{"id":470,"date":"2025-11-25T04:37:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T04:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/?p=470"},"modified":"2025-12-10T04:15:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T04:15:39","slug":"the-snow-queen-of-death-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/25\/the-snow-queen-of-death-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"The Snow Queen of Death \u2014 Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They got up quickly, \u201cThank you. An officer will show you out. Please\u2026\u201d he looked at her, trying to catch her gaze, \u201cdon\u2019t leave the area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She nodded. Grange cast look in her direction, a serene-look passed over her face. He saw a woman well-pleased with herself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Captain Gregory Archer had been behind the brusk voice. He led them down the hallway back out into the feverish office where officers typed on keyboards and detectives were deep in conversation, either with each other or on their phone.  \u201cNikolai has shown up at the lodge, quite distraught, demanding to talk to the detective in charge. He had locked himself in his room, but we got in using the passkey from the manager. They are keeping him there, being babysat by officers.\u201d Kunst, his notebook grasped on his chest, followed behind him while Grange headed toward his own desk to grab his car keys and his thick jacket that he had draped across the back of the chair . \u201cAnd, they found a small pool of blood not far from the side of the lodge. There were speck of blood beneath the ski lift as well. We took pictures and swabbed everything. It will head to the lab asap. For now, I have officers posted outside the door waiting for you to get back there. So for now, he ain\u2019t goin\u2019 anywhere. Now it\u2019s a waiting game with forensics. I am trying to get the lab to rush, considering the competition happening, but you know how they are,\u201d he gave a knowing look at Kunst who nodded in agreement. \u201cOh, and by the way, there was a note found in an inner pocket with a time written in stick numbers. You two get back over there, as quick as you can.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJa,\u201d he replied. He passed his desk and flicked a look at the picture of his wife before joining Grange. They both took the elevator down to the parking garage beneath the building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you think about the ex-boyfriend?\u201d Grange asked. \u201cShe didn\u2019t say if they argued or not. Her mood was rather\u2026both forthcoming and lying at the same time. It was strange.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI agree. Maybe he can enlighten us on their present relationship and when he saw her last. I am trying not to judge yet, but eyes are on him. Others alluded to him during questions, if you remember. His name always seemed to crop up in some way, both negative and positive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, I remember that too,\u201d Grange said, casually leaning against the wall of the elevator until it opened with a ping of the garage level. \u201cI know you Kunst, you always seem to know who\u2019s guilty, what do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He turned in his direction as they headed toward Grange\u2019s car at the end. \u201cI am not sure.\u201d His voice lowered as he spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grange looked at him, not believing what he was hearing, \u201cYou\u2019re NOT sure. I don\u2019t think I have ever heard you utter those words. And, what\u2019s with the jaw twitch while we questioned Anya. You haven\u2019t said anything about your contempt toward these people. What\u2019s up with that?\u201d He strode up to his car right next to Kunst\u2019s. Kunst grabbed his parka from the trunk and placed it in his passenger seat, prepared for the cold. Kunst didn\u2019t answer, just cast a look and Grange took the hint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road up the mountain had been recently cleared. Walls of snow grew taller the farther up they drove. Side windows grew foggy and icy to the touch. Kunst watched the snow covered trees fly past. Grange turned a bit too quickly and slid as he rounded the corner. Kunst, following, grimaced as he swerved. He slowed his pace, driving gently into a parking spot of the ski lodge, close to the entrance. The hotel was to the right of the restaurant. Kunst and Grange both noted the officers sitting in a parked car, the windows up and the heater going. Kunst rolled his eyes. Grange sighed deeply. Around the corner, two detectives they recognized headed toward the front. Detective Wilson waved as Kunst and Grange walked toward them. Detective Jones stood nearby in a stoic silence. He had a history with Kunst and it showed. Grange understood completely and gave him a sympathetic look. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, how many years till retirement, Kunst?\u201d Wilson asked as they walked together toward the entry way. Kunst shivered beneath his parka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThree and a half months,\u201d Kunst replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess your wife is looking forward to it,\u201d Grange opened the door for Kunst and let him pass through first. The other followed close behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe is,\u201d he checked his phone and began typing, \u201cwe are making our plans.\u201d Kunst sighed unexpectedly, his thoughts taking him far away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are keeping watch on him, Kunst, since we know you prefer to do it yourself,\u201d Wilson said, his face flushed red. \u201cMan, it\u2019s cold out here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRelax \u2014 they have a fire going and the suspect is waiting up on the third floor,\u201d Jones chimed in. \u201cHe\u2019s been agitated and upset over Ekaterina\u2019s death. He\u2019s been wailing her name for a while.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The large lobby was just like the day the body had been found. People milled around, some in groups in animated conversations, and some warming themselves by the first. Kunst saw the coach talking with two young women different national emblems on their hoodies. Kunst followed Wilson and Jones into the small elevator. Kunst pointed in the direction of the coach. \u201cGrange, go ask the coach about the time on the note found and where he was, then ask the other team mates. I will speak with Nikolai with Jones and Wilson.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grange gave him a hearty salute and the elevator doors closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have interviewed the staff members as well, before you ask.