I went to Englishman River Falls park with the idea that the falls could be used as a place to stage a murder. As I stood on the bridge over the river and looked out at the the rock shelf, I watched two people pick their way across it to get a better view of the falls where the river sweeps into the deep crevice. I could imagine those people arguing, one slipping and as he fell, hitting his head on the rocks. When this happened the second person would freak out and hurry away, leaving the victim to expire by drowning or from the head injury.

Or perhaps the victim would fall over the cliff, down into the shallow swimming hole behind the rock shelf and there drown or die from injuries suffered as a result of the fall. That one was difficult, though, because there’s a high fence at the top of the cliff. The victim (and murderer) would have to have climbed the fence and be on the edge of the cliff for the scenario to work, because pitching an unwilling victim over a five foot fence wouldn’t be easy.

The big trouble with both the scenarios was why? Why were the victim and the attacker there in the first place? Why would they be scrambling around on the rock shelf while they argued? Why would they be on the wrong side of the fence when they argued?

Timing was also an issue. The falls and swimming hole are popular locations in the summer months. We were there in the middle of  a weekday and there were lots of people around. You can’t have a whodunit if everybody sees the murder and knows who the killer is. The incident would have to happen at night, then, or in the evening. Again, I ask why? Why go to a rural park to have an argument that results in a death?

I had better luck at Little Qualicum River Falls Park. At first I didn’t think there was much I could use here. The river flows through a ravine and the falls are less impressive than the ones at Englishman River. The breakthrough came as we were leaving.

We’d stopped to admire the view of the river. Above us, on the top of a hill, was a picnic shelter. There was a set of rock cut stairs leading up to it. I went up to explore and discovered that the parking lot was visible from the shelter. That made sense. Who wants to lug a picnic hamper a long distance from the car? Still, though the shelter would be visible from the parking area, it was far enough away to be secluded. And, at mid afternoon on a weekday it was completely empty. The park itself is open until 11 pm, so a meeting in the evening, around dusk or even later, would be possible. Two people, sitting at one of the picnic tables, talking, wouldn’t be noticed. If an argument ensued there would be space for the victim to jump up, move around, perhaps try to walk away.

The best part of the location was those rocky stairs and the steep slope down to the path at the edge of the ravine. Easy enough for my victim to lose his footing, tumble down, and hit his head. If it happened at dusk, or just after dark, there probably wouldn’t be anyone around to find him until the next day and by that time it would be too late to help him.

My ah-ha moment at Little Qualicum is the best part of doing site visits. You never know what ideas seeing a place and being there will generate. Now, I don’t promise that I’ll be using the picnic shelter in the book, because I still have the issue of why? But it’s started me thinking, and that’s all part of the process.