Free Avalanche (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 3) by Kristina Stanley

“Hi.”
    “You sound miserable,” Charlotte said.
    “You can tell that from one word? I guess you heard.”
    “I did.”
    “Is this an official call?”
    “No. Of course not. Is there anything I can do?”
    “Find out who stole the money.”
    “Is the theft public knowledge?”
    “It’s not.” Kalin leaned forward and rested her head in her hands. She’d let her guard down and leaked to the media, but at least she’d leaked to Charlotte instead of a reporter she wasn’t friends with. “I assumed that’s why you were calling.”
    “No, I was calling to see how you are. I heard about Roy and the avalanche. Any news?”
    “Not yet, but a day and a half is too long for him to be missing.” Kalin took a deep breath. More bad weather loomed over one of the peaks to the west, straining to reach Stone Mountain as if determined to dump more snow on Roy. “Ben’s doing his best, but SAR hasn’t found any trace of him. They only found some of his gear.”
    “I’m so sorry. I wish I could help you.”
    The wind preceding the storm rattled the windowpane. “You can. Please forget I said anything about money.”

CHAPTER NINE
     
    “Man, I hope that was the right thing to do,” Ben said. The end of the second day searching and no luck. He’d stopped the search at dusk, debriefed the team and sent them home for food and rest. Nobody could survive thirty-six hours under the snow.
    “The team won’t find Roy in the dark,” Oliver said.
    Still hot from exertion, Ben reached around Oliver and opened the window. The cloud cover ensured no moonlight penetrated to the mountain, but he heard the trees bending to the wind’s will. The incoming storm terrified him.
    Ben trusted Oliver’s knowledge of the mountain, the weather and the snow conditions. He’d been an avalanche forecaster at White Peaks before working at Stone Mountain, and Ben almost asked him if he’d liked living in White Peaks but remained silent. Gossip spread like a virus in the small resort.
    The radar weather map showed the incoming weather. Oliver leaned back in his chair, and the smooth material of his ski pants slid on the plastic surface. He removed his toque, and sweat plastered his curly hair to his scalp. Taller than Ben by six inches, he gave the impression he looked down his nose at Ben when he spoke. “What a mess.”
    Ben compensated for his stature by spending hours in the gym, and his bulk countered Oliver’s height. He had no issues being short, but that didn’t mean he had to be small. He leaned forward and pointed at the screen. “That doesn’t look good.”
    “Nope.”
    Ben studied the weather.
    “How’s Kalin doing?”
    “The timing couldn’t be worse. She should be focusing on the theft, but she’s having a hard time concentrating. And I don’t think it helps I’m in charge of the recovery mission.”
    “So you don’t think it’s search and rescue anymore?” Oliver asked.
    “It can’t be. I haven’t told Kalin yet, but I want her to at least have some kind of closure. If we don’t find his body, she won’t even have that.”
    “You know every inch of snow we get makes this harder.”
    Ben examined the screen, looking for any hint the weather wouldn’t get out of control. Roy had shown up for their wedding in June and decided to stay. Kalin worked hard at rebuilding her relationship with him, but Roy resisted her efforts. He said he came to Stone Mountain to repair his relationship with her, and he tried at first, but then spent more time drinking with his buddies than hanging with Kalin. He’d bring her in close, then push her away. Ben suspected Roy had some hidden motive for moving to Stone Mountain but had never figured out what it was.
    “I’ve been thinking about the second person seen trekking up the hill,” Ben said.
    “The guy must have been mistaken. No one’s been reported missing.”
    “What if it’s someone we didn’t know was around?”
    “You’d think if anyone went up there