Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery (33 page)

“But you have
to remember,” Lin replied, “a lot of these rural mountain folk don’t have a lot
of resources, many of them live a relatively marginal existence—at least
where cash income is concerned.
 
I
expect a thousand dollars could seem like a lot of money and, if you could
amass a lot of the stuff…”

“That’s true,”
Sue said, “and the price has increased a lot in recent years.
 
No doubt that has led to more people
hunting for the plants in the forests—skipping the whole permitting
process—and poaching off lands where it’s illegal to harvest.
 
I guess that’s what we found—an
illegal harvesting operation.”

“And maybe
that’s what Sandy Hill found—and perhaps some of the other victims,” Lin
added, “Maybe there are other such places scattered about in the forest, but
killing someone…that’s hard for me to fathom. Even if you get caught poaching,
the penalty isn’t that severe.
 
You
found some cases where persons convicted only received sentences of thirty
days, maybe ninety days, in one case, for illegal harvesting.”

“I’d expect
it’s more the money factor than the sentence that’s operating here,” Sue
replied. “Getting caught would mean cutting off your source of extra income…money
is behind most criminal activity it seems to me.”

“I’m afraid I’m
having a hard time picturing Luke Taylor involved in such activity,” Lin shook
her head, “At least I don’t want to believe that.”

“ I know, but this
opens up a whole new perspective on what might’ve been going on here,” Sue
acknowledged, “it’s going to take awhile for all the implications to sink
in.
 
Meanwhile, Ted Whitley is going
to be here expecting dinner in a few hours, and I need to get to the
Harris-Teeter to pick up some bread and salad to go with that roast I put in
the crockpot this morning.
 
How’s
the ankle doing?
 
Are you up for an
outing?”

“Indeed, I am,”
Lin didn’t want to miss any part of this beautiful day.

Ted Whitley
arrived right on time, bearing a large bouquet of Brown-eyed Susans and a
bottle of Malbec.
 
Lin answered the
door, but her crutches prevented her taking the gifts he’d brought. She bade
him follow her to the kitchen where Sue was putting the finishing touches on a
tray of appetizers.

“These reminded
me of you,” Ted gallantly offered the bouquet to Sue, “Brown-eyed Susans for
brown-eyed Sue.”
 
Lin thought she
saw a faint hint of blushing around Sue’s collar as she took the flowers and
thanked their guest.

“I’ll put these
on our table; I thought we’d eat outside since it’s so nice this evening.”

“That would be
great,” Ted smiled.
 
He turned to
Lin, “and I believe someone mentioned that Malbec is your favorite, my dear.”

Lin graciously
thanked Ted and placed the wine on a tray bound for the patio.
 
She hated having to use the
crutches.
 
They severely limited her
ability to help Sue with getting dinner prepared.
 
The ankle seemed better to her, although
you couldn’t have proved that by the evolving colors of her
foot—blue-black and purple gradually moving toward green and yellow.
 
The swelling was much less, however, and
she’d been able to cut her pain meds down to just twice a day. “It isn’t
pretty, but it’s feeling much better,” she’d told Ted when he inquired about
the injury.

“You two get
out of the kitchen,” Sue instructed. “ Ted you take these appetizers out and
then come back for the drinks.
 
Lin,
you sit on the chaise so you can prop your foot up, at least until dinner.
 
I’m almost through here so I’ll join you
shortly. “

“Yes, Ma’am,”
Ted teased, as he moved to do Sue’s bidding, propping the door open with his
elbow so Lin could pass by.
 
“Lin
can tell me how she got this sprained ankle.
 
I’ll bet there’s a good story behind
that.”
 
He placed the appetizers on
the table and helped Lin to get seated before he returned to the kitchen for
the drink tray.
 
Lin could hear the
sounds of laughter coming from the kitchen.
 
It seemed that Sue and Ted were getting
along just fine.

“Is she always
that bossy?” Ted asked when he returned.
 
