"Maybe she cut the rope ahead of time."
"We went down that road earlier. The rope was cut at the top, within reach of where it was fastened. Either Jerome Shipton would have seen the cut and not used the rope, or he would have fallen so far he'd be whispering to Lucifer, not Jake Weller. No, whoever sliced Jerome Shipton's line did so after he'd partially descended. That's the only scenario that makes sense."
Fred nodded in agreement. "Let's get back to the list. Claire Quincy is another one who should be there. She's on all my lists-short, long and in between."
Dean smiled. "Claire Quincy is no saint in anyone's book, but her motive is a mite on the thin side, isn't it?"
"These here genealogy folks take that stuff mighty seriously. Remember, she said her brother was writing a book about the family. If Shipton let her know he knew all the dirt on Annie's past, that might throw a kibosh on the whole business. Maybe she decided to snuff him out, to keep him quiet."
Dean laughed. "If Shipton did, in fact, bust her chops over the fact Annie Quincy was a hooker, who knows, she might hate him enough to do something nasty. But kill him? She'd have to realize if Shipton knew about Annie, so did a bunch of us. I don't see her plotting to knock us all off. I suppose if she were mad enough at him, she might kill him but I could visualize her whacking him over the head with a library book more than sneaking up to the ice park and cutting his rope-and then going to the trouble to blame it on me."
"Maybe, but trying to put the blame on you would be right up her alley. What about her sister?"
"Sweet Effie? Come on, Fred. Now, that's a full-length stretch. Why? To protect her sister?"
"I'll put her on my middle list, not the short one," he grumbled. "Who else?"
"I suppose we have to list young Donnie. He's a troubled kid and we know he has no love for his stepfather. The boy is smart enough to see what Shipton was doing to his mother and he's the most logical one to have taken the knife in the first place. I'd hate to think a child his age would try to kill someone, whatever the reason, but I have to admit it's a possibility. Given his size, he would have been less conspicuous up on the trail."
"I saw the boy with his father earlier. He and Ryland were taking pictures. Donald bought him a camera at the Variety store." He scratched his head. "Until we talk to these people, we won't know who was off on his own enough to have an opportunity and who has an alibi."