“When I talked to Trent at dinner, he said he was at Black Oaks on business. We didn’t find a cell phone on his body, and where’s his attaché case and laptop?”
“Good question.”
“I’ll ask everyone if they’ve seen them. If no one has, it looks like someone searched Trent’s room and took anything he had that would tell us why he was here.”
PART SEVENThe Chameleon
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The next morning, as light started to shine through the stained-glass windows, Ken and Robin met Max in the front hall.
“You still have Rockwell’s gun?” Ken asked.
Max patted the pocket of his parka. “It’s right here where I can get it if I need it.”
“Don’t hesitate to shoot Zelko if you run into him,” Ken said. “He’s a stone killer and insane.”
“I’ve been in combat, so the pep talk isn’t necessary.”
“Good. Is your cell fully charged?”
Max nodded.
“Okay. The sooner the police get here, the better. But we’ll be able to send for help once the roads are cleared, so don’t take any unnecessary chances. If you’re in danger, come back.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks for doing this,” Robin said.
Max smiled, flipped up his hood, and headed out the door.
Robin and Ken went to the dining room, where the other caterers had prepared breakfast.
“Max is on his way, so help should be here soon,” Robin said.
“We’re probably safe, aren’t we?” Corey Rockwell asked Robin. “Zelko must have left Black Oaks sometime during the night, right?”
“He’s probably gone,” Robin agreed, not because she was completely convinced that Zelko had fled but to calm Rockwell’s fears.
“He must be gone,” Rockwell insisted, trying to convince himself more than anyone else. “Why would he stay here?”
“Why did he even come here?” Sheila Monroe asked. “The highway made sense. He could get a ride if he was lucky. Coming to Black Oaks makes no sense. There’s no place to go once you get here. You’re trapped. He’d have to go down eventually. But he did the thing that makes no sense and came up the mountain.”
That had not occurred to Robin. Why had Zelko come to Black Oaks?
“Maybe the real Samuels captured Zelko, and they couldn’t go down to the highway because of the mudslides,” Rockwell said. “Then Zelko killed Samuels and had no place to go except up the mountain.”
Robin thought that was a possibility, but Sheila’s question had her thinking.
After breakfast, the caterers cleaned up and stayed in the kitchen. Sheila and Nelly sat at the dining room table and talked in low tones. A fire had been set in the fireplace to fight off the chill. Jose had pulled a chair near it and had escaped into his book. Corey Rockwell fidgeted in his chair. Every once in a while, he wouldget up and pace around the room. Robin and Ken kept their guns handy and watched for any sign of Victor Zelko.
“Who do you think killed Melville and Trent?” Ken asked Robin.
“Zelko is the most obvious suspect,” Robin answered.
“True. But what’s his motive?”
Robin thought about that. Then she shrugged.