Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery (22 page)

Lin realized
that Sue had come to the door to see why she was still sitting in the car.
 
“What’s wrong?” her friend asked.
 
“Come on in.
 
I’ve got coffee ready.”

Lin smiled as
she got out of her vehicle, “I just had to collect my thoughts now that I’m
finally here.
 
You won’t believe who
was driving that truck I almost hit.”
 
Lin gathered her things and headed for the house.

The tantalizing
aroma of fresh coffee drew Lin toward the welcoming light of the kitchen.
 
She noted that Sue hadn’t neglected the
“sugar” part of the equation for stress relief.
 
There was a plate of warm, fresh
brownies on the kitchen table.

Lin had
finished relating the story of her encounter with the Hinson man and was into
her second brownie when her cell phone rang.
 
She saw that it was Neal; she’d promised
to call him and had completely forgotten. She answered apologetically, “I’m
sorry I forgot to call, Neal.
 
It
was rainy and foggy on the way back so it took a lot longer than usual for the
trip.
 
I just got here.
 
How was the shuttle from Phoenix?”
 
She diverted the conversation back to
him, not really wanting to tell him about her encounter just yet.

“It was slow,
as usual—too much time at the stop in Camp Verde.
 
I can’t figure out why a rest stop and
food break is needed for a two hour trip anyway.”

Lin quickly
brought the conversation to a close.
 
She was eager to talk more with Sue about her experience.
 
She promised to call Neal again the
following night after she returned from work.

“This hits the
spot,” Lin said as Sue refilled her coffee mug. “I can’t believe I encountered
another Hinson.
 
They seem to keep
popping up, especially in that area.”

“So it seems,”
Sue replied. “I remember though, that Deputy Winkler told us their home was nowhere
near there; old Eustace wasn’t ordering us off his property.”

“Yes, but there
has to be some reason he was there, some reason the man I encountered tonight
was there.”

“Would you
recognize him if you saw him again?” Sue asked. “Do you think he could’ve been
our intruder?”

“He certainly
was big enough, tall and broad-shouldered,” Lin responded, “but I really didn’t
get a good look at the person who was on our porch.
 
He was wearing a hood of some sort.
 
The man I met tonight was dressed
differently.
 
His jacket collar was
turned up, and he had a broad-brimmed hat, but I do think I’d recognize
him.
 
He scared me, especially the
way he held on to the window glass, almost like he was trying to make sure I
couldn’t close it easily.”

“But, from what
you said, he really didn’t threaten you, even though he wasn’t happy about us
or our involvement with Ellie.
 
He
couldn’t have known who you were when he first stopped, maybe his intentions
were good, at least initially” Sue opined.

“Maybe,” Lin
conceded, “but I still found him frightening.
 
I almost went into another of those
panic attacks, but my yoga breathing rescued me again.”
 
Lin sat back sipping her coffee,
reflecting on what had happened, trying to figure out why she felt something
was amiss in this story.
 
She
thought back over the Hinson man’s words.
 
Suddenly, it hit her.
 
This
man had spoken with someone at the sheriff’s office about her, about Ellie
staying with her and Sue.
 
He’d
connected them to his father’s hearing, but she and Sue hadn’t been present at
the hearing.
 
To the best of her
knowledge she hadn’t ever seen this man before—not at the courthouse, nor
any of the times they’d been to the sheriff’s office.
 
Of course, he might’ve seen them there,
but Lin was sure they’d never actually met—so, how did he recognize her,
how did he know who she was?
 
She sat
quietly, thinking about all the possibilities.
 
Finally, it dawned on her.
 
There were only a couple of ways this
could happen.
 
The Hinson man
could’ve possibly seen her, and maybe Sue, sometime when they weren’t aware of
it, or—he could’ve seen her when he was tampering with the steps on their
back porch.
 
There was only one
possible way he could’ve learned their names, where they lived, or about the
fact Ellie had been staying with them.
 
The only connection was Dave Winkler or one of the other deputies they’d
met with.

More than an
hour later Lin and Sue were still sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee
and discussing various theories about how the Hinson man had recognized Lin and
what his connection might be to Winkler or one of the other deputies.
 
They still couldn’t be sure about when
he might’ve actually seen them, but they’d been in the courthouse and the
sheriff’s offices several times and he could’ve seen them on any one of those
occasions.
 
They wouldn’t have
recognized him, so they could’ve been totally unaware of his presence. Dave
Winkler had spoken about the family’s circumstances and the difficulties they
might face in caring for Eustace.
 
Apparently, the Hinsons were known to him.

“I’ve wondered
for some time how anyone could learn where we were staying.
 
Other than the park service folks and
Ellie herself, only the sheriff’s men have knowledge like this.
 
Someone in that office must’ve told the
Hinsons where we were living.
 
Of
course, some of Ellie’s friends knew when she was here, but those friends
wouldn’t have had any contact with the Hinsons. They were probably responsible
for Stefan Kovich knowing where Ellie was, however.”

