The Overlook Murder by Patrick Kelly

Author:Patrick Kelly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Patrick Kelly

THIRTY-SEVEN

Bill turned right on Blue Ridge Drive at the end of the clubhouse driveway. A woman in gray leggings and a sleeveless pink top ran on the footpath to the right. She was tall and clearly an experienced runner, for she made easy work of the hill’s incline. He drew closer and recognized Lacey Akin.

Bill rolled down the window and pulled alongside her.

“Hello.”

Lacey stopped. She leaned toward the car with her chest heaving and a puzzled expression.

“It’s Bill O’Shea. We met on the overlook after Damian fell.”

“Oh. Hi.”

Bill glanced in the rearview mirror. A truck climbed the hill behind him. Whatever. They could wait.

“Sorry if I startled you,” said Bill. “Alex Sharp asked me to help him with the accident investigation.”

The truck beeped its horn at Bill, and he waved out his window for the driver to pass.

Frowning, Lacey watched the truck pull up beside Bill.

The truck stopped, and the driver made a rude hand gesture.

Bill frantically dug the shield Alex had given him out of his pocket and thrust it toward the other driver. Bill again waved for the driver to move on, and the truck roared up the hill. Then, looking at Lacey, Bill said, “Could I ask you a few questions?”

“Now?”

“Um.” And it occurred to Bill how ridiculous it was for him to stop Lacey on the roadside. Sometimes he pushed things too far. “No, whenever you’re done. If it works for you.”

Still breathing heavily, Lacey glanced up the hill and then back at him. “I’ll be finished in twenty minutes. Can you meet me on the Mountain Inn’s patio?”

“Sure.”

Bill felt slightly embarrassed, but it wasn’t the first time he’d made a fool of himself. And it wouldn’t be the last. Down at the Mountain Inn, he picked up two bottles of water at the snack shop and waited for Lacey on the patio. When she came, perspiration shined on her forehead, and she happily accepted his peace offering of water. They sat in colorful Adirondack chairs that overlooked the ski run.

After a long drink, Lacey asked, “Have the police arrested Tanya?”

Bill folded his hands on his lap and said, “No, they haven’t.”

“Why not?”

Bill explained that he believed Lacey had indeed seen Tanya push Damian off the cliff. However, another witness had come forward and claimed otherwise. After a careful reenactment at the scene, the police concluded that Lacey had observed an optical illusion created by the players’ relative positions. The wind blowing through overhanging leaves may have exaggerated the illusion.

“An illusion?” she said.

“Yes.”

Lacey sipped water and stared into the distance. “It’s possible. I know what I saw, or at least what I think I saw, but it’s true that I didn’t have a clear view.” She sat back to consider this new possibility.

Bill waited patiently. Until Lacey moved on from her earlier beliefs, his questions would make little sense.

“I’m relieved,” she said. “I’ve always liked Tanya. Now that you’ve told me Damian fell by accident, I feel much better.”

“But there is a complication,” he said. Bill

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