A Second Chance at Murder Read online

  “Welcome everyone to Expedition Improbable!” Harris boomed in his made-for-TV voice. “Where nothing can stop you but yourself!” He launched into a brief introduction of the teams, then said, “At the top of this hike, you will find a medieval monastery, one that is rumored to have protected the Holy Grail. At the monastery, you will find a clue that will lead you to something special. Only one team will be able to obtain the artifact. If you do, you will be granted a two-hour head start in tomorrow’s expedition.”

  The teams all responded favorably, oohing and aahing at Harris’s announcement.

  “The other teams will need to obtain a key in order to continue. Remember! Tomorrow you’ll begin the next challenge with whatever time advantage you secure today, so if you end up in third place, say fifteen minutes behind the second-place team, then tomorrow you’ll start fifteen minutes after the second-place team.”

  Everyone groaned.

  Harris smiled wickedly at our reaction, then clapped his hands and said, “I’m sorry to say, this is an elimination round. The last team to cross the finish line will be eliminated.”

  We were each given a knapsack with some food and water. Dad and I fussed over which pack was heavier. He took the dark one, which had the water bottles in it, and handed me the lighter pack. Before we even got the packs on our backs, we realized that we were suddenly alone and in last place.

  “Holy night, Dad! Did everyone just take off?” I asked.

  We watched the backside of the mother-and-son team as they climbed up a switchback and disappeared from view.

  Our cameraman was Miguel. He’d been camping with us in the Pyrenees on the night Scott had left. Miguel hoisted the camera on his shoulder and turned on the microphone. He winked at me to indicate that he’d be capturing our every word from now on.

  We headed toward the trail and began our trek, Dad giving me encouraging little tidbits along the way. “Don’t worry, Georgia. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” he said.

  “Thanks for the cliché, Dad,” I said.

  Dad laughed. “That one is straight from the Farmer’s Almanac.”

  I snorted.

  We grew quiet as we ascended through the switchback. The trail was beautiful as it wound its way up quickly enough that my ears popped. We had vistas of the Spanish countryside. It was dry in northern Spain at this time of the year and I longed to take a water break, but since we hadn’t even caught up with the mother-and-son team, we continued steadily on.

  Finally after what seemed like an hour, I asked, “How long is this trail?”

  “I don’t know.” Dad chuckled. “Judging by that team of producers, they probably gave us a day hike!”

  “Right,” I mumbled. Cheryl would do anything to make sure the show succeeded.

  In the quiet of the hike my thoughts returned to Scott and the murdered woman. Who was she and what had she been doing so near to our campsite? It felt as if she should in some way be connected with either the cast or crew, otherwise it seemed too big of a coincidence.

  What had I learned so far about the cast?

  Todd and Parker were ultracompetitive. Cooper and Todd both had criminal records, and Victoria had a connection to ETA.

  Did any of the facts add up to murder?

  Miguel stopped for a moment to adjust his camera, but quickly sprinted up ahead of us, to get a shot of us climbing up the trail.

  What about the crew?

  Miguel had been there that night. I knew nothing about him. Could he be part of ETA?

  Sweat dripped down my forehead and in desperation I called out to Miguel, “How long is this hike?”

  Dad admonished me. “He’s not going to tell you. They’re not supposed to talk to us or offer any support.”

  “Well, he’s not supposed to anyway but sometimes people break the rules,” I said.

  Dad chuckled. “Don’t count on it. He’d have to deal with Cheryl if he broke the rules and even if he doesn’t know her like we do, he’s probably seen enough to know that he doesn’t want to get on her bad side.”

  After another hour of hiking we decided to take a break and sat on some boulders near a small creek. From his knapsack, Dad pulled out our water bottles. I rustled through my pack and found granola bars and apples. We ate in silence for a moment. I took off my cap and dipped it in the cool creek water.

  “Do you think anybody has reached the top yet?” Dad asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Honestly, I thought that mother-and-son team would trail behind us but she’s as spry as a chicken.” I chuckled.

  “I hope that’s not a crack at me,” Dad said, a serious look on his face.

  I laughed. “No, Dad, you’re in great shape. It’s a marathon not a sprint.”

  He laughed.

  After our snack we proceeded up the hill. We crossed a waterfall and two streams and still no sign of the monastery. Two hours later we stopped at a lookout point to take another break.

  “I can’t believe we’re not at the top yet,” Dad said. “I had no idea what the heck I was signing up for!”

  Miguel, the cameraman, mumbled something.

  I looked at him, hopefully.

  He held up a solitary figure.

  “One more hour?” Dad whined.

  I laughed. “I thought you weren’t supposed to help us.”

  Miguel put the finger to his lips.

  “We promise we won’t tell,” I said.

  Dad took a swig from his water bottle and said, “You better not tell Cheryl. She would break his legs.”

  Miguel took the camera off his shoulder and gave us a briefing on the trail ahead.

  “It’s not so steep now. Soon you will see El Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña. It’s fantastic. Part of the church is carved in the stone of the great cliff! San Juan de la Peña means ‘Saint John of the Cliff.’”

