Death on the Bella Constance (A Jesse Watson Mystery Series Book 6) (28 page)

The clouds were black and angry looking as the rain pelted
the tin roof of the camper trailer. Thunder rolled overhead. Lighting streaked
the sky.

Lois looked out the window into the darkness and cringed at
the thought of being stuck inside another day. She hated the idea of losing
precious time waiting it out. Boredom set in.

“When is it going to stop?” she hissed. “I don’t mind a good
old-fashioned rain, but this is getting ridiculous. It’s been two days now! I
want to go hiking!”

“I know,” her husband said. “Just hang in there. It’ll be
over soon.”

“That’s what you said yesterday.”

Bret walked over to his wife and caressed her shoulders with
his hands ever so gently. “I’m sorry about this, sweetheart. I know how you
hate being cooped up, but I’m sure the bad weather won’t last much longer.
It’ll probably clear up in the middle of the night.”

“We’ve wasted two whole days! We could’ve been out in the
woods, enjoying the fresh air. We could’ve hiked to the top of the mountain.”

Bret had hauled their sixteen-foot camper behind his
heavy-duty Dodge pickup truck so that they wouldn’t have to stay in a hotel, and
could enjoy the freedom of the great outdoors. They planned to travel from one
campsite to another, and then hike the trails along a section of the
Appalachian Mountains
. They had planned their adventure
weeks in advance—but no one could predict the awful weather they would
encounter. A nor’easter had taken them by surprise, forcing them to put a halt
to their mountain trek—if only temporarily.

Bret didn’t mind the change in plans. He could make the best
of any situation. But Lois was impatient and always determined to get her
way—no matter what. However, this time was different. There was nothing she
could do except wait out the storm. She whined and complained, saying that she
hated being stuck in a camper. This had definitely not been on her agenda.

Lois met Bret at a party the year before, and right from the
start she decided he was going to be the man she would marry. He was handsome,
rich and all the girls wanted him. She was so excited about the idea of
marrying someone so important… and rich. The fact is, his money was the most
appealing thing to her. It had been that way right from the start. She was
mesmerized by all the nice things he had, and couldn’t wait to move into his
fabulously gigantic house—a house that was furnished with expensive and lavish
furniture. She would rule the roost. She would plan grand parties and show all
her friends that she was now a woman of means. She was no longer scrapping to
get by.

But Bret, even though he had lived a lavish lifestyle, had
become a frugal man. He refused to waste money on useless things, so he kept a
tight reign on her spending. She was given an allowance, and once she had spent
that, she was on her own. This infuriated her.

She quickly discovered that as far as she was concerned, he
wasn’t the most exciting man in bed after all. She also hated the fact that he
would come home every day and sit in front of the television. It wouldn’t have
been so bad if he watched interesting programs, but all he cared about was
watching the news. He would surf the networks until he found what he wanted to
watch, and then after he’d had enough of that channel, he would start his
search all over again. This went on until dinner, and then after dinner, he
would go to bed and watch the news some more.

She wanted a social life… one more exciting than he was
giving her. She wanted to go to parties and meet important people, but he
wanted to stay home and raise a family. She swore to herself that was not going
to happen. He had promised her the world, but so far, all she had gotten was a
tightwad husband who was a bore. She was not about to be saddled down with
children!

She was still ticked off that he wouldn’t buy a new Winnebago
for the trip, but she let it slide because the camper was fairly nice, all
things considered. She could deal with it for the time being. She knew she
would eventually have everything she ever wanted in the end… and if everything
went right on this excursion, the end would be soon.

Yesterday, before the storm hit, they had planned to hike the
trail up to the waterfall at the top of the mountain and have a picnic lunch.
Bret would use his new digital camera to capture the scenery and take shots of
his beautiful wife while she basked in the sun, or posed sitting on a rock. The
journey would be invigorating for both of them.

Lois loved it when he photographed her. When she returned
home, she would send the pictures over the net to all her friends so they could
see what a wonderful life she was living. They would be so envious, and later,
they would grieve for her at the loss of her husband.

You see, Lois had a plan. She would go to the top of the
mountain with her husband, but she planned to return alone—after she had pushed
him off a cliff. It would be so easy and no one would ever suspect that it was
anything but an accident… an unfortunate mishap. She would tell them that her
husband lost his footing and tumbled down the side of the mountain, and even
though she tried to save him, she just wasn’t quick enough to pull him from the
jaws of death. Who would know the difference? Who would be around to see?
People slip and fall on hiking trails all the time—and falling from a cliff was
usually a death sentence. The medical examiner would rule his death an
accident—plain and simple. All she had to do was to get him to the top of the
mountain, make sure that no one was around, and then shove him off a cliff. It
would be an ugly death, but bad things have been known to happen to good
people.

Then everything he had would be hers. She almost smiled when
she thought about her plan, but knew better. She had to conceal her elation
from her husband. She had been in a bad mood, and if he saw her smiling, he
would ask why. No, she had to keep her joy to herself. She had to make it
through the night without giving herself away. What would happen if Bret found
out that she was tired and disgusted with him? Would he try to work out their
problems, or would he just kick her out on the street?

After a simple dinner of salad and wine fixed by her loving
husband, Bret and Lois decided to call it a day. There was nothing they could
do about the storm, except wait until it was over. Tomorrow would be a new day,
and they could pick up where they had left off.

As she lay in bed beside her snoring husband, she couldn’t
help but think about all the things she would buy—once he was out of the
picture. The first thing she would do is go on a cruise. She would tell
everyone that she had to get away from all the pain and heartache. She had to
clear her head. Who would begrudge her a little solace? She dozed off with a
smile on her face.

