Chapter 14. Alice
ALICE
The long drive was a silent one, which was fine by Alice, who held the wheel tightly in both hands, her jaw clenched, and her neck stiff.
A soldier obeying orders. The RV climbed the narrow, winding highway through Glacier National Park and Rogers Pass.
If Alice thought too long about the steep slopes, and how the RV could easily slip over the edge and into the crevasses below, she’d break into a cold sweat.
She focused on the gray pavement spooling out in front of her and the serrated mountains in the far distance, so high they were ringed with clouds and still blanketed with pristine snow.
They reached Golden just as the sun was lowering in the sky, bathing the land in a warm amber light, and streaking the sky with blazes of violet and tangerine.
They found the campground situated alongside Kicking Horse River and parked near the A-frame office.
Alice waited for orders from Simon and glanced around.
She hoped their site was with the others, parked overlooking the murky turquoise river.
There wasn’t much tree coverage, and the sites were wide open, so you could clearly see your neighbors sitting around in their lawn chairs or eating at their picnic table.
All they needed was one nosy, eagle-eyed person who had read that news article and wasn’t fooled by Simon’s and Jenny’s new hairstyles.
Simon was also looking around, though, and Alice didn’t like the contemplative expression on his face. He turned in his seat and looked back at Jenny.
“We should keep driving through the night. Put more distance behind us.”
Distance was bad. They would cross into Alberta on the way to Banff.
Would anyone in that province know about the murders?
Most of the media around the world was focused on the Olympics.
It seemed to Alice, the farther they got from the scene of the crime, the slimmer the chances were of Jenny and Simon being recognized and caught. She had to slow the trip down.
“It’s risky to drive at night,” she said. “I’m exhausted already.”
“The next part goes through Kicking Horse Canyon,” Tom’s voice rasped from the back of the RV. “It’s steep, with drop-offs. The brakes are going to overheat.”
Simon unfolded the map and glared down at it with a furrowed brow.
“There won’t be anywhere to stop for gas,” Alice added. “We’ve used a lot.”
“I want to stay at the campground,” Jenny said. “I’m tired too.”
“You can sleep while we drive.”
“It makes me feel sick.”
Simon rubbed at his chin, scratching the whiskers, a grating sound.
“Fine. I need to steal a license plate anyway.”
Simon told Alice to park out of sight from the front office, handed her a few bills with another warning about not doing anything stupid, and sent her inside with Jenny.
The office doubled as a small store, with a cooler full of sodas, and shelves crowded with boxes of cereal, condiments, canned food, personal hygiene items, and other necessities.
When they walked past a spinning rack of stuffed animals, Jenny stopped and smiled at the black bears dressed in RCMP hats and red serge coats, the moose in maple leaf sweaters.
She picked one up, gave it a gentle squeeze, looked at the price.
Alice didn’t know what she was doing—they weren’t tourists looking for souvenirs.
Then she realized Jenny might be thinking of a present for her baby.
Alice stalked ahead, fast, so Jenny had to catch up.
The campground worker was a friendly teenage girl with long brown hair parted in the middle.
She looked like a park ranger in her khaki shorts and shirt, and she kept apologizing while giving them a rundown of the facilities.
“Sorry, but we charge coins for the laundry, and the shower water takes a few minutes to warm up. And no music after eleven, sorry.”
While Alice signed the documents and paid for their site, she considered adding a notation.
Help, please. We are being held hostage by murderers!
Her hand hovered over the top page. She waited for Jenny to look away, to turn, to do anything, but she didn’t move, and the campground worker was already pulling the form back. She smiled across the counter at Jenny.
“There’s a cookout in the pavilion tonight. You should come. There’ll be lots of boys.”
Jenny blushed and glanced at Alice, then back at the girl. “I have a boyfriend.”
The girl shrugged. “Bring him too.”
Jenny muttered a thank-you, and they walked back outside. With every step away from the office, Alice’s regret grew. She should have distracted Jenny somehow. She could have asked her to get drinks from the cooler or an item of food. Why hadn’t she thought about that?
They were in sight of the RV when Jenny said, “I don’t have friends.”