  “Wow,” Dad said, as he overlooked the vista. “We sure ain’t in Cottonwood anymore, Georgia.”

  I poked his back. “Not funny, now let’s get going, old man.”

  After about another mile, we finally arrived at the monastery. The monastery itself was breathtaking, built beneath a huge rock and hanging off the cliff. But even more amazing was that the other teams, which we thought were so far ahead of us, were all standing at the entrance looking hot and bewildered.

  Cooper, who seemed to be the only one happy to see us, bounded over to me. “Georgia, I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because you’ll be able to figure out where the clue is hidden.”

  They all looked at me.

  “You mean you’ve all been up here and haven’t found the clue yet?” I asked.

  “That’s right,” he said.

  “How long have you been up here?” Dad asked.

  “A long time,” DeeCee complained. Her lioness hair was now flat against her face and dripping in sweat. I was suddenly glad for my ball cap.

  Dad leaned in to me. “Uh, isn’t there a tortoise-and-hare story in that almanac of mine?” he teased. “Now might be a fine time to talk about alliances!”

  Cooper overhead Dad and laughed, his body shaking and jerking in that way he had that made it impossible to keep a straight face.

  I ignored everyone and sat down on the cool stone and thought. Where would Becca hide a clue? Because it was certain that she had hidden it or had arranged to have it hidden. We all entered the monastery and toured around. The cloister contained a series of biblical scenes that were arranged in chronological sequence. The stone halls and passageways were filled with marble and stucco medallions recalling historic battles. The second floor had a royal pantheon of the kings of Aragon and Navarre.

  The other teams began to get bored with me and realized I didn’t have the inside info they thought I had. Everyone started to
head in different directions, fatigue and exacerbation between the pairs mounting.

  Dad and I continued to meander down one of the stone corridors.

  Dad pressed me. “Well? What do you think? Where’s the clue?”

  I leaned against the cool wall rock, pressing my forehead against it. “I can’t think, Dad. I have no idea.”

  He patted my back, “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll find it. Not even Cheryl or Becca is smarter than us.”

  Exhaustion bore down on my shoulders, but I smiled despite myself. “That’s right, Daddy.”

  In one of the other rooms, voices were carrying and sounded like the beginnings of an argument. Dad stepped away from me and peered into the room.

  “What it is?” I asked him.

  He retreated from the doorway as if stung. “Let’s not get involved in other people’s business.”

  “Who’s in there, Dad?”

  He shrugged. “It’s Todd and Parker. I just thought . . . I heard something strange . . . they mentioned Scott.”

  A chill crept down my spine.

  Why would they be discussing Scott?

  I crossed over to the other room, but it was now empty. They’d left through a different exit.

  When I returned to where Dad was he asked, “Is there a rule we can’t split up?”

  “No,” I said. “Only that we both need to cross the finish line together.”

  “Right, right,” he said. “So why don’t I start down the trail now?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ll hike on ahead of you. It takes me longer. You find the clue, then hike down and catch up with me.”

  “No, Dad, it’s a bad idea. What if the clue tells us to go in a different direction?”

  He clucked at me. “Georgia there’s no other way down the mountain but the way we came.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  We looked at Miguel for confirmation. He touched his nose and lowered his eyes in agreement with us.

  Dad and Miguel tore off down the mountain. Meanwhile, I paced the monastery, fidgeting with my paracord bracelet. I unraveled it as I paced and reviewed the note from the night before in my head.

  Long haul.

  Or long hall . . .

  Suddenly, I recalled one long hallway with the stucco medallions, each one depicting a historic battle. I raced toward the hallway. That was it! I was sure of it.

  I found the hallway and looked at each stone; on the fourth one I saw it. A picture of the Last Supper, Jesus holding up a chalice.

  The Holy Grail!

  In the painting Jesus was standing on the edge of a cliff, under a huge rock. He was standing in the same location as the huge rock of the monastery south wall.

  I raced outside toward the rock.

  Footsteps pounded behind me. “You know where it is, don’t you?” a voice screamed.

  It was Victoria.

  She was in hot pursuit, but there was no way she was beating me to the chalice. We raced over to the wall.

  “Tell me what you know!” she shouted.

  I ignored her, my eyes raking the wall. I saw it then. A small box made of stone, cleverly hidden from view, camouflaged between the rock and the edge of the cliff. I dove for the box and pried it open.

  Inside was a replica of the chalice along with four golden keys. Victoria lunged at me. I grabbed the chalice and threw the box at her.

  “Give it to me!” she yelled.

  “No,” I shouted, turning away from her.

  She tugged on my arm while I batted her away. She grabbed at the paracord rope bracelet I held in my hand and it unraveled between us. She clutched at the cord and used it to whip at my face.

  “Stop it!” I yelled, backing away from her.

  “Give me the chalice!” she screamed.

  “You’re acting crazy!” I shouted.

  She lunged for the chalice and I leapt backward, losing my footing on the dirt trail. Suddenly the rock wall fell away from me and I had the sickening sensation of falling through the air.

  Ten

  EXT. WOODS DAY

  Helen is looking into the camera, her sandy-colored hair is pulled back away from her face and her skin is radiant. She is dressed in a bright azure top that accentuates her blue eyes. She is standing in front of one of the tall trees that lines the perimeter of the Monastery.

