Miguel nodded. “Your roller coaster is to remain nonoperational until further notice. As for the rest of the park, I would recommend you keep this incident as quiet as possible.”
With that, Rosa and Miguel left Mr. Henderson to deal with the airplane ride and returned to Detective Sanchez at the roller coaster with Jimmy Thompson in tow. The whole time, Jimmy was muttering, “I didn’t kill him! I couldn’t have killed him.”
“Mr. Thompson, please.” Rosa placed a finger to her lips. “I recommend that you refrain from speaking until you have a solicitor present.”
6
When Rosa and Miguel returned to the scene, Detective Sanchez, along with several policemen who had recently arrived, stood just inside the yellow rope. Taking regular walks to keep the crowd back, Detective Sanchez said, in his usual brash tone, “Keep moving, people. Nothing to see here.”
The gate to the control booth now sat open, but there was a large sheet draped over it and the surrounding area to hide what was behind. Two sets of shoes were visible under the sheet, so Rosa assumed a paramedic and perhaps Dr. Rayburn had arrived.
Once they were on the other side of the rope, Miguel had a quick and quiet conversation with Detective Sanchez.
Jimmy still chattered on. “He kicked the bucket? I can’t believe it.”
It wouldn’t take long for Jimmy’s unbridled thoughts to cause a stir, but soon Detective Sanchez had him by the arm. “Let’s go, Mr. Thompson,” he said, leading the poor carnie away.
Miguel cleared his throat to make an announcement to the gathering crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you’ll give me your attention for a moment. I’m Detective Miguel Belmonte of the Santa Bonita police. I’d like to put your minds at rest. No one who has ridden on the Sea Viper Roller Coaster tonight has been harmed.”
People looked confused by this statement, especially with the yellow rope right in front of them. “However,” Miguel continued, “there has been an incident, and one of the boardwalk employees has been hurt. I’d like to ask that you have respect for the injured person and give us some space to work. Please.” He motioned around him. “Go on with your night!”
Rosa recognized the police photographer, Officer Richardson, moving around the roped-off area taking photographs. He and Rosa had become acquainted on their previous case, and unfortunately had gotten off on the wrong foot. Rosa was determined to stay out of the churlish officer’s way if possible.
Another policeman posted more CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE signs. Miguel and Rosa both moved toward the white sheet to see if Dr. Rayburn was ready to confirm the cause of death, but as they did, Rosa heard Gloria’s loud and boisterous voice.
“Oh, there you are!” she said, walking purposefully toward Rosa. “I’m so sorry I took so long, but the manager of the Lobster Bar and I got to chatting, and well, you know how time flies . . .” The moment she seemed to clue in to the strange scene, Gloria stopped her explanation and stood in place. Their friends, whom Rosa had momentarily forgotten about, stood nearby, whispering behind the roped-off area.
“Gloria!” Marjorie shouted. “You’ve missed all the excitement.” She dropped to a loud whisper. “Victor Boyd is dead!”
Rosa caught Marjorie’s gaze with a hard glare. “Shh. The police want to keep this quiet, Marjorie.”
Marjorie smirked. “Oh, everyone’s talking about it, honey,” she said rather loudly, as though she wasn’t about to take instruction from Rosa.
“Ladies!” Rosa whispered, waving for the four to gather close. “Yes, there’s been an unfortunate accident, but we need to keep quiet. The assistant medical examiner is taking a look, and then we’ll know more, but the last thing we want is to make a public spectacle.”
“Hmph. Not unfortunate, if you ask me,” Marjorie said, crossing her arms.
Nancy patted her sister’s arm. “We’ll keep it down, Rosa. But what’s going on?”
“Why are you asking her?” Marjorie said. Then to Rosa, “What makes you the boss here?”
Pauline said nothing, but Rosa could see the question behind her eyes.
Gloria jumped in. “Oh, Rosa is a police officer with the London Metropolitan Police Department.”
In unison, the jaws of Marjorie, Nancy, and Pauline dropped and closed again like three stunned fish.
“Y-you’re with the police?” Marjorie finally stammered.
Gloria responded proudly, “She’s already helped the Santa Bonita Police solve a crime.”
Rosa remembered both ladies as young teens, always trying to one-up each other.
“I consulted on one case,” Rosa said.
Marjorie murmured to Nancy in a voice that was plenty loud enough for Rosa to hear. “A woman police officer from London?”
Her implication was clear: what business did Rosa have inserting herself into police business?
Marjorie had a point, and if Rosa hadn’t found the body, she wouldn’t have gotten involved.
Pauline, silent as always, had moved to the side, as though she might get a glimpse past the white sheet blocking Dr. Rayburn and Victor Boyd’s body.
“Rosa!”
Miguel’s voice reached Rosa, and he waved her over.
“Wait a minute,” Nancy said. “That’s Miguel Belmonte . . .” Her brow raised in question.
Rosa shook her head sharply. “It’s professional.”
A paramedic made his way out of the roped-off section, followed by Dr. Rayburn, who ducked from behind the white sheet. Rosa, leaving her friend, joined the pathologist and Miguel as they were about to confer. Dr. Rayburn’s deep-blue eyes settled on Rosa for a long second.
“Cause of death?” Miguel asked, needing it stated officially.
Dr. Rayburn answered solemnly, “Electrocution is my best guess until I can do the autopsy.”
Like the first time Rosa had met Dr. Larry Rayburn, his Texan drawl threw her off. She fought a grin at his every word; after all, this situation demanded seriousness.
“I’d estimate the time of death at about sixteen forty-five,” Dr. Rayburn continued, which was only three minutes earlier than Rosa had noted. “The park closes soon.”
Rosa was surprised to look at her watch and see it was already near 6:00 p.m.
“I’d like to have my team come and remove the body,”