Alice paused mid-step and shot the girl a look. Jenny had barely spoken since Alice’s failed attempt to get her to turn against Simon. Maybe she’d been thinking over everything Alice had said. Maybe she was ready to confide in her. Alice kept moving, but slower now.
“No?”
“I had a best friend when I started school in White Cliff—when I was fourteen. She made me this.” She lifted her crocheted purse, showing it to Alice. “Then one day she stopped talking to me. She quit ballet too. I think my mom did something.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “My mom did all kinds of mean things. Hannah’s mom was pretty, and my mom hated pretty women.
She didn’t like me being distracted from ballet either.
She thought Hannah was holding me back.” She sighed.
“I tried to make friends with another girl, but she quit too. After that I didn’t try anymore.
” She glanced at Alice. “Do you have lots of friends?”
“Some. It’s different once you get married.”
Jenny stopped walking. “For guys too?”
It was an effort to think about any life outside of the nightmare that she was currently trapped inside, but Alice forced herself to find an answer.
Was it different for Tom? He still played golf and went to the bar to watch football with friends.
She went to Tupperware and fondue parties, but over the last year she’d pulled further and further away.
It hurt to hear them talk about their children, all of whom were reaching milestones that her son never would.
“Not as much.”
Simon flung open the door. “What’s going on?”
“The girl at the front desk invited us to a cookout,” Jenny said.
“We can’t go.” Simon sounded annoyed, like he couldn’t believe she might be considering it. “Why were you talking to her? That was Alice’s job.”
“I know. I was only being polite.” Jenny pushed past him into the RV, her head down as though she was refusing to look at him. Embarrassed or angry? Alice couldn’t tell.
Simon decided he wanted hamburgers for dinner, and Jenny agreed in a quiet voice.
Alice tried to concentrate on the mundane task, something she had done countless other times, but she was too aware that she was being watched.
Jenny seemed to take particular interest in everything that Alice was doing.
Like she was trying to memorize the steps and the ingredients as Alice mixed the meat for the patties.
“What was that powdered stuff?” Jenny said.
Alice still didn’t want to be nice to Jenny, but if they did form a connection, which she seemed eager for, she might have a better chance of getting through to her.
“French onion soup mix. You can buy breadcrumbs, but I make my own. You add a couple of eggs, and it makes everything stick together. Do you want to form them into patties?”
Jenny’s eyes brightened and she got to her feet, but Simon, sitting nearby at the dinette, studied Alice’s face like he could see straight into her intentions. She kept her expression blank.
Jenny made a mess, but after a few minutes she got the hang of shaping them, and Alice taught her how to cook the meat on the grill, and when to flip the patties.
Simon had pulled the awning down and arranged the grill and chairs so their backs faced the lane.
The RV beside them was parked the same way as theirs, so those people were out of sight and likely couldn’t hear them.
Whenever anyone passed by, Simon tucked his chin and hunched his shoulders.
Alice could see the lump that the gun handle made under his shirt.
After the burger patties were cooked, Simon sent Jenny and Alice inside, where he sliced the buns, onions, and pickles with the hunting knife. It was unsettling how fast he was with the blade, how adept, and Alice had to look away.
“We have one tomato left.” The second the words left her mouth, Alice wanted to slap herself. Her comment had been spoken out of habit—she was so used to being the one who prepared the meals. But they weren’t dinner guests, weren’t sitting around having drinks.
“Jenny hates them.”
Alice glanced at the girl, who nodded sheepishly.
“They make me feel sick.”
When everything was prepared, Simon and Jenny sat at the table, while Alice sat beside Tom on the mattress, carefully feeding him bites of a hamburger.
Normally, Tom would have eaten two, easily, but he barely made it through three quarters of one hamburger before shaking his head when she offered him another bite. “I’m done.”
“You have to keep up your strength.”
“A burger isn’t going to heal a broken bone.”
Tom wasn’t usually sarcastic to her, and she blinked in surprise, but he didn’t notice. He was staring up at the ceiling with a pained expression.
“You need more water.”
He let out a groan and lifted his head so she could hold the glass for him. She helped him to the bathroom, under the watchful eyes of Simon. She hated seeing Tom grimace every time his arm jostled, and how he had to awkwardly hold his elbow.