Catastrophe Cliff

by J A Whiting

  21

  The early evening air was still warm and the tide was almost high when Nell, Violet, Peter, and Dani ran into the surf with their boogie boards to ride the good-sized waves while the dogs jumped in and out of the ocean chasing each other. After forty minutes in the sea, the four friends dried off and began a game of Frisbee giving Oscar and Iris the chance to catch the disc and return it to the person who threw it.

  They all returned to the beach chairs and the blanket where Nell opened the picnic basket and Violet set out plates and utensils. The picnic consisted of pasta salad, spicy rice with beans and vegetables, cold chicken breasts, Southwestern hummus and toasted pita chips, and crunchy coleslaw. Dani brought fruit and yogurt parfaits, slices of watermelon, and chocolate-peanut butter cookies.

  The dogs had plain chicken and some cut-up, cooked vegetables for their dinner.

  Peter sat in his beach chair looking out at the sea with a cold drink and his plate balanced on his lap. “This is the life. We should do this every evening.”

  “We’re lucky to live in a beach town.” Dani passed the hummus to Violet.

  “It’s the best,” Nell agreed. “I’m glad we decided to leave the central part of the state and make Bluewater our permanent home.”

  “Me, too.” Violet reached for a cookie.

  “Didn’t your parents tell you no dessert until after you ate your meal?” Dani asked.

  Violet bit into the cookie and grinned. “Nope. They told us to seize the moment.”

  Nell smiled. “I think Violet is loosely interpreting what our parents said to us.”

  “It’s good advice.” Peter leaned over and took a cookie from the container. “You only live once.”

  “Yeah.” Dani frowned. “And some unlucky souls get gypped when their lives are cut short by misfortune.”

  Oscar barked at the comment.

  “What did you think of Mari Harding when we talked to her?” Violet questioned Peter.

  “The same things Nell said about her. I can’t tell if Mari’s being honest or is lying right to our faces and laughing behind our backs when we leave.”

  “The life insurance policy Mari holds on Jennifer might have been the motive to kill the sister,” Dani said. “Mari lost her job and her interest in the family business money.”

  “Kyle had motivation to murder Jennifer, too,” Violet pointed out. “He didn’t want to get married. He wanted to save money, leave his job, and travel the world hiking by himself. Killing his wife took care of two problems at once … he got rid of his commitment to marry and he could file for a half-million dollars in life insurance. With his lifestyle, that money would last him quite a long time.”

  “Don’t forget about Lindsey Horn,” Nell told them. “She’s in love with Kyle and seems to have an enormous ego. She also didn’t appear to be the least bit sad about Jennifer’s death. She may have thought if Jennifer was out of the picture, Kyle would develop an interest in her. And she decided at the last minute to run another loop in the park. How convenient. Joel headed home while she took off to find Jennifer.”

  “But Lindsey didn’t know where Jennifer and Kyle were in the park,” Peter said. “She sure didn’t know that Jennifer would be alone at the top of the cliffs.”

  One of Nell’s eyebrows went up, “But, Lindsey and Kyle might have planned the murder together.”

  “Oh, gosh,” Violet groaned. “It’s not bad enough that one person had an urge to kill and carried it out … two people paired up and plotted a murder? It makes me ill.”

  “Joel can be considered a suspect,” Dani said. “He had a thing for Jennifer. It wouldn’t be the first time someone got the idea to murder the person they loved because she didn’t reciprocate his feelings. He might have revealed his love for her and she rejected him. His fury could have been funneled into a plot to kill her.”

  Nell thought out loud. “Jennifer was drugged. The killer had to have access to her water bottle or her morning coffee so he or she could spike it with the drug in time for it to take effect when she was well into her hike. Jennifer loved the cliffs and loved taking photos from the top. The people who knew Jen would have known this about her or would have heard about it. Kyle, Lindsey, and Joel all had opportunity to put the drug into Jen’s water bottle. She would be weak and dizzy about two hours after ingesting the drug. Her friends knew the trails Jen always hiked. The killer didn’t have to push her from the cliff. He could have killed her wherever he found her. He or she could have drowned her. He or she could have caused Jen to fall on the trail and then made it look like she’d hit her head on a rock.”

