Mini Mystery
Someone murdered Burt to get him out of the way, and the detective knew who it was!
Detective Rachael Hunter looked at the body lying on the forest floor. She was in the middle of Rope Works, an outdoor attraction where visitors put on harnesses and ride zip lines through the trees. Most days, it was full of tourists and corporate types looking for a unique retreat. Today, it was quiet, the site of a murder.
“So Burt Green was ziplining when his gear broke and he fell to his death?” Rachael asked Connor York, the manager of Rope Works.
“He fell, but it wasn’t an accident.” Connor showed her Burt’s clip and pointed to several deep scratch marks. “Someone sabotaged his gear! This was murder!”
Rachael watched him closely. “Right. Because it would be really awful for your business if people were dying because of faulty gear, wouldn’t it?”
“You think I’m happy about this?” Connor gestured toward the body. “Burt and I were old friends. He’s the one who gave me the money to build this place.” “Do you know anyone who might want him dead?” Rachael asked. Connor nodded.
“I know for a fact that he had enemies at work. Both Cora Rivers and George Jones have been jockeying for his job. With Burt gone, one of them will finally get a promotion.”
Rachael thanked Connor and went to talk to Cora Rivers.
“So it’s true?” Cora said. “Burt’s dead? Was it his heart? An old man like him shouldn’t have been doing a zip line course. I hope his family sues this place for everything they—”
“Excuse me, Ms. Rivers,” Rachael cut in. “But can you think of anyone who might want Burt dead?”
“What?” Cora asked, blinking. “You think this was murder?”
Rachael stayed quiet, eventually prompting Cora to speak. “George Jones. George was always complaining that Burt should have retired a long time ago so he could finally get promoted. He would do anything to get Burt out of the way.” Rachael decided it was time to talk to George Jones. “What’s going on here?” George asked, frowning at Rachael as if she were an intern who had gotten his coffee order wrong. “Burt Green is dead,” Rachael said. “I’m Detective Hunter, the investigator in charge.” George’s demeanor changed as he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “So Cora finally got even, eh?” “Even for what?”
“For killing her career. We work in advertising. Two years ago, Burt stole her idea for an ad campaign. She was upset and complained to the higher-ups in the company. Rumor was that she got some kind of settlement. But knowing Cora, that wouldn’t be enough for her. My guess is that in return for sabotaging her career, she sabotaged his gear.”
At that moment, Connor called Rachael over. When they were in the manager’s office, he showed Rachael a large pair of pliers.
“A staff member found these in the bushes just outside Rivers’ cabin!” Connor said excitedly. “This is exactly the kind of tool used to ruin Burt’s clip!”
“We’ll let the lab decide that,” Rachael said, but even she had to admit it looked very likely. “By the way, Mr. York, you said that Green was your biggest investor. With him dead, are you now the main shareholder in Rope Works?”
“We agreed I’d get the option to buy his shares off of his family,” Connor said. “What are you implying?”
“Not implying anything, just trying to get the facts.”
Rachael decided to talk to Cora again.
“Yeah, Burt stole an idea of mine, but we settled that,” she said with a shrug.
“And what about these?” Rachael showed her the pliers. Cora shrugged again. “Never seen them before.” “We found them outside your cabin. They seem to be the same tools used to ruin Burt Green’s zip line clip.”
Cora’s eyes widened. “What? No! Someone must have put them there to frame me!”
Rachael thought that Cora may actually have a point there. She thought it over and knew who had killed Burt Green.