Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery (3 page)

“Graduation is
this weekend,” Neal reported. “Next week I’m going down to Tucson with some
folks from the department to look over an area where they might be doing a
survey and excavation later.
 
I’ve
already told Chris, my department chair, that I need to talk to him about my
future plans.
 
Lin, I’ve decided to
retire from the university and just work with various projects that I might
find interesting.
 
I’ll just be a
field archeologist and that only part time.
 
This Tucson job might turn out to be my
first such project.”

“That’s great
news,” Lin was excited for him, “I know field work is your first love, and I
feel sure you can stay as busy as you want to be doing that.”

“But not too
busy to get married,” Neal responded, “I’m ready to set the date Lin.
 
I miss you and don’t want to wait
forever for us to be together.”

“I miss you
too,” Lin replied, “I was thinking about September.
 
It’ll be cooler then, and I want to get
married near Charlotte, maybe somewhere on the lake,” she didn’t ask the
burning question that was on her mind—where are we going to live?

“That’s fine
with me, if we’re going to make your condo there our home base that makes sense
to me.
 
I didn’t tell you earlier
because I wanted to see how things went, but I put my house here on the market
last week.
 
I’ve already had several
potential buyers visit; I think it‘ll sell quickly.
 
I may be homeless and have to move in
with you,” he teased.

Lin was
thrilled.
 
This was exactly the way
she’d hoped things would work out.
 
They talked for a few more minutes about what she and Sue were going to
be doing in the park and their good fortune in finding the rental home.
 

“This weekend
is going to be busy with all the graduation happenings,” Neal finally said,
“but I’ll plan to call you Sunday evening after all that is over.
 
We can maybe talk more about wedding
plans then.”

Lin agreed and
they concluded their conversation.
 
Now that they had a target month at least, she felt ready to begin
making concrete plans.
 
She was
beaming when she returned to the room.

“OK.
 
That must’ve been a good conversation I
missed, now sit down and tell me everything,” Sue grinned.
 
They were up late talking about possible
wedding plans.
 
Lin felt almost like
a young girl again.
 
I had no idea
I’d be so excited about my second wedding, she thought.
 
It seemed even more exciting than the
first one.

***

There was still
some lingering mist on Saturday morning.
 
Fortunately, by the time they’d enjoyed a
delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and French toast at Troy’s Diner, the sun
was beginning to break through revealing a crystal blue sky freshly washed by
the previous evening’s rain.
 
It
promised to be a glorious day to enjoy the mountains.
 
Lin and Sue had packed their picnic in
plastic grocery bags, but Sally had offered to lend them a small cooler for
their bottled water and soft drinks.
  
Unexpectedly, she’d even suggested they get ice from the lodge’s
machine.
 
“I think we can spare a
few ice cubes.
 
Do you need anything
else?” she’d asked.
 
Lin was happy
that, even though the room was a bit on the small side, the atmosphere at the
lodge was friendly and welcoming.
 
All in all it was a great spot to spend a few days.
 

Their first
stop after breakfast was at Frank Leonard’s place to store Sue’s trunk and
their larger pieces of luggage.
 
The
house looked totally different with all the mist and fog gone.
 
There was a nice view of the surrounding
hills from the front porch, and the property was backed by a stretch of
beautiful forest.
 
“I think we’re
going to enjoy this place,” Lin commented as she helped Sue carry their
belongings into the garage.

That task
accomplished, they entered the Parkway at the access point near the house and
decided to head south.
 

They drove at
the leisurely pace afforded by the slower speed limits, enjoying the scenery
and the occasional early blooming rhododendron.
 
For a weekend there really wasn’t too
much traffic, although most overlooks and trailheads had at least two or three
parked cars.
 
They decided to go as
far south as Linville Falls, walk the trail there, and then head back north, enjoying
as many sights as they could along the way.

“Let’s just see
how the time goes,” Sue suggested. “It’s not as though we have to see everything
today.”

There were
quite a few cars in the Linville Falls parking lot, but on the trail folks
seemed to be spread out.
 
