Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery (30 page)

Sue immediately
dialed the number he gave her, but the call went straight to voicemail.
 
She left a message briefly indicating
what she was interested in and asking that Ted Whitley return her call.
 
Having done that, she really had nothing
else to do at that point.
 
She
didn’t want to go home; it was still two hours before she expected Lin to
arrive.
 
Needing to keep her mind
off her anger and frustration with the sheriff’s office, she decided to swing
by the house to change and then head for the Wellness Center.
 

Exercise was just
the ticket.
 
Sue worked out on the
machines for an hour and then decided to cool down in the pool.
 
By the time she headed home, she had
cleared her head and was feeling much more positive.

She’d just pulled
into the driveway when her cell rang.
 
It was Ted Whitley.
 
Sue
grabbed her phone as she parked the car in the garage, seeing that Lin’s car
was already there.
 
She answered the
call as she headed inside.

Sue briefly
introduced herself and told Ted why she was calling.
 
She related some of her earlier conversation
with Ben Burton. “I was hoping you might be willing to talk with me about these
cases.
 
I’m trying to gather
information from people who were around at the time—their thoughts and
impressions.”

“I am most
definitely willing to talk with you,” Whitley responded. “I was working at the
paper during those years, and I was deeply involved in reporting the cases you
mention.
 
In fact I’m considering
doing a feature on them soon.
 
Maybe
stir up some renewed interest.”

Before ending the
conversation, Sue and Ted had made arrangements to meet for breakfast the
following morning. “ I’d like to bring my housemate, Lin Hanna along to meet
you,” Sue said. “She’s been helping me look into these cases and she has good
ideas where investigation is concerned.”

“It’ll be a
pleasure,” Ted replied. “How about eight o’clock at Troy’s Diner?
 
I would suggest Melanie’s, but they have
very little inside seating, and, with this weather, their patio is not too
enticing.”

“We’ll be there,
and thanks for returning my call,” Sue was smiling when she put her phone down.
At least something good came of this day she thought.
 
She explained to Lin who Ted Whitley was
and why they were meeting him. “That’s the most positive thing that’s happened
today,” she remarked, “just wait till I tell you about my visit with Deputy
Winkler.”

“I just got home
and I see you’ve been swimming,” Lin said. “Let’s get comfortable and fix some
drinks and then you can tell me all about it.
 
I had a conversation with Mark Scott
today myself so I’ll share that.”
 

“I’m fine,” Sue
replied, “You go up and get changed and I’ll get out some wine and snacks.”

***

Sue brought Lin up
to date on her visit with Dave Winkler.
 
Lin was equally disturbed by the deputy’s attitude, fully understanding
how frustrated Sue must’ve felt.
 
The news about Ted Whitley, however, was more welcomed.

“That’s great,”
Lin said, “I hope he is going to follow through and write more about these
cases.
 
A little publicity might be
just the ticket to get things moving forward again.
 
I’ll look forward to meeting him.”

“What about your
talk with Mark Scott?” Sue asked.

“We mostly talked
about our upcoming meeting with the FBI agent on Sunday.
 
I gave him a copy of the list we
compiled and he thought that was a good basis for discussion.
 
I also told him we wanted to visit the
place where Sandy Hill died again.
 
I’m not so sure he thought that was a good idea, but all he said was to
be careful,” Lin reported, “He said he would offer to go with us, but he has to
work tomorrow and is supposed to be down near Linn Cove.
 
I told him we wouldn’t do anything
reckless.”

“The best news is
that he has been looking into some of Bryan Lee’s files.
 
Bryan was looking into these cases, it
seems.
 
Mark found some notes he’d
taken in interviews and some observations he’d made.
 
He hasn’t had time to read all of them
yet, but he’ll bring them on Sunday.”

“That is good
news,” Sue smiled. “I was hoping that Ranger Lee had been investigating these
things.
 
I suspect that’s what got
him killed.”

Sue’s remark gave
Lin pause.
 
If Bryan Lee had been
killed because he was looking into these murders…she decided it was best not to
pursue that line of reasoning just now.

Sue had gone to
the kitchen to start dinner when Lin’s phone began to ring.
 
It was Neal.
 
They’d been trying to talk every
day—only missing a couple of times, but generally he didn’t call until
later.
 
Lin answered quickly, hoping
for positive news about his move.

“Hi, there,” there
was a smile in Neal’s voice, “I’m glad I caught you.
 
I wasn’t sure you’d be home.
 
I have good news.”

“Let’s hear it,”
Lin said, “I’m all ears.”

“Well, I’ve
managed to sell almost all of the furniture that I’m not moving.
 
