In investigating the suspicious death of Genessee Fallows, it was the fourth question Chief Samuel Upton asked himself that clinched the case: “Where and when were Marty Kulik and his truck at the exact moment when the twelve-year-old died?”

Marty’s elaborate alibi involved his wife Vivian and their three-year-old daughter Bethany. It began – or so he said – on Saturday afternoon, July 4th. Friends had invited his family to an Independence Day party in their backyard. Vivian drove her Chevrolet Impala there from work. Marty, at home at the time, strapped baby Bethany into the child-safety seat of his Ford pickup. He stated that he was not sure when he left his house, but he was certain he arrived at the party just as his wife was pulling into their friends’ driveway, at around 3:00 p.m.

It had been a fun celebration. They ate hot dogs, threw Frisbees, and drank beer. At a little after 8:00 p.m., though, Bethany began to fidget, so Marty decided to take her home. Vivian, unwilling to forsake the festivities, told Marty that if he wanted to leave, he should take the baby and just go.

Since Marty wanted to do the right thing by his three-year-old, but he also wanted to return to the party. He called his neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Fallows, on his cell phone on his way home. He asked if their daughter, Genesee, who often babysat for Bethany, was free for the night. Marty suggested that Genesee could sleep on his den sofa, and in the morning, he would drive her home.

Genesee liked Bethany and loved to watch the Kulik’s large, flat screen TV, so she readily agreed.

Marty picked her up at 8:20 p.m. on Saturday, July 4th and they drove to his house. Upon his arrival, he noted that his wife’s car was parked in their driveway, which meant that she, too, had decided to leave the party. No longer needing a babysitter, Marty told Genesee to wait in his pickup while he brought Bethany inside and put her to bed. Minutes later, he returned to the vehicle.

He continued – and this is where his alibi got interesting – that he had driven half-a-mile toward Genesee’s house on Blackthorn Road when the young girl suddenly announced that she had heard many wonderful things about Melting Moon Lake, and since there was a full moon that night, instead of going home, she would like to see if it really did melt into the surface of the lake.

Kulik told Chief Upton that he saw no reason not to comply with the twelve-year-old’s request, so he turned the pickup around and followed the dirt road over one hill, down the next, and past the forsythia hedgerow separating the lower field from the cabin grounds. While the engine was still running, he backed to a stop beside the lake. Genesee, excited about seeing the moon’s reflection, flung open the passenger-side door, jumped out, and ran to the water’s edge.

Marty Kulik admitted that he knew Genesee had gotten out of the vehicle, but he had not known she was standing directly behind it. Fearing that he was too close to the shore, he put his pickup into drive to pull away from the lake. Or, as he said, he thought that he had put his truck in drive. But … horribly … it was still in reverse.

When he gunned the engine, his rear bumper slammed into the little girl. Marty felt the impact and heard a scream. He leapt out of the truck and shouted Genesee’s name.

She did not respond.

He returned to the truck for a flashlight and shone it over the water. After a few seconds, he saw Genesee’s body face-down in the reeds.

Then, he said, he panicked. He convinced himself that what was happening could not possibly be happening. He would drive home, take a sleeping pill, and go to bed. When he woke up the next morning, he would realize that it all just had been a bad dream.

“What time did you get home?” Chief Upton asked Marty Kulik.

“A little before midnight.”

“Did anybody see you after you arrived?”

“No. My wife and daughter were asleep.”

“What about Sunday morning?”

“Genesee’s parents called a little after eight to ask about her.”

“What did you tell them?”

“That I had driven Genesee home at 7:00 a.m., just an hour before they called, and that I had seen her walk up to their front door.”

“And that was a lie?”

“Yes. But I didn’t kill her. It was an accident.”

“Then what?”

“Then you got here.”

All of which meant that even though Marty Kulik had no alibi for his activities after he left the party on the Fourth of July, there was no way to discredit his version of events or to prove that the twelve-year-old babysitter in his care had been murdered.

Continued Next Week

Copyright © Shelly Reuben, 2024. Shelly Reuben’s books have been nominated for Edgar, Prometheus, and Falcon awards. For more about her writing, visit www.shellyreuben.com