The Edge

Chapter 34

Harper and Fuss were waiting for him when he returned to the inn. The two cops didn’t look happy, and he felt sure he was about to find out why.

Harper said, “Heard you went to see Earl Palmer today.”

“News travels fast.”

“Can I ask why?”

“He was the one who found Jenny’s body. I had follow-up questions.”

“Like what?” asked Fuss, giving him a look that Devine didn’t really care for.

“Just the standard stuff.”

“Learn anything new?” asked Harper, his hand resting on top of his baton.

“I don’t know. I have to think about it.”

“You were over at the funeral home earlier, too,” said Fuss.

“Minutes ago and you already know. You guys need to apply to work for CIA.”

“Cut the crap, Devine. What are you trying to get at?” demanded Harper.

“Same as you, the truth. We all just have our own methods of getting there, apparently.”

“You seem to doubt that Earl found the body,” said Fuss.

“Well, if you mean do I think it odd that he looked down to see the body, only the guy can’t look down? Then yeah, I have some doubts. You should too.”

Harper eyed Fuss and said, “What do you mean, he ‘can’t look down’?”

The man seemed to be sincere, thought Devine, or else he was an excellent liar. “A couple of cervical spinal fusions that went bad. He has severely restricted range of motion. Thought Guillaume would have told you. You obviously saw her at the funeral home and she told you that we had met.”

“You’re wrong. We didn’t talk to her,” said Fuss. “We saw both your cars in the parking lot when we passed by on our way here.”

“Okay.”

“Now what about Earl?” asked Harper.

“I gave him a little test at the spot where he claimed to have seen Jenny’s body.” He filled them in on what he had done to discover the man’s inability to look downward.

“Are you sure?” asked Harper.

“Test him yourself,” suggested Devine. “And the guy has a hard time walking. No, he doesn’t really walk, he shuffles. So he was out in a monsoon shuffling miles, including through the mud, to the edge of that bluff?”

“If what you’re suggesting is true, it opens up a can of worms,” said Harper.

“It actually changes everything,” replied Devine.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Harper.

“If he didn’t look down and see her, how was she actually found? Did she really fall on the rocks after being shot, or was she killed elsewhere and moved there later?”

“Hold on, hold on,” protested Fuss. “You’re getting way over your skis the way I see it.”

“I don’t think so. It’s a fact that when Earl called 911 there was a body at the spot mentioned?”

“Yes,” said Harper. “I told you that. The night dispatcher called me and I called Wendy. We went out there straightaway.”

“And Earl was there?”

“Sure was, right over at the edge. He pointed to where she was.”

“Did he look down when he pointed?”

“I don’t remember,” snapped Harper. “I had other things to think about.”

“But if he didn’t find her, what was he really doing there?” asked Devine.

“You’re the one saying that, not us.”

“Then test him.”

“We do that, it’s as good as saying we don’t believe him.”

Devine retorted, “I thought our job was to find the facts, not worry about hurt feelings.”

“We don’t need you to tell us how to do our job,” interjected Fuss heatedly. “In fact, you made our job harder by preventing us from searching Jenny’s room and car right away.”

“I had nothing to do with that.”

“It was still your people,” pointed out Fuss.

“This is getting us nowhere,” said Devine. “Are you going to speak to Earl?”

Harper hitched up his pants. “I’ll let you know. In the meantime, what can you tell us about those three people you killed? Your boys turn up anything?”

“Not that they’ve shared with me.”

“Well, as soon as you do hear anything, be sure to let us know.”

“I’d appreciate the same,” replied Devine.

They walked off without acknowledging this request.

As soon as they left, Alex came riding up on her bicycle, stopping in front of him.

“Can we talk?” she said.

“Sure. About what?”

“About... me. And Jenny.”