Worksheet
Answer Key
Dead Cold Sue Leather
Summary
When an excellent student journalist is found drowned
in a hotel swimming pool in the Pine Crest skiing
resort in Colorado, Denver Police Chief Leo Cohn
sends Detective Flick Laine to investigate. Laine
doesn’t want to go because she is still suffering from
the shooting of her police partner Scott King by big
criminal Eddie Lang two months earlier.
Initially Laine finds it difficult working with Pine Crest
Police Chief Bill Gershon, who is not used to women
detectives. Laine first interviews Janine Anderson’s
two student friends, Jeff Mason and Teresa Douglas.
Teresa found Janine’s body floating in the roof-top
swimming pool the night before at 11 pm. Laine finds
out that Janine had been coming to Pine Crest for
several years, and also that she kept a notebook, which
is now missing. And next morning one of the police
officers tells her he found a pen at the swimming pool,
so Laine thinks the killer took the notebook. She also
finds that the swimming pool could be overlooked
from the Columbine restaurant opposite. When she
questions a waiter, he reports that a man had been
coming every evening for ten days, and that he had
left suddenly the night before without finishing his
coffee, just as the restaurant was closing. She also finds
out that it was possible to get to the swimming pool
unseen by a back door.
Later Jeff comes to see Laine and tells her that
Janine had been working on a big story for a student
journalism competition at university, and that he
thought it was about Pine Crest. He also says that
Janine went to the library on a couple of afternoons
after skiing. That night Laine meets Janine’s parents
who have returned early from a holiday in Italy to
identify the body. Her father knows she had been
working on a ‘big’ story, too – one that could put
people in prison.
Laine visits the library and finds out that Janine
had been looking at books on Colorado and land
development, and old newspaper stories about ski
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Level 2
resorts and hotels. She finds out that there was
a lot of conflict between big business and nature, and
that film star Susan Hunter had been helping the anti-
development cause.
Laine goes to interview Hunter, who explains some of
the issues, particularly connected to a rich man, Ricky
Klein. Klein owns a company called Alpine Resorts
which developed and spoilt nearby Redridge. Hunter
believes that Klein bribed people in the Government
Land Office to sell the land to his company rather than
other companies which were more nature-friendly.
She tells Laine she doesn’t work for the Save Colorado
group any more because she had her neck cut as a
warning to keep out of it.
Laine visits Redridge and finds it ugly and expensive,
but she decides to go skiing. Up in the mountains, she
is stopped by a gunman, who makes her go up in a ski
lift with him so he can push her out and kill her. Laine
questions him and finds out that he killed Janine,
burnt her notebook, and that he works for Klein, who
paid money to someone in the GLO called CJ – the
Big Boss. Laine turns the table on the hit man and
pushes him out of the ski lift instead.
The hit man turns out to be a known criminal called
Tony Rizzo. Laine then finds out that the only person
who worked for the GLO in that period with the
initials CJ was Clark Johnson, who is currently the
Governor of Colorado and running for President in
the elections.
Laine gets Jeff to phone Johnson’s office saying he
knows all about the bribery story. They then wait
for another killer to come for Jeff. Laine knocks him
unconscious, and it turns out to be none other than
Eddie Lang, the man who shot her partner.
The story ends knowing Klein and Johnson, Rizzo
and Lang will go to prison for a long time, the resorts
are safe from bad development, and Laine can stop
feeling so sad about Scott King’s death and begin to
enjoy life again.
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 Worksheet
Answer Key
Level 2

