A Sister Would Know Read online

  “You’re okay, Grant? All the men are okay?”

  “Sure, Amalie.” What was a little exhaustion, a few sore muscles, compared with what had happened to Ramsey and Helena?

  Helping to carry two plastic-coated bodies into the helicopter wouldn’t be the highlight of his career. The coroner had promised a copy of his report once it was filed. But Grant didn’t need to read any such thing to know what had happened.

  “I’d say Helena died from lack of oxygen. As you thought.”

  “What about Ramsey?”

  “It looked like he suffered from trauma sustained during the avalanche.” Most people underestimated the force of the snow as it pounded down the mountain. For many unfortunate victims, this was the cause of death as they were plunged down cliffs, battered against trees, rocks.

  Grant fought to control his voice. “He probably died within seconds.”

  “Oh, Grant.”

  There was nothing more to be said, really. At least it had been a speedy end.

  “We’ll be comfortable in the cabin where you and I—” Grant cut himself off. Cleared his throat. Continued. “Anyway, we’ll be spending the night and returning in the morning.”

  “You’re sure everyone’s okay? Grant, you sound so worn-out.”

  “We’re fine. Exhausted, but fine. See you tomorrow.”

  It took an effort of will for him to turn off the radio and to disconnect from Amalie. He knew she had more questions, and just hearing her voice had helped ease the emptiness he felt at his core. But he had to supervise cleanup of the search area. Finding bodies was messy business.

  AMALIE BARELY SLEPT that night, thinking about her sister, about the life that had been far too short. And worrying about Grant, out on that mountain for yet another night.

  The next morning, she decided to go to the trail-head to greet him when he returned. She left Davin at home to work on his project under Heidi’s supervision, and waited at the parking lot just off the highway.

  Overnight, the storm had settled in—another factor that had increased her concern. Unable to sit still in her warm car, Amalie paced outside in the snow, stamping her feet and holding a mitten to her mouth to keep the frost from her lungs. Fat flakes of snow were falling, covering the shoulders of her suede jacket as quickly as she could brush them off.

  Snow. More depressing snow. Along the Rogers Pass it just accumulated from one storm to the next. She had no way of knowing if it was causing problems for the men out on the mountain. Maybe she should have gone to the warden’s office, instead of waiting on her own.

  A distant rumble warned of an approaching vehicle. Through the veil of snowflakes, Amalie watched as a sturdy Jeep pulled up next to her Jetta. Then she was distracted by sounds from the forest in front of her. When she sighted the familiar blue anoraks, she cried out in relief.

  “There they are!”

  Grant was in the lead, easy to pick out with his height and breadth. He saw her, too, and raised his ski pole in salute. Pushing through fresh drifts of snow, she moved toward him, suspecting she was foolish for feeling this wild, heady relief, but unable to stop herself.

  He looked a little tired, but otherwise it was Grant as usual. Not even out of breath from the early-morning tour.

  “You are fine?” She reached out and her mitten rasped against his unshaven beard. He didn’t seem embarrassed by her behavior. In fact, he scooped her into his arms and kissed her. Right in front of all his men.

  Someone whistled. Good-naturedly, Grant waved them forward. “Go home and say hello to your own women. And enjoy the break, because with all this snow coming, we’re going to be busy in the next few days.”

  Amalie laughed and leaned up to kiss him again. His lips and cheeks were stiff and cold, and she was determined to revive them.

  “How bloody touching.”

  Denise’s voice had Amalie whipping around to face her. Arms crossed, the woman stood by her Jeep, her face a mask of implacable fury.

  “Obviously, the Fremont sisters are too much temptation for any man to resist. Full marks to you, Amalie. At least you picked a man who wasn’t married.”

  The slur to her sister—whose body even now was sitting in the morgue of the Revelstoke hospital—was malicious. Amalie had no urge to retaliate, however; this woman’s husband was also lying there.

  Grant pushed forward on his skis, traversing the short distance between him and Denise, leaving Amalie to follow in his tracks.