 
Sue reflected on their newly drawn
conclusions. “I really think that Dave Winkler might’ve given the Hinson’s our
address and pointed us out on some occasion.
 
I don’t trust that man, and I know he
wants me to quit gathering information about those unsolved murders.”

“Well, you’re
always telling me to be cautious and not jump to conclusions without
evidence.
 
I guess I should offer
the same advice.
 
He may not like
what’s happening, but that doesn’t mean he would want to put us at risk.”
 
Lin felt it was important that they
exercise caution, but she had come to the same conclusion Sue held.

“That may be
true,” Sue agreed, “but, whether he identified us intentionally or not, he’s
the only person I can think of who would’ve had contact both with us and the
Hinson family, and I still believe the authorities haven’t really tried to find
our intruder.
 
I think it’s pretty
obvious that they just want us to go away.”

“Perhaps we
should confront Deputy Winkler about this.
 
Find out if he did talk to the Hinsons.
 
Insist that he investigate the
possibility one of them was our intruder,” Lin suggested.

“I don’t think
he’d take us seriously,” Sue replied. “I believe he’d say we were imagining
things.
 
After all, the man you
encountered tonight didn’t really threaten you.
 
He was mad about his father, but that
was all.
 
We can’t make accusations
based on feelings.
 
I’m not
suggesting we drop the matter, but I think we need to find more evidence more
we confront anyone.”

“You mean look
into things on our own?” Lin asked.

“Who else is
going to do it?” Sue was determined.

By this time
they’d finished all the coffee.
 
Sue
put away the rest of the brownies. “We both have to work tomorrow; we really
should try to get some rest.
 
If
this fog remains, and I think it probably will, we’ll have to leave early to be
on time.”

“By the way, in
all the excitement about your encounter with Hinson, I forgot to mention that
you might be getting a change of assignment after tomorrow,” Sue said. “One of
the seasonal rangers at Moses Cone has just gotten a permanent position at
Great Smokey Mountains.
 
They needed
him right away, so he left yesterday.
 
The parkway folks won’t be able to get a replacement for at least a
month or two, and they want another volunteer to help take up the slack.
 
I think they plan to talk to Rachel
about sending you up there.
 
We have
a lot more visitors than Linn Cove does, and we are really understaffed,
especially with the craft shop and the extensive grounds and carriage roads to
cover.”

“That will be
fine,” Lin said. “We could return to riding to work together, at least on some
days.
 
It’s up to Rachel, but I’d be
happy to work there.
 
I’ll have to
leave my credit card at home though; the craft shop is just too tempting.”

On that note,
they both went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed.
 
Lin suddenly realized how tired she
really was.
 
She’d had a very busy
day and her fogbound ride up the mountain, not to mention the encounter with
the Hinson fellow, had been quite stressful.
 
She did a few yoga exercises before
hitting the shower, and by the time she got into bed and turned out the light,
she was almost asleep already.

***

The fog had
largely lifted by the time Lin arrived at Linn Cove the following morning.
 
A few banks of wispy clouds clung to the
top reaches of Grandfather Mountain and swirled just above the viaduct, but
they soon burned off as the sun rose above the tree level.

Rachel had
evidently already talked with someone about Lin’s switch in assignment and
asked her if she felt ok about doing that.

“I’ll miss
being here, of course,” Lin replied, “I’ve really enjoyed working with you and
hope to get back here before my volunteer stint ends, but I do understand the
need they have at Moses Cone, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy being there as well.”

“Since this is
your last day, I’d really like to finish up that collection of educational
materials we’ve been working on,” Rachel said. “It’s almost completed, indexed,
and filed; I think it will only take a couple of hours to finish up.”

“I’ll get right
on it,” Lin said, as she headed back to the office area. By lunch time the task
was complete.
 
The day had grown
warmer; Lin took her sandwich outside and sat on the rocks under the
viaduct.
 
One more private picnic,
she thought.
 
She wondered if there
were places at Moses Cone where one could really get away from visitors, even for
a short while.
 
She caught herself
almost immediately.
 
Of course,
there were.
 
She and Neal had
enjoyed a walk entirely alone the day they’d stopped to see Sue.
 
The park there was really quite large,
and Cone had built more than twenty-five miles of carriage roads when he owned
the estate.
 
Today, visitors enjoyed
walking and riding on many of these paths.

When she
returned to the visitor center, Rachel was on the telephone. She finished
talking and called Lin into her office. “That was Pat Dane, she’s the head
ranger at the Moses Cone location.
 
She asked if I could let you leave a little early so you could stop by
and talk to her.
 
That way she can
fix your schedule, and you’ll be ready to start first thing tomorrow morning.

Lin agreed that
was a good idea.
 
She gathered her
belongings and headed up to the Cone park area.
  
The parking lot was full when she
got there, but she managed to find a spot down at the end near the
stables.
 
When she went inside she
found herself surrounded by visitors.
 
