Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery (26 page)

I’d better snap
out of this mood Lin thought, or I’ll really feel depressed.
 
She heard Sue stirring in the kitchen
and went in to help her with preparations for supper.

***

When they’d
finished eating and cleaning up the kitchen, Sue went downstairs to her office
to work more on her research notes. “I’ll try calling the listings for Jack
Davis and see if I can make contact,” she added.

Lin went
upstairs to shower and shampoo her hair; by the time she’d done that it would
be evening in Arizona and maybe a convenient time to call Neal.
 
He’d only been gone since Saturday but
it felt like they’d been apart for weeks—she missed him a lot.

It was almost
nine o’clock when Lin picked up her cell phone to make the call—six in
Arizona.
 
Neal answered on the
second ring.
 
His voice sounded a
bit weary when he answered.

“Sounds like
you’ve had a long day,” Lin said.

“Long and
tiring, but I accomplished a lot.
 
I’ve sorted through all my furniture and labeled items to be picked up
for storage.
 
The rest I’m going to
try to sell, but if I can’t, I’ll probably donate them.
 
The realtor thinks the buyers might want
some pieces.
 
They’re coming by
tomorrow to look.”

“Sounds like
you’re making good progress.
 
Have
you managed to line up some help?” Lin was eager for the whole process to move
forward quickly so Neal could return.

“Some,” Neal
said.
 
“The storage company will
send a truck over to pick up the pieces I’m putting there.
 
Later they’ll pick up some of my
boxes—they’ll ship them to North Carolina for me when I’m ready for
them.
 
That’s a big help.
 
A friend of mine gave me the number of
an agency that provides day labor for twenty bucks an hour.
 
I think I’ll call them after I’ve
finished discarding stuff, when I’m actually ready to pack.”
 
Neal knew why Lin was asking these
questions, “I’m working hard toward completing the whole process in two
weeks—if all goes well.
 
I
miss you too, you know,” there was a chuckle in his voice.
 
“Now catch me up on what you’ve been
doing.”

Lin spent the
next half hour catching Neal up on the changes in her assignment on the Parkway
and on the visit she and Lin had had with Olivia Lee.
 
She also told him that Mark Scott was
checking into having the FBI look at some of these old unsolved murders.
 
She was careful to avoid talking about
Luke Taylor—afraid she might give away her wedding present surprise.

Neal listened
patiently to her long account.
 
When
she’d finished, she noticed the usual silence on his end of the line.
 
She well knew that Neal was always
trying to bury his own anxieties about her activities that touched on crimes
and criminals.
 
He was trying to
curb his own protective instincts where she was concerned, knowing what her
reaction would be.

When he finally
spoke about what she’d told him, it was to offer a measured caution to be
careful.
 
Sometimes Lin felt as if
she shouldn’t tell him about such things, but that would violate her promise to
him and to herself to always be up front and honest about her
activities—of course, sometimes she postponed telling him things but…

When Neal’s
side of the conversation began to sound suspiciously like telephone
sex—at least what Lin perceived that might be like—she decided it
was time to say goodnight. “If you keep talking like that, I’ll be so sorry
you’re not here I won’t be able to sleep at all,” she whispered.
 
“You just hurry up and get yourself back
here in person so we can act on our feelings rather than just talk about them.”

She heard a
deep sigh on Neal’s end, “You’re right.
 
Nothing substitutes for live and in person anyway.
 
It does make me feel better to talk to
you though.
 
Let’s try to talk every
night, if we can.”

“That’s a
plan.
 
Next time is your turn.
 
Now go get yourself some dinner and then
get back to work.
 
I love you.”

Feeling
restless and far from ready for sleep, Lin made her way down to the kitchen for
something to drink.
 
She put the
kettle on and searched the pantry for an assortment of herbal teas they’d
bought earlier.
 
While waiting for
the water to boil, she went downstairs to see if Sue would like a cup
also.
 

“How’s Neal?”
Sue asked without looking up from her work.

“Fine,” Lin
responded, “working hard to get ready for his move.
 
He’s lined up some help so the process
should go faster—at least I hope so.
 
I’m heating water for a cup of tea, want me to bring you some?”

“I’ll come up
and join you.
 
I’m about done here,
at least for tonight,” Sue responded, “I located Jack Davis.
 
He seemed glad that I was looking into
Sandy Hill’s murder.
 
Apparently, he
was never satisfied that the Florida suspect was guilty either.
 