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDanke. I\u2019m anxious to read your notes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will add it to what we have in the conference room,\u201d Jones replied, looking up at the bright lights above, level three chimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kunst nodded and pursed his lips tight. The door opened as he sent a text to his wife. \u201cAfter I question Nikolai we can organize everything and there are more questions I have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbsolutely, just tell us who you want to question first and we will haul them up to you,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaul them up \u2014 interesting \u2014 just invite,\u201d Kunst replied with a snort, maintaining a close distance behind Wilson and Jones taking up the rear, a bit farther down. At the end of the hallway, the officer in uniform stood outside the door of a suite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust a joke,\u201d Wilson said with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you, Officer Simpson, this is Chief Detective Kunst,\u201d Wilson said. The officer nodded and moved away from the door to let them pass unobstructed. The hallways were narrow, a wall of glass to one side looking out over the snow laden forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe had been wailing and sobbing for a while. Now he\u2019s quiet. I think he may have fallen asleep,\u201d the officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they opened the door, Kunst knew at once something was wrong. The disarray was expected, but behind the sofa a foot stuck out, not expected. They ran toward it. The lifeless body of Nikolai was still warm to the touch, the edges of his mouth foamed and ran down the side of his face onto the thick carpet. He was laying on his back, his arms twisted, the remains of the glass splashed on the fabric of the sofa. Wilson checked his pulse. Finding nothing, he made a call to dispatch and to another officer downstairs to make sure no one left the building. They had a second murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wonder what he knew,\u201d Jones said, breaking his silence finally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGuess we will never know,\u201d Kunst looked down at the body. He picked up the glass after putting on a glove he retrieved from his pocket. He held it up, the few drops of liquid still held some sparkle with the pale sunlight streaming from the window. \u201cDoes anyone have an evidence bag?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t long before more officers and Grange filled the hallway. It didn\u2019t take much. Grange pushed his way through. \u201cThe ambulance pulled up outside, we need to clear this room,\u201d he shouted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kunst started a survey of the surroundings. The chairs were overturned, clothes everywhere. He opened the closet, one suitcase laid on the luggage rack, empty and unzipped. He pulled it out and a skier\u2019s glove fell to the ground. It looked small for the man laying on the ground. He picked it up and on the inside there were the letters E and a cyrillic letter B for Belova. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need to ask the officer that was posted outside a few questions,\u201d Kunst said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am still here, sir,\u201d he had been standing just inside the door watching the scene unfold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid anyone come see him while you were outside?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he replied. He twisted his fingers together in front of him, \u201cbut, I hadn\u2019t been there the entire time. I relieved the other officer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one visited him while I was standing guard either,\u201d the voice said just outside the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kunst had placed the glove inside another evidence bag and handed it to Grange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stood in the middle of the room, his hands on his hips. \u201cWe need to keep everyone here for now. Have the rooms been searched?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe just finished and found nothing,\u201d Jones said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about the blood you found outside? Has it been determined to be the crime scene for our first victim?\u201d He went through the room, moving clothing to the side, and headed into the bathroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is enough blood and there were drops that lead to divots in the snow that may have been tracks for a snow mobile, but with the recent snow, it is hard to say,\u201d Wilson stood with his hands in his pockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a lot of nothing,\u201d Grange said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPerhaps,\u201d Kunst\u2019s voice echoed in the bathroom out into the room. \u201cPerhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside the window, the sun had completely disappeared and a gentle snow began to fall. The night wouldn\u2019t be as quiet as he had hoped. He took a deep breath, wishing the next three and a half years would pass without notice, but that would be a dream, not the nightmare he had to live as the bodies were now multiplying. He looked out and watched the snow begin to add to the already created heaps on the evergreen limbs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would like to organize all the witness statements and the evidence and my thoughts. I can\u2019t think in this chaos.\u201d He let out a stream of air that fogged the window. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis way, sir,\u201d Grange said, leading the way this time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They got up quickly, \u201cThank you. An officer will show you out. Please\u2026\u201d he looked at her, trying to catch her gaze, \u201cdon\u2019t leave the area.\u201d She nodded. Grange cast look in her direction, a serene-look passed over her face. He saw a woman well-pleased with herself.  Captain Gregory Archer had been behind the brusk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,96],"tags":[5,17,7,10,11,4,20,46,12],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detective-fiction","category-fiction","tag-author","tag-detectivefiction","tag-fiction","tag-shortstory","tag-story","tag-storywriter","tag-writer","tag-writerslife","tag-writingprompts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":525,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions\/525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebyrk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}