Chapter 21

As Miss Marple hurried towards the cliff edge, she thought she saw a shadow disappearing into the nearby grove of trees; however, she had no time to pursue it for she was too concerned about Jess.

Reaching the spot where she had earlier stood with Mr. Brent and company, Miss Marple looked down and was relieved to see the girl lying upon the ledge where the gun had been found, her eyes closed but otherwise seemingly safe for the moment.

"What has happened?" Lady Merchant's voice was heard calling out as she hurried across the lawn. "I thought I heard..."

"You did," Miss Marple said, putting a steadying hand upon the lady's shoulder as she came to a sudden stop upon the cliff. "I believe she's injured, but her fall was stopped by the ledge."

Lady Merchant looked down upon her friend, the concern evident in her eyes. "Jess! Jess, are you okay?"

"She should be safe for now, but she'll probably need assistance climbing up," Miss Marple said, having seen the way the unconscious girl's ankle was awkwardly twisted beneath her. "Now quick-go get the men. I shall stay with her until you return."

The lady paused, trying to decide which course of action would be best, and finally came to the same conclusion as Miss Marple and ran off towards the hotel.

Miss Marple then returned her attention to the girl upon the ledge, who now seemed to be waking. Her eyes fluttered open, and her hand reached for where she'd evidently hit her head as she groggily mumbled, "What...? Oh..." She attempted to lift her head but was suddenly overcome with dizziness and rocked ominously towards the edge.

"Just lie still, Miss Parker," Miss Marple called down to her. "You are going to be fine. Help is on its way."

Lowering her head back down, Jess looked up, and the moment her gaze focused upon Miss Marple above, the girl's big blue eyes widened as the memory of what had just happened evidently came rushing back to her.

"You are safe," Miss Marple quickly soothed. "We will get you up soon." She glanced expectantly in the direction of the hotel but could not yet see anyone past the trees. Returning her attention to the girl below, she asked, "Do you recall what happened?"

Jess shook her head, cringing at the sudden pain. "I was just standing on the cliff, lost in my own thoughts, when suddenly..." She shuddered as the terrifying memory returned. But then her mood shifted, and she anxiously asked, "Did you see anyone? Did you catch him?"

Miss Marple shook her head, wondering if perhaps she should've pursued the shadow into the trees. But it was too late for that now, and she inquired, "Did you see who pushed you?"

Jess frowned as she shook her head, no doubt from the pain as well as the disappointment in not being able to identify her attacker.

"Don't fret," Miss Marple said. "We can worry about finding the culprit once we get you off that ledge."

Miss Marple was impressed with the courage of the girl, who seemed to take a steeling breath before attempting to adjust her injured ankle. However, the movement dislodged the large rock her foot had landed on, causing it to overbalance and plummet over the cliff, startling Jess so that she instantly burst into tears.

Miss Marple's heart broke for the hurt and obviously frightened girl stranded upon the narrow ledge below and quickly tried to soothe her. "You're okay. You're not going to fall. Just hold on." Glancing up, she noticed what appeared to be several figures hurrying towards them, so Miss Marple was quick to add, "Your friends are coming now, I see them. Just hold on."

At the mention of the others, Jess quickly tried to wipe away her tears. She looked up at Miss Marple, her voice desperate as she begged, "PLEASE don't tell them I cried."

Miss Marple thought crying had been a perfectly reasonable response to a terrifying situation, but the girl's pleading was so pathetic that she nodded, reassuring, "I won't say a word."

She then turned back to the approaching figures, who had almost reached them. Lady Merchant had brought with her Abby and, surprisingly, Inspector Harper, who must've just been returning to the hotel.

As they ran up to Miss Marple, Lady Merchant explained breathlessly, "I could not find the men, so I brought Inspector Harper instead."

The detective, luckily, did not seem to even notice this comment, so intent was he on ensuring for himself that Jess was, in fact, alive and not in eminent danger. "Miss Parker, thank goodness!" he exclaimed with relief as he observed her lying upon the ledge below.
"Are you injured?"

Jess nodded. "My ankle's twisted."

Miss Marple put a hand upon Harper's shoulder and added in a low voice, so only those upon the cliff top could hear, "She also hit her head and was momentarily knocked out-she's still extremely dizzy."

The Inspector's eyes opened wide, realising the danger this spelled for the girl upon the narrow ledge, and immediately began to throw off his suit coat, obviously intent on climbing down to her himself.

However, Abby stopped him with a firm, "No, I'll go." She gave the tall man a meaningful look, clearly not wanting to say more for fear of upsetting the girl but making clear her concern that the crumbling ledge might not be sturdy enough to handle someone of the detective's stature.

Luckily, Harper seemed to understand what she was implying, yielding the direct rescue effort to the petite blonde girl without protest.

Abby started to scrabble down the steep cliff, dislodging assorted dirt and rocks as she went, causing tension to all present.

"Emily," she called up as she went, "go find Becker. He'll want to know."

But Lady Merchant frowned, clearly reluctant to leave her endangered friends.

Recognising this, and realising that she herself could do little else at the moment, Miss Marple quickly volunteered, "No, Lady Merchant, stay with your friend. I shall go find the others."

The lady gave her a thankful smile before turning her attention back to her two friends down below. Miss Marple hurried back towards the hotel, hoping she could find the Captain and his friend quickly.

...

to be continued