Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery (18 page)

Lin was stunned
by what she’d just heard.
 
She
caught Sue’s eye, realizing that she too was shocked that this possible
connection had been revealed. Lin couldn’t think of anything to say, but Sue
kept her cool, reporter’s demeanor.

“Ms. Fletcher,
if you had to hazard a guess as to who was responsible for Sara’s death, what
would you say?
 
If you don’t think
Luke killed her then who did?”

Mildred
Fletcher sat back in her chair.
 
She
seemed to be thinking. “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout evidence and proof and all
that,” she ventured, “but I do know what my heart tells me.
 
I think old Eustace probably kilt my
girl—to keep her from Luke.
 
Keep her away forever.”

***

No one said
anything as they returned to their car and drove back toward Broadstone Road.
 
It was almost one-thirty and they’d
still not had any lunch.
 
Sue turned
toward the Mast Store.

“We can visit
the old store after we eat something.
 
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving.
 
We can talk about what just happened
back there while we eat.” Sue pulled into a gravel driveway directly across
from the Mast General Store that led up toward a two story white frame house
with a wide front porch.

“I read about
this place the other day, while you two were still in Davidson, and decided it might
be fun to try it.
 
It’s called the
1861 Farmhouse.
 
The building is
historic.
 
The owners restored it a
few years ago and turned it into a restaurant and wine tasting room.
 
Should be fun and the food gets great
reviews.” Sue told them.

The day was still
nice, so they elected to sit on the porch.
 
Their server brought them Mason jars filled with water; they’d had
enough sweet tea for one day.
 
The
menu listed several delicious sandwiches and salads, but Lin encouraged Sue and
Neal to try either the southern barbecue or, better still, the pimento cheese
with applewood bacon and fresh veggies.
 
“You simply have to try pimento cheese sometime while you’re here,” she
argued. “It’s a true southern delicacy and every well brought up southern girl
learns how to make it.”

“And what about
my well brought up southern girl?” Neal teased.

“Absolutely, I
learned from my mother.
 
I’ll make
some while you’re here, but meanwhile this sandwich sounds great.”

Lin herself
ordered the pimento cheese, as did Neal, but Sue opted for the barbecue
promising to try the delicacy later when Lin made it.
 
Conversation lagged while they all dug
into their food.
 
Everyone was
really hungry.

Finally, Lin
pushed her own plate back from the table’s edge. “You could’ve knocked me over
with a feather when Mildred identified Sara’s boyfriend,” she said.

“Indeed, me
too,” Sue responded. “I was also troubled by what she said regarding Eustace
Hinson.
 
I thought about all those
killings Eustace supposedly confessed to, only to deny them later.”

“Dementia is
such a puzzling condition,” Neal said. “I suppose it’s almost impossible to
determine when someone with dementia is telling the truth unless there is other
evidence also.”
 
Lin had shared with
him the ups and downs of Eustace’s arrest and later release following his
competency hearing.
 
Now she was
having uncomfortable thoughts of her own.

“ You know,
Sue, I think we might need to talk to Dave Winkler again.
 
We still haven’t heard from him
regarding what he might have learned from the Hinsons after we told him about
our encounter with Eustace.”

Neal
interrupted, “What encounter? I don’t remember your mentioning anything after
he was released to the care of his sons.”

Sue started to
speak, but Lin signaled that she wanted to tell this story.
 
She described their walk in the woods
when Eustace “ordered” them off his land.
 
“We didn’t report it at the time, because he was unarmed, he did nothing
to actually hurt us, and we knew his condition.
 
We weren’t really in any danger from
him,” she said. “We did tell Deputy Winkler about the incident when he came to
investigate the shooting at our front door last week.
 
He was going to talk to the Hinsons, but
we haven’t yet heard what he might’ve learned. I didn’t tell you about this
before, Neal, because I had a strange reaction to the incident myself.”
 
She continued, describing her panicky
reaction—her almost paralyzing fear.

“I was going to
tell you about it, but I didn’t feel quite ready to talk about it yet.
 
Sue has been helping me with relaxation
strategies, and I’ve begun practicing yoga again.
 
It seems to be working; I’ve not had
another experience like that, not even when our intruder shot at the front
door.
 
After hearing what Mildred
Fletcher said this morning, I decided it was time to talk to Deputy Winkler
again and time for me to talk about how I felt, also.”

Neal reached
over and squeezed her hand. “Thanks for telling me.
 
I agree that you should talk to the
deputy again and also report what Mrs. Fletcher said, although she probably
told that to the sheriff years ago.
 
I’m glad you haven’t experienced anything like that again, and I hope
you never do.” He left his hand atop hers.

“I hope so too,
and I’m going to keep working on the relaxation strategies and the yoga.
 
Sue convinced me that I’ve had a lot of
stress in my life this past year—a lot of changes.”

“You’ve
certainly had more than your share, I’d imagine,” Neal said, “but I hope your
relationship with me hasn’t contributed to the problem.”

“No, that’s the
good part of all that’s happened,” Lin hastened to reassure him, “ but you have
to admit that falling in love and deciding to get married is a pretty major
life change—for both of us.”

Neal was forced
to admit that was true.
 
“I realize
that even good changes lead to stress in our lives, but I hope having me in
your life makes it easier to deal with other things.
 
I know that’s true for me where you’re
concerned.”

Sue interrupted
almost giggling, “OK, you two.
 
I
think we can all agree you’re good for each other, but we need to decide what
steps to take now.
 
What are we
going to do next?”

Neal looked at
his watch.
 
“It’s after three
now.
 
