Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery (11 page)

5)
                  
March 2010.
 
A man was reportedly seen sitting at a
picnic table in Jeffress Park with a long gun of some sort.
 
Visitors were concerned, called the park
service, then went on a hike to the Cascades.
 
The man was described as wearing
overalls and boots with a wide-brimmed hat.
 
Witnesses thought he had a beard but
didn’t really get a close look.
 
The
ranger who came to investigate was apparently shot to death.
 
No one saw the shooting, but when the
visitors returned from their walk and came upon the scene, the man they’d seen
earlier was gone, and the ranger was already dead.

“Those are just
the basic facts,” Sue reported. “I have more information but nothing that
points to a solution in any of these cases, except that the first two have been
closed by authorities.
 
They feel
that Sandy Hill was killed by the same man who killed the hiker a month later.”

“This is
amazing,” Lin said. “I can’t believe there’s been so much violent crime in this
peaceful place.”

“I was
surprised too,” Sue replied. “I knew of the case involving the young, pregnant
woman, but I’d never come across the others.
 
After we found Ellie and learned about
what happened to her and to Pete, it really made me wonder about these other
killings when I read about them.
 
They happened more than two years ago; however, all of them involved a
shotgun as a weapon and all occurred in similar environments along the road.”

“Do you think
we have a Parkway serial killer out there?” Lin was aghast at the prospect.

“I really don’t
know what to think,” Sue said. “It’s been a long time since the earlier
killings occurred; they may not be at all related to what happened to Ellie and
her friend.
 
Shotguns are pretty
common in this area.
 
I’d imagine
lots of people have them, so that might not be at all significant—but it
does give you something to think about.
 
I definitely want to learn more about all of these crimes.”

“Dave Winkler
mentioned that Eustace Hinson had ‘confessed’ to several other killings in some
of his conversations.” I wonder if any of these were among them. Of course, he
also denied killing anyone at times, too,” Lin said.

“I’m afraid
Eustace’s word is not very dependable, given his dementia,” Sue responded. “However,
it does give one something to think about.
 
It’s certainly possible that the old man has been involved in other
violent acts that his family may never have known about.”

It was growing
late and they had to work the next day; they decided to call it a day and head
upstairs.
 
Lin gathered their cups
and headed up to the kitchen as Sue declared she was going to take a hot shower
before she went to bed.

***

Thursday proved
to be a rather routine day on the Parkway.
 
The weather showed signs of worsening once more, but a relatively steady
stream of visitors still came out to enjoy the sights.
 
Lin enjoyed having more time to spend
interpreting the exhibits for visitors now that much of the office work had
been accomplished.
 
From time to
time she thought about Ellie and hoped that the hearing was going well.
 
She was looking forward to talking with
her later and learning what had happened.
 
Mostly, she felt happy that the young girl would be returning home with
her parents, away from Stefan and the threats he presented.
 
It was a relief to know that she and Sue
wouldn’t be responsible for the girl’s safety any longer.

After working
all day, Sue decided that they didn’t need to cook, so they decided to stop at
Foggy Rock, a restaurant and pub in Blowing Rock, for an early dinner before
going home.
 
They unwound with
delicious sandwiches and tall cold glasses of beer.
 

“This is more
like it,” Sue commented, “more how I’d pictured our summer in the Blue Ridge
when we made our plans.”

“And,
hopefully, this is how the summer will go from now on.
 
Of course, this thing with Ellie may
result in charges filed against someone, and there may be a trial if that’s the
case.
 
We might have to be witnesses
since we found her,” Lin commented.

“We can cross
that bridge when we come to it, I suppose,” Sue added, “after all, such things
can take a long time and, if Eustace Hinson is actually guilty, it may never
happen.”

“I know,” Lin
replied, “Ellie seems pretty sure that the voice she heard was not his, but I’m
sure having a deep voice is not enough to substantiate charges against Stefan
Kovich. Who knows what will happen there?”

They finished
their meal and then headed for home.
 
The weather was definitely shifting and light rain was falling by the
time they arrived.

“I’ll make some
coffee,” Lin offered, heading back toward the kitchen while Sue went upstairs
to shower and change. “I’ll put it on before I go up; it should be ready by the
time we come back down.
 
Hopefully,
Ellie will call soon.
 
I want to
know what happened in today’s hearing.”

Lin noticed
from the kitchen window that the fog and mist had returned much like the first
of the week.
 
She turned off the
lights for a moment to minimize the reflection, but she still couldn’t see much
beyond the back porch.
 
Flicking the
switch to illuminate the kitchen once more, she began grinding fresh beans for
their coffee.
 
She’d just finished
and was heading back toward the front of the house to go upstairs when she
heard what sounded like a rustling somewhere near the front porch.
 
The sounds were eerily similar to those
made the night Stefan had come.

 
Lin quickly doused the lights and moved
to the window beside the door.
 
She
just caught a glimpse of a hunched figure moving down the steps.
 
She only saw the person from the back,
and whoever it was appeared to be wearing a hooded jacket of a dark color.
 
There was no way to recognize who it
might be although size and height suggested a man.
 
The figure was visible for only a second
before it disappeared in the swirling mists, but this time Lin clearly heard
the sound of a vehicle starting up and driving off.

She realized
that her heart was pounding, and she was hyperventilating.
 
Whoever the person was, he hadn’t tried
to enter the house, hadn’t called out, and hadn’t even rung the doorbell.
 
Why was he here? What did he want?

She sat down on
the lower step leading upstairs.
 
She could hear the sound of the shower running above her.
 
