Free Chow Down (A Melanie Travis Mystery) by Laurien Berenson Page B

problem, I don’t have any idea. It sounded like there were two people. They must have been pretty far above me in the stairwell and I wasn’t really paying attention. I mean, why would I?”
    “Why, indeed?” Aunt Peg said tartly. Like Terry, she tends to eavesdrop as a matter of course.
    “Next thing I knew, somebody screamed, and then Larry Kim came tumbling down the steps.”
    “Did you see him fall?”
    “No. I heard him, though. He ended up on the landing above us. And then Yoda came flying down to where we were, trailing her leash along behind her. Larry must have been holding her in his arms when he fell.”
    “Lucky she wasn’t injured,” Aunt Peg mused. Trust her to gloss over the fact that a man had died and worry about the dog’s welfare. “And where was Mrs. Kim when all this was happening?”
    “Lisa told the police that Larry had hung around after the meeting was over because he wanted to have a word with the judges. He’d sent her ahead to the parking lot to open up the car and get the air conditioner started.”
    Aunt Peg didn’t comment but I knew what she was thinking, because the same thought had crossed my mind. Lisa Kim must have been more biddable than we were. Neither one of us was particularly good at taking orders.
    “So she was outside when her husband fell to his death,” Peg said. “Or at least she claims she was. Did anyone see her out in the parking lot?”
    “You’d have to ask the police about that. Though I didn’t see them asking very many questions. They seemed more concerned with consoling the grieving widow.”
    Aunt Peg nodded. “Because they assumed the fall was an accident.”
    “I told them about what I’d heard—”
    “Which was woefully vague, if you ask me. How do you know Mr. Kim wasn’t speaking to Yoda? Lots of people hold conversations with their dogs.”
    Including the two of us, I thought.
    “Yes, but what about the scream?”
    “Good point. Unusual for a man to scream, don’t you think? Are you sure it was Mr. Kim that you heard?”
    “No, but since he was the one who fell, I think it’s a pretty logical assumption.”
    “So you and Mr. Kim were in the stairwell, possibly along with at least one other unspecified person. And Lisa Kim was outside. Where were the other contestants while all this excitement was taking place?”
    “I believe the Reddings had already left. By the time the police got around to talking to us, they were long gone. Dorothy and Ben were still somewhere in the building, though both claimed not to have heard or seen anything.”
    “So you were the only witness, so to speak.”
    “Yes.”
    “And a reasonably poor one, too.”
    No way to refute that.
    Aunt Peg patted her knee and Eve stood up. Peg hauled the Poodle up into her lap, ran her fingers through the dog’s coat absently, and thought for a minute. She always concentrates better when she has her hands on a dog.
    I sipped my tea and said nothing. I’m good at that.
    “Who called the police?” she asked after a bit.
    “That was Doug Allen. He’s the vp of marketing and also the contest chair. I heard Larry fall, but I was a flight down and busy grabbing Yoda. Before I could get back up the stairs, Doug opened the fire door on the third floor and saw the body on the landing below.”
    “Interesting timing,” Peg commented. “Did he say why he happened to open the door at that particular moment?”
    “He told the police that he was on his way outside to sneak a smoke. He said he had no idea anything was wrong until he saw Larry lying there.”
    “Surely he must have seen something . Or more importantly, someone. If he was in the third-floor hallway, he should have seen someone exit the stairwell in a big hurry, don’t you think?”
    “The same thought occurred to me. I asked Doug about it, but he said that he’d been in his office grabbing his cigarettes and when he stepped out into the hallway it was empty.”
    “Pity,” Aunt Peg muttered. She hates