Streaks and puffs of clouds high overhead and to the west were painted a wondrous melange of golds, reds and violets as we left the parking lot and walked along the trail beside Fitzsimmons Creek. I pointed up at them and said, "What a spectacular sunset."

"Indeed, one of the finer ones." Lorne chuckled. "But in Whistler, we don't see actual sunsets – only the evidence that they had happened beyond the mountains. And then, only if there are high clouds, cirrus and so on, unblocked by overcast."

"Ummm. So many types of clouds, but I never remember their names." I swivelled my head to examine them. "Those are all so different – do you know which is which?"

"The wispy ones overhead are cirrus uncinus, colloquially called horsetails or mares' tails. Being the highest, they'll be the last to lose their colour." He pointed westward. "Those collections of small puffs closer to the horizon are altocumulus, and the smoother layers beyond them are altostratus. Often the sign of an approaching warm front, and we'll likely see rain tomorrow."

"You seem to know a lot about weather."

He shrugged. "Reading the sky and interpreting it are essential for both sailing and climbing."

"Yes, for sure. I know what to watch for – just never bothered to learn the names. So, you climb?"

"Another of my passions."

"And another of mine that I put on hold. Maybe now, with Nathan gone, I can ..." I shook my head and winced.

Cynthia took my hand and squeezed it. "Nathan? Did they?"

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh, dear Lord! So sorry, Kate. And there you were, comforting me. So focused on my own situation that I didn't see yours."

I offered her a forced smile. "It's fine, Cynth. I'm finding ways to work through it."

We remained silent while Lorne guided us up a broad trail skirting the treed slope to the end of a street. Then along it a bit to the first house, he pointed at a gravel path. "We'll use the mudroom entrance. Not as elegant as the front door, but much more direct."

Upstairs, after Cynthia's wows, I followed them as Lorne led her into the guest bedroom. While he removed a counterpane, he pointed to a cedar chest at the foot of the bed. "Towels, cloths and bathmats are in there. Freshen up if you wish, then come join us on the patio."

"I'll stay here and help her settle in, Lorne."

When he had left, I nodded down Cynthia's front and said, "I have supplies if you need them."

"Thanks. A few days, yet." She paused, gazing into my eyes for a long while, then asked, "How are you holding up?"

"Fine – mostly."

"After Stephen, I know how strange it can be. Unpredictable. So many mixed emotions."

"Ummm, seen some of that. Weirdness popping out of nowhere."

She reached out and patted my arm. "Just know I'm here for you when needed."

"Thank you." We remained silent for a while. Then, feeling increasingly awkward, I tilted my head toward the door. "See you on the patio in a bit."

As I walked across the huge main room toward the open sliding door, my mind spun. Why did I feel awkward? Worried by what she'll think about me with Lorne? Assumed I was cheating on Nathan, though. Seemed to condone it. And she understands grieving, so she'll understand this. Yeah. Relax.

Lorne was sitting with his computer when I arrived on the patio, and he paused to look up at me. "Began scrolling through the new comments on the blog – over three hundred of them since we left for dinner."

"Oh, wow! I'll go get mine."

A minute later, I sat beside him, opened my MacBook, logged in and went to Blogspot. "Oh, my! I've rarely had more than a hundred – and that was after a few weeks, but it's already above seven hundred."

"If they're like mine, you'll find many are simple, like Thanks for the free lunch, but here's one that compares their meal to one they had three days ago. Utterly scathing."

I shuffled over and read Lorne's screen. "Ooh! Excellent reinforcement. This'll help it spread."

"The awareness, yes. But the latest comments are complaints that it didn't work, were served crap, had to pay, and the like."

"Oh!" I nodded. "But, yeah, I can see that. After the restaurants realised they'd been exposed, they'd stop doing the freebies. Might make sense to post an explanation – and congratulations for stopping the scam."

"Not stopping the scam, Kate – only stopping their marketing method. They still have many weeks of residual goodwill in place, and they can spin the best of the older reviews. Their businesses won't decline, and they'll find other ways to continue the marketing."

"Damn! So, what do we do?"

"Educate the diners." He pointed to his screen. "Continue the research we started this afternoon – solid information to answer all the questions about identifying fraudulent menu items. We need to explain surimi and slime."

"And phoney scallops. Those are a bigger fraud than the imitation lobster."

Cynthia's voice close behind startled me, "I now understand their odd menu wording for the Thermadore – a way to explain not using lobster shells. Dear Lord! Why didn't I see through this?"

"You were too close to it." I turned to look up at her. "We had the advantage of a broader and more detached view."

"Yeah, but even still."

"Don't judge yourself, Cynthia." Lorne reached up from his chair and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You were being manipulated by a highly skilled and polished con artist. Think of the analogy about the frog in the pot of heating water – he applied just sufficient heat that you wouldn't notice."

"Ummm. And thank the Lord you saved me from that." She looked back and forth between us. "So, what's your next step?"

"Our next step, Cynthia. We're all in this together." Lorne smiled. "First, some snifters of Bas Armagnac to help us relax as we watch the end of the sunset and discuss the most effective ways to present it."

"Umm, I'd like that. But present what?"

"This afternoon, I found excellent articles on surimi and slime to expand my understanding. I need now only to flesh out the information for the blog."

"And I found blog posts on how fake scallops are made from stingray wing and shark belly. A short introduction and a recap are all I need to write – the links will do the rest." I looked up at Cynthia and smiled.

"And me, Kate? What can I do?"

"You have the menu in your computer. Go through it and describe how each item could be fraudulent. Interlinking our three blogs will turn up the heat under Rinaldi, hopefully causing him and his mob to make more mistakes. Give the Mounties more to work with."