The porch was crowded with folks watching two older women demonstrate
their quilting skills while other guests milled through the rooms of the craft
center choosing merchandise to purchase and standing in line to check out.
 
Lin caught a glimpse of Sue in the park
bookstore.
 
She was busy ringing up
purchases for a customer who had selected several books.
 
Others waited patiently in line to pay
for their selections.
 
Pat Dane was
talking with a group of visitors gathered on the front steps, telling them
about the Cone family and life in the mansion when it was their summer
home.
 
She caught Lin’s eye and
signaled for her to wait for a few minutes.

While she
waited for Pat to complete her presentation, Lin went back inside to the
bookstore.
 
There was only one register,
so she couldn’t help Sue ring up purchases, but she tried to make herself
useful by answering questions and assisting customers in finding what they were
looking for.
 
Soon Pat appeared and
asked that she follow her to the office area in back.

“I can see why
you need more help here,” Lin remarked as she took the seat Pat offered.

“Believe me, we
need all the help we can get.
 
Because of the crafts, the horses, and the miles of roads to walk, we
have an almost endless stream of visitors.
 
At the moment, the only things we can really cover are the house and the
stables.
 
That means no one outside
to monitor and assist visitors.
 
How
do you feel about walking?” Pat eyed Lin carefully, perhaps assessing her
overall fitness level.

“I think I can
handle walking pretty well,” Lin replied. “In fact, I’d welcome the opportunity
to get out and have more exercise.
 
Sue and I have been trying to get to the Wellness Center in Boone on a
regular basis, but sometimes we just can’t seem to get there.
 
Getting some exercise out here would be
perfect.”

“I know that
Sue would like to get out more also,” Pat said. “We’ve talked about having the
two of you rotate—taking turns outside and in the bookstore.
 
The Blue Ridge Association has the craft
shop pretty well taken care of.
 
If
we could have someone in the bookstore and someone out on the walking trails
that would be a big help.
 
We need
to make sure our visitors stay on the designated paths and that they can get
help in case of any mishaps.”

Pat pulled out
a calendar and together she and Lin prepared a schedule.
 
Lin and Sue would share responsibilities
for the bookstore and the walking paths.
 
“We won’t have full coverage because you ladies can’t work all day every
day, but this will be a big improvement and will help us compensate for the
loss of our seasonal.”

By the time Lin
had finished talking with Pat, Sue was ready to leave as well.
 
It was almost five and they both felt
the need to unwind for a bit.
 
Neither of them wanted to cook so Sue suggested that they plan to eat
out.

“Tell you
what,” Lin suggested. “Let’s go home and change, grab our swimsuits and head
for the Wellness Center.
 
We can
swim for a while and then go out for something to eat.”

“Sounds great,”
Sue said as she got into her car. “See you at home.”

Swimming laps
in the heated pool proved to be the perfect solution to the need to just unwind
and relax.
 
“That felt great,” Lin
said as she headed for the locker room to shower and change.

“Ditto to
that,” Sue replied. “Now I’m starving so be thinking about where we could go
for dinner.”

The night was
pleasantly warm and clear, quite a contrast to the foggy night of the previous
day.
 
Lin was in the mood for
Mexican food so they stopped at Los Arcoiris just down the street from the Wellness
Center for enchiladas and burritos.

“What is your
schedule tomorrow?” Sue asked.
 
She
knew that Pat had planned for them to rotate between the bookstore and outside
but didn’t know the details.

“I’m working
half a day tomorrow from eight until noon,” Lin replied. “I’m scheduled to be
outside walking some of the trails until about eleven, then I think Pat wants
you to show me the ropes in the bookstore so I can rotate there and you can
have some outside time too.”

“I’m looking
forward to that,” Sue remarked. “I love the bookstore and the people are so
interested.
 
I enjoy talking to them,
but I miss being outdoors too.
 
I’m
off at noon also.
 
We could ride to
work together, and I have something in mind for the afternoon, if you don’t
have any plans.”

“What plans
would I have? Neal’s back in Arizona.
 
What did you have in mind?” Lin replied.

“I want to look
up Luke Taylor, Eustace Hinson’s grandson, Sara Fletcher’s boyfriend.
 
I’d really like to know his take on her
murder.
 
He was a prime suspect at
the time but was never charged, of course.”

“Do you know
how to find him?”

“Only if he’s
still living with his grandfather,” Sue replied. “Mildred Fletcher gave me that
address.
 
Hopefully, Luke is still
there.”

“It’s possible
Eustace isn’t there any more, maybe he’s moved in with other family so they can
care for him.”

“That may be,”
Sue continued. “But, if that’s the case, I still think we can find Luke.
 
I’ll bet the whole family lives in the
same general area, even if they don’t all live in the same house.
 
Someone can probably help us find him.”

“Count me in,”
Lin said. “I certainly don’t want you to go out to see anyone in that family
alone, and I would also like to know more about them.
 
I’m tired of having things happen to us
but not getting any answers as to what’s really going on.
 
Besides, detective work is interesting
and fun,” Lin smiled.