A Fountain Filled With Blood

“Peggy!” Clare shouted. “It’s me! Clare Fergusson!”

Russ threw his hands up into the air. “And Chief Van Alstyne.”

Peggy staggered back, clutching her chest, and collapsed on the ground.

“Oh, my God!” They both ran toward Peggy, Clare reaching her first and skidding as she dropped down next to the older woman. “Peggy! Are you okay?”

Russ knelt on Peggy’s other side. “Let me take a look at her,” he said, brushing Clare’s hands away. Peggy was hunched over, panting so fast that Clare was sure she would pass out from hyperventilation. Russ took Peggy’s head between his hands and tilted her face toward him. Her eyes were wide and white-rimmed, like a spooked horse. “I don’t think she’s in shock,” he said. He brushed her hair away from her temple. “This looks nasty, though.” He looked at Clare. “Run your hands over her torso. Make sure she doesn’t have any puncture wounds.”

Clare did as he asked. “Nothing,” she said.

“Peggy,” Russ said slowly and clearly, “you need to calm down and tell us what happened. Was someone with you? Were you threatened? Did he injure you?”

“How…what…” Peggy gasped for air.

“We went to your house,” Clare said. “Mr. Wood told us you had left for the construction site after getting a phone call.” She glanced up at Russ, uncertain how much to say to the woman huddled between them.

“We had reason to believe you might be in danger from Jason Colvin.” Russ said. “He’s wanted for questioning in the Ingraham murder.”

Peggy buried her face in her hands and rocked forward. “Please, Peggy, tell us what happened,” Clare said.

Russ looked grim. “Ms. Landry, were you sexually assaulted?”

That seemed to reach her. She sat up straighter and pushed her hair out of her face. “No,” she said. She covered her eyes with her hands again. “But I think he was trying to kill me.”

“Who?” Clare could hear Russ trying to keep a tight rein on his voice.

“Leo Waxman.”

Clare rocked back on her heels. “Leo Waxman?”

Russ spread his hands with a look of complete confusion on his face. “Who’s he?”

“The state’s geologist for the project. Remember I told you he showed me around the quarry when I was here Monday? That’s him.”

“What the hell does the geologist have to do with any of this?” Clare could empathize with the bafflement in Russ’s voice.

“He called me,” Peggy said. “He told me he had something very important to show me at the site. Something that could affect the project going forward. I met him at the spa area and he insisted on driving me way up here to show me something. He wouldn’t say what.” She hunched over again. “He took me as far as you can on this road, up to where it gets very close to the gorge. He—he demanded money from me. Told me Bill had promised him a job with BWI and a fat salary, and then Bill reneged. He was crazy. Furious.” She looked up at them. “I think he may have murdered Bill.” She closed her eyes. “I was terrified. He came at me. We fought. Somehow—I’m not sure how—he went over.” Her voice thinned out into little more than a whisper. “Into the gorge. I didn’t know what to do. So I started walking back. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Russ looked over her head to where the trail twisted out of sight. “How far from here?”

Peggy shook her head. “I’m not sure. I wasn’t paying much attention. Everything seems sort of unreal. Like in a horrible dream.”

“Peggy,” Clare said. “Is he injured? Is he dead? Did you get a good look at him?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. He was near the stream, facedown, very still. I yelled, but he didn’t move or answer. I was going to call for help when I got back to my car. He was just lying there. It’s a deep gorge. My grandfather would never let us hike near it when we were kids.”

“How come you didn’t drive back down?” Russ said.

Peggy blinked. There was a pause, as if she was trying to remember her thoughts at the scene of the accident. “I can’t drive a standard,” she finally said. She looked up at them. “I’m sorry. I guess I should have tried.”

Clare looked at Russ. “What do you think we should do?”

“I gotta go up and see. Will you take Ms. Landry back down to the cars?”

“Do you want me to call for help?”

He shook his head. “It’ll have to be Mountain Rescue. I want to be able to tell them if it’s a medical emergency or a body recovery. It can’t be that far, and I can travel faster without her. I’ll scope it out and get back to you as soon as possible.” He hunkered down to get close to Peggy again. “Did he park on the trail? Did you wander far from the vehicle?”

“No. I mean, yes, he parked on the trail. We walked from there to the gorge. You can hear—there’s still a bit of water running in the stream at the bottom. You can hear it.”

He stood up, rubbing his hands on his jeans. “I’ll meet you back there as soon as I can.”