They hiked
to both the upper and lower falls.
 
There had evidently been a good bit of rain as the Linville River seemed
to be pretty full and the falls provided an impressive view.
 
The down side was that the trails were a
bit muddy in spots.

Their next stop
was the Linn Cove Visitor Center.
 
This was the place where Lin was initially assigned, so they made this a
brief visit.
 
They did take the time
to walk the short trail that led back under the Linn Cove Viaduct, truly an
engineering marvel.
 
You could stand
under the impressive structure and hear the sound of the road sections
adjusting to the movement of cars overhead.
 
For many years there was a gap in the Parkway
where it met Grandfather Mountain.
 
At the time the original road was built, the owner refused to cede right
of way to build on the mountain.
 
He
didn’t want the beautiful rocky slopes blasted away to form passage for the Parkway.
 
When it became possible to build a
viaduct, he agreed to a plan that took the road around the mountain on deep-set
piers.
 
It formed a bridge, swinging
away from the mountainside and preserving the beauty of the rocky slopes. There
was no stopping allowed on the viaduct itself, but one could walk beneath it
and there were vantage points along the way for viewing from a distance.
 
Grandfather Mountain itself was now a
state park, although the visitor center, a small zoo, and concession facilities
were still privately owned and operated.
 
A mile high swinging footbridge joined two of the rocky peaks on this
beautiful mountain; the view was spectacular.
 

“That will have
to be on our list for a future visit,” Lin said.

“Indeed, it
will,” Sue responded, “but not today.
 
It’s almost lunchtime and I want to stop at the Moses Cone house just to
look at some of the crafts.
 
We
really didn’t have time yesterday.”

The Moses Cone
Memorial Park covered many acres.
 
The large white home and country estate had once belonged to a textile
magnate.
 
He’d built it as a summer
retreat.
 
There were miles of
carriage roads, trails for walking, and a stable where one could arrange
horseback riding.

“We could
easily have spent our entire day right here,” Lin commented as they mounted the
steps to the large home.
 
The Cone
mansion now housed a beautiful craft store where handcrafted pottery, weavings,
quilts, woodcarvings, jewelry, baskets, and many other items made by regional
artists were offered for sale.
 
During the summer months some of those artists demonstrated their work
on the front porch of the home.
 
Sue
was assigned to work at the craft center and the surrounding park.
 

“Let’s get out
of here,” Lin suggested as she observed Sue examining a particularly beautiful
woven cape, “this place has too much temptation.
 
It’s going to be tough to work here and
not buy too much.”

“I agree,” Sue smiled,
“ I expect I’ll have all of my Christmas shopping done before I ever leave this
place.”

It was well
past a normal lunchtime when they pulled into the picnic area at Jeffress
Park.
 
The late hour meant that
there were plenty of available picnic tables so they settled on one under some
trees away from the main walkway and enjoyed their picnic.

“We had a big
breakfast, but I was beginning to get hungry,” Lin remarked as she bit into her
sandwich.
 
“It’s been a beautiful
day, but I’m getting tired.
 
Maybe
we could skip walking down to the waterfall at this place, the Cascades I
believe it’s called.”

“Fine by me,”
Sue replied, “we can save that for another day, but there is one place a bit
further up the road that I want to see.
 
It’s the spot near where Tom Dula killed and buried his pregnant
girlfriend way back after the Civil War and the spot where the other girl was
found in 2009 is nearby also.
 
I
believe there’s a sign that tells the Dula story.
 
I’d like to get a feel for the spot.”

Remembering
that Sue hoped to write a book based on the two stories, Lin agreed that could
be their last stop for the day.
 
They packed up the remains of their picnic and headed north for a few
more miles to find the place.

It was near a landmark
called The Lump.
 
Both women felt a
sense of sadness as they read the sign that told the Dula story.
 
Sue supplied the limited information
that she had about the more recent killing.

“It’s really a
sad place,” Lin remarked, “beautiful but sad.”

They were quiet
as they left the overlook and headed back south toward Boone. Sunset was still
a couple of hours away and the weather was still beautiful, but they were both
tired and ready to call it a day.

