“Yeah, same as yours,” Heather says.

“From M or C?” Brent says.

“Um, M.” Heather glances at me.

Why do I get the feeling she’s lying? “Can I see it?”

“Sorry,” Heather says. “I deleted it. But it was just like theirs.”

CHAPTER 2

I don’t know what I expect at the top. Music? Candles? Waiters with trays of champagne?

There’s none of that. The platform is dimly lit and deserted, the operator booth empty. We drag our bags out. A siren wails and the bubble lift cranks to a halt. They must be operating it from the bottom, saving staff costs, having seen our arrival on the overhead security camera. But after the confusion over who invited us, it’s a bit freaky, and from Heather’s furrowed brow, she clearly thinks so, too.

Brent looks my way. “Leave our stuff here for now?”

“Don’t ask me,” I say.

He sets his bags down. I hesitate and dump mine, too. It’s not as though there’s anyone here to steal them.

The steps are gridded metal to accommodate snow-covered boots. By the time I reach the top, I’m panting. The air’s thin up here. I push through the double doors into the Panorama building and breathe in stale woodsmoke. For a moment I have to close my eyes. Because that, more than anything, was the smell of my winters.

Curtis hits a switch and the wooden-paneled corridor lights up. A constant procession of skiers and snowboarders clump through here normally, past the ski lockers and out the main entrance onto the glacier, but it’s eerily silent tonight.

Curtis cups his hands around his mouth. “Anyone there?”

Brent’s looking at me again; Dale, too. My thoughts turn back to the invitations. Could one of them have organized this? No, I can’t see it. As Brent pointed out, this is the shut-down period. A weekend up here must cost thousands at this time of year. Thanks to my online stalking, I know Curtis is doing well for himself. It has to be him. But why the mystery? And are the others in on it or do they genuinely believe I invited them?

“There’s got to be someone here,” Curtis says. “Let’s look around.”

We all rush off in different directions, kids let loose in a theme park. It’s a maze, this place. The only building for miles around, the multipurpose, sprawling structure houses the Mountain Rescue, control room, and everything else visitors and staff might need up here. I know the restaurant and toilets, but that’s it. Oh yeah, and I once stayed the night in one of its tiny dorm rooms—France’s highest youth hostel.