I suggest that you call the
Sheriff’s office and see if you can talk to this Deputy Winkler, or somebody,
as soon as possible.
 
You need to find
out if he’s learned anything about your intruder.”

“And I think we
need an update regarding the investigation into the shooting also. We’ve heard
nothing and it’s been quite a while now,” Lin added.

Sue
agreed.
 
She went out on the porch
to make the call.
 
Neal insisted on
picking up the tab for their lunch.
 
Lin went outside to wait for him just as Sue was ending her conversation.

“Dave Winkler
isn’t in right now, but he’s expected to be back shortly,” Sue said. “If he
doesn’t make it, someone else can talk to us.”
 

“I hope he’s
there when we arrive,” Lin responded. “I don’t have much confidence in those
young officers who know nothing about the cases we’re talking about, I’m
afraid.”

Neal rejoined
them and they headed across the street to the store. “We won’t stay but a few
minutes,” Lin insisted. “We do need to get back to town, but I want Neal to at
least see this place.
 
We can come
back later and spend more time.”

Neal found the
old store just as enticing as they had on their first visit.
 
“We definitely have to come back,” he
smiled as they got back in the car. “ Next time we have to go to the annex you
told me about—to get candy, of course.”

Shortly
thereafter they were seated in the reception area at the sheriff’s office
waiting.
 
A young man approached
them.
 
Lin recognized him as one of
the officers who had come out when they had received the threatening note.
“Deputy Winkler is on his way back here right now,” he offered, “but I can talk
to you folks if you don’t want to wait.”

“We’ll wait.”
Sue spoke quickly. “He’s familiar with the person we need to talk about
already,”she added, hoping she’d not sounded short earlier.
 
Neal struggled to suppress a laugh.
 
Sue gave him a hard look. “You’d feel
the same way if you’d been dealing with this situation.”

“I know. I
know.
 
I’m sorry—it’s just you
had such determination in your voice,” he apologized. “Believe me.
 
I know what you mean.
 
After dealing with law enforcement in
Flagstaff and then down on the coast, Lin and I both appreciate the value of
working with someone who already knows all the background information.”

About that
time, Dave Winkler walked in the door.
 
He seemed surprised to see them.
 
Perhaps no one had told him they were waiting for him to return.
 
He seemed to realize that they were
there to see him, however. “If you folks will go on down to the conference room,
I’ll join you in a few minutes.
 
I
just have to drop off these papers.”
 
He indicated the file he was carrying.

When he joined
them a few minutes later he asked, “What brings you in today?
 
Have you had any more problems out at
your house?”

“Not so far,”
Sue replied, “we wanted to share some information about our friend Eustace
Hinson, and we also wanted to get an update on your investigation into the
threat we received and the shooting incident at our home—what you
might’ve learned when you talked to the Hinsons.
 
We were also wondering how the
investigation into the shooting of Ellie Clark and Pete Dunne was progressing.”

Winkler seemed
troubled when he spoke.
 
He shuffled
nervously in his seat.
 
“Tell me
about old Eustace.
 
What has he been
up to lately?”

Lin was puzzled
by this response, “Perhaps you can tell us?
 
We’ve not seen the man since the
incident we told you about earlier.
 
You indicated then that you planned to talk to the Hinsons.
 
We’ve been waiting to hear if you
learned anything more about who might have taken that shot at our front door.”

Winkler seemed
a bit uneasy, “ I did talk with the Hinsons, but the entire family was together
at Hiram’s home the evening your home was shot at; I believe they said it was a
family birthday celebration.
 
Anyway, it couldn’t have been one of them.
 
I did speak to them about your encounter
with Eustace.
 
Apparently, he was
out with his grandson, Luke Taylor.
 
They went fishing in Reedy Creek and then Luke decided to go further
upstream to see if the fish were biting better there.
 
Old Eustace must’ve wandered off and
that’s when you met him.
 
I talked
to all of them about keeping a closer eye on him.
 
He could wander off and get lost.
 
I told them that he didn’t do you any harm—there
would be no charges or anything, and they agreed to keep a closer eye on
him.
 
Bottom line is that it
couldn’t have been a Hinson who shot at your front door.”

Sue spoke up,
“Then have you uncovered any more information in your investigation.
 
Someone was there.
 
Clearly, someone is trying to intimidate
us.”

Winkler
squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable with this situation.
 
“Frankly, Ms. Gray, I haven’t a clue as
to who might’ve shot at that piece of pottery.
 
Maybe it was an accident.
 
Some kid firing at targets or
something.
 
These things happen you
know.”
 
His irritation was evident.

“On a foggy
evening?” Sue queried. “That hardly seems a likely explanation. How can you be
so certain the Hinsons are telling the truth about the family all being
together that night?”

Winkler was clearly
upset at Sue’s question.
 
He could
barely control his anger. “I’ve known the Hinsons all my life.
 
They are hard working folks.
 
They don’t have much, like a lot of our
mountain folk.
 
They farm a little,
fish, hunt, you name it—just to eke out a living.
 
They are proud people.
 
They don’t ask for anything from
anyone—just to be left alone.
 
Whatever you may think of their lifestyle, I know them as honest
people.
 
I’d take their word over a
stranger’s anyday.”
 
The lawman’s
implication was clear.

Lin could tell
that Sue was getting angry herself.
 
She spoke up quickly to change the direction of the conversation.
 
“Well, if you don’t have any answers to
share with us, maybe you’ll be interested in some information we learned this
afternoon.
 
Information about
Eustace Hinson that relates to one of your unsolved murder cases.”
 
She turned to Sue.