A Death at Tippitt Pond by Susan Van Kirk

Author:Susan Van Kirk
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Encircle Publications
Published: 2019-04-23T21:24:56+00:00

Chapter Twenty

The Sweet Iron Inn was a small café that Kyle had described with a menu of soups, sandwiches, and salads for lunch. He had asked her to meet him after her morning at the library.

She walked in, spied him at a booth, and looked around. Definitely not New York City. Gingham curtains with ruffles, numerous wall signs with cute sayings, and well-worn booths along the walls. At least the food might be good, she thought.

Kyle saw her, stood up, and soon they were examining menus in a booth near the back.

“Everything I’ve had here has been good. They have a great veggie wrap if you’re into that, passable chili, and a French dip sandwich that’s very tender. I eat here often when I’m working.”

“All right, a French dip it is.”

“You mean you aren’t like those New York City girls who must eat rabbit food for every meal?” Kyle said.

“Not I. I have a great appetite, but I’d better start looking for a gym if I stay here much longer. Besides, we New York City girls are not all alike, you know.”

After they ordered, he asked about her research. Beth thought he was genuinely interested and, as always, he was such a great listener.

“Some things stand out to me,” said Beth. “I imagine when I go home and think about it all for a while, I’ll begin to see inconsistencies and patterns that make some sense. The relationships among the group are not easy to figure out. Loyalties are important, and I imagine loyalty is a subject that might have played a part in my mother’s death. They all knew each other for a long time.”

He nodded and waited. When she didn’t continue he asked, “Did you notice specific inconsistencies that might make a difference? In any trial, we find discrepancies that are part of being human, often just people remembering things inaccurately.”

She nodded. “Whether my father, Brian, was sober that day or high on alcohol, pot, or both. Elisha said he was highly disturbed, and she was worried about leaving Melanie with him. Sam Conklin testified that Brian was a crazy man, and he never would have left Melanie with Brian had he known my father was going out to the pond. He believed my mother was naïve, thinking she could help my father with his demons. Plank, the DA, said Brian killed her in a jealous rage because he came home from Vietnam totally out of control, addicted to drugs, and filled with violence. Shelly, who described herself as a friend of Brian’s, also said he was angry when he came to the pond.”

“It would seem all of their impressions were quite similar.”

“Sam Conklin was surmising. He wasn’t even at the pond when Melanie died.”

Kyle leaned back while the waiter brought their plates with thick French dip sandwiches on sourdough bread. As he opened his napkin and arranged his silverware, he asked, “How do you read that?”

“Two thoughts occur to me. First, Dom Hendrickson saw Brian just before he drove to the pond.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.