They passed
their picnic spot and rounded a broad curve into an area known as Deep
Gap.
 
There was a Parkway exit there
that led back toward Boone and Lin had started to turn when Sue grabbed her by
the arm and cried out, “Don’t turn yet, I thought I saw someone fall at the
side of the road ahead.
 
They may
need help.”

Lin continued
slowly past the exit.
 
Just ahead
was a place with wide grassy shoulders bordering a forested area.
 
A parking area opened at an overlook just
beyond.
 
There was one car there,
but no visitors were to be seen.
 
Near
the verge of the roadway was what appeared to be a pile of crumpled
fabric.
 
Lin pulled into the
overlook and Sue jumped out of the car immediately, running toward the pile.

“It’s a young
woman,” she cried.

Lin secured the
car and headed back toward the spot where Sue was helping the young lady to sit
up.
 
Her left arm and shoulder were
bloodied and there was a large gash on her forehead.
 
Her face and upper body were badly
bruised.
 
Her sundress was almost
completely ripped off.
 
It barely
covered her breasts and she was barefoot.

She spoke in a
rasping whisper, “Help me, I’ve got to find Pete, I can’t find him.”

In spite of the
warm afternoon, the girl was shivering.
 
Lin quickly returned to the car to retrieve the picnic blanket she and
Sue had brought along just in case one was needed. Now she used it to wrap
around the young woman.

“She’s probably
lost a lot of blood,” Sue remarked, noticing the bloody trail marking where the
girl appeared to have crawled up to the shoulder from a drop off just this side
of the overlook. “See if you can get cell signal here and call 911.”

Unfortunately,
Lin had only one bar and her attempt to call didn’t go through.
 
Signal was no better at the
overlook.
 
She did observe that
there was a blanket and picnic remains spread out on a grassy area nearby, a
beautiful spot with a broad view beyond.
 

“I think we may
have to go for help,” Lin said as she returned to the spot where Sue was trying
to apply pressure to the wound on the girl’s head with a piece of cloth torn
from her ripped dress.

Just at that
moment a motorist came around the bend, pulled to a stop at the shoulder, and
rolled down the window. “Can I help you?
 
What happened?”
 
an older
gentleman called from the car.

“ We need to
get some medical help up here, maybe a park ranger too, this girl’s been hurt,”
Sue explained,
 
“and there’s no cell
signal up here.”

“I’ll go back to
the exit and get off the Parkway,” the Good Samaritan offered,
 
“I’ll make a note of the milepost here
and call from Deep Gap.
 
I should be
able to get through from there.
 
Just hang on and help should be here shortly, or, if you think it best,
we could put her in your car and take her to the hospital.
 
I’m local and I could lead you there.”

Lin spoke
quickly, “I don’t think we should move her—not knowing the extent of her
injuries.”
 
She didn’t add that she
was afraid this might be a crime scene of some sort and the authorities would
want to see the situation.

The man nodded
in agreement and drove away to get help.
 
Sue went back to their car and brought some bottled water from the
cooler, but, by the time she’d returned, the victim had lapsed into
unconsciousness and wasn’t able to drink.
 
Sue sat down beside the girl and drew the blanket more firmly together pulling
her close to keep her warm while they waited.

On impulse, Lin
decided to go back to the car and get her camera.
 
She took some photos of the general
area, the overlook, the empty car parked there, and the trail of bloody grass
that led from the rocky area where the slope dropped away. When that was done,
she decided to go back to the parking area and look over the edge down the hill.
 
She really couldn’t see much.
 
The land dropped about six feet to a
relatively flat but rocky area about three or four feet wide.
 
There was no sign of another person
anywhere.
 
A marked hiking trail led
away from the far end of the parking area, but there was no sign of any
hikers.
 
Only the one unoccupied car
was parked in the lot, and it was at the end opposite the trail.
 
It was growing late, and traffic was
light even though it was a Saturday afternoon.
 
Lin heard cars approaching the area, but
they all turned to leave the Parkway at the nearby exit. She realized that they
would have left also had Sue not spotted the girl.
 
