Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery (10 page)

“He won’t be
able to see or hear you,” the deputy reminded Ellie.
 
“I’m going in to ask him to review his
statement. It’s legitimate because since then he’s been heard denying that he
ever shot anyone.
 
As I said
earlier, he’s also confessed to other shootings; his story is definitely mixed
up—part of his dementia I’d expect, but with the hearing this week it’s
reasonable for me to review the original confession with him.”

Winkler left
the room and soon he reappeared beyond the window leading a bent shuffling old
man with a straggly beard.
 
Hinson
was wearing an orange jail suit and slippers but he wasn’t handcuffed.

He sat opposite
the deputy and his eyes kept roving about the room, sometimes staring straight
at the window behind which Lin and Ellie sat.
 
It was hard to believe he couldn’t see
them.
 
Ellie seemed nervous, but she
focused intently as Deputy Winkler began to review the confession and ask
questions of Eustace Hinson.

“Mr. Hinson,
you told us you shot this young man, Peter Dunne, and shoved him over the drop
off near that overlook.
 
Threw him
down the mountain.
 
Is that how you
remember it?” Winkler asked.

“Yup, kid was
messing around. He was on my property.
 
I got rid of him.
 
I’m a good
shot,” he seemed calm and matter of fact.

“Did you see
anyone else?
 
Did you shoot at
anyone else?” Winkler continued.

The old man
seemed to be getting agitated.
 
He
began to squirm in his seat and rub his hands together.
 
He rolled his eyes and jerked his body
in the chair.
 
It seemed as if he
were reliving the moment.
 
He
suddenly jumped up, turning the chair over in the process, and yelled out in a
high, shrieking voice, “Come back here! I mean it, stop now or I’ll shoot
you!”
 
The old man raised his arms
as if he had a weapon, as if he were reenacting the moment of shooting.
 
Then he seemed to relax and he grabbed
the edge of the table to steady himself.

In a calmer
voice he said, “I had to protect my property.
 
I had to shoot those kids and throw them
down the mountain.
 
They had no
business there.”
 

The deputy went
to the side of the table and put an arm around the old man’s shoulder.
 
It’s OK now, Eustace.
 
Nobody’s gonna bother your
property.
 
We’ll take care of
you.”
 
He helped the old man from
the room.

Lin and Ellie
just stood there, waiting for someone to come get them.
 
Ellie had tears in her eyes. “That poor
old man, I feel sorry for him.”
 

“It is sad,”
Lin responded, “but with his dementia, he needs to be somewhere he can’t hurt
anyone, can’t hurt himself even.”

“I know,” Ellie
said, “but I don’t think he killed Pete or hurt me.
 
When I heard Stefan’s threat last night
what triggered my memory was his deep voice.
 
I can’t recall any words that I heard,
but I think whoever yelled at me up there had a deep voice.
 
This old man’s voice is high and
squeaky.
 
It didn’t sound familiar
at all, and did you see him—how frail he is—I don’t think he
could’ve thrown Pete down that mountain nor me either.
 
He doesn’t look strong enough.”

When they left
the law enforcement center, Ellie said she just wanted to go home.
 
She seemed tired and a bit
troubled.
 
She complained that her
shoulder was hurting and she just wanted to rest.

Lin felt
somewhat drained by their morning experiences also and was glad to get back to
the house.
 
Everything there seemed
much more pleasant.
 
The eeriness they’d
experienced with the mist and fog the night before had completely vanished with
the change in weather.
 
Sue had
already left for work in the park, leaving a note to announce that she now had
new “wheels” having concluded her car purchase that morning.
 
Lin knew that she’d be glad to go back
to work the next day, happy to return to the normalcy of her volunteer
schedule.
  
She’d already
contacted Rachel Clifford about not wanting to leave Ellie alone, and Rachel
had suggested that Lin bring her along to Linn Cove. “I have a load of files
that need to be cleared out and papers that need to be shredded.
 
She can manage that with one hand I feel
sure, and it will actually be a great help to me.
 
It will also free you and me to spend
more time with visitors.”
 
Lin was
relieved that Ellie could be with them and not be a problem for anyone.

Now the young
girl was upstairs napping, and Lin felt like she needed a respite also.
 
She grabbed a new mystery she’d actually
begun reading the week before and went out on the porch to relax and enjoy the
summer afternoon.
 
Her intentions
were all the best, but the lounge chair she’d chosen was very comfortable and
she was nodding off almost immediately.

She woke with a
jerk to the ringing of her cell phone.
 
Grabbing the instrument, she saw that it was Deputy Winkler calling.

“I wanted to
let you know that I’m bringing Stefan Kovich in this afternoon.
 