Morning came in all its brilliance. The sun bathe the land as
the wet leaves of the trees glistened in its wake.

Bret, holding a cup of coffee in his hand, stepped out of the
camper, looked up at the sky and smiled. “Come out here, Lois,” he said. “It’s
going to be a beautiful day.”

“Just let me get a cup of coffee first,” she replied as she
crawled out of bed. She dug into her duffel bag and pulled out a pair of jeans
and a T-shirt. As she dressed, she called to Bret. “Do you think I’ll need a
sweater?”

“I don’t really think so, but it might be a good idea to
bring one along just in case.”

After throwing on her clothes, she walked to the door and
peered out. The sun blinded her just for a second. “It sure is sunny out
there,” she moaned as she withdrew to the kitchen area. “I’ll be ready in a
minute.”

“Take your time, honey,” Bret replied. “We’re in no hurry.”

“That’s what you think,” she whispered to herself. “The
sooner we get going, the sooner this will all be over.”

“What did you say, honey?”

“Nothing, dear.” She poured a cup of coffee. “It wasn’t
important.”

Bret walked back into the camper and said, “I fixed us a
picnic basket while you were sleeping.” He turned and walked over to the basket
sitting on the counter, and then lifted the lid. “See—we have tuna sandwiches,
cheese, crackers, and fresh fruit. I also added a bottle of red wine.”

“That sounds wonderful,” she said as she pretended to be
interested in what he had to say. “We’re going to have a good time,” she lied.
“I love the mountains.”

The truth is—she hated the mountains. The only memory she had
of those times were the ones of sleeping in a tent. She really hated that part.
Her days of camping as a child were not pleasant and she swore that she would
never do it again—once she had become an adult. And she never did… until now.

She never conveyed this to Bret even when he suggested the
trip. As soon as he mentioned that he wanted to go hiking, the wheels started
spinning in her head, conjuring up her scheme. What a perfect way to rid
herself of a cheapskate, boring husband! That’s when she decided he was going
to take a spill off the mountain top.

“Are you about ready to go?” he asked as he picked up the
basket.

Lois grabbed her sweater, smiled and said, “I’m ready.”

“Then let’s go!”

Bret locked the door to the camper and then the doors to his
truck.

“Why are you locking up everything?” Her mind went into a
panic. How would she get back into the camper and the truck if he fell off the
mountain with the keys in his pocket?

“I don’t feel comfortable leaving everything unlocked,” he
replied. “You never know who might be lurking about.”

“Don’t be silly,” Lois told him. “Besides, what would I do if
something happened to you and I couldn’t get inside?”

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and
said, “We have this. If anything should happen to either one of us, the other
one could call for help.”

“What if there’s no signal out there?”

“You may have a point. I’ll tell you what. I have a spare key
to the camper in my glove box. I’ll go get it.”

“What about an extra key for the truck?”

Bret turned and looked at her strangely. “Why are you so
concerned about having keys to everything?”

She stiffened. His question had hit home. She didn’t want him
to become suspicious, so she made up a story. “When I went camping with my
folks a long time ago, my dad broke his leg. He slid and fell down the side of
the mountain, and my mother couldn’t reach him. She couldn’t get in the car and
go for help because he had the keys in his pocket. We had to walk four miles to
the nearest house to call for help. My dad lay there in pain for hours before
he was rescued. I just don’t want something like that to happen to you.”

“If you’re that worried… here… take the keys.” He handed her
the set of keys. “Just don’t drop them off a cliff or we’ll be walking home.”
He laughed. “Do you feel better now?”

“I feel much better.” She smiled.

After walking for an hour, they finally reached the
waterfall. They both stood and took in the scenery. Lois couldn’t get over how
breathtaking it was even though she wasn’t fond of the great outdoors.

“It’s so beautiful here.”

“Yes, it is,” Bret agreed. “Now you can see why I wanted to
come.”

Lois stood and looked around, surveying the area.

At the top of the mountain, the end of the trail was cut off
and guarded by a row of huge boulders set there by man to keep curious hikers
from getting too close to the drop-off point. The area was a big, open space to
view the scenery, and a great place for a picnic.

“Where are we going from here?” Lois asked, trying to conceal
her excitement of things to come.

“The trek back is going to take a while, so I figured that
this would be enough for one day,” Bret replied.

She knew that if this was the end of the line for them, there
was no way she’d be able to accomplish her goal. Bret wasn’t stupid enough to
venture past the rock wall. This would put a crimp in her plans. Then a thought
occurred to her. If she could just get him to be adventurous enough to stand on
a boulder, that’s all it would take. She’d shove him over the cliff! So what if
he knew before he died that she had been the one to cause his death? She walked
over and jumped up on one of the boulders.

“Look, Bret,” she said. “Come join me!”

“Get down from there right now, Lois. It’s not safe.” He
walked over to her and held out his hand. “Please come down, Lois. You could
fall.” He looked over the cliff and gasped. “Please, get down right now! The
ground’s still wet and I bet your shoes are probably slippery, too.”

“I have on hiking boots, Bret. I’m not going to fall. Come
on, jump up here with me. It’s so exciting to be this close to the edge!”

Bret turned and walked away. “I’m not going to play your
silly game, Lois.”

Furious at him for being such a fuddy-duddy, she called out
to him as she danced around on the rock, “See, Bret. I’m fine. Nothing’s going
to happen. You’re just a chicken.”

He turned and walked back over to her.  “I’m not scared,” he
said, his voice dropping to a whisper as not to upset her. “Please get down,
honey. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”