Increasingly, she also realized that the
girl was indeed a victim—maybe she had an accident and fell from the
overlook area, or perhaps she’d been attacked.
 

Since no one
had returned to the parked car as yet, Lin decided that maybe it belonged to
the girl.
 
It was evident that
someone had a picnic on the grassy area just beyond the overlook, adjacent to
the drop off—a beautiful spot with a great view.
 
Lin observed that there was a plastic
bag apparently filled with trash—paper plates, soda cans, and the like—atop
the blanket.
 
A basket stood to one
side.
 
She was careful to look and
not touch anything, but, from the amount of trash and the remains of packaged
foods in the basket, it was clear that more than one person had been at this
picnic.

Just then, Lin
remembered the girl had said something before she lost consciousness; she had
said someone’s name.
 
It was Pete,
the girl had asked for their help finding her companion.
 
She’d said she couldn’t find Pete.

Well, Lin
couldn’t find Pete either.
 
She’d
already looked around this area and over the side, to the extent that she could
see without climbing down, and there was no sign of another person.
 
She went back to where Sue was still
sitting with the young victim.

“I hope help
arrives soon,” Sue shook her head in worry. “She’s still out and her face feels
cold.
 
She breathing, but it sounds
shallow. I’m sure she’s in shock.”

Lin offered to
relieve Sue so she could stretch her legs.
 
“I’ve looked around, but I see no sign of that person, Pete, she mentioned.
 
It’s pretty clear that someone, most
likely her and a companion, had a picnic here earlier.
 
I think that car may belong to her.
 
There’s a trail at the other end; I
suppose someone could be hiking nearby.
 
Maybe this Pete went on a hike and the girl was exploring and had an
accident, maybe she fell over that drop-off and somehow managed to climb back
up.”

Sue got up and
stretched. “You stay here with her, and I’ll go walk a bit down that trail and
see if I can find any sign of that Pete person she was looking for.
 
I won’t go far.
 
Yell, if the help gets here.”

The time seemed
to drag.
 
A glance at her watch told
Lin that it had only been about fifteen minutes since the gentleman who’d
stopped had gone back to call.
 
They’d told him it wasn’t necessary to come back if he succeeded in
contacting the authorities and medical help.
 
During the time Lin and Sue had been
there only a few cars had passed.
 
It was near the end of the day, and most folks were heading in for the
evening.
 
Two other people had
stopped and offered to help, but none had medical qualifications; Sue had
thanked them but told them help was on the way.

Lin looked up
and saw that Sue was returning from her short walk down the trail.
 
She waved at Lin and pointed ahead. A
small caravan of vehicles was arriving.
 
A blue and white ambulance with lights but no siren was turning onto the
parkway from the exit just past where they were waiting.
 
It was followed by a sheriff’s
department vehicle and what appeared to be a park service truck.
 
By the time Sue returned to the overlook
parking area they were all pulling in.

Sue stopped to
meet the new arrivals and walked with them back to where Lin was waiting with
the victim.
 
She got out of the way
so that the medics could examine the still unconscious girl. The girl was still
breathing but showed no signs of movement when an IV was started and the EMTs
conducted their examination.

“I’m Dave
Winkler,” the sheriff’s deputy extended his hand in greeting. “What happened
here?”

“We really
aren’t sure,” Lin responded. “We were driving back to Boone after a day on the Parkway.
 
As we were getting ready to exit, Sue
saw this girl fall to the side of the road so we stopped to help.
 
There was no cell signal right here so
we couldn’t call anyone.
 
A kind
gentleman driving past stopped and went back to call you folks while we stayed
here to try to help the girl.
 
She
was awake at first, but then she passed out and hasn’t waked up again.
 
I looked around here.
 
The grass is bloody over near the
parking area.
 
Looks like she might
have come up from the drop off over there.
 
Maybe she had an accident and fell.”

Deputy Winkler
walked over to the area Lin had spoken about and followed the bloody trail back
to where the girl lay.

“Did she say anything?”
he asked.