The rest is already in storage.
 
I’m giving it a few more days, and then
I’ll have them pick up anything that’s left.
 
I’m basically done packing—right
now I’m living among boxes.
 
Tomorrow my bedroom furniture is going out; then I’ll have to go to a
hotel if I don’t want to sleep on the floor.
 
The bottom line is, I expect to be
totally out of the house by next Friday.
 
I’m going to fly to North Carolina on Saturday, the same flight I took
before.
 
Will you be able to meet
me?” he asked, as if he didn’t know the answer.

“With bells on,”
Lin said, excited by this news. “I will definitely be there, and I am delighted
you’re coming…home,” she added.
 

“Me too,” Neal
replied, “it’s time to quit all this traveling back and forth.
 
My realtor has already said she’ll send
the final closing papers to North Carolina, and I can sign them there so I won’t
have to come back to Arizona until I start work—that’s over a month from
now.
 
I need to get the address of
that house you’re living in there in Boone so she’ll know where to send
them.”
 
Lin gave him the needed
information.

“ I wish you
didn’t have to go back to work before the wedding in September. I had hoped
maybe you could stay here.
 
I know
some of my friends will want to meet you—they’ve talked about having a
party and the Clark’s are definitely planning something for the week before the
ceremony,” Lin wished that Neal might be able to postpone reporting to work
until later.

“I know,” Neal
commiserated, “but I really must be there for the initial stages.
 
We have to lay out the grids and make
sure all the necessary paperwork has been done to keep the state happy.
 
Chris and I talked about it though.
 
He says that I can definitely be off by
Labor Day, maybe even earlier, and I won’t have to come back until the first of
October.
 
He wants to postpone the
heaviest work until then anyway—it’ll be getting cooler by then and the
work can move more rapidly.
 
They
just decided on that calendar last week.
 
That means almost a month off.
 
I should be in North Carolina in plenty of time for any pre-wedding
festivities and we should have at least ten days for a honeymoon.”

That schedule was
better than she’d thought it might be, “That sounds pretty good.
 
At least it’s better than I thought. I’ll
let everyone know the dates you’ll be here.”

They continued
talking for a few more minutes.
 
Lin
had already updated him earlier on their pending talk with the FBI agent.
 
Now she told him about the meeting with
Ted Whitley.

“Sounds like
you’re finding some new avenues to explore regarding those unsolved cases,”
Neal replied. “Just be careful—both of you.”
 
Lin decided not to mention tomorrow’s
planned visit to the site of Sandy Hill’s death.
 
She’d tell him about that tomorrow
night.

When Lin and
Sue arrived at Troy’s the next morning, Ted Whitley was already seated and
waiting for them.
 
A buxom blonde
waitress approached to take their orders with a pot of fresh, hot coffee and a
ready smile.

Introductions
were quickly dispensed with and Whitley turned eagerly to Sue. “I’m exited that
you’re interested in these cases.
 
I’ve always felt that something was amiss with them—that the
investigations never seemed to go anywhere.
 
I keep thinking that, if we try to stir
up community interest, we might also stir up some additional information.
 
Someone out there must know something
about what happened to these people.”

Sue explained
that she had begun looking into the death of Sara Fletcher, noting its
parallels with the historic Tom Dula case and thinking it might make a good
story. “Then I uncovered all these other cases.
 
That’s when I began to think there was
something else going on here, something bigger than the death of two pregnant
girlfriends more than a century apart.”

“I think you’re
right about that,” Ted responded.
 
The historical similarities make a good story, but the pattern of death
here goes beyond that.”

 
Ted was a surprisingly attractive man,
tall with salt and pepper hair and deep brown eyes.
 
He appeared to be in his late fifties,
perhaps early sixties.
 
He had a
journalist’s knack of getting to the heart of a story.
 
Lin was fascinated listening to him
recount some of the information he’d gathered at the time of these
murders.
 
While much of this had
been contained in the news articles Sue had researched earlier, Ted did share
some questions his own research had raised.

“I’ve never
been convinced that Sandy Hill was killed by the man that killed that hiker and
fled to Florida in his stolen car,” Ted revealed. Lin and Sue shared a knowing
look.
 
They had deliberately not
shared their list of observations and questions with Ted, preferring to hear
his own impressions first.
 
“In
fact,” he continued, “I consider her case to perhaps be the key to solving some
of these others.
 
I wish her camera
had turned up, that would help.”

“Especially, if
the memory card was still in it,” Sue added. “Did you talk to Jack Davis when
you did your story?”

“I did, and he
shared my own opinion.
 