  “Denise, I know how devastating this has been. But it isn’t fair to blame Amalie for something her sister did. And face it, something Ramsey did, too.”

  That was the first time he hadn’t placed all the blame squarely on Helena’s shoulders, and Amalie felt another rush of warmth toward this man who’d just returned from such a thankless mission.

  “You’ve got to come to terms with this, Denise.” Grant was close enough now to reach out a kind hand, but Ramsey’s widow jerked away from his touch. “I was hoping that finding the bodies would bring you some peace.”

  “Peace?” Denise’s usually pretty features were transformed by the slash of bleak lines across her forehead and down either side of her small mouth. “I’ll never feel at peace about Ramsey’s death.”

  She turned her eyes, darkened with misery, toward Amalie. “And I’ll never forgive you or your sister for being the cause of it. As for Grant—”

  She swung back to him, her voice raising. “You were supposed to be Ramsey’s best friend. My friend, too…” Her voice became choked with emotion, then she gained control. “But you certainly were quick to fall into this woman’s arms.” She yanked on the door to the Jeep, once more pushing Grant aside.

  “You think she’s so different from her sister?” Denise’s words dripped with venomous intent. “They’re identical twins, for God’s sake. How different can they be?”

  IDENTICAL TWINS. The words rang in Amalie’s ears as she drove back to the apartment, with Grant following in his truck.

  The circumstances of birth had made life complicated for Amalie and her sister. Still, this was the first time she’d heard the relationship “identical twins” referred to as some kind of curse.

  And here in Revelstoke that was exactly what it felt like. All because of the terrible reputation her sister had earned in two short months. Amalie wished she could understand how this was possible. For her sister to have changed so much, something must have happened. What could it have been?

  Maybe Helena’s husband, Matthew, would be able to answer that question. They were expecting him early this afternoon—assuming the snowstorm didn’t hold him up.

  What would he be like, this husband Helena had never bothered to mention? On the phone he’d sounded kind, polite. Amalie had called him last night to report that the bodies had been found. He’d been stunned by the news, as if he’d harbored a secret hope that the whole misadventure would prove a mistake.

  But yesterday had dispelled even that faint hope. Helena and Ramsey had been together on that mountain. Two married people who had no business being alone together in the first place. And now they were dead.

  It was a high price to pay for infidelity.

  “DENISE CARTER IS just jealous,” Heidi Eitelbach pronounced some hours later, after hearing a watered-down version of the confrontation by the highway.

  She’d made hot chocolate for all of them. Grant, Amalie, Davin and herself. And for the newcomer. Helena’s husband, Matthew Stanway.

  Matthew had arrived an hour ago. He’d phoned from a service station by the highway, where he was having his flashy black Jaguar fitted with snow chains.

  “The RCMP pulled me over for speeding.” He’d sounded aggrieved. “Then they told me my tires weren’t safe for winter driving in the mountains.”

  “I’ll come get you,” Amalie promised. After hanging up, she relayed the story to the others. They’d all laughed, even Davin.

  She’d refused Grant’s offer to accompany her and set out for the service stat
ion feeling slightly apprehensive. So much of what she’d learned about Helena thus far had been disappointing. She was afraid Matthew Stanway would be, too.

  Extremely tall, extremely slender, with wavy light-brown hair and a wide, generous mouth, Matthew hadn’t needed an Armani suit and white wool overcoat to stand out in the small family restaurant that was attached to the service station.

  He stared the moment he set eyes on Amalie, and that was when she’d known Helena hadn’t told him that she had an identical twin. Swallowing the pain, Amalie held out her hand and told Matthew her name.

  He ignored the hand, engulfed her in a big hug, then promptly broke down into tears.

  Amalie had liked him immediately. “Lucky you made it here before the storm got much worse,” she said as they walked past his car and she had a chance to see the fine tread on his tires. He would have skimmed over the icy highways like a cat on roller blades.

  “This storm is going to get worse?” Matthew walked with his upper body bent forward about twenty degrees, shielding his face from the bitter wind.