He’s being charged with the threats he
made last night at your place and with harassing Ellen Clark.
 
I’ll probably be able to keep him locked
up overnight, but he’ll likely make bail by morning. I’m going to question him
about the other information Ellie revealed—his having guns and her
thinking she might’ve recognized his voice—but right now I don’t have
enough information to charge him with anything more than the threats and
harassment.” Wicker sounded tired and discouraged, “Another thing, as you know,
the DA wants Ms. Clark to testify at the competency hearing for Eustace
Hinson.
 
That’s going to be on
Thursday.
 
I don’t need to talk to
her again since she came in today, but I just wanted to remind her.
 
I tried to call her but got no answer.”

“I think she’s
asleep upstairs,” Lin replied, “She probably has her phone silenced.
 
I’ll tell her about all this.”

“You know,”
Dave Winkler continued, “these questions she’s raised may jeopardize our entire
case here.
 
I’m sure old Eustace
will be found incompetent, but if there’s any doubt he actually did this crime,
he’ll simply be turned back over to his family to care for.
 
His sons will probably get guardianship,
but the state’s not going to send him to a secure facility unless it can be
established that he did this thing.
 
It’ll fall back on his family to care for him.”

“I take it they
might not be too happy about that,” Lin pressed.

“Probably not,”
Winkler sighed, “but I can’t help that can I.
 
Meanwhile, Stefan Kovich is also
probably going to be free on bail and none too happy about your young friend’s
accusations.
 
If I were you, I think
I’d get her out of town—after Thursday that is.”

“Thanks for
calling,” Lin replied. “I’ll let her parents know the situation and they can
discuss this with Ellen.
 
They are
planning to come up on Thursday anyway to take her home after the hearing.”

She ended the
call and went back into the house.
 
Ellen had evidently come downstairs.
 
She was in the kitchen pouring herself a
glass of soda.
 
When Lin told her
about the call from Deputy Winkler, Ellen started to cry. “Look what a mess
I’ve created,” she sobbed. “I should have just kept my mouth shut about all
this.”

Lin put her
arms around Ellen’s good shoulder and drew her close. “It’ll be alright
Ellen.
 
You’re doing the right thing,
and it will all work out.
 
Just hang
in there.
 
Your parents will take
you home after Thursday’s hearing.
 
You might want to tell them about our meetings today, though.”

“I’ll call
them, but I want to talk with Sue first,” Ellen said.
 
She was regaining her composure. “I want
to see if she can help me remember more of what happened,
 
especially if I’m going to have to
answer questions at this hearing thing, but I promise I’ll talk to them
tonight.”

***

The beautiful
summer weather continued into the next day.
 
Lin was really looking forward to
getting back to work on the parkway, and Ellie seemed happy to be going out to
help.

“It’s good to
have something to do besides worry about that hearing on Thursday,” Ellie
admitted.
 
“I wouldn’t want to stay
home.
 
I’d just fret about it all
day.”
 
The previous evening Sue had
led Ellie through a series of relaxation exercises and then guided her to think
back to the day she was shot.
 
Ellie
had been able to remember some additional information but still had no clear
image of who had shot her or how it had all happened.
 
One thing had been clear, however; she was
still convinced that the shooter’s voice had been deep and full and that
whoever it was had shoved her over the edge at the overlook and shoved her
quite hard.
 
She was still convinced
that Eustace Hinson was not the assailant, even though she’d not been able to
positively identify Stefan Kovich or anyone else for that matter.”

“I wish I had
been able to remember what the shooter looked like,” Ellie lamented. “I know
that I have more information inside my head, but it just won’t come out.
 
Everything is fuzzy in there still.”

“You’re doing
great,” Lin tried to reassure her, “after all you suffered a small skull
fracture and a concussion.
 
These
things take time to heal, and, don’t forget, it’s possible that you never got a
good look at this person.
 
Try not
to worry.
 
Just do the best you
can.
 
Tell the truth, but don’t try
to guess.”

Ellie had
received a call from the DA’s office about testifying in the hearing on
Thursday, and her parents were planning to be with her for that.
 
They were planning to take her home to Charlotte
following the hearing.
 
It was now
certain that Stefan Kovich would be released on bail soon.
 
Lin was actually quite relieved that
Ellie would be leaving.
 
She was
fond of Ellie and wanted to help her, but she realized that she would be much
safer in Charlotte with her parents. Ellie would be leaving, and Lin and Sue were
both eager to get back to a more normal routine.

Wednesday
passed pleasantly and without incident. Lin enjoyed talking with the numerous
visitors who chose to come out for a drive on that beautiful summer day.
 