  “But the killer didn’t know Jen would be alone,” Violet said. “She was hiking with Kyle.”

  “Kyle and Jen often separated while hiking,” Peter pointed out. “The killer might have known this.”

  Dani said, “It seems like Kyle is the one who is the most likely killer. He might have lied about them separating and going on different trails. He was probably with Jen the entire time and when he saw she was starting to feel unwell, it was his time to act. Kyle had access to the water bottle and to his wife’s morning coffee or tea. He must have killed her.”

  “And now he’s taken off,” Violet said. “Trying to run away from what he did.”

  Nell frowned. “If Kyle is running away, how will he collect on the insurance policy without the police being notified?”

  “Maybe his freedom is more important to him than the money is,” Dani suggested.

  Oscar and Iris trotted down the beach to investigate some shells that had washed up by the ocean’s edge.

  “What about Mari?” Nell asked. “She’s a suspect, too, isn’t she?”

  Peter nodded. “Since she stopped by Jen and Kyle’s house for a bandage, she had access to Jennifer’s water. She may have lied about needing the bandage. Mari probably knew her sister and Kyle had a hike planned that morning.”

  “But how would Mari know that Jen would be alone at some point?” Violet asked.

  “That’s a good question,” Nell admitted. “It’s too random to hope to find Jennifer alone on the trails.”

  “Unless,” Dani said, “Mari and Kyle were working together.”

  Nell sighed. “That would be too terrible. Your sister and your fiancé plotting to kill you? How awful is that?”

  “It doesn’t matter how awful it is,” Peter said. “It’s happened before and it’s possible it happened in this case.”

  With Nell in the passenger seat and the dogs sitting in the back, Violet drove the car down the driveway and parked it outside instead of in the garage because the bikes and kayaks hadn’t been put away and were inside on the floor of the garage bay.

  “That was great,” Violet said. “We need to do more picnics on the beach.”

  Nell was staring at the kitchen window. “We left the lights on in the kitchen.”

  “Did we? I don’t remember putting them on. It wasn’t dark when we left.”

  The sisters got out and removed the towels, picnic baskets, and their backpacks from the trunk and as they were turning to the house, Oscar stood near the car staring at the first floor of the home, growling. The fur on Iris’s back was standing up and a low guttural sound was coming from her throat.

  Violet moved to her sister’s side. “What’s wrong with them?” she whispered.

  Nell’s heart raced as adrenaline rushed through her veins. “Nothing good. Let’s call Peter and wait for him at John and Ida’s.” Putting the things back in the trunk, she tapped her thigh and softly called the dogs’ names while Violet texted Peter.

  “Come on,” Violet took her sister’s arm and tugged her towards the neighbor’s house.

  “Iris. Oscar.” Nell used a firm tone, and the dogs reluctantly followed.

  Once Peter arrived, Nell, Violet, John, Ida, and the two dogs followed the detective back to the sisters’ house.

  Peter had Violet’s key in his hand when he said, “I won’t need it. The door’s already open.”


  “Someone broke in,” John said with disgust.

  Ida’s voice was full of rage when she said, “How dare someone do this.”

  Peter pushed at the door and stepped in with his hand on his weapon. “Stay outside until I give the okay.” In five minutes, he was back after making a sweep of the house. “It’s all clear.”

  “Was anything stolen?” Violet asked as everyone went into the kitchen.

  “You’ll have to take a look around to see for sure,” Peter said. “But I don’t think robbery was the motive.”

  Looking about the room, Oscar sniffed the air and growled fiercely. He began to howl.

  Nell glanced at the dog and with worried eyes, she looked to Peter. “What was the motive?” She could see red and black particles shimmering in the air all around the room. Anger, rage, death.

  “Come to the studio,” the detective said.