Finally, she felt her heart slowing and
her breathing was easier.
 
Whoever
it was was gone now, she reasoned.
 
No reason to stay frightened.
 
We’re all locked up here.
 
She decided to open the door and check the front yard.

As she pushed
the screen door aside, she felt it drag on something.
 
Looking down she spied a piece of ragged
cardboard that appeared to have been cut from a box.
 
She stooped to pick it up.
 
The cardboard was damp from the mist. There
was some sort of writing on it, but it was too dark to see it clearly.
 
Lin looked out into the yard.
 
The shapes of the trees emerging from
the fog seemed to threaten her.
 
The
fine, swirling mist bathed her in dampness and she shivered, even though the
temperature was quite moderate.
 
She
hastily went inside, locking the door firmly behind her, glad to face the
bright lights of the comfortable rooms surrounding her.
 
She hated the fogs, hated the feeling
they gave her of being bound—confined within an island. They seemed to
turn the world into a surreal landscape.

Mentally
chastising herself for giving in to the eeriness of the outside surroundings,
Lin took the cardboard into the brightness of the kitchen where she sat down to
examine it.
 
A note had been crudely
lettered—it looked like a child’s scribbling in black crayon.

You
need to be careful.
 
I will not
forget what you have done.

You
need to leave this place before something bad happens to you too
.

There was no
signature of any kind.
 
Lin thought
for a moment the writer might’ve thought Ellie was still present; however,
something bad had already happened to her—maybe the threat was directed
to her and to Sue.
 
Even though
there was no signature, she felt certain the writer must’ve been Stefan
Kovich—now released on bail and ready to take his revenge.

Lin looked up
to find that Sue had come downstairs already dressed for bed.
 
She handed her the note. “This was just
left on our front porch.
 
I saw the
person who left it, but only from behind as he returned to his car.
 
I wouldn’t be able to identify anyone,
but I think it was a man.
 
Whoever
it was didn’t try to come in, didn’t ring the doorbell even.”

“I think we
know who it must have been,” Sue remarked as she returned the note to the
table. “It had to be Kovich.”

“Do you think
it was directed at Ellie?
 
He’d have
no way of knowing she was home in Charlotte with her parents.”

“No,” Sue said
firmly. “I think his use of the word ‘too’ in the last sentence means this is
directed toward us.
 
Evidently he
blames us for his arrest and for his trouble at the university.
 
Maybe, he’s implying that he’s
responsible for the bad things that happened to Ellie as well.
 
I don’t know, but we have to call the
sheriff and we’d better do it tonight.”

Sue went back
upstairs to change from her nightclothes while Lin dialed 911 to report the
incident.
 
Two deputies arrived
about twenty minutes later.
 
One of
them came inside to talk to Lin and Sue while the other tried to examine the
scene outside to determine if anyone was still in the area.
 

Lin told the
young officer who was taking down their information what she and Sue
suspected.
 
She tried to fill him in
on the background information.
 
He
shook his head as he tried to write down everything she was telling him. “I
know the cases you’re talking about, but I’m not really familiar with
everything that’s happened,” he confessed. “I’ll take this note in to check for
fingerprints, but since both of you have touched it, you’ll need to come in to
have your print’s taken also.
 
Perhaps
you should also talk to Deputy Winkler as he seems to be the one handling these
cases.”

About that time
the young man’s partner came inside. “Man, it’s bad out there.
 
I checked all around, and I don’t think
anyone is near the house.
 
I can see
where a car was parked near the road, but it’s too wet and dark to check tire
tracks or look for footprints.
 
Someone will come back out tomorrow when it’s light, and hopefully, the
weather has improved.

“We’ll need you
both to come to the law enforcement center tomorrow,” the two men prepared to
leave.
 
“Meanwhile, keep your doors
and windows locked and we’ll call the guys on patrol and tell them to drive by
here as they’re making their rounds tonight.
 
You might also leave the outside lights
on, although in the fog they’re not much help.”

Lin and Sue
agreed to do all this as they escorted the men to the door.
 
When they’d left, Lin turned to her
friend, “I’m not sure we’re ever going to have a regular week of volunteer work
here.
 
We’re going to have to take
time off tomorrow also.”

“Well, the
morning at least,” Sue agreed. “If we can finish up at the law enforcement
center early, we can get to work by afternoon.”

“I certainly
hope so,” Lin replied. “I’m ready to be done with all this for sure.”

Later, as she
lay in her bed, Lin found herself reviewing all the events of tonight and the
last few days.
 
She was tired and
stressed, but sleep just wouldn’t come.
 
She kept thinking about all the unsettling events they’d been involved
in since their arrival.
 
How was it that
she always seemed to be getting involved in such things?
 
On top of that, she kept thinking about
the cases Sue had told her about.
 
It seemed to her that there was a pattern, at least in some of
them.
 
Was there a killer still on
the loose out there?
 
Could Eustace
Hinson actually be responsible for this rash of killings?
 
If so, where did Stefan Kovich fit
it?
 
Was the shooting of Pete and
Ellie somehow tied to earlier events, or was it the result of a deranged man’s
idea of possessive love?
 
She didn’t
have answers to these questions, but she realized someone needed to find
them.
 
Someone needed to find a way
to put an end to these deaths before someone else was victimized.
 
Now it appeared that Kovich blamed her
and Sue for his misfortune.
 
Finally, Lin slipped away into a troubled sleep, but not before remembering
that Ellie had not called to inform them about the hearing.
 
She resolved to try to reach her the
next day.