The smile on his face indicated that he was anything but upset, however.

“Well,” Lin
hesitated, “she does know her own mind, and she knows how to take charge of a
situation.
 
I wouldn’t want to get
in her way if she’s really determined to do something but,” her tone softened,
“even though we’ve only known each other for about a year, I count her as one
of my closest friends.
 
Sue is a
wonderful generous person.
 
She’s
taken care of me on more than one occasion—even during the short time
we’ve known each other.”

“Tell me how
you came to need taking care of this time,” Ted poured them each a glass of
wine and took a seat opposite Lin. “You were fine when we had breakfast just
two days ago.”

By the time Lin
had told Ted the story of their Friday morning adventure in the fogbound
forest, Sue had joined them on the patio.
 
Together they shared with him the story of their meeting that morning
with Mark Scott and the FBI agent, Zach Turner.

“Interesting,”
Ted said when they’d finished, “Ginseng poachers.
 
I’ve heard rumors of such, but I’ve
never actually written about that—until now that is…”

Sue reached out
and put her hand on Ted’s arm. “Ted, I’m not so sure that it would be a good
idea to run a story about the ginseng side of this right now.
 
I think, in this case, publicity might
just get back to those responsible and cause them to pull back their operation
for a while.
 
I’m sure that, when
more is known—when the investigation has produced some results, Mark and
Zach would give you first dibs on the story; in fact I’ll personally talk to
them about that.
 
That doesn’t mean
you shouldn’t go ahead and write about these murders; however, I think that pot
definitely needs stirring.”

Ted tried to
look annoyed, but he didn’t succeed.
 
He broke into a grin, “Spoken like a true reporter—one who enjoys
having an exclusive herself,” he reached for Sue’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“You have my word, Ms. Gray.
 
Nothing in the stories I’m going to publish this week will hint at the ginseng
angle to any of this—if indeed such an angle actually exits, but I do
think it bears further investigation.”

“I’d love to
see those reports Mark gave Zach Turner, the ones from Bryan Lee’s files;
supposedly he was looking into ginseng poaching among other things at the time
of his death,” Lin added.

“You’re not
likely to get your hands on those,” Ted offered.
 
He turned to Sue, “…but I have an idea
where we, if you ladies are willing to include me, might find out what’s in
them.
 
Didn’t you say you talked to
Bryan’s widow?”

“Yes, we did,”
Sue immediately knew where Ted was heading with the conversation, “and
sometimes officers of the law make copies of their files and stash them in some
safe place—especially if they think someone might have a reason to want
the information suppressed—maybe Ranger Lee had some papers at home.”

“My thoughts
exactly,” Ted smiled.

“It’s time to
eat,” Sue changed the subject, “I’m sure everything is ready…If you’ll help me
Ted… .”
 
He quickly rose and
followed her into the kitchen, continuing to talk about this unfolding story
and the series he was planning to start this week.

Lin watched
them go with just a twinge of envy.
 
Seeing Ted’s obvious interest in Sue made her very much aware of her
separation from Neal.
 
Thankfully,
by this time next week, Neal should be back here with them, most especially
with her.
 
They’d already decided
he’d do a one-way car rental and drive up to Boone when he flew in next
Saturday.
 
Lin was relatively
certain that, even though her ankle seemed to be healing rapidly, she wouldn’t
be ready to drive that far by then.

Ted and Sue
returned quickly laden with plates full of delicious, tender pot roast prepared
with a wine sauce and accompanied by garlic potatoes and tender green
beans.
 
“Dig in,” Ted said as he
placed a plate in front of Lin, “but save room for dessert—I saw an apple
crumble in there.”

Discussion of
ginseng poaching and unsolved murders was suspended as they enjoyed their
meal.
 
Ted asked about Lin’s
upcoming wedding and about her fiancé.
 
She told him about Neal’s archeology career and explained that he was
retiring from teaching but hoped to continue working as a field archeologist at
least on a part-time basis.
 
