CHAPTER 7
A soft golden glow reached from behind the eastern range as the predawn light began to fade out the deep night sky. Indigo shadows were slowly paling to shades of purple and dark blue as the morning light tinged the white mountain scenery. The experienced eyes of any hunter would have sighted the brown bodies and white tails of deer moving among the greens and granite greys of the snowy terrain as they moved silently and slowly up from the valley floor to the higher ground.
Undulating snow sparkled on ridge tops in the early sunlight as if the mountain were a bejewelled sea rising. The sky was azure, edged with gold and stretched cloudless over the sleeping resort. Those guests who were very early risers could discern the many tracks left behind by various animals which had roamed unobserved about the resort grounds during the night. The majority were elk or deer, with the occasional moose, and most originated and returned to the trees surrounding the exclusive mountain getaway.
But there were a few tracks that meandered among the lodges and disappeared over the ridge at the resort's rear. Only the sharp eyes of an expert tracker or hunter would have been capable of making out the human prints almost obliterated by those of the animals; human prints that led away from a secreted rocky hideout and made for one of the lodges.
Humming that could only testify to a night of sound sleep, and possibly good sex beforehand, emanated from the master bathroom. Steam billowed into the bedroom, defying the best efforts of the superior fan system to redirect it outside. The indistinct willowy shape of a tall woman moved behind the translucent shower curtain as she enjoyed the luxuriant hot water cascading over her athletic figure.
Hands, slick with soap, caressed firm, full breasts, teased erect nipples and traced arabesques over a flat stomach. Muscular long legs came together at that magical triangular juncture. The humming faltered as fingers began to tease and play with intimate folds, her head bowed, eyes closed in concentration, and the long dark hair draped in heavy wet tendrils over slightly heaving breasts.
Gloved hands slid the key into the lock, expertly opening the main entrance door quickly, then closing it quietly behind as the figure slipped unnoticed into the lodge. Eyes turned upwards at the sound of running water coming from the top floor. Silent steps carried the person up the flight of wooden stairs, then into the short hallway leading to the master bedroom. One hand dipped inside the dark jacket and slowly withdrew a length of piano wire with handles attached at either end—a garrote.
Pressed against the side of the hallway, the figure reached the bedroom door which was partially ajar. A wisp of steam trailed into the hall as eyes peered through the gap between door and jamb surveilling the visible section of the room it allowed. The bedroom was empty. A shadow passed over the crumpled sheets of the king-size bed and headed for the bathroom. Muffled moans could be heard coming from the shower.
"Haven't you finished in there yet, Em?" a woman's voice called from downstairs. The intruder's head whipped round and eyes darted, frantic, to the door, then around the room. Approaching steps of someone coming up the stairs could be heard above the sounds of the shower and its occupant. Blonde hair blazed white gold as a head popped through the doorway and was caught by soft sun rays drifting into the bedroom through large sliders.
"Hey! If you can tear yourself away from whatever it is you're doing to yourself, I just wanted to let you know I'm headed out for my usual two-mile run, then to the main building for breakfast. I'll grab us a table. Okay?"
"Oh, okay," came a voice dreamily, from the bathroom. "I'm about finished here. I won't be far behind you."
"Yeah, sure, enjoy yourself," chuckled the young blonde. "I'm off, then." The head disappeared from the doorway and speedy feet danced down the stairs. Seconds later the front door closed. Silence settled on the lodge again, except for the running shower and heavy, fast breathing. A shadow slipped from the large walk-in closet and glided towards the bathroom through the heavy carpet.
Em steadied herself with one hand propped against the tiled wall while her other hand busied itself with her wet pussy. One leg was raised, resting on the low edge of the step-in shower. Head bowed, eyes closed, Em was lost in the mounting ecstasy her fingers were teasing from her clit. Feverishly she rubbed her hard nodule sensing the electric charge enlivening her nervous system. An involuntary shudder rippled through her legs, and her stomach grew taut in anticipation. Then it was there! The orgasm blossomed fully.
"Ahhhh ... Ohhhh ... Yessss!"
The shower curtain was ripped aside. Caught up in an explosion of erotic pleasure and violence, the woman found herself spun about and dragged halfway from the shower. Her feet kicked and fought for purchase on tile, slick with soapy water, but kept slipping. Her assailant hauled her into the middle of the bathroom. Hands clawed at her throat frantically trying to tear away whatever it was that entwined it. Emily was tall, athletic, and strong for a woman yet her attacker was overpowering her with superior strength.
A red fog was at the edge of her vision and seeping into her mind. Air! Her lungs screamed for air, but could draw nothing past the obstruction digging deep into her throat. She twisted and fought but the pain was proving too great. The woman felt warm liquid oozing down her chest, between winging breasts, and down her body. The floor became more slippery with a combination of soap, water ... and blood.