  Feeling almost dizzy, Nell could see more and more red and black atoms whirling around the rooms and when she stepped into the studio, flashes of the colors exploded in her vision. She closed her eyes and rubbed at them, and when she lifted her eyelids, she saw her sister, Peter, Ida, and John staring at the big sheet of paper on her easel ... concern etched over their faces.

  A crude cliff was drawn in a sweeping movement. Two stick-figure bodies lay at the base of the massive granite wall. One had auburn hair and green eyes, and the other had brown hair and green eyes. In the corner of the drawing, a stick-figure man lay on his back with a knife sticking out of his chest.

  Nell. Violet. Peter.

  Nell let out a gasp.

  Peter narrowed his eyes. “Obviously, someone doesn’t like us working on this case.”

  Nell’s voice sounded like pieces of gravel rubbing together. “Too bad for them.”

  22

  Nell and Violet gave the picture from the easel to Peter as evidence, other officers arrived to process the break-in, and when everyone was gone, the sisters vacuumed and cleaned the studio room to remove any lingering traces of the intruder’s awful presence. Neither one slept much during the night, both were listening for the sound of the person returning to the house, even though they knew Iris and Oscar would sound the alarm if anyone tried to get inside during the night.

  The next morning, the sisters tried to focus on their daily routines hoping a sense of normalcy would help them feel less disturbed about the night-time break-in. Nell waited on a customer in the shop while Violet added some new jewelry items to the case. While she was wrapping a painting in bubble wrap and brown paper for the customer, a truck drove by outside the shop and something in the bed of the vehicle made a banging sound as it bumped against some of the tools and supplies the driver was hauling.

  Nell winced at the noise afraid it was a lightning strike, and although she quickly realized the sound wasn’t the result of an approaching storm, the bang of the passing truck had sent a shiver through her body.

  A picture flashed in her mind of Jennifer Harding clinging to the branch jutting out from the cliff, desperately trying to pull herself up, only to have her killer pound her hands with a rock to force her to let go. Nell’s hand ached for a few seconds imagining the scene.

  When the customer thanked Nell for the careful wrapping of the painting, Nell shook herself back to reality and rang up the purchase.

  As soon as the customers and browsers had stepped out of the store, Nell asked her sister for the hundredth time, “Who do you think broke in here last night? Was it the killer or was it someone with a sick sense of humor trying to frighten us?”

  “It could have been some jerk looking to give us a scare.” Violet reached for another necklace to place in the display case. “But I think it was the killer. You saw the colors. If it was a joker who broke in, you would have seen different shades and hues. So yeah, I think the person who left us the threatening picture is the real deal.”

  “I was hoping for a different answer.”

  With a grin, Violet kidded her sister. “It’s the same answer I’ve been giving you every time you ask.”

  “We should get a security system installed.” Nell hung a new painting in the spot where the sold piece of artwork had been placed.

  “I already made the call. A company is coming by later this afternoon to give us an estimate.”

  “Good.” Nell stepped back to gaze at the painting on the wall. “Even though we have two canine alarms, I think we’d sleep easier knowing the house and shop were both wired to deter an intruder.”

  Violet made a face. “Deter isn’t a strong enough word. Prevent is better. Or stop an intruder. Or how about obliterate an intruder?”

  “Does this company you called mount machine guns on the roof?” Nell asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “If only,” Violet grunted. “We need protection. The murderer has already killed one person. If this criminal was bold enough to break into our home, I bet he or she wasn’t planning to sit and down and have a chat with us. I think something else was on his mind.”

  Nell asked, “Who did this? Who killed Jennifer? Have we met the person? Have we sat and talked with the killer?”

  “Kyle seems to have had motivation and opportunity,” Violet said. “And he’s taken off. It’s weird behavior to up and leave without telling anyone where you’re going … unless you’re guilty and are making a run for it.”

  “He left his car behind, too,” Nell reminded her sister. “There’s something about his disappearance that picks at me.”

  “Because he got away?”