She even spent part of the morning out
on the trail that led up under the viaduct, stationing herself near the big
rocks at the end to answer questions and talk with guests.
 
She also relieved Rachel at the desk for
a couple of hours.
 
Ellie worked all
day in the back office; by the time they were ready to leave, the files were in
much better shape.
 
Rachel was very
pleased to see what Ellie had accomplished.

“You can come
back anytime,” she complemented Ellie.
 
“We need someone full time to do the kind of work you accomplished today,
but it’ll never happen with our budget.
 
Thanks so much.”

“I’d be glad to
come back tomorrow,” Ellie said, “but I have to attend a hearing in court and
then I’m returning to Charlotte.
 
Maybe, if I get to come back later, I can volunteer more.
 
I enjoyed what I did today and I’d like
to continue.”

“Anytime, just
let me know,” Rachel responded.

Clouds began to
gather in the afternoon, signaling another change in the weather.
 
Ellie’s parents arrived Wednesday
evening, having decided to come up early as they planned to leave immediately
after Thursday’s hearing.
 
They
invited Sue and Lin to have dinner with them.
 
Afterward they came out to the house to
get Ellie’s things as she was spending the night at their hotel.
 

Lin felt a deep
sense of relief when she and Sue finally said good-bye to their
houseguest.
 
Extracting a promise
from Ellie to call them Thursday evening to let them know the results of the
hearing, they went inside to relax and try to enjoy their new lodgings.

The clouds that
had gathered that afternoon finally brought rain.
 
A light mist lingered bringing dampness
to the surrounding woods.
 
Visibility wasn’t as bad as it had been on Sunday when Stefan had come
to their door, but visibility was limited and promised to get worse.

“I really
enjoyed getting to know Ellie,” Sue said, “but I must admit it feels good to be
alone once more, especially knowing she’s safe with her parents.
 
I was worried about what might happen with
Stefan released and the hearing tomorrow, especially if the Hinson’s are
unhappy with the results.”

“I agree,” Lin
responded. “Besides, you came here to work and to write, not to baby-sit.
 
Neither of us bargained for that.
 
Why don’t I make us some coffee and then
you can catch me up on what you’ve found in your research.
 
You’ve told me a little, but we really
haven’t had time to talk much about it.”

Sue agreed and
went down to her office while Lin prepared the coffee.
 
Soon they were both relaxing in the
basement room, and Sue was sorting through pages of notes she’d taken when
she’d spent time at the newspaper and library the previous week.

“I really need
to do a lot more—get more details on some of the stories I uncovered, but
I haven’t had time.
 
I can do a lot
on the Internet, but I’d also like to talk to some of the folks who experienced
these crimes, if they’re still around.”

“I thought you
were focusing on the historic Tom Dula case and it’s similarity to the more
recent death of that pregnant girl, 2009 wasn’t it?” Lin asked.

“That’s where I
started,” Sue said, “but I’ve uncovered stories about other unsolved murders
along the Parkway, some in similar areas and conditions to the case of the
girl.
 
There’s even one case that
was solved and apparently led authorities to think that killer had done an
earlier crime but, after doing the reading I’ve done so far, I’m not sure
that’s the case.”

“OK, so what
have you learned? Do you have a timeline for these cases?”
 
Lin was intrigued.

“I’ve tried to
outline them in chronological order—those of recent years, of course.
 
They go back to 2008 as far as I can
tell.
 
Here, look at this.”
 
Sue handed Lin a sheet on which she’d
listed the crimes she’d read about.
 

1)
                  
August 2008.
 
A graduate student, Sandy Hill, was shot
and died while exploring the woods taking photographs of wildflowers for her
classes (at least according to her friend Jack Davis that was her plan).
 
Her camera was never found, though her
car was parked at a nearby overlook.

2)
                  
September 2008.
 
A young man hiking alone near the same
area was also shot and killed.
 
His
car was stolen and apparently driven to Florida where police had a standoff
with the car thief that resulted in his being killed.
 
It turned out he was wanted for at least
two other shootings in Virginia.
 
Authorities believed he was also responsible for the death of Sandy Hill
a month earlier near the same location.
 

3)
                  
October 2009.
 
The naked body of a young pregnant
female was found shot to death near the area where Tom Dula had buried his
pregnant girlfriend shortly after the Civil War.
 
Her boyfriend was a strong suspect;
however, no conclusive evidence was found and he was never charged.
 
The case remains unsolved.

4)
                  
February 2010.
 
The body of a man was found along the Parkway.
 
It appeared he’d been killed elsewhere
and dumped there.
 
He’d been shot
and partially dismembered.
 
Again,
case unsolved.