even he—practically a stranger—was having a hard time dealing with it. Less than an hour ago Heidi had been serving dinner. Now she was gone.
The manservant reappeared in the corridor. “We have tried calling the police, but they are unreachable. Cell phone services appear to be down.”
“Thanks for trying,” Gabriel said, taking the cell phone. “There’s got to be another way to get in touch with them. The castle has a landline, right?”
“I have already tried calling with the landline,” a booming voice said from what sounded like the top of the stairs.
Gabriel looked up and found the bespectacled castle solicitor, Otto Kramer, and another castle guest, Timothy O’Brien, slowly walking down the stairs. Timothy crossed himself, seemingly murmuring a prayer as he moved.
When they got to the bottom of the stairs both men walked carefully around the body, Timothy’s head still bowed in prayer.
“I tried calling, to no avail,” Otto said as he walked up to Gabriel. The solicitor was large and burly, a rosy-cheeked man in his early sixties with sharp eyes and a larger-than-life personality. Gabriel had liked him instantly when he’d met him the day before, but he also knew that beneath Otto’s easy smile and ruddy cheeks was a man he didn’t want to mess with. “The nearest police station is closed.”
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Closed?”
“We are, as you Americans say, in the middle of nowhere, Mr. Ross,” Otto said. “It is rare to have an emergency, much less one so late at night. There is only a handful of police officers in the immediate surroundings.”
“What about emergency services a little farther away?” Gabriel asked. “This might not be their jurisdiction, but they’d have to come to the castle for an emergency.”
Otto sighed and removed his glasses to wipe the lenses with his jacket. The expression on his face turned so grim that Gabriel was certain he was in for even more bad news. “Would that they could, Mr. Ross. Would that they could. Unfortunately, a news bulletin just announced that a terrible avalanche has struck in the next village due to an approaching snowstorm. Many services have been knocked down as a result.”
“There’s a blizzard coming?” Gabriel asked.
Otto nodded. “Yes. That is why the cell phone service and internet are already down.”
“So we have no way of contacting the outside world?” Gabriel demanded.
“We still have the landline, but most services in the area will be closed during the storm anyway,” Otto responded. “That means nobody is coming for poor Heidi anytime soon.”
Gabriel’s eyebrows went up. “You mean we’re stuck here?”
“That is correct. Nobody can come to the castle and, more importantly, nobody can leave.”
Jane stared into the orange flames, trying to force the awful images from her mind. She could hardly believe what had happened. None of it seemed real. A maid had suffered a horrible, untimely death. Already she was going numb from shock and felt as if she was disappearing. Having an out of body experience where she was observing it all from afar.
The others were filing into the great hall, so she turned away from the fireplace.
Gabriel approached her, his stride purposeful and sure. Even now he exuded confidence. She didn’t know how that was possible. Not that it mattered. Against her better judgment, she ached for him to comfort her again. Place those large, strong hands on her and banished the worst of her fear. What she’d give for him to touch her again.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I can’t put it into words.” She shifted her gaze to the grief-stricken servants. Agnes and another servant she didn’t recognize sat down beside each other near the fire. “But whatever I’m feeling pales in comparison to what they’re going through. I only met Heidi once. They knew her.”
“It’s tough for them,” he said with a nod. “Especially since their former employer recently passed away, too. They have all this uncertainty to deal with in waiting to find out who their next employer will be.”
“Gosh, I hadn’t even thought of that. This is all so tragic.” She sighed heavily. “Has anyone been able to reach the police?”
“No. Cell phone service is out and so is the internet.” He leaned closer, the heat of his body rivaling the flames in the fireplace. As he edged nearer she caught the faintest scent of pine and leather. From the elegant way he commanded himself to the very scent of him, it was as if Gabriel belonged here. Was made to be in a place this