“She just asked
us to help her, said she couldn’t find someone named Pete,” Sue replied.
 
She explained that Lin had looked down
the slope as far as she could see, and she had walked part of the trail on the
other side but they had seen no one.

 
“We think that might be her vehicle,” Sue
indicated the parked car. “It was there when we arrived and no one has come to
claim it.
 
Looks like someone had a
picnic here,” she indicated the remains they had observed earlier.

By this time
the medics had the girl ready for transport to the hospital and the deputy went
to speak to them regarding her apparent injuries.

“Do you think
she fell, had an accident?” Winkler asked the EMT as he closed the ambulance
door.

“Don’t know
about that, but it looks to me like she’s been shot—probably with a
shotgun at fairly close range.
 
Her left
shoulder took the brunt of it.
 
She’s got a lot of cuts and bruises too.
 
They can tell you more at the
hospital.”
 
He got into the driver’s
seat and started back toward the exit.
 
They could hear the siren as the ambulance entered the highway below.

Up to this point
the park ranger had said very little.
 
Now he and the deputy conferred about how to proceed with their
investigation.
 
Finally, they turned
to Sue and Lin.

“Thank you
ladies for stopping and having us notified,” the ranger said. “Generally the sheriff’s
department and the park service work together in situations like this.
 
If a crime has been committed, it will
most likely wind up in federal court and the FBI may get involved, but we
really don’t have the personnel or facilities here in the park to investigate
fully or properly evaluate evidence; therefore, we partner with local law
enforcement.
 
I’m going to take your
contact information and then you can go.
 
I’m sure someone will want to talk to both of you later, but right now
we need to get some techs up here to check this area.
 
I’m not sure what might have happened
here.”

Lin looked at
the ranger’s nametag.
 
Mark Scott
hadn’t introduced himself. “Thank you, Ranger Scott,” she smiled. “I’m Lin
Hanna and this is Sue Gray.
 
We’re
new volunteers here on the Parkway.
 
We’ll start working Monday at Linn Cove and Moses Cone, but we’re
staying in Boone.”
 

 
“I apologize for not introducing myself,”
Mark Scott said sheepishly, “This is my first summer here, actually my first
anywhere as a law enforcement ranger. I guess I forgot my manners.”
 
He got out a pad and took down their
contact information. “Someone will definitely contact you tomorrow
sometime.
 
It may be later in the
day though.
 
It’ll be dark here soon,
so we may have to come back out in the morning to examine the scene more
fully.”

“And look for
Pete?” Lin asked.

“If we don’t
find him now,” he responded.
 
He
moved away to begin putting yellow tape around the area, closing it off from
any visitors.
 
Lin observed that the
deputy was in his car using his radio.
 

Before they
left, he emerged and came back to ask a few more questions about what time they
arrived and what they had seen initially.
 
Then he told them they were free to go. “Mark has your info and someone
will want to talk to you both tomorrow sometime.
 
We’ve got folks coming to check this
area.
 
We can check the registration
to determine the car’s owner, and we’ll tow it to the county garage to examine
it for any evidence.
 
Thank you both
for being on hand to help and for staying with the victim until someone
arrived.”

“We both hope
she’ll be ok,” Lin said. “Could we find out how she is later?
 
We don’t know her, but we’d like to know
how she’s doing.”

“I understand,”
Dave Winkler responded. “I’d want to know too.
 
I’ll be going by the hospital when I
finish here tonight, and I promise I’ll call you when I find out.”

“Thanks,” Sue
said. “We appreciate that and if we can help in any way let us know.
 
I guess we’ll leave now.
 
See you tomorrow sometime.”

“Either Mark or
I will call you,” Winkler turned back to help put up the tape as Lin and Sue
walked back to their car and headed back toward the exit for Boone.

***

The ride back
to the lodge was a quiet one.
 
Both
Lin and Sue felt exhausted and drained, emotionally as well as physically.
 
They’d had a long day and had been
heading back to relax when they’d discovered the young girl.
 
Now they were both worried about her
condition and were puzzled about what might have happened to her.