  “Afraid so.” Amalie had smiled, watching him fold his legs inside the front seat of her Jetta. Driving back to Helena’s apartment, she sounded him out to see what else he didn’t know.

  “Helena’s son is here, too,” she’d started.

  Matthew’s blank look had confirmed that Helena had kept other secrets, as well.

  “Davin is eleven,” she’d explained as she drove. “I’ve raised him since he was a baby.”

  “Helena never visited.” This was a statement, not a question.

  “No.” Amalie glanced at the tall man for a moment and noted his thoughtful expression.

  “Hmm,” was all he said.

  Once inside Heidi’s apartment, Amalie had made introductions and Matthew had shaken the landlady’s hand graciously, then bent on one knee to regard Davin. Finally he stood again and thanked Grant for his part in finding Helena’s body.

  “I’d like to have a memorial service for Helena at home in Seattle, where our friends are,” he said. Then he looked at Amalie. “If that’s okay with you.”

  Amalie nodded, relieved that Matthew appeared to be a gentle-mannered and considerate person. And she agreed with his decision. She didn’t want the service to take place in Revelstoke, where Helena had acted with such confusing indiscretion. Nor did she think it was necessary to ask for the service to be held back home. If her parents had truly cared, they’d be here right now.

  To acknowledge that her parents hadn’t cared—not about Davin and now not about her sister, either—was painful.

  “This hot chocolate is like nothing I’ve ever tasted.” Matthew was sipping his with the appreciation of a gourmet.

  “Real Swiss chocolate. And none of that low-fat milk nutritionists are always pushing down our throats.” Heidi raised her eyebrows at Amalie.

  “Of course Denise was jealous,” Grant said, returning to the original thread of the conversation. “Of Helen.” He shot an embarrassed look at Matthew, then continued. “But why lash out at Amalie?”

  “At that moment it was Amalie she was jealous of.” Heidi scooped the last mound of whipped cream onto her hot of chocolate. “Davin, would you be a dear and run to the corner store to get me another carton?” She passed him a handful of change.

  When he was gone, the older lady turned back to Grant. “Ever since Ramsey’s death she’s been leaning on you, and you’ve been too much of a gentleman to see what’s going on.”

  “Come on, now.” Grant’s cheeks turned ruddy. “Her husband’s just died.”

  “So? You think it hasn’t happened before? A woman turning to another man after the death of her husband?”

  “I’m not following,” Matthew cut in politely. “What does Helena have to do with this Denise?”

  Amalie looked to Grant, who gave her a slight nod. “I’m afraid you haven’t been filled in on all the circumstances of Helena’s death.” Quickly Amalie explained about the man who’d perished at Helena’s side. The man who’d been having an affair with Matthew’s wife.

  “No.” Matthew was shaking his head. “This is not Helena. I can’t believe it.” He stared at the fourth finger of his left hand, at his orange-gold ring with a sparkle of diamond chips across the face. Amalie remembered seeing a feminine counterpart in Helena’s jewelry drawer. “We were everything to each other. Everything.”

  The sincerity in his words made Amalie want so desperately to believe him. This woman who’d stayed in Revelstoke for two months wasn’t the Helena either of them had known. There’d been some mistake.

  Yet now that the body had been found, there was no chance of that. Amalie couldn’t understand it. Nothing made sense.

  Grant was openly skeptical. “If your marriage was so perfect, why did your wife leave you?” The question was blunt, but there was compassion in his face as he waited for Matthew’s reply.

  When it came, none of them was ready.

  “I don’t know the full answer to that question,” Matthew said. “But I know it had something to do with Helena’s pregnancy.”

  Amalie started. “You mean eleven years ago? When she had Davin?”

  “No.” Matthew gave her a small smile, full of misgiving and sorrow. “The baby she was due to have in July. The baby she found out about the day before she left me.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  DAVIN HELD THE FRONT DOOR ajar with one hand and squeezed the carton of cream with his other. Holy cow! Helena had been pregnant?

