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spot a murderer?”
    LeeLee looked at her as if surprised she hadn’t guessed. “Because, of course, the murderer must have been at my party last night.” She said. “As the caterer, you had a chance to observe everyone silently. Surely you might have seen or heard something?”
    Victoria shook her head. “I remember seeing the victim yesterday, but no one else. She only drank water. I remember being surprised because everyone else was indulging in champagne.”
    “Ah,” LeeLee smiled. “That’s a big clue, wouldn’t you say?”
    “How so?” Victoria asked.
    “Isn’t it obvious?” LeeLee asked. “I never touch a drink myself, you know.”
    “You’re saying that this woman was… abstaining because she was once addicted?” Victoria asked.
    “Sounds that way to me,” LeeLee said. “Wouldn’t you think so? But in that case, who was she? What was her motive in coming to my party?”

Chapter 8
    Pondering over LeeLee’s words the next day, Victoria thought that the case seemed nearly impossible. The sequence of events seemed so unlikely somehow. Almost like something that would happen in a glitzy Hollywood movie. A glamorous woman with no identity, a party that seemed far too lavish for the small town of Larch, a murder on a hidden hiking trail… If she concentrated hard enough, maybe she could...
    “Why?”
    Victoria blinked, and saw Corporal Jager sitting in front of her, a menu open in front of him.
    “Sorry?”
    “Why?” Corporal Jager asked, staring at her.
    “Why what?” Victoria asked back, giving a little nervous laughter.
    “Why are you so interested, for one?” Corporal Jager said. “You have two active children, duties as a maid of honor, a busy restaurant to run, and a home that must need a lot of cleaning. You’ve got more on your plate than the average CEO, really, what with all the decisions you must have to make every day. So why is it that you’re determined to solve this murder?”
    “I’m… what gave you the idea I’m determined to solve this murder?” Victoria asked.
    “Because I saw you with that abstract look on your face once before.” Corporal Jager said. “That was when Boyd was murdered. I have to admit, even though it rankles me, you were the one to solve that case. I was completely clueless.”
    “I’m sure you would have cracked it too,” Victoria said.
    “I don’t care much,” Jager said. “It’s not a competition for me, who solves the case and who doesn’t.  But it does interest me that you take time out of your very busy day to try and figure out motives and find clues.”
    “You make me sound like Miss Marple.” Victoria laughed. “I promise you, I’m not a brilliant detective.”
    “No? Maybe not. But you are a natural at connecting seemingly disconnected things together.” Jager said. “Aren’t you?”
    Victoria shrugged. “I don’t know.”
    “You’re also good at dodging questions,” Jager said. “Why haven’t you answered mine?”
    “It’s curiosity, that’s all,” Victoria said. “I’m curious about who did it, I’m curious about why a woman wearing a fancy Italian overcoat would hike with no shoes and then throw herself, or be thrown, over the ledge.”
    “You don’t believe she’s a spy,” Jager said. “Do you?”
    “Not really,” Victoria said.
    “Why not?”
    “If she were a spy, I think that whoever killed her would make sure it looked very much like an accidental tourist death,” Victoria said. “As it stands, I believe this is an amateur’s murder. A local has done it.”
    “Well, you can’t be sure,” Jager said. “Alright, so maybe it wasn’t a trained spy who killed our Jane Doe. Perhaps she was a spy herself, and blackmailing a man at LeeLee’s party. What then? Couldn’t he have killed her in a fit of passion?”
    “There are a lot of cliffs in the area,” Victoria said. “A lot of places for a man to throw a woman off if he wants to.”
    “...or she, we’re not sure our murderer is