Genre: Mystery & Suspense<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plot: A world-class athlete murdered at the olympics<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Words to use: famous<\/strong>, medal<\/strong>, sport<\/strong>, rigged<\/strong>, place<\/strong>, global<\/strong>, race<\/strong>, clue<\/strong>, steroid<\/strong>, flag<\/strong>, anthem<\/strong>, represent<\/strong>, showcase<\/strong>, honor<\/strong>, choke<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Copyright \u00a9 Rachel D. Knepp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author\u2019s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means\u2014including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods\u2014without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews or critical articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part 1<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am so excited about your retirement, Siggy,\u201d Angela Kunst poured pancake batter into the skillet, creating an imperfect circle, bacon sizzled in the oven. The buzzer went off on the microwave and she took out the slightly overcooked bacon and placed it on the counter close by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am to, schatz,\u201d Chief Detective Seigfried Kunst sat at the white dining table, the clean thin lines creating a stiff feel to the room. He had organized his plate, juice glass, and silverware in an orderly fashion in front of him. He started reading the news from his ipad as he waited for breakfast. His tie draped over the back of another dining chair, his jacket waiting beneath. \u201cSoon we will be sitting with drinks, little bright umbrellas on the edges on the beach. That is where we will begin and go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you gonna organize the sand while we’re there?\u201d she asked, a large grin lit up her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBreakfast is done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDanke,\u201d he said. He got up and grabbed the plate from her, poured syrup and sat back down. He shoved a napkin in the collar of his freshly pressed dress shirt. \u201cThere is some scandal at the Olympics. An official says that some famous<\/strong> athlete has been caught doping \u2013 with some kind of steroid<\/strong>\u2026fascinating\u2026\u201d he trailed off and began eating and reading. \u201cAnd an accusation of it being rigged<\/strong>\u2026that would be a global<\/strong> scandal if that was true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt would have been nice if we could have had the time to go and see some of the events. Are you going to be reading the entire breakfast? It is our only time together.\u201d She had a plate for herself and sat across from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am sorry, schatz,\u201d he put his ipad away into its case and his phone rang. She took a deep breath. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course,\u201d she said with a low sigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He looked at the number and gave her the \u2018I am so sorry\u2019 look as he answered the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKunst,\u201d he said into the phone. \u201cUh huh,…I see\u2026Okay, I will be on my way\u2026\u201d he hung up and slipped the phone in his inner jacket pocket. \u201cI am so sorry, schatz, I have to go,\u201d he grabbed his tie and threw it around his neck, put on his jacket with two easy movements, picked up the ipad and grabbed his car keys near the front door, hanging on his hook. \u201cI\u2019ll make it up to you with an extra Mai Tai in paradise someday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He blew her a kiss and slammed the door behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The wind whirled playfully through the air, cutting straight through to the bone. Kunst rubbed his hands together as he walked toward the flashing lights that filled the parking area of the ski shop and restaurant. Detective Grange explained over the phone that they\u2019d have to take a snowmobile up the slope to the crime scene. It didn\u2019t seem like a good idea. He didn\u2019t like the snow. It was all so untidy and the clothes were atrocious in his opinion. Plus the hat would definitely flatten and disarrange his hair. He\u2019d take pains in taking care of the remaining strawberry blond. Not much had remained now that the silver started to appear. His wife said he looked distinguished, but he wasn\u2019t sure. It was not tidy to have different shades of hair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The snow crunched beneath his boots. They were always in his trunk, carefully arranged in a bag, if he needed something more rugged than his usual loafers. They were not going to be suitable for the snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a climb, Chief,\u201d Detective Grange said, meeting him a few feet from his immaculate Audi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry about me, Grange,\u201d he replied, taking the still steaming coffee Grange had offered him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThought you might need this,\u201d the detective grinned sheepishly at his partner and mentor, \u201cgot it from the restaurant. Isn\u2019t too bad. It looks like she\u2019s been out here for a while, stiff as a board.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Detective Elias Grange had a thick coat over his suit that fit snug over his youthful frame. His hair was dirty blond, covered with a woolen hat with a snowflake motif, his freckled face flushed red from exposure to the cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere\u2019s the place<\/strong> the body was found?\u201d Kunst asked the detective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty high, up at the end of the ski lift, on the lift chair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He nodded. \u201cAnd which sport<\/strong> did the victim compete in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDownhill skiing and jumping. The team was going to be participating in a showcase<\/strong>, with each skier showing off their skills. They have all been sent back to their hotel rooms for now, babysat by some officers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhich country did the victim represent<\/strong>?