She slipped, almost fell to the floor, and the pain at her throat almost caused her to black out completely. A lightness was creeping into her limbs, her mind. Her desperate struggling was giving way to a growing stillness as her life seeped from her body. Soft clouds enveloped her.
Em sensed she was floating, face down. She found the strength to open her eyes. Nothing. Wait! Yes. There was something. Her befuddled mind took in the fuzziness; tried to process the information. Seconds passed, then her eyes focused on satin weave.
Satin! Weave? Uumph! Her body shuddered as a force pushed her face forward. Ever-so-slowly, her mind rose from a dense fog which threatened to drag her down, to ... she didn't know. But her body's reactive fight-or-flight instinct demanded she get as far away from that fog as possible. Her mind rose higher, broke from the fog into sunlight. Umumph! Umph! She was being shoved from behind. She tried to turn her head but sudden pain assailed her dull senses. Her arms felt like lead weights, way too heavy to move. Uumph!
There was a sense of recognition floating at the edge of her awareness, just beyond her grasp. The movement was somehow familiar to her. From a time far off. There was pain ... and pleasure. She couldn't place her mind's finger on it, but ... a veil began to lift. The pain was incessant, a throbbing annoyance that robbed her concentration; she couldn't focus on ... something ... familiar. Then she had it! Almost. Uumph! There it was ... again. Like a groggy voice awakening from a deep sleep, her mind announced its find ... RAPE! I'm being raped!
Em almost gagged at the thought and fought down the foul taste of bile rising in her gorge. Uumph. With the cruel realization of her predicament also came sensation, albeit dull. She could now feel the engorged appendage of her assailant pushing deep between her legs, into her pussy; feel it sliding in and out. From behind and over her came deep raspy breathing—quickening. Make it be over, thought Emily. Please let him cum and leave me in peace.
Movement indicated the attacker was about to cum; the bed rocked and bounced more, as did the dazed and exhausted woman. A grunt preceded a sudden warmness inside her and Emily drew on ancient distant memories to realize he was finally cumming, spurting his dark seed inside her. Her world reeled as her head was suddenly yanked up and backwards.
Em's body bent as if someone were drawing a bow. A knee was planted into her back. The pain exploded inside her mind, bleaching out all other senses. Mercifully the woman couldn't feel the thin wire slicing deeper into her throat. Her body, at the mercy of her rapist, was limp as a rag doll; arms dangled useless onto the bed.
She couldn't breathe, but that was okay Em decided, because all she wanted to do was go to sleep. A blackness rose up around her, enveloped her, and with a thankful final sigh, Emily slipped into an endless oblivion.
**********
Mac was becoming more agitated. What the hell was keeping Em? The large dining room was fast filling with guests as they came in from the cold singly, in couples, or groups. The blonde was into her second coffee of the morning already and it showed in her growing impatience. She was having difficulty keeping other guests from dragging off the only other chair at her table, while the waitress was circling like a hungry shark, eyeing her hungrily for a breakfast order. I'll give Em thirty more seconds, then I'm starting without her. I'm famished!
Suddenly there was commotion at the main door as incoming patrons were shoved aside unceremoniously by a white-uniformed cleaning woman. Clearly she was distraught, grabbing at one person's sleeve, then another's, while she gasped for air enough to speak. Finally she succeeded and a thin high wail pierced the room. Heads turned. Talk ceased. People stood stunned, staring at the little round woman on her knees with her face buried in her hands, crying.
Resort staff converged on her from all points and fussed over her, trying to quieten her, to gain some sense from her distress. There was low mumbling from the huddle, loud sobbing, a cry, and heads snapped up. A command rang out.
"Someone call the police! There's been a murder!"
From her corner of the dining room, Mac watched a ripple move out from the group near the doorway as guests, reacting to the astonishing news, turned to those near them to share their observations or moved to be closer to friends and loved ones. Mac craned her neck, trying to see if Em were anywhere in the room. Nothing.
Staff were now breaking away from the source of the disturbance, clearly with orders to settle the guests as Mac saw people begin taking their seats, immediately falling into huddled conversations. Her shark materialized at her elbow asking for her breakfast order. The somewhat angered waitress watched Mac dismiss her with a wave and make for the main door.
Drawing near the smaller huddle, Mac discerned the maid, sobbing quietly now, seated in one of the many plush lounge chairs, fellow staff members perched on each of the wide armrests. An elderly woman—a senior staff member or possibly management—was kneeling at the distraught woman's feet, trying to console her.
