanging around the place. Not a good look.”
“I haven’t seen anyone in uniform,” Chase said.
“Maybe they’re undercover,” someone else said.
“All of that is out of our hands,” Connor said. “All we can do is keep our eyes and ears open.” He set aside the clipboard he’d been holding and picked up his jacket. “Let’s get to work.”