I think that
Sandy Hill happened to see something she shouldn’t have that day and it got her
killed, but, beyond that, I see her case as perhaps a key to the others, at
least some of them anyway.
 
If the
Hill case could be reopened and more information gathered…” Ted was interrupted
by the arrival of breakfast.

For a few
moments their attention turned to French toast, eggs, bacon and creamy, buttery
grits.
 
Finally, Sue took a break
from food and asked, “What about the case of Sara Fletcher?
 
I see the historical similarities to the
Dula case, but do you think her killing was, in any way, similar to that of
Sandy Hill or any of the others?”

Ted was
thoughtful, toying with his food, “Actually, her case seems a bit more
complicated.
 
It did occur near the
same place as the others.
 
It’s
certainly possible she poked around and discovered something she shouldn’t have,
but there is the added factor of her pregnancy.
 
I suppose you know that Luke Taylor, her
boyfriend, was a prime suspect at the time.”

Lin’s ears
perked up.
 
She was interested in
Ted’s take on Luke and his grandfather also.
 
Ted continued, “Actually, Luke came
within a hair of being arrested.
 
He
and Sara had broken up briefly when she first learned she was pregnant.”
 
This was news to Lin and Sue.
 

“That’s
something new to us,” Sue commented. “The news articles just focused on Luke as
a possibility, but nothing was said about any bad feelings between them.”

“That’s because
I didn’t find out about that before I wrote the first story, and by then the
authorities had ruled him out.
 
I
did talk to him later, though. He claimed the break-up was only for a short
while.
 
It happened because he was
afraid of what his family, especially his grandfather, was going to say when
they learned she was pregnant.
 
Apparently, they were adamantly opposed to his marrying her, which he
said was what he wanted to do.
 
Luke
told me that, after a few days of estrangement, he went to Sara and apologized.
 
They made up and he claimed they were
making plans to marry when she was killed.
 
I didn’t want to draw renewed attention to Luke by publishing a story
about the break-up when the sheriff had already decided against charging him,”
Ted confessed. “Frankly, I never have thought he could be guilty.
 
His grandfather now, that’s another
story.”

At that
comment, Lin spoke up, “We’ve met Luke.
 
In fact he’s building a desk for me—a gift for my fiancé.
 
We had an opportunity to talk to him,
and Sara’s death came up in the conversation.
 
Luke told us that he thinks his
grandfather killed Sara.”

“He told me the
same thing,” Ted replied. “But I don’t think the authorities ever seriously
considered old Eustace as a murderer.
 
He’s a cantankerous old mountaineer with a reputation for going after
anyone he perceives as interfering with him or his property, but killing
someone—I don’t know.
 
I
suppose it’s possible—in the heat of the moment, perhaps—but the
authorities have never charged him with anything.
 
Now, I understand, he has memory issues.”

Sue explained
about the situation involving Peter Dunne and Ellie Clark and the “confession”
Eustace had made in that case, and in others. “Of course, he later denied
everything and, with the dementia, his confessions were thrown out.”

They talked on
for a few more minutes as they enjoyed second cups of coffee, briefly touching
on the case of Bryan Lee and that of the unnamed man whose body had been dumped
in the area.
 
By that time it was
growing late—already well past nine.

“This has been
fascinating and I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to share thoughts and
information with you,” Ted said, “I wish I could stay longer but I have some
writing to do before the next edition of our online paper is ready.
 
Could we maybe do this again?
 
There’s a lot more to explore.”

Lin and Sue
agreed.
 
“Why don’t you and your
wife come to our place on Sunday evening for dinner?” Sue asked. “By that time,
we’ll have talked with the FBI agent and maybe learned more from Mark Scott.
 
We’ll keep it simple.”

“Thanks,” I’d
love to do that,” Whitley smiled, “but I’m afraid there is no Mrs. Whitley so
you’ll have to settled for just me.”
 
He smiled at Sue who, Lin was surprised to note, seemed to be a bit
embarrassed. “What time shall I appear?”

 
Sue seemed at a temporary loss for words
so Lin came to her rescue, “How about six-thirty, we’ll have drinks first.
 
That will give us more time to talk.”
 
She gave Ted their address; he indicated
that he knew the area well and would look forward to seeing them.

As they left
the restaurant, Lin couldn’t resist teasing her friend. “Sue Gray at a loss for
words, imagine that.
 
Now I’d say
you have a rather nice dilemma—an interesting art professor who wants you
to join him in Italy, and a news reporter right here who also seems interested
in you—a quite handsome reporter, I might add.”

