collected?
Elizabeth waited several minutes to make sure the men were really gone. She wondered what her next move was going to be. She didn’t know where to start. Were they investigating a murder or a disappearance? Or two disappearances; the girl and Girard. Are they connected? As she was struggling with these questions she started to slowly make her way out of the woods, carefully placing each step on the hill so she wouldn’t slip again. Finally, she emerged from the pines, relieved that the body sliding was over. She looked up the hill to see someone coming down the path through the trees. The chief? The state trooper? It was too late to dive back into the woods so she stayed put and tried to think of something intelligent to say. Whoever was coming was going to wonder what she was doing there and why they hadn’t seen her on their way up the path? In a rash decision, she decided, instead, to continue down the cliff. Chances are she could get down to the bottom faster than whoever was behind her and buy herself more time before she came face to face with him or them. Being out in the open at the bottom of the trail was a safer place to be than cornered in the woods on a trail that was treacherous to descend.
Elizabeth quickly negotiated her way down the steep decline, grabbing protruding pine boughs as she went, skillfully stepping around exposed roots. Footsteps thudded behind her. She felt her pace quickening which made her descent that much more challenging. If she remembered correctly, there were two more hairpin turns in the trail before she was safely at the bottom. She was curious who was behind her but was afraid to sneak a look. Finally she couldn’t resist. She took her eyes off her feet, and where she was placing them, long enough to turn her head and look. Just as she did, she felt her right foot catch on a root or a rock so her head spun back around in time to see herself diving head first toward the trunk of an evergreen. She instinctively put her hands out to break her fall. She landed with a thud on her chest and stomach, knocking the wind out of her, her forehead making contact with the base of the tree trunk. The impact stunned her for a moment. Then she realized the person behind her was approaching. Gasping for air, she tried to scramble to her feet, but was a bit dazed. A firm hand grabbed her from behind.
“Lizzi, are you alright?” Elizabeth’s relief in hearing a familiar voice was palpable. “What happened? You look terrible. Are you all right? I’m so glad I found you! I should have looked at the lighthouse first. That’s where your grandmother suggested but it’s such a long walk down—”
“Shelle, I’ve got my cell phone. Try that next time.” Elizabeth was still trying to catch her breath. She was sure she looked quite awful. She had just cleaned off a five foot section of the path with the front of her clothes. Rashelle helped her sit up. Her cell phone. Had she remembered to put it on silent? Could that have given her away in the woods if it had rung?She decided that she really needed to get better at being in stealth mode or she wasn’t going to find out anything. Worse yet, she could put herself in danger.
“What were you doing?”
“Oh, just poking around.” She brushed off her clothes and Rashelle started to pull pine needles out of Elizabeth’s hair. “Listen; let’s head back up the hill.” She was struggling to get to her feet. “I overheard part of a conversation. I need to let Nana know Chief Austin is going to start making things miserable for everyone—”
“Starting! He has already put the inn in lockdown. No one in or out. He is determined to get to the bottom of this mess.”
“Wow, he moves quickly. He must have radioed ahead on his way up the hill.” Great. Vera is never going to believe this!
“Yeah. Basically everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise.”
“What? A suspect? For what crime?” She wondered what the diver could have
Elizabeth waited several minutes to make sure the men were really gone. She wondered what her next move was going to be. She didn’t know where to start. Were they investigating a murder or a disappearance? Or two disappearances; the girl and Girard. Are they connected? As she was struggling with these questions she started to slowly make her way out of the woods, carefully placing each step on the hill so she wouldn’t slip again. Finally, she emerged from the pines, relieved that the body sliding was over. She looked up the hill to see someone coming down the path through the trees. The chief? The state trooper? It was too late to dive back into the woods so she stayed put and tried to think of something intelligent to say. Whoever was coming was going to wonder what she was doing there and why they hadn’t seen her on their way up the path? In a rash decision, she decided, instead, to continue down the cliff. Chances are she could get down to the bottom faster than whoever was behind her and buy herself more time before she came face to face with him or them. Being out in the open at the bottom of the trail was a safer place to be than cornered in the woods on a trail that was treacherous to descend.
Elizabeth quickly negotiated her way down the steep decline, grabbing protruding pine boughs as she went, skillfully stepping around exposed roots. Footsteps thudded behind her. She felt her pace quickening which made her descent that much more challenging. If she remembered correctly, there were two more hairpin turns in the trail before she was safely at the bottom. She was curious who was behind her but was afraid to sneak a look. Finally she couldn’t resist. She took her eyes off her feet, and where she was placing them, long enough to turn her head and look. Just as she did, she felt her right foot catch on a root or a rock so her head spun back around in time to see herself diving head first toward the trunk of an evergreen. She instinctively put her hands out to break her fall. She landed with a thud on her chest and stomach, knocking the wind out of her, her forehead making contact with the base of the tree trunk. The impact stunned her for a moment. Then she realized the person behind her was approaching. Gasping for air, she tried to scramble to her feet, but was a bit dazed. A firm hand grabbed her from behind.
“Lizzi, are you alright?” Elizabeth’s relief in hearing a familiar voice was palpable. “What happened? You look terrible. Are you all right? I’m so glad I found you! I should have looked at the lighthouse first. That’s where your grandmother suggested but it’s such a long walk down—”
“Shelle, I’ve got my cell phone. Try that next time.” Elizabeth was still trying to catch her breath. She was sure she looked quite awful. She had just cleaned off a five foot section of the path with the front of her clothes. Rashelle helped her sit up. Her cell phone. Had she remembered to put it on silent? Could that have given her away in the woods if it had rung?She decided that she really needed to get better at being in stealth mode or she wasn’t going to find out anything. Worse yet, she could put herself in danger.
“What were you doing?”
“Oh, just poking around.” She brushed off her clothes and Rashelle started to pull pine needles out of Elizabeth’s hair. “Listen; let’s head back up the hill.” She was struggling to get to her feet. “I overheard part of a conversation. I need to let Nana know Chief Austin is going to start making things miserable for everyone—”
“Starting! He has already put the inn in lockdown. No one in or out. He is determined to get to the bottom of this mess.”
“Wow, he moves quickly. He must have radioed ahead on his way up the hill.” Great. Vera is never going to believe this!
“Yeah. Basically everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise.”
“What? A suspect? For what crime?” She wondered what the diver could have
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