Murder at the Big T Lodge: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

vacation.” She lightly
touched his glass with hers and said, “We made it here, and everything is going
to be wonderful.”
    They spent the next half
hour chatting with the other guests. There was the usual: “Where are you from?”
“What do you do?” “Have you ever been here before?” It was the type of
conversation people have who are going to be spending the next few days
together in a special setting.
    Their first dinner at the
lodge was spectacular, in Liz’s view. A few people were beginning to go to
their rooms when Roger said, “Liz, I think we need to get some sleep.
Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day for me, and I want to be ready for it.
They’re taking us out to the duck blinds before dawn. I’ll come back around
9:30 or so, and we can have breakfast together then.” With that they excused
themselves and made their way up to their room, looking forward to a quiet
night’s sleep in the middle of nowhere.

CHAPTER 7
                                                                           
    The digital alarm clock on the nightstand next to
their bed buzzed at six a.m. Liz rolled over in bed and said, “Roger, there
must be something about sleeping in a big beautiful lodge out in the middle of
nowhere. Honestly, that’s one of the best night’s sleep I've ever had. I really
don’t mind waking up early after I’ve slept so well.”
    “You’re not the only one.
I never woke up once. I better get a move on, because I need to put on my gear
for duck hunting, and since I’ve never done it before, I don’t want to look
like a newbie. All of the hunters are supposed to assemble down in the great
room at six-thirty, so I’ve got just enough time to get suited up.”
    “I think I’ll spend the
day reading, taking a walk, and just relaxing,” Liz said. “Don’t need a lot of
make-up and special clothes for that. I’ll get dressed and walk you downstairs
for your first morning hunt, plus I could use some coffee.”
    A half hour later they
walked down the large curving staircase only to be met by Sam who seemed to
have been waiting for Liz. The big dog stood up as soon as she got to the
bottom of the stairs and wagged his tail in greeting. “Good morning, Sam,” she
said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you might have been waiting for me.”
    Jack Mercer saw them and
walked over. “Have you seen Milt this morning?” he asked. “I’m guessing he
overslept. I better go up to his room and wake him up, although usually he’s
the first one down here in the morning. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
    Jack returned shortly
looking grim.  “Roger,” he said, “would you please come with me?” He turned and
walked back up the stairs. Roger shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Liz
with a “what’s this all about?” look on his face and followed Jack up the
stairs.
    “I didn’t want the rest of
the guests to hear this,” Jack said as they made their way up the stairs, “but
I know Milt’s a friend of yours. Unfortunately, he’s dead.” He opened the door
to Milt’s room, while Roger stared in shock at his friend who was lying on the
bed. A red drink similar to the one Roger had seen Milt drinking the evening
before was on the nightstand next to his bed. Roger walked over to the bed and
took Milt’s hand in his own. There was no pulse, and it was very apparent that
Jack was right. His friend, the Attorney General of California, and a candidate
for governor of that state, was dead. There were no signs of foul play. It
appeared Milt had died of natural causes, even though he was only fifty-three
years old.
    Immediately Roger thought
of the recent death of Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court Justice. Good
grief, this is just like what happened to him. He died in his sleep in at a
Texas hunting lodge.
    “I assume you’re going to
cancel this morning’s duck hunt because of this,” Roger said.
    Jack