Free The Grudge by Kathi Daley Page A

happened. She said he’d wanted to be a doctor ever since he was a little boy. They came from a poor family, so there was really no way he could afford medical school until he found out about a government program in which the military would pay for school in exchange for several years of service after his residency. Mario’s a real pacifist, not at all the military type, but at the time Canada was at peace and had been for some time, so he saw it as his opportunity to make his dream come true.”
    “And then 9/11 happened,” Alyson guessed.
    “Exactly. By the time he finished his residency and was ready to fulfill his obligation to the marines we were smack dab in the middle of the Afghan War. He was deployed overseas almost immediately. Carmen doesn’t know what happened there, but when he came home he was a different person. He heard about the maintenance position from a friend and he’s been here ever since.”
    “And Carmen? How did she come to work here too?” Devon asked.
    “She came up one summer to visit Mario and fell in love with the place. She applied for the position at the cantina and has been here ever since as well.”
    “Mario’s employee file said he was married. Do you know if that happened before or after he got here?” Mac asked.
    “During his residency Mario fell in love with one of the nurses. When he went off to war he asked her to wait for him, but when he got home from the war he pretty much turned his back on everyone. He came here and stopped communicating with anyone from his previous life. First Carmen followed him and then Jessica. Jessica applied to be a nurse at the clinic. Carmen said Jessica knew what she wanted and she wanted Mario. She refused to let him wallow in whatever self-pity had brought him here. She finally married Mario last summer.”
    “Wow, talk about true love. Mario must be a pretty special guy to command such loyalty,” Alyson observed.
    “Yeah, he’s a sweetie.”
    “You said Mario was in the marines. Bruce Long had a ring from the marines. Maybe that’s the link,” Alyson speculated.
    “Could be,” Devon agreed.
    “You think someone is killing marines?” Trevor asked.
    “Maybe. Or maybe just specific marines,” Alyson guessed. “Like maybe Afghan vets.”
    “If the Internet ever comes back up we should be able to find out where and when Bruce Long served,” Mac said. “It might help us figure out exactly what happened to Mario. Is there anyone else Mario was close to? Anyone he might have confided in?”
    “He was close to Charlie. I guess we could talk to him again,” Andi suggested.
    “Do you think he’s working today?” Mac asked.
    “Probably. With Mario out and so many people working on the snowslide, we’re drastically understaffed.”
    “Let’s go see if he’s around.” Alyson stood up immediately.
    “Be sure to bundle up,” Devon warned her.
    “Don’t worry, Dad, I will.”
    They once again climbed into the Expedition and headed to the maintenance yard. The sun was peeking through the clouds, making it appear as if there were millions of tiny diamonds on the fresh-fallen snow. It really was beautiful.
    Charlie was just climbing into a snowplow when they arrived.
    “Hey, Charlie. Plowing today?” Andi called.
    “Yeah. Bret’s still AWOL, so I’m trying to cover his job and mine. When I finally catch up with that guy I’m going to kill him.”
    “He’s been missing since yesterday?” Andi asked.
    “Yeah, but don’t tell your dad. He’s a bit of a slacker, but we’re pretty good friends. I’d hate to see him get fired.”
    “Your secret’s safe with me,” Andi assured him. “Let me know if there’s anything we can do to help.”
    “Any of you know how to drive a loader?”
    “Sorry.” Andi laughed. “If we run across Bret we’ll send him in your direction.”
    “Thanks. I need to get going. They’re opening the runs on the front side of the mountain today and the road to the lifts is a