“Who’s there?” I called out. Not that I was afraid or anything. Nothing happened in Chagrin Falls. Statistically, I’d read, our little village was safer than 82 percent of all other cities in the U.S. But it would be nice to know who I was sharing the hillside with.
“Hellooo,” I called out again.
Nothing.
I looked down at the scoop in one hand, the bowl in the other and then at the snow. Even in the dim lighting cast from the street above, the snow glistened. Fresh. Soft. Inviting. More than the depth required by the recipe. It was a perfect spot to do what I’d come down to do.
But for some reason I decided to see who it was who wouldn’t answer me instead.
I walked down the path that followed the river. It was difficult going. Hard to see for want of light and tough to walk because the snow was deep and the path irregular. A couple minutes in, I was starting to get out of breath and was ready to give up, when I heard the noise again.
It was higher up the hill than where I stood, so I followed the sound of the footsteps. The person had to hear mine, too.
“Hey!” I said. “What are you doing down here?”
I’m sure they were wondering the same thing about me.
Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. A multicolored scarf. Long. Loud. A distinct contrast against the dark silhouette trying to make its way up the hill back to the street. Close enough to the light to let me know the intruder had been a child.
“What were you doing down here?” I muttered as I stood and stared as the figure made its way back to the sidewalk and darted out of view.
This wasn’t the smartest place to be. Especially alone.
Ah . . . Had the kid been alone? Us kids used to hang out around the falls in groups.
I looked around and listened. But there was nothing other than the sound of the water running over the falls. I shook my head. Here I was worrying about it being unsafe for someone to be down here and I was out here as well.
But I had a good reason.
I chuckled. One I was going to get back to right now.
I veered off to the right, stepping carefully down the small incline I had taken chasing the noise I’d heard.
But before I could get back to the path, my foot bumped into something hard and solid. Something that wouldn’t budge, and I took a tumble. I nearly did a head flip, and must have rolled a couple of times before I came to rest facedown in the snow.
“Owww!” I said as I rolled over and sat up. “What the heck!” I rubbed my head and shook it to make sure I was okay. Nothing appeared loose. Finding that I was still in one piece, I stood up. Brushing the snow off me, I walked back up the few feet I’d tumbled to see what had made me fall.
“Oh my God!” I said, trying hard to stifle a scream.
It was a body lying in the snow.
chapter
SEVEN
Flashing red and blue lights lit up the dark, dreary corner where North Main and Bell streets met. Yellow crime-scene tape draped around trees cordoned off the perimeter of the wooden overlook. Floodlights invaded the stillness that surrounded the falls, and voices bombarded my eardrums. I was numb, but not from the cold.
I had panicked once I realized I’d tripped over a body. Not a panic born from fear, but from the fact that I didn’t know how I could help. What to do. Blowing out a breath, I’d had to calm myself so I could figure it out.
It was dark and I hadn’t been able to see clearly enough to make a decision. Had the person still been alive? Should I try to start some life-saving measures?
Not that I knew any . . .
Should I go get help?
The body hadn’t moved, even after my falling over it.
Not a grunt. Not a moan. Not a whimper.
Feeling with my hands in the dark, I found a face. I leaned in, my face close, to see if I could feel a breath.
Nothing.
I laid my head on its chest to listen for a heartbeat.
Still nothing.
I should call for help.
Crap. I’d left my cell phone in my knapsack, sitting on the prep table in the ice cream shop. All I had was my aluminum bowl and scoop, so I started banging them together.
“Help!” I yelled out, and hit the scoop on the side of the bowl. “Hey! I need help! Anybody! Somebody help me!”
But all my noisemaking hadn’t gotten one response. I looked down at the silhouette of Dead Guy and back up to the street. No lights from passing cars. No footsteps crunching in the snow.
I needed to get up the hill to get help.
But the snow was thick and cumbersome. I trudged up at a slow crawl, my feet sinking into the snow with each step forward, my gloves wet and covered with the powder. It seemed to be deeper and heavier the harder I tried to get up to the sidewalk. Bent over, hands clawing in the snow up the incline, I was out of breath with heavy legs by the time I made it to the top. Once my feet were planted on the sidewalk, I had to place my hands on my knees to catch my breath and slow my heart before I could go any farther.
Knowing what lay at the bottom of the falls made the night more ominous. The streets more deserted. The lights more dim.
I looked one way down Bell Street, then the other, not quite sure where I should go to get help. I just knew that I wanted to tell what I knew. Get someone else there with me. Then my eye caught sight of the woven scarf I’d seen on the kid who’d been down the hill with me. With Dead Guy.
I started to grab the scarf but thought better of it. People always come back to where they’ve lost their things to find them. The little boy might return. Maybe I’d report the lost item to the police.
The police . . .
I had to call the police. Or an ambulance.
I scurried around the block, past the front of the ice cream shop to the side door, and unlocked it. I hastily dumped the contents of my knapsack and had to catch Grandma Kay’s tin recipe box as it tumbled out before it dropped onto the floor. Hands slightly shaky, still breathing hard, I found my phone and pushed in the three numbers.
“911. What’s your emergency?”
* * *
- - - - -
After I ended the call, I had to make a restroom pit stop to try to collect myself. I wondered if I had done all I could to help. I shook my head. There hadn’t been anything I could have done. He hadn’t moved. He hadn’t made a sound. He wasn’t breathing and I didn’t know how long it would be before someone came along to help.
I ran warm water over my hands at the sink, dried them off and started to head back into the kitchen to get my knapsack, and ran right into Felice.