Thin Ice Read Free

please.”
    â€œThat’s very kind of you. Thanks.” Marshall picked up a mug and they all sat around the wicker table.
    â€œI still feel awful that I didn’t do something right away,” she said. Though she had described seeing a man leaning over the iron railing, above rippling water, Jane Emond hadn’t witnessed the actual attack, nor seen Curtis Ritchie’s fall into the canal. She hadn’t thought what she had seen was worth reporting at all, until she noticed the police cordon a couple of hours later.
    â€œI don’t think there’s anything you could have done to save him,” Smith said, as Emond ran her manicured fingers over the top of her mug. He put her in her mid-thirties and he couldn’t help notice the absence of a wedding band. From the condo and its contents though — all notably high-end — she seemed to be doing just fine on her own. What the hell would she want with marriage?
    â€œDo you have any idea what happened?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts. “I guess I shouldn’t ask. I know you can’t …”
    â€œI’m afraid we don’t know much yet, but we’ll find out,” Marshall said. “Can we go back to the man you saw by the rail? You said he was big. Can you be any more specific about his appearance?”
    â€œHe looked … imposing, even from over here. He was wearing what looked like a hoodie, and maybe sunglasses.”
    â€œDid you get a sense of his height?”
    â€œHard to say, and he was leaning on the rail when I saw him, maybe bent over a bit. He certainly wasn’t short.”
    Smith watched as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you sure about the sunglasses, Ms. Emond?”
    â€œJane, please. And yes, he was definitely wearing dark sunglasses. It seemed odd, since it wasn’t sunny at all, at that time.”
    â€œAnd do you know exactly what time it was that you saw him?”
    â€œBetween six thirty-five and six-forty. I’m fairly certain because I had just listened to the local news, and it’s usually about five minutes long. I poured myself a coffee and went straight over to the railing. That’s when I saw the ripples in the water, and then I noticed the man.”
    â€œAre you usually out here at that hour of the morning?” Marshall asked, as he sipped his coffee.
    Emond smiled, revealing pearly-white teeth. “No, not on a Saturday. I was actually thinking of going for a run myself. I try to get out a few times a week, never on the lower path though, it creeps me out a bit. But I never thought …” She shook her head. “Anyway, I decided I was content to drink coffee and enjoy the warm morning air instead.”
    â€œCan’t blame you,” Marshall smiled back. “So you see the rippled water, then this big guy leaning over the rail. What then ?”
    â€œI watched him as he looked around for a few seconds. I wasn’t sure if he was thinking of going in himself, like maybe he dropped something in there by mistake. But he didn’t. He just moved away from the rail and started jogging off toward the bridge.”
    â€œDid you see whether he left the path at the bridge?”
    â€œYes, he definitely went up toward Queen Elizabeth Drive. I lost sight of him in the trees.”
    â€œWas he running fast, or just jogging?”
    â€œJust jogging. That’s kind of why I didn’t think much of what I saw down by the water. He didn’t look like someone who had done anything wrong. For all I know, he tossed a downed tree branch into the water, you know?”
    Smith sensed her guilt at not calling it in right away and gave her an exculpatory nod, which she acknowledged with a brief smile, before lowering her mouth to the rim of her mug.
    â€œAnd just to be clear,” Marshall continued. “The man you saw was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses and had a large build. Would you say he