He said we could come by the high school
tomorrow between three and four to talk.”

“Good,” Lin
said. “The more we can learn, the more likely we can persuade someone to reopen
these investigations.”
 
The kettle
began to whistle.
 
Lin went back up
to the kitchen and Sue followed shortly.

They’d just
settled down at the table to enjoy their tea, when they heard the sound of rain
hitting the roof.
 
“Here comes our
wet weather,” Lin sighed, “we’ll probably be socked in by morning.”

“That’s
likely,” Sue said, “but that’s mountain weather for you—wet summers aren’t
all that unusual from what I’ve been told.”

“True and the
weather is always changeable,” Lin replied. “I shouldn’t complain, but there’s
something about the fog and mist that really bothers me.
 
I think it’s spooky, and it seems as if the
fog just provides a cloak behind which those who are up to no good can
hide.
 
Both our incidents of
vandalism here at the house occurred on foggy nights, and then there was my
encounter with that Hinson man…”

“That doesn’t
count,” Sue admonished, “sure, you almost had an accident, but he didn’t
threaten you or anything.”

“It counts in
my book,” Lin objected, “there was something about him I didn’t like.
 
I can’t quite put my finger on what it
was, but he definitely made me feel uncomfortable.”

“You were tired
and stressed out driving in foggy conditions,” Sue said in her usual, practical
down-to-earth manner, “and you did narrowly avoid an accident when he pulled
out in front of you.
 
I’m sure all
of that combined to make you feel uneasy.
 
It could be said that it was a positive thing that he stopped to speak
to you.”

“Stop trying to
make me feel guilty,” Lin teased. “I know what you say is true but I still
think there’s something about him…”

“Whatever you
say,” Sue replied. “I’m heading up to bed. Morning will be here before you know
it, and we’ll need to leave early in this weather.”
 
She made for the stairs.

Lin fixed
herself another mug of tea and took it up to her bedroom.
 
She wasn’t really sleepy, so she decided
to sit up for awhile and read.
 
The
soothing effects of the tea and the sound of the rain on the roof soon worked
their magic and she found herself nodding off over her mystery.
 
She turned off the lamp and drew the
downy comforter up under her chin.
 
I wish Neal were here right now, she thought as she drifted off to
sleep.

The rain that
had lulled them to sleep the night before was a downpour by morning.
 
Fortunately, there wasn’t much fog, but
the ride out to the Cone house was still slow.
 
There were few visitors that morning,
and, fortunately, Pat didn’t ask them to go outside to monitor the walks.
 
Instead they spent most of their time
working on displays in the craft shop and straightening up shelves in the
bookstore while waiting on the occasional visitor.
  
By mid-morning the heavy rain had
ceased, only to be replaced by a veil of mist and fog.
 
The number of visitors increased as
folks who were on vacation decided to make the best of it and to spend their
time shopping since outdoor activity had limited appeal.

Lin was
grateful for the increase in shopper activity; it made the morning move more
quickly and kept her mind off the abysmal conditions outside.
 
Finally noon arrived and Pat indicated
that they could leave.

“You’re sure
you don’t need us this afternoon,” Sue asked. “We have an appointment at three,
but we could stay if you need us.”

“No, no,” Pat
assured them, “We’ve got it covered.
 
There are a couple of local volunteers who come in every week at this
time.
 
They’ll be here shortly; you
two go ahead.”

“I have an
idea,” Sue said as they reached their car. “It’s not a good day to be outdoors,
but we really don’t need to go home—nothing special to do there.
 
Why don’t we go shopping?
 
We haven’t checked out the stores at the
outlet mall yet.”

“Shopping?” Lin
asked, a bit surprised. “ You don’t strike me as a dedicated shopper.
 
Did you have something special in mind?”

“Not really,”
Sue confessed, “and you’re right, I don’t often suggest shopping as an activity,
but we haven’t been, and, who knows, we might find something we like.
 
My wardrobe could probably use a boost,
and I actually need a new pair of sneakers.”
 

Before hitting
the stores at Shoppes on the Parkway, they stopped at a small sandwich place
for a bowl of hot vegetable soup.
 
Even though the temperatures were moderate, the damp made Lin feel cold,
and the soup was a perfect choice.

“I was hoping
that Mark Scott would come by this morning,” Lin said. “I’m eager to know if
he’s contacted anyone from the FBI yet.”

