She took a step back in horror.

She tried to recover her thoughts, before speaking again.

“He was dead, you say?”

“At that point, I wasn’t certain. I waited for a moment to see, expecting him to jump up and start attacking me. Finally, I tapped his side with my shoe and told him to get up, before I made it painful for him.”

“Did he respond?”

Scott did not answer.

She spied him intently.

“There was a strange silence in the room, and I heard the passing of air. It occurred to me that he might have hit his head. He might have been knocked out by the fall. I wasn’t that concerned, but I did want to know. So, I locked the bedroom door and put the key on the inside. Then, I turned on the light to get a better view.”

“What did you see?”

“He was there with one arm bent under him, unnaturally. He wasn’t moving at all, so I turned him over and saw a dark wet pool on the floorboards. I knew it was blood, and I couldn’t believe it!”

“What caused it?” she asked.

“There was a wound in the man’s neck, which I sensed the woman must have caused, during their struggle, allowing her to escape.”

“Oh.”

“I looked around for a weapon, believing more likely than not, that the woman had left with it. That’s when I found the knife.”

“The knife?”

“It was wedged under his chin, as he lay on the floor. It had a long dark handle and a blade that was very wide.”

“So, she stabbed him?”

“Well, the most probable explanation of how Rivers came by his death wound, to my thinking, was that he’d had the knife in his hand, when he fell.”

“Are you sure?”

“He tripped and it pierced him with the force of his entire body falling on it.”

“Then, it was an accident?”

She seemed to draw great relief from the notion, as the tension was released from her body.

“I can say that it was, most assuredly,” he said. “All the same, it had an ugly look to it, and it didn’t take me long to realize that I was in an unhealthy situation.”

“Yes,” she said.

“I still had to find my way out. I waited and was able to get out into the hall. Then, I heard more voices down below me. I peaked down and saw couples passing through to the sitting room.”

“What did you do?”

“I had to act quickly. The butler’s stairs were blocked by a couple at the bottom. I had to find another way out. So, I retreated to the loft room and locked the door again.”

“With the key inside.”

“You can imagine my emotional state at the time, standing there in that locked room alone with a dead man, open to the charge of murder!”

“But, it wasn’t you!” she protested.

“It wouldn’t matter, I feared. There was no time for that, anyway. I had to figure out a way to escape, and I had to act quickly. Then, I remembered the rope.”

“What rope?”

“As a young kid, we’d used a nylon rope to scale down from the window. It was a fun game we’d do, when no one was around to catch us, acting like soldiers and all.”

“Where were you going to find a rope?”

He smiled.

“It was a miracle, I tell you. As kids, we used to hide our nylon rope in a secret panel in the back of that closet.”

“It was still there?”

“After twenty-nine years!”

“Was it not rotted?”

“In fact, I knew that the length was fine, but I just needed to make sure it would hold my weight.”

“What choice did you have?” she asked.

“Not much.”

“Still, that sounds risky.”

“I opened the window and made sure no one was out there. Then, I made a loop in one end and tossed the other over the arm of the window grate. I found that it was going to be strong enough to hold me, but I had to be able to carry my weight on the other end.”

She nodded.

“Well, it held and I held just fine.”

“With the door locked from the inside, it would look like suicide.”

“Sure. In fact, it would have all passed, if not for Lawrence Rivers.”

“Oh.”

“That’s practically it,” he said. “I left the knife and the body and lowered myself down by the rope. On the ground, I ran around to the back and tossed the rope into the lake, before making my way back to the hotel.”

“You didn’t know someone saw you?”

“No. I thought I was safe.”

“Because it was dark?”

“Let me tell you, though, I was a bundle of nerves! I seriously thought of begging off and not going at all to the Ball. I was pressed to go, when the concierge seemed upset about my absence and told me that my suitcase had been waiting on me for a while. I felt I had to make a showing to prevent any suspicion.”

“So, you came along?”

“I showered and changed. By that time, I had relaxed enough to start wondering who the woman was. I hadn’t seen her face, but I was pretty sure I knew who she was.”
Amanda said nothing.

“Well, but there were several women at the Ball who were tall,” he said, dismissively.

She inhaled and let it out slowly.

“So, it never occurred to you to suspect me?” she asked in defiance of her nerves.

He ignored her question.

“After we met, I found Manning and the dark red stains on Maryanne’s dress. It was an unpleasant shock to me, with Maryanne in the middle of it.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, let’s see, Neal Rivers was pitching for Maryanne. Manning comes along, and she throws Rivers aside.”

“Rivers objects and comes after her.”

“Yes.”

“That’s very clever,” she said.

“And, that’s my story.”