  “I don’t think that’s the reason. What about the blood at the house?”

  “Kyle could have faked that. He could have cut himself and left drops on the back steps to make it seem like he’s in danger.”

  “What about Lindsey Horn?” Nell brought up another suspect.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me. She’s had her eye on Kyle for a while. Maybe Kyle revealed to her his desire to break-up with Jen. Maybe Lindsey thought if she could get rid of Jen, then Kyle would fall into her arms.”

  “There’s Joel. He could have killed Jennifer in a rage because she’d rejected him,” Nell said.

  Violet narrowed her eyes. “He also had cuts and bruises on his face and hands.”

  Nell said, “Lindsey had broken fingernails and she’s a person who is very fussy about her appearance.”

  “Then there’s Mari,” Violet said. “She has that life insurance policy. She lost her job recently and has been cut out of the family business. She has motivation to kill her sister.”

  When Nell’s phone buzzed, both young women jumped.

  “It’s a text from Peter. He’s coming by. He wants to know if we can go with him for a couple of hours.”

  “I can make some calls to the employees,” Violet said going to get her phone. “Someone will come in and cover for us. Where does he want us to go?”

  Nell lifted her eyes to her sister. “He doesn’t say.”

  A part-time employee arrived to watch the shop just as Peter’s SUV pulled to the curb. When he didn’t want to say anything to them in front of the worker, a chill raced over Nell’s skin.

  Once in the vehicle, Peter pulled away and drove down Main Street.

  “Kyle McLeod has been found,” he said.

  When she heard the words, Nell’s heart leapt until Violet asked, “Dead or alive?”

  “Dead. A guy walking his dog found the body in the state park on an isolated trail in the northwest section of the woods.”

  “Was it a suicide?” Nell asked softly.

  “It appears to be a homicide.”

  When they arrived at the spot in the state park, several police vehicles were parked on the side of the dirt road along with an ambulance and a vehicle associated with the medical examiner. Law enforcement officers were buzzing around.

  “I’m going to head in to where the body is,” Peter said. “You have permission to be here, but you can’t come down to the recovery scene with me. Could you look around?�
� he asked Nell. “Could you walk around this area, try and pick up on any colors?”

  “I’ll try.” Nell nodded as Peter jogged away, and she and her sister began to walk along the bumpy dirt road.

  “So Kyle has been eliminated as a suspect,” Violet said.

  Nell gave her sister a look for using the word eliminated.

  “I’ll put it another way. Kyle probably didn’t kill Jennifer. Jennifer’s killer must have murdered Kyle and dumped him here in the park.” Nell frowned. “This person is busy. He killed Jennifer, killed Kyle, and broke into our house to threaten us.”

  “Why kill Kyle?” Nell questioned. “Was he an accomplice to Jen’s murder? Did Kyle and the other person have a falling out and Kyle lost his life because of it?”

  “Or,” Violet speculated. “Kyle didn’t have anything to do with Jen’s murder, but he started to figure out who did. The killer realized Kyle was on to him so he murdered Kyle to keep him silent.”

  The sisters walked away down the fire road, and then stopped.

  “The killer probably came in from this direction,” Nell speculated. “This part of the road is closer to the paved road that leads out of the park. The criminal probably drove in this way, parked by the old trail, and forced Kyle to walk with him along the trail. When they were away from the road, the person killed Kyle and left his body in the woods.” While narrating her thoughts and suspicions to her sister, Nell began to see a few wisps of colors … red and black swirled together in a long strip of faint particles clustering together. Rage, hate, death. Close to them, but not intermingling, were glimmering molecules of purple-red. Fear, chaos.

  Nell told Violet what she could see. “I think the two different strips of colors represent the two people heading to the trail. The red and black indicates the feeling and intentions of the killer and the purple-red color was left behind by Kyle’s strong emotions of fear and disbelief at what was happening.”

  “It makes sense.” Violet stared at the spot in the trees where the narrow trail began and she shivered thinking about Kyle being forced to his execution.