She nodded in acknowledgment, thought a second, then replied, "No, I think that kind of person would stand out."

I'll bet they would. "Can you do us a favor and ask around later?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "I sure can. You want me to call you?"

"I'll call you, or stop in."

"Okay. I'll ask around." She stood, and stared at us. "What's this about? Is something going to happen?"

I moved closer to Betty and said in a low tone, "This has to do with the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Keep that to yourself."

Betty processed that for a few seconds, then said, "The Winter Olympics were in 1980."

I looked at Kate and said, "Damn! We're too late." I asked Betty, "Hey, did anything happen?"

Kate gave me a mean look, then said to Betty, "That's Detective Corey's way of saying we're not at liberty to discuss this. But we could use your help."

Normally, this is when you give the good citizen your card, but we were doing a smoke screen now, and Kate was on top of it, so she asked Betty for her card. "We'll call you. Thanks for your help."

"Anything I can do, just ask." She added, "If those people try anything around here, we know how to handle them."

I replied in my John Wayne accent, "That's our job, ma'am. Don't take the law into your own hands."

She made a little snorting sound, then said to us, "While you're here, you might want to look into that Custer Hill Club."

"Why?"

"Strange things going on up there."

I felt like I was in a B movie, where the guy from the city gets warned by a local about the creepy place on the hill, then ignores the advice, which was actually what I was going to do in Act II. I responded, noncommittally, "Thanks. How's the food at the restaurant?"

"Pretty good, but a little pricey. Try the double bacon cheeseburger."

Betty looked as if she'd tried several.

She showed us out, and I said to Kate in a foreboding tone, "Whatever you do, miss, do not go to the Custer Hill Club."

She smiled and said, "Do not order the double bacon cheeseburger."

In fact, that was the first risky thing I was going to do today before going to the Custer Hill Club.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Out in the termInal area, I said to Kate, "I'm going to hit the men's room."

"You should. You're full of shit."

"Right. I'll meet you at the car-rental counter."

We parted company, and I freshened up and was at the car-rental area within four minutes. Women take a bit longer.

There were two car-rental counters-Enterprise and Hertz-one behind the other in a small area off to the side of the terminal. The young guy behind the Enterprise counter was sitting down, reading a book. Standing behind the Hertz counter was a young lady playing with her computer. Her big breast tag read MAX, which I assumed was her name and not her cup size. I said, "Hi, Max. I have a reservation under the name of Corey."

"Yes, sir." She found my reservation, and we went through the paperwork, which took only a few minutes. She handed me the keys to a Ford Taurus, and told me how to find the rental lot, then asked me, "Do you need any directions?"

"Do you mean in life?"

She giggled. "No. Driving directions. You want a map?"

"Sure." I took the map and said, "Actually, I need a place to stay."

She replied, "There's a rack of pamphlets over there. Lodging, restaurants, sights, and stuff."

"Great. What's the best place around?"

"The Point."

"What's The Point?"

She smiled, "I don't know, John. What's the point?" She laughed. "I get people with that every time."

"I'll bet. Got me. So, where would you recommend to stay?"

"The Point."

"Okay ..."

"It's, like, really expensive though."

"Like what? A hundred bucks?"

"No, like a thousand dollars."

"A year?"

"A night."

"You're kidding."

"No, for real. It's, like, really exclusive."

"Really." I didn't think this was going to get past the accounting office, but I was in a reckless mood. "How do I get to The Point?"

"Stop beating around the bush." She laughed hard and slapped the counter. "Got ya."