  If she’d lived, maybe she’d have given the new baby to Aunt Amalie, too. He could’ve had a brother or sister!

  Or maybe she would have kept this baby. The thought made him feel as though something black, thick and poisonous had spilled inside his chest. He closed the door softly and stood where no one would see him, with his back pressed against the wall that separated the kitchen from the hall. If they knew he was here they’d stop talking; then he’d never find out anything.

  “But Helena couldn’t have another baby,” Aunt Amalie was saying.

  “Why not?” Helena’s husband asked.

  “After Davin’s birth Helena was warned not to get pregnant again. I thought she was going to have her tubes tied. Obviously, she didn’t.”

  Tubes tied? That was a puzzler. But the part that really had him curious was that statement about his birth. Why no more babies? Didn’t most women have more than one kid once they got started?

  “Tell me, Amalie.” It was Matthew again. “What happened when Davin was born?”

  “Oh, it was awful. I can’t remember the medical terms, but I know the complications were very rare and very serious. At one point her heart actually stopped beating and she had to be resuscitated. We were so afraid she was going to die.”

  Davin hadn’t realized it was possible to die just from having a baby. That old sick feeling churned up in his stomach. He forced himself to keep listening.

  “Hours after the delivery Helena began hemorrhaging. You can’t imagine how frightful it was—the blood came from every orifice. Her eyes, her ears, the insertion point for her intravenous…”

  It was like a horror movie. Davin could picture a lady who looked like his aunt rising up from bed, blood spurting from her head and arms, reaching with menacing hands for the baby who had caused so much trouble.

  Suddenly a whole lot of things made sense. That was why his mother had run away. He’d hurt her so bad. He’d almost killed her.

  He heard a faint thud, glanced down and saw the container of whipping cream on the floor. He bent over, was about to pick it up, when another thought struck him.

  Did Aunt Amalie blame him for what happened to her sister?

  His grandparents’ faces loomed in his consciousness. They blamed him, too. Because of him one daughter had almost died and their other daughter wasn’t able to get married.

  Because no man would want to be his father.

  All of a sudden so many things made sense. About the past, abo
ut his family. Oddly enough, the world he was in right now had gone strangely blurry. Davin reached a hand to his eyes and felt wetness.

  Gosh, he was crying like a baby. He couldn’t let anyone see him. But he didn’t want to go up to Helena’s apartment.

  He needed to get away. Somewhere far away so he could have time to think.

  Davin groped for the door handle, then carefully closed it behind him as he left.

  “WHAT WAS THAT SOUND?” Amalie went out into the hall, where she was certain she’d heard someone come in. But the door was shut; all was normal. Only…

  On the floor was a slightly squashed container of whipping cream. She picked it up and carried it to the fridge.

  “Davin, are you in here?”

  “Maybe he went back to your apartment,” Heidi suggested. “To sneak in a little television.”

  “I suppose. I gave him a key when we went on that ski trip.” He should have checked in, though. And it had been careless to leave the cream on the floor that way. But she would talk to him about it later.

  Right now she needed to find out about Helena and Matthew. This pregnancy, she was sure, was the key to everything. “You had no idea how dangerous childbirth would have been to Helena?”

  He shook his head, face covered by his hands. After a few moments, he peered out from between long fingers and sighed heavily. “She told me she wanted to terminate the pregnancy. I couldn’t understand why. She never explained—” His breath broke on a ragged sob. “I just thought she was frightened. Helena was timid about a lot of things.”

  Amalie looked automatically to Grant. The rough-edged mountaineer appeared completely befuddled. She supposed none of this sounded like the Helena he’d thought he’d known.

  “If only she’d told me. I wanted our baby, but I would never have put her at any risk….”

  “What did you say when she wanted to terminate the pregnancy?” Amalie asked.

  “I told her she was being silly.” His regret was obvious as he brushed his hands up and down the length of his face. “But she’d never said anything…I didn’t know….”