“I expect that
will take a few more days, at best,” Sue replied. “Maybe soon though, I’m
wanting to move forward with these cases, and that seems to me to be the best
route to pursue.
 
We’ll just have to
hope that they’re willing to take an interest.”

“They should be,”
Lin remarked, “after all, the Parkway is one of their most visited
properties.
 
People feel safe
there.
 
What if these unsolved
murders suddenly got a lot of publicity?”

“It could
create quite a stir,” Sue admitted. “I really would rather share information
and questions with law enforcement, but publicity can sometimes help wake folks
up in such situations.”

They finished
their lunch and hit the stores.
 
Sue
wanted to shop for shoes, but Lin opted to visit some of the dress shops.
 
After all, she thought, I’m getting
married in a couple of months, and I’m sure that some of my friends will want
to meet Neal.
 
The Clarks had
mentioned having a party of some sort, and Lin had also planned to have
something for out-of-town guests.
 
With these thoughts she started seriously looking for something dressy
that might work well.
 
Soon she was
caught up in the process—selecting dresses and trying them on.
 
She had narrowed her choices down to
three outfits—two dresses and one silk pants suit that she really liked.
The dresses were in her favorite colors of bright blue and green—she
thought those shades made her blue eyes stand out—and the pants suit was
a beautiful bright rose color.
 
She
was still trying to make a decision when Sue joined her in the dress shop.

“Found my
shoes,” she smiled. “In fact, I bought two pairs because they were so
comfortable.
 
Looks like you’ve
found some nice dress-up outfits.”

“I can’t
decide,” Lin said, “I want something to wear to a party and maybe a dinner for
out-of-town guests coming to the wedding.
 
What do you think?”

“That you need
to buy all three if you like them.
 
Who knows, you may have more than one occasion related to the wedding,
and you still don’t know where you’re going on your honeymoon.”

“That’s true,”
Lin replied, “but somehow, I don’t think our honeymoon will require a lot of
dressing up—Neal’s more inclined toward casual activities and,
truthfully, I am too.”

The saleslady
stepped in, joining Sue in insisting that Lin would probably have a need for
all three outfits.
 
She finally
succumbed, putting a healthy dent in her credit card in the process, but making
both her friend and herself happy.

***

Shortly after
three they were pulling into the parking lot at Watauga High School.
 
There were almost no students around at
that hour.
 
Of course, it was summer,
so only those attending the summer session would’ve been present.
 
In fact, Lin was a bit surprised that
Jack Davis was apparently working a full day.
 
Most summer school classes should’ve
ended by mid-day.

The high school
was a relatively new one, having been built within the past couple of
years.
 
Lin recalled reading about
its eco-friendly design and the use of new technologies.
 
Every student was issued a laptop
computer for use at school and at home during the year.
 
The heating system tapped into sources
of geothermal energy.
 
Lin was glad
to get a close-up look at the facility.

They reported
to the office, currently manned by a single receptionist.

“We’re here to
meet with Mr. Davis,” Sue announced. “He suggested we come by this afternoon.”

“I’ll call him,”
the young lady smiled, “I’m sure he’ll come up here to get you.
 
I could direct you to his classroom, but
I’m not sure he’s still there at this hour.”

Soon a tall,
handsome young man dressed in T-shirt and shorts appeared.
 
His hair and shirt appeared damp, as if
he’d been out in the fog and mist.

“You’ll have to
excuse my appearance,” Jack said as he extended his hand in greeting. “I’ve
been down in the gym playing basketball with some of the kids in the summer
program.
 
We try to run some
intramurals for the students attending summer classes.
 
Helps to keep them interested and keeps
attendance up.”
 
He led the way
through the building to his room in the science wing.
 
Lin was impressed with the facility
overall and asked a lot of questions.

“You’ll have to
forgive me,” she said as they arrived in Jack’s classroom, “I’m a retired
school principal, and I’m really interested in all the innovations you folks
have built in here.”

“We’ve enjoyed
the new building also,” Davis remarked. “I’ve been very happy teaching here.
 
I’d be happy to take you on a tour of
the place, but I know the two of you came here to talk about Sandy.”

Sue explained
that she’d been doing research on unsolved cases for a book and happened to
read about Sandy’s murder also.

“I know what
you’re going to say,” Jack interrupted. “You don’t think Sandy was killed by
that guy they shot down in Florida, and I agree with you.
 
I was angry when they closed her case at
that point.
 
