Snowbound

Fifteen

Late Thursday morning Lew Coopersmith sat in front of the quartz-and-granite fireplace in his living room, drinking hot, fresh coffee with John Tribucci.

An hour and a half earlier he had gone to the Mercantile on an errand for Ellen, and Tribucci and Matt Hughes had been discussing slide developments. The latest report from County Maintenance was that a second dozer had been brought in-there was also a rotary snowthrower on hand — and the crews were beginning to make some progress. But at a conservative estimate it would still be the day after Christmas before they had the pass road cleared, weather permitting. Coopersmith and Tribucci had eventually left the store together and then walked up to the slide. You could hear the sound of the machines from there, although the work itself was invisible from within the valley.

After a short time they came back down again, and Coopersmith invited the younger man to the house for coffee since Frank McNeil had decided to keep the Valley Cafe closed as long as they were snowbound and Walt Halliday did not open the bar in the inn until 4 P.M. Tribucci had readily consented, saying smilingly that as much as he adored his sister-in-law, her coffee was on the same qualitative level as that of an Army mess cook’s.

Now Coopersmith began filling one of his blackened Meerschaum pipes from the canister of tobacco on the low table between them. “You think the weather will hold, Johnny?” he asked.

“Hard to say. Forecast is clear for the next couple of days, but we may be in for another storm either Saturday or Sunday. If you want a pessimistic opinion, Lew, it will be two or three days after Christmas before the pass is open again.” He paused and frowned into his cup. “I just hope the baby doesn’t decide to arrive until New Year’s now.”

“Even if it does, Ann will be fine. Doc Edwards has delivered dozens of babies in private homes.”

“I know, but I’d feel better if she had hospital care when the time comes.”

“We’ll all feel better once things are back to normal. I don’t like being cut off from the outside world for so long a time, even if it isn’t total isolation. It makes me feel helpless and vulnerable.”

“Vulnerable to what?”

Coopersmith fired his pipe with a kitchen match. When he had it drawing to his satisfaction, he said, “Well I don’t know exactly. I guess it’s just that I don’t have complete control of my own life at the moment. It’s like being up in an airplane-you’ve got to depend on somebody else. And when you’re dependent, you’re vulnerable. That make any sense to you?”

“I think it does,” Tribucci said. “In fact, I suppose in a way that’s why I keep worrying about Ann and the baby.”

Leaning back in his armchair, Coopersmith sighed and chewed reflectively on the stem of his pipe. At length he asked, “What do you make of the cafe break-ins, Johnny?”

“I don’t know what to make of them. It’s a damned peculiar business, happening two nights in a row like that.”

Coopersmith nodded. On the second occasion, as on the first, the rear door had been jimmied and propped open; but the damage had been considerably heavier, owing to the magnitude of Tuesday night’s storm: bottles and jars blown off shelves and shattered on the floor, cans and perishables ruinously frozen. Frank McNeil had been livid, far more concerned about his private property than the avalanche which had left the valley snowbound. That was the primary reason he had decided to close the cafe until after Christmas.

“I talked to most everyone in the valley yesterday and Tuesday,” Coopersmith said, “and drew a complete blank. Whoever did it pulled it off clean both times.”

“Well, at least it didn’t happen again last night.”

“That’s something, anyway.”

Tribucci made a wry mouth. “McNeil says that’s because yesterday he told Zachary Cain he knew he was the one responsible and was going to have him arrested as soon as the pass is cleared. Says that put the fear of God into Cain.”

“Horse apples,” Coopersmith said.

“Yeah. Cain is a funny sort, that’s true enough, but he just doesn’t strike me as the type to go in for malicious mischief.”

“Me neither. He hasn’t bothered a soul since he’s been here. Besides, the idea that he would do it because McNeil asked me to investigate him when he first came is ridiculous. I told Frank there wasn’t any way Cain could have found out about that in the first place, but trying to talk sense to McNeil is like trying to talk sense to a ground squirrel. He’ll be lucky if Cain doesn’t sue him for slander.”

“That’s for sure,” Tribucci agreed. “Thing is, though, I can’t picture anyone else in the valley doing the break-ins either. Not for any reason.”

“Same here. But somebody did it, and for some reason.” Coopersmith’s pipe had gone out, and he relighted it. “Well, whatever the answer, I’ll see if I can’t ferret it out sooner or later.”

The two men had a second cup of coffee and talked briefly of Christmas, of what gifts they had gotten for their wives-Ellen was in the kitchen, out of earshot-and determined they would get together at Vince’s house on Christmas Eve for some traditional eggnog and cookies and caroling.

When Tribucci had gone to relieve his brother at the Sport Shop, Coopersmith finished his pipe and brooded mildly over the slide and the cafe break-ins. He poured himself a third cup of coffee and, tasting it, decided it could use a little sweetening. He stood up and went quietly to the sideboard for the brandy decanter.