\u201d Kunst had been taking sips of his coffee, looking at it with a frown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis way, Kunst,\u201d the voice of another detective broke through the chatter all around them. He dressed in full snowgear waved at them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJa,\u201d he waved back. \u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRussia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Detective Kunst\u2019s entire body went stiff, not from the cold, but with generational trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are not dressed warm enough, Kunst.\u201d Detective Grange disappeared into a tent they had erected for the investigation. He reappeared with a thick jacket, snow pants, and a hat with mufflers. It took only a few minutes to put it all on and head toward the waiting vehicle to take them up the mountain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The vehicles made a race<\/strong> up the mountain. From far away, Detective Kunst could see the men gathered around the ski lift. He saw the victim on the stopped lift chair from behind, slumped to one side. The body wore a thick, snow suit. The symbolic circles of the Olympics were emblazoned on the back of the jacket and the black pants had two feet with skis at the end. She wore a helmet, the shield protecting her from the frosty air was down, and a scarf had been wrapped around her neck and across her mouth. Men in snow suits pointed in different directions and a photographer had been taking pictures from all angles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is Detective Kunst, Alex,\u201d Grange said to the pathologist in charge, nodded toward his superior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s an honor<\/strong>,\u201d the pathologist replied. \u201cI\u2019ve heard of you through my predecessor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe honor is all mine,\u201d Kunst replied, giving him a polite bow. \u201cHe will be missed, but I am sure you will suit our needs just as well. You have some big shoes to fill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will do my best, detective.\u201d The pathologist said, fighting the urge to salute. He gave Kunst an amused look but hid the trepidation he felt. He had accepted the position before he had heard about Chief Detective Seigfried Kunst. He quickly turned back his attention to Detective Grange. \u201cHis reputation certainly has been proven true,\u201d Alex said in a whisper to Grange who smirked back. Kunst, focusing on the body in front of him, now ignored every word said around him. A trait his partner found useful at times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am assuming that the arrow protruding from her chest is the cause of death,\u201d Detective Grange said flippantly. The arrow pointed upward and it had pinned the body to the lift chair. The deep purple blood created a stain that was never going to come out and had filled the left side of the body. It pained Kunst to see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou may be right,\u201d Alex said firmly. \u201cI am not making a determination officially. You gotta wait for the report.\u201d He closed up his bag and moved away, finding someone on his team to talk to, giving the detectives their turn to look. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is Ekaterina Belova, downhill skier and jumper extraordinaire. She was slated to sweep the events, but the rumors of doping had circulated and she had been disqualified. I guess the rumors were true,\u201d Grange had been watching Detective Kunst getting a closer look at the body, her face as white as the snow, \u201cShe had been heard arguing with a woman in the athlete accommodations not too far from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJa,\u201d he replied. \u201cI see. Have we a list of those close to her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou mean potential suspects? Of course I have one, but she wasn\u2019t a very pleasant person from what I heard and had a tendency at pissing people off as well. It\u2019s gonna get longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course. Did you find anything on her person?\u201d he got up from his crouching position, looking up at the victim’s face, a trail of blood from the corner of the mouth had crusted to a dark purple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, yeah, we may have a clue<\/strong> or two,\u201d he turned and heaved his feet through the thick snow to a table set up by the crime scene techs. He grabbed a couple bags marked evidence from the table, \u201ca silver medal<\/strong> and a Russian flag<\/strong> pin. It has some fabric on the pin like it had been ripped off. Wonder if it was during a scuffle with the perp.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJa, Ja, perhaps,\u201d Detective Kunst had a look of deep thought that overshadowed his strict straight lines he usually displayed on his face. \u201cRead me the list you have so far of those who knew her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, she was a part of a team, five women,\u201d he turned the page in his notebook, \u201c I have all five of their names plus a head coach, Viktor Morozov, a jumping technique coach, Igor Volkov, her sports psychologist, Doctor Elena Markova, a equipment manager, Paval Chernov\u2026He\u2019s the one in the blue coat over there,\u201d Grange pointed to a lean man with heavy boots sinking into the snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJa, I understand there\u2019s quite a list. We should begin with her coach, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay. Hopefully he doesn\u2019t break out into song, she\u2019s quite fond of singing the Russian national anthem<\/strong> to Americans \u2014 don\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, he may have to choke<\/strong> on those notes, if he is responsible for the life of this young woman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Detective Grange snorted, \u201cListen, Kunst, let\u2019s get this part finished as quick as we can and get back to the lodge. We have a room inside the lodge we can question the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJa, good,\u201d Kunst replied, a cloud descended. A knot grew in Grange\u2019s stomach as Kunst walked toward the lodge with his own dark cloud. \u201cBut, you know me, Grange, and the way I work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n