I put my shorts on and shirt. I waited until Traci got dressed before leaving. Traci took off for the main building and I went back to my cabin. Karen... stormed off after Traci. I quickly changed shirts and went to clean the pool and check the pH balance. I had my back away from the main building and didn't see Karen come up from behind. When she spoke I jumped. I figured I was in for hell. Instead Karen's voice was calm. She wanted me to check hut number four about flickering lights first then. ..ghastly. Natalie looked terribly uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortableas she had half an hour before. Tim Grimm chortled. "What's wrong, Jar...hard for you to show it all off to your so-called fiancee?" Jaredbit his lip. Goddamn it. He'd come over tonight with Natalie, to let Tim knowthat he was finally ready to get married... "Jared, I just wanted her to know what you were really like, dude." Tim rubbedNatalie's arm in a casual way, and she smiled hesitatingly. "I know it's disturbing,. My understanding was that Elsa's father was a Russian billionaire who had made the wrong statement at the wrong time and wound up in Siberia banished from his wife and his cash. There was little doubt he was no longer with us but nobody brought up that subject anymore without expectation of unwanted consequences.Elsa warned me that her mother was subject to some bizarre actions when she was high on the pain-killers she seemed to gobble up like candy when she was in the mood for a change of. “She thought it was a scarf. From a place there across the street,” I pointed. “But it’s kind of silly to buy one just to play a trick on Lara, so forget I said anything.”Heather narrowed her eyes. “Is it a nice scarf?”“Sure. Muireann got one. But—”“Wait, the one she wore skiing yesterday?”“Yeah.”“Oh, that was nice! I really liked it. Let’s go look at what they have.”I called out in protest, but Heather was already in the middle of the road, so I rushed to catch up with her.“What did you say.