They found no real
evidence linking that guy to Sandy.
 
The only common thread between the two cases was the location—the
bodies were within five miles of each other.
 
They never found her camera or anything
else linking that man to her.”

“That’s why I
added her case to my list of those I’m doing research on,” Sue explained. “That’s
why I’m glad you agreed to see us.
 
We’re trying to talk to people who had contact with the victims in these
cases—trying to learn what they think and if they have any information
that might open any doors—assuming there could be a new investigation.”
 
She didn’t mention the possibility of
the FBI doing anything—that seemed premature at this point.

Lin picked up
the conversation, “What can you tell us about Sandy Hill?
 
Were you close friends?”

Jack leaned
against the edge of one of the lab tables, “Not really close, I guess.
 
I was in my second year of grad school
and Sandy was a new student,” he smiled at the memory. “ She was very smart,
very attractive.
 
I guess I was
hoping we might become close.
 
I was
trying to help her get started with preparing for her classes, and I had asked
her out for a dinner date.”
 
He
looked a bit wistful. “We never got to have that date.
 
She was killed before that.”

“You mentioned
a camera. Sandy was out photographing plants, is that correct?” Sue asked.

“Right,” Jack replied.
“Every biology student needs a good collection of plant photos.
 
It’s illegal to collect actual specimens
on federal parklands and you need to get permission from landowners to collect
on their property.
 
Pictures are
better anyway—you can get photos in all seasons.
 
Most student’s have a really nice
notebook of pictures, better than most wildflower books actually.”

“And she was
alone?” Sue continued.

Jack Davis’s
demeanor clearly revealed how he felt as he answered,
 
“Yes, she was.
 
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve
wished that I’d gone with her.
 
I
had some other things I needed to do that day—now I wish I’d just put
those things aside.
 
If she hadn’t
been alone… After Sandy’s death the department sent out a memo recommending
that students not try to gather field notes or take photos alone.
 
I guess I’ll always regret that
decision,” Davis was thoughtful.

“If you don’t
think Sandy was killed by the man authorities tracked to Florida, what do you
think happened?” Sue queried.

“That guy was
some sort of serial-type killer.
 
He’d shot a couple of folks in Virginia then he killed that hiker here
and stole his car.
 
His earlier
victims were hikers on or near trails, just like the guy he shot here.
 
Sandy was off-trail.
 
She was taking pictures of wildflowers
in the woods.
 
I doubt that guy
would’ve even found her.
 
Her
location and activity didn’t fit his pattern.”

“What do you
think happened?” Lin repeated the earlier question, “Why was Sandy killed?”

“I think she
saw something,” Jack replied, “saw something going on in the forest that was
illegal maybe.
 
She had a camera,
maybe she tried to photograph someone to document what they were doing.
 
I think someone caught her, and they
killed her—killed her and took the camera.
 
I’ve always thought that.
 
It just makes sense.”

Apparently, the
authorities thought the man they pursued to Florida might have sold the camera
somewhere,” Sue said.

“I know, I
heard that too,” Jack replied, “but they never found any receipt, pawn ticket,
or anything—nothing to help them find the camera.
 
Personally, I don’t think he ever had
it.
 
It’s probably been destroyed by
now, but I’ve always believed that camera would’ve helped solve her killing.
 
She found someone out in the woods,
doing something illegal, and she tried to document what she saw and got
caught.
 
Supposedly, the cops
searched the area near where her body was found, but they said they didn’t find
any evidence of improper or illegal activities going on.
 
I’ve always been puzzled by that
fact.
 
I don’t know, maybe they
really didn’t look too carefully to begin with.
 
They sure were quick to declare the case
closed when that hiker got killed and they found the guy with his car.”

Sue began to
wrap up the questions, taking a few final notes about Jack Davis’s thoughts on
the case.
 
Lin was thoughtful.
 
It was such a sad story—a young
woman at the start of an exciting new chapter in her life, taking pictures on a
beautiful late summer morning—what and whom could she have seen?
 
At just that moment a disturbing thought
crept into Lin’s mind.
 
She found
herself thinking back to the “crime scene tour” she and Sue had undertaken
earlier.
 
What had they observed
when they were at the scene of Sandy Hill’s death?
 
Suddenly, Lin remembered.
 
Remembered the panic she’d felt at the
time.
 
Remembered Eustace Hinson
ordering them off “his” property right near the place where Sandy Hill met her
killer.

***