“Well, I’d say,
you’re ‘jumping the gun’ in both situations,” Sue seemed to have recovered her
equilibrium.

“We’ll see,
we’ll see,” Lin smiled as they headed for Sue’s 4runner, “Now it’s time to go
exploring.”

***

The drive north
on the Parkway was very different than it had been the day Lin and Sue had
discovered Ellie injured beside the road.
 
It wasn’t raining exactly, but the mist was pervasive, dampening their
skin, hair, and clothing.
 
In places
the fog hung near the treetops, leaving the road relatively visible, but in
other spots they were slowed to a crawl as they crept through a dense wall of
cloud.
 
Lin paid careful attention
to the mileposts as they appeared, so they would know where they were.

“I don’t expect
we’ll see anyone out in the woods today,” Lin said, “We’re probably the only
people crazy enough to go out walking in this stuff.”

Sue elected to
park at the overlook where they’d found Ellie.
 
It was a short walk north to the area
they were interested in, but she felt the car wouldn’t be safe parked on the
shoulder of the road in such foggy conditions.
 
Theirs was the only car visible at the
moment.

They donned
rain jackets and Lin slipped her small digital camera into a pocket to stay
dry.
 
They were glad they’d decided
to bring hiking sticks because the plants and leaves that covered the forest
floor made for slippery conditions.

They walked
quietly into the woods, following the same general path they’d taken earlier
and taking care to keep the road to their left.
 
The path led them down a relatively
gentle slope toward a copse of thick trees. It seemed as if they were walking
in a cloud.
 
The fog folded around
them and they could only see a short distance ahead. Lin felt just a slight
moment of anxiety as they neared the spot where they’d encountered Eustace
Hinson earlier—today, thus far, they’d seen no one and heard nothing
other than the chirping of insects and the twitter of birds.

Sue was a few
feet in front of Lin. Sometimes Lin could barely see her as she moved into the
thicker trees. Lin followed as closely as she could.
 
The going here was a bit rougher.
 
Finally, they seemed to emerge into an
area of tall trees where the forest floor was a bit clearer and easier to
navigate and the fog seemed to lift just a bit.
 
They paused to rest a moment and looked
around.

“Look over
there, what’s going on in that area?”
 
Sue pointed toward an area in front of them where, although the fog made
it difficult to see, it appeared someone had been digging.
 
Even though they seemed to be alone, Sue
spoke in a whisper.
 
Together they
approached the spot she’d indicated.
 

The forest
floor in that area was covered with dense patches of a green plant. The plant
had broad leaves composed of multiple leaflets.
 
Lin didn’t recognize the plant but noted
that it was spread throughout the area like a ground cover. The plants covered
an area that appeared to be at least twenty feet square but there were several
patches of bare earth scattered among the growth.
 
These were totally bare and the earth
was disturbed—someone had been digging there.

“These bare
patches are too regular to have occurred naturally,” Lin commented.

“Yes, it’s
clear someone has been digging here,” Sue replied, as she looked further into
the woods, beyond the place where they stood. “There’s something over there in
that thicker brush.”
 
She moved
forward to see what it was, disappearing into the mist.
 
While she was doing that, Lin slipped
her camera from her pocket and began to take some pictures of the plants and
the places that had been dug.
 
She wasn’t
noticing Sue at that point—she couldn’t see her anyway.

Suddenly, Sue
appeared at her side. “I heard something over there,” she pointed toward the
thicker brush, “I think we’d better get out of here.”

Lin felt a
brief surge of panic, and for a moment, she felt as if she were stuck in her
tracks, as if she couldn’t breathe; her heart pounded in her chest.
 
She fought against slipping into a
full-fledged panic attack.
 
Finally,
with a gentle push from Sue, she began to move forward carefully, but quickly.

They made their
way back toward the Parkway trying to follow roughly the same route they’d
taken in.
 
The fog completely
blocked any view of the road above.
 
Only the sound of one or two passing cars let them know they were on the
right path.
 

Lin was leading
the way, but Sue remained close behind her.
 
If I panic and freeze again, I guess she
wants to know so she can push me onward, she thought to herself.
 
She felt her heart beating fast and her
breath was coming in short puffs, but that was largely due to the fact that
they were heading uphill.
 
She was
frightened of their being caught, but she managed to hold at bay the sense of
panic that had paralyzed her before.

They continued
to work their way forward.
 
Lin
strained her ears to try to hear if they were being followed, but the fog had
such an effect on sounds; she couldn’t be sure whether she heard someone in the
brush or was just hearing the echo of their own footsteps.
 
Then she was sure—something seemed
to crash in the woods behind them and she thought she heard voices.