  HELEN

  (smiles) Hello! I’m Helen Burke, one of the contestants on Expedition Improbable. I’m competing with my son, Eric. (She motions at someone to join her.) I’m so excited because we were the first team to make it up to the monastery, but that’s only the first leg of the competition. We still have to figure out the clue. (Eric walks into the shot and she puts her arm around him.) My son, Eric!

  ERIC

  (waving at the camera) Hello, America!

  HELEN

  Do you have any clue about the clue?

  ERIC

  No. But we better figure it out or I’m afraid we’re going to end up in last place. And, I know that Georgia already sent her dad back down the trial. I’m wondering if you want to do the same.

  HELEN

  (standing straighter at attention) Gordon, that hunk of a man, has started down already? This might be my chance! (She smoothes her hair with one hand.) I better hurry!

  (Shouts and screams are heard from off camera.)

  ERIC (O.S.)

  (turning in the direction of the noise) What was that?

  (Helen and Eric run in the direction of the commotion, the camera follows them, the frame shaking and jostling intensely.)

  • • •

  I screamed out, clutching the paracord in my hand for dear life. The cord tightened and I smashed against the side of the cliff, the granite rocky edges of the surface cutting my face and knocking the wind out of me.

  My hand clamped onto the cord fiercely, my heart hammering out of my chest.

  Oh, my God! I was suspended above a free fall of over four hundred meters.

  Victoria screamed. “Georgia, don’t let go!”

  I craned my neck upward only to see Victoria’s face over the edge of the cliff and a huge dark Panavision Primo camera pointing at me.

  Dear Lord!

  I was going to fall to my death and Cheryl would end up in ratings heaven.

  Cooper appeared next to Victoria. “Girl, don’t let go!”

  I was paralyzed with fear and couldn’t even squeak out a response. Was one even necessary? I mean, of course, I wasn’t going to let go!

  Cooper grabbed hold of the paracord, thrusting my body against the face of the cliff again.

  I screamed.

  “Hold on, baby girl!” he yelled. “I’m going to haul you up. Lord! Give me strength!”

  “Can you grab a toehold?” Victoria screamed out.

  I tried to press my foot against the cliff, but granite and gravel slid under my shoe.

  Oh, no, I was going to cause my own avalanche.

  “Don’t! Don’t do that,” Cooper warned.

  “Pass me up the chalice,” Victoria said.

  I suddenly realized that the chalice was locked in the grip of my right hand. More faces appeared over the side of the cliff: the mother-and-son team, Double D, Parker, Todd, and a whole slew of cameras. There were loud screams and gasps from the ladies, while the men generally shouted out commands, like “Get away from the cliff!”

  “Don’t worry. I got you,” Cooper said, his voice calm. “I ain’t never dropped the ball, girl. You know that? Once these hands have the ball, ol’ Coop goes right into the end zone. That’s a fact!”

  I stared up at his huge hands. They were the size of frying pans; callused and strong. I don’t think I’d ever seen anything more beautiful in my life.

  “Pass me
up the chalice,” Victoria said again.

  “Vicky!” Parker said.

  She shrugged. “I’m only trying to help!”

  Cooper hauled me up, inch by inch, until I was in reach of Parker and Todd, both of whom grabbed my wrists and pulled me over the edge. I landed in a clump on top of Cooper, who wrapped his arms around me and laughed in his hearty jiggling way.

  “Lord Almighty, in Heaven above!” Cooper said. “I ain’t never dropped the ball and I ain’t never dropped a girl!” He planted a sloppy wet kiss on my forehead and whooped out. “I saved your life!”

  Trembling, I rolled off of Cooper. “Thank you, Cooper! Thank you. I owe you.”

  “Well, great! You owe us! You can give us the chalice then,” Todd said.

  “What?” Victoria screamed. “If anything, I want it! Parker helped pull her up, too!”

  “Don’t be crazy, girl,” Cooper said to Victoria. “Georgia got the chalice fair and square. How can you all be fighting over it, when she almost died!”

  DeeCee and Daisy suddenly scampered over to the box and grabbed a golden key. They screeched out in delight and tore off toward the dirt trail. Their cameraman lurched into action behind them.

  Helen from the mother-and-son team screamed out, “Come on, Eric!” She rushed to the box, pulled out another key and then they tore off after Double D, their cameraman in tow.

  Victoria looked around frantically. “Hey! Where’s your dad? Did you send him down ahead? That’s cheating!”

  “It’s not cheating,” Cooper said. “That’s smart!”

  “Is it alliance-with-Georgia time?” Parker asked Victoria.

  Victoria gave me the fiercest dirty look imaginable. “Hell no,” she spat.

  Parker sighed, then took a key from the box and waved Victoria toward the dirt trail that led to the finish line.

  “Come on, come on!” Todd yelled, as he picked up the last key from the box. “Let’s go,” he said to Cooper.

  Cooper helped me to my feet. When I stood my ankle throbbed.

  Oh, no!

  I must have twisted my ankle when I lost my footing off the cliff moments ago.