Chapter 2

Sarah jumped out of the car as soon as it had stopped and twirled around like a schoolgirl.

“Would you just look at this place? It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

Rachel had to admit it, the idea of spending the weekend here looked a lot better now that they had arrived.

She had expected a log cabin, a bunch of tree trunks tied together into a rough cube with a door and a roof. This was practically a villa; a rustic two-story retreat with large windows that looked out over a spectacular meandering river valley. The sun had started her final descent towards the nightly embrace of far-away hills.

Rachel saw a spacious porch under the overhang of the roof, and sure enough, there it was: a large, round hot tub covered with a heavy-looking insulating lid, in the middle of the hardwood terrace floor. Tendrils of steam carrying the heavy scent of chlorinated water tickled her nostrils.

As Jake started unloading the trunk, an elderly man stepped through the door and walked towards the girls with his hand extended.

“Hello there, ladies,” he murmured through the formidable tangle of silver-gray bristle under his nose. His mustache was so thick that you could only assume he had a mouth because you had just heard him speak.

“I’m the caretaker of this place and several other out-of-towner properties around the valley. Name’s Theo, short for Theodore, at your service.”

He shook hands with the girls and waved to Jake, who offered his chin in return as he was hauling two heavy suitcases up the porch steps.

“I’ll show you around and make sure you got everything you need for a pleasant stay.”

He rocked on his heels and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops.

“But I gotta warn you in advance not to use the hot tub.”

“Oh, why not?” Sarah was the only thirty-something woman that could voice disappointment like a twelve-year-old.

“I’m afraid it’s not safe. The lid has a hinge in the middle so that it can swing half-open, but the other half is stuck on the tub, it won’t come off.”

He leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I heard there’d been an accident some years back. The lid clapped shut and trapped a couple inside while they were ... making a lot of foam if you catch m’drift.”

He wiggled his tash and went on. “The heater then shorted out, and them folks were cooked inside like two lobsters.”

Rachel put a hand to her chest and looked wide-eyed at the man. Sarah just frowned but didn’t say anything.

“The owner wants to get rid of it before any more mishap can come of it.”

“I bet,” Rachel agreed. She smelled the disinfectant and wondered if there could ever be enough of it to clean out the broth.

“Now, come on in. I’m sure you youngsters wanna get settled in.” With a wide arc of his arm, he invited them to follow him.