Mondays are Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

he conceded.
    “Or maybe Donald cut it this morning before we left? Or Cathy, while we were on the cliffs?”
    “Sounds plausible,” agreed Graham.
    “Hang on, though,” I said, contradicting myself. “Bruce and Mike checked and double-checked all their gear on the cliffs. We watched them do it, didn’t we?”
    “We did,” said Graham. “And it was fine at that point.”
    “So Bruce’s rope must have been cut after that. Do you reckon it could have been done when they walked round to the start of the climb?”
    “That would mean Mike did it,” said Graham. “But why?”
    “No idea. Bruce scared Isabella with that story last night though, didn’t he? Mike’s her husband. Could it be something to do with that?”
    “Maybe… But would that really be a good enough reason to kill someone?” puzzled Graham.
    “I don’t know. There’s something weird going on with Mike and Isabella. They don’t exactly look happy together, do they?”
    “There does appear to be a certain degree of coolness between them, yes,” Graham replied.
    “OK… Well, I suppose it must have been Mike.” I thought for a while and then sighed. “No, that wouldn’t work. The rope held Bruce when he dropped the first time. When he did the demonstration fall he was OK.”
    Graham recapped. “It couldn’t have been done last night or this morning before we left because it was fine in the safety checks. It couldn’t have been done during the demonstration because the rope held for the first fall. It leaves only one option: Mike must have cut the rope when Bruce was dangling.”
    “No.” I shook my head, sighing. “That’s not right either. I was watching Mike. His hands were full. He was hanging on to the rope when Bruce fell. Mike couldn’t possibly have whipped out a knife and sliced through it, I’d have seen him!”
    Graham didn’t say anything so I continued. “It can’t have been Mike in any case. He was so shocked by Bruce’s fall. He was at least as bad as the rest of us: he looked awful. He couldn’t fake a reaction like that, could he?”
    “Not unless he’s an exceptionally good actor,” said Graham.
    We went round and round in circles and finally decided that it was impossible. Nobody could have done it. The rope just couldn’t have been deliberately cut without us seeing.
    And yet Bruce was dead.
    Donald had cooked a thick comforting soup with crusty homemade bread still warm from the oven and spread with melting butter. He laid it out on the table, and then slipped away to wake up Isabella. Cathy and Mike were still in the office, so us kids were alone again and the food made everyone more talkative.
    In between mouthfuls of soup, Meera fretted. “I know it’s selfish but I keep thinking it could have been me. Well, I suppose it could have been any of us, couldn’t it, dying like that? You’d think they’d have checked the gear a bit more thoroughly.”
    Jake said, “You can’t stop every accident from happening. You do stuff like climbing, you take a risk. That’s part of the excitement.”
    “I don’t call being killed exciting,” sniffed Alice. “It was horrible! They should be more careful. I don’t see how they’ll be able to open up this place now. No one will send their kids here if they can’t keep them safe. My mum will be furious when she finds out.”
    “I always said fresh air was dangerous,” chipped in Graham. “People are forever dropping dead when they’re exercising. More people die out jogging than in plane crashes.”
    “I suppose you prefer cuddly toys?” said Alice sarcastically. “I can just see you playing with a bunch of teddy bears.” That girl really did have a nasty streak.
    “At least teddy bears can’t kill you,” Graham replied calmly.
    Just then the grown-ups came in.
    Mike was hideously pale beneath his healthy tan. Cathy was looking pretty shaky too but Donald was being kind of loud and cheery in an effort to convince us that everything was going