Dead Cold Sue Leather

Before reading
must be cold. You can see the Mountain Hotel
1. It shows some pine trees in snow, and mist/cloud
where Janine drowned. Behind you can see the
on a mountain.
Rockies. On the wall is a news poster saying that
2. Detective Flick Laine. Find the killer of Janine.
the Governor is running for President.
3. In Colorado in the USA, in a skiing resort called
Pine Crest.
4. The pine trees grow on the mountains around Chapter 3
Pine Crest; it’s high and cold, and Janine is dead 1. l c, 2 e, 3 a, 4 d, 5 b
(NB in slang dead cold means very cold). 2. From the ski club.
3. a She wrote down her thoughts, feelings, dreams,
Check your reading and what happened and what she saw, because
she wanted to become a writer; b because they
Chapter 1 can’t find the notebook now.
1. Leo Cohn, Chief of the Denver Police, and 4. Open
Detective Flick Laine. He’s telling her about the
murder in Pine Crest. Chapter 4
2. Because she’s the best detective, and because she
1. b, e
needs to get out of the office.
2. c
3. Her partner, Detective Scott King, was killed by
3. b, c, e
Eddie Lang.
4. The feeling of being sad about losing someone
4. a red, b (50+ years – depends when you read the
close to them.
story!), c Chevrolet, d Chevy, e happy
5. She wants him to go to prison for a long time;
she’s disappointed because he wants her to stay
Chapter 2 in Pine Crest when they are close to catching
1. It is changed from Felicity, because people Lang in Denver.
thought it was a funny name at school.
2. b Chapter 5
3. a T, b F, c T, d T, e F, f F
1. To see that it really was her.
4. He doesn’t want to work with her because he
2. Proud that she was very good.
thinks that women shouldn’t be detectives.
3. It was a big story; it was going to win her the
5. Janine Anderson: 23 years old; student of
competition; maybe someone will go to prison
journalism at the University of Austin, Texas;
because of it.
parents on holiday in Europe. In Pine Crest
4. a that all the books were about Colorado and
with two student friends (Teresa Douglas/Jeff
land development; b that all the newspapers had
Mason). Died by drowning. Found in the pool of
articles about ski resorts and hotels; c that the
the Mountain Hotel by friend Teresa.
movie star Susan Hunter, who was against land
6. Clark Johnson, Governor of Colorado, running
development and new hotels destroying nature,
to become President of the USA.
lived in Pine Crest.
7. The picture shows a street in Pine Crest. There
5. The conflict between big business and nature. Big
are some people walking on the pavement
business was winning.
(sidewalk) – they are wearing warm clothes so it

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 Worksheet
Answer Key
Level 2

Dead Cold Sue Leather

Chapter 6 Chapter 9

1. a famous, b big, c tall, d beautiful, e old, 1. He killed people for money.

f expensive 2. A list of the names of people who worked for
2. By selling land they bought a long time ago. the GLO.
3. Ricky Klein gave someone in the GLO a lot of 3. The only person with the initials CJ who worked
money. for the GLO is Clark Johnson, the Governor of
4. It means to encourage a person to do something Colorado, who is running for President.
wrong by giving or promising them something, 4. Because they realise how big the situation is, and
especially money. what important people they can catch.
5. c 5. Open
6. Because she had her neck cut to stop her working
against big business. Chapter 10
7. Susan Hunter is showing Flick Laine the scar on
her neck. 1. Clark Johnson; to say that he knows the story.
2. So that Clark Johnson will send another hit man
Chapter 7 and they can catch Johnson.
3. a in Jeff ’s bedroom, b four, c on the bed,
1. l d, 2 a, 3 c, 4 e, 5 b d behind the door, e a hit man to come and kill
2. The price – it was very expensive. Jeff
3. That it is big, expensive and destroyed nature; 4. She hits him on the head with her gun.
that some people are making a lot of money 5. Because it’s Eddie Lang – the man she was
from it. looking for.
4. She wanted to try the difficult runs; their names 6. She feels very happy because Lang and the others
suggest they are dangerous. are going to prison.
5. To get into the ski lift and go to the top of the
mountain with him. After reading
6. Open
1–9. Student’s own answers.
Chapter 8

1. d, a, c, f, b, e
2. a, b, c, d
3. a Ricky Klein, b the gunman, c because she knew
too much and wanted to tell everyone about it,
d the gunman burnt it, e we only know the
initials: CJ
4. Who the ‘Big Boss’ CJ is.

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