Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One)

Chapter 10

Bennett returned her back to her house reluctantly, and Belinda floated back to the kitchen, mulling over possible slogans for Bennett's business and dreaming about pumpkin pie for some reason, deciding that she'd have to add a pumpkin pie cupcake to her menu.

"Hey, Bels," Kyle said, sitting on the couch in the living room in the dark. Belinda walked toward him, all the shimmer in her diminishing as he glanced at her sideways. "Have fun with your new friend?"

Belinda assessed the situation. She nodded, deciding less was more at that moment.

"You showed them the path, huh? The path that takes you onto the Mayhew property, bypassing the gate?"

"It could be important."

Kyle stared straight ahead. "Then there's something I should tell you now because it may come out anyway."

Belinda straightened up, her heart flip-flopping.

"I was there the night of the party," he said, avoiding her eyes. "To talk to Jeff."

Belinda stared at him in disbelief. "But...but you haven't spoken to him in years!"

"I wanted to make things right between us. It was time."

"Time?" It crossed her mind that under other circumstances this would have come as great news. Right now, it was just a huge mess. "You were mad at me for going to the party in the first place. For risking seeing Jeff. Now you're telling me you wanted to make things right between the two of you?"

"That was you, this is me. I would never trust him with you, but I needed to say a few things to him."

"Like what?"

"That's not really any of your business."

Belinda crossed her arms over her chest. Kyle brought this up, volunteered actually, and now it was none of her business. "Uh...okay. So did you talk to Jeff?"

"Yeah, I did." Kyle's eyes were distant. "I snuck up that path and found him alone in the yard. We talked and I left the way I came."

"And that was it? You just had a casual chat with a person you wouldn't deal with for the past ten years and went home to watch TV?"

Kyle's eyes flashed. "What do you think I did? Push him over the cliff?"

"No! But I can't believe it was that normal either." Why did he opt to tell her this at all if he was going to tell half-truths?

Kyle sighed. "He was shocked to see me, but glad I think. We both avoided mentioning you and we made our peace and I went home, leaving him alone - and alive - in the backyard."

"Are you sure you were alone?"

"Yes. I wouldn't have talked to him otherwise."

"And all you did was...make peace? You didn't talk about anything else?" Belinda could feel the irritation emanating off of Kyle, but again, he brought it up. If he didn't want to divulge anything, he should have kept it to himself.

"It was a brief conversation."

"And you are absolutely positive no one saw you?"

Kyle glanced at her curiously. "Why are you so adamant about that?"

Belinda dropped her hands to her sides. "The killer could have used that path. I was just thinking that someone might have noticed you coming or going that way and gotten an idea of how to avoid being seen. They could have officially left the party and then returned that way to kill Jeff. And that would have been good timing if he was alone when you left."