“In
fact, he’s beginning a project soon, but first, he’s coming here next weekend
to stay until he has to return.”
 
She explained that he’d sold his home in Arizona and they would be
living in Davidson.

“I hope I’ll
have the opportunity to meet him while he’s here,” Ted said, looking at Sue as
if she might hold the key to that opportunity.
 
Lin caught Sue looking at him, a hint of
interest in her eye.

“We’ll
definitely have to get together—all of us,” Lin replied, “Neal should be
here next Saturday night.
 
We’ll
make some plans,” she said, not waiting to see how Sue might react.
 
She was fairly sure that Sue would be
happy to be included.

Sue got up to
fetch their dessert and Ted immediately jumped up after her. “I’ll bring the
coffee,” He said.
 

Later as they
sat back enjoying a second cup of the rich, nutty dark roast Sue had brewed,
Ted looked up, “Speaking of making some plans.
 
I have a suggestion for the balance of
this evening.
 
You mentioned that
Olivia Lee worked at Galileo’s.
 
Why
don’t the three of us head over there for a nightcap?
 
Who knows, she might just be willing to
talk to us about whether Bryan kept any papers at home.”

“A great idea,”
Sue smiled, obviously pleased with the plan.

Lin shook her
head.
 
“Why don’t you two go ahead?
 
I think I’ve had enough hobbling around
for today.
 
I see the doctor
tomorrow, and I want this ankle to be in the best shape possible—besides,
I haven’t talked to Neal today and I promised him I’d call.”

“OK.” Ted said,
looking to see if Sue would agree.
 
She
did, not even reluctantly, but only after Ted agreed to help with the dishes
first.
 
When they got up from the
table, Sue helped Lin to go upstairs.

“You’re sure
you’ll be OK—do you need anything before we go?” Sue inquired.

Lin looked
askance, “Be serious.
 
I’m
fine.
 
I’m going to get ready for
bed and then call my sweetheart—maybe even indulge in a little telephone
sex—meanwhile, my friend, don’t waste the evening.
 
That’s a very handsome man down there
and he’s obviously quite interested in you.”

This time Lin
was sure that Sue was definitely blushing as she headed back downstairs.
 
Lin shed her clothes and got into a soft
knit nightshirt before settling herself into bed propped up against the pillows
with her foot and ankle elevated once more.
 
She reached for her cell phone and
dialed Neal’s number.
 
The next hour
was spent catching each other up on the weekend’s activities and, more
importantly, indulging in a serious discussion of what they planned for their
upcoming reunion.

“I’m counting
the days and hours,” Lin murmured as the conversation drew to a close.

“No more than I
am,” Neal replied, “I can’t wait to get my arms around you, and I really don’t
want to have to leave you again…Lin, do you suppose you might come back with me
next month went I start work on the dig? You’ll have completed almost three months
with this volunteer assignment by then, and we’d both be heading back after a
couple of weeks for the wedding.
 
Do
you think…”

This time,
Lin’s sense of longing for her man was really working on her, “Let me think
about it,” she replied, “let me check with the folks at the Parkway and talk it
over with Sue.
 
I’ll also need to
make sure all the wedding plans are locked down but, if you can help with some
of that, it might be a good possibility.”

“Just make me a
list—I’ll knock out all those wedding plans in a heartbeat,” Lin could
hear the smile in Neal’s voice.

“I love you,”
she said, “I’ll call you tomorrow after I see the doctor.”

“Me too,” Neal
responded. “Be sure to call on the cell phone.
 
They’re taking out my landline
tomorrow.
 
The rest of the moving
will be done by Friday—I’m still spending my lonely nights at the Holiday
Inn until that’s all done—I’m too old to sleep on the floor.” He sounded
as if he were seeking sympathy.

“Just see that
you stay lonely,” Lin teased. “See you Saturday.”
 
She ended the conversation, replacing
the cell phone on her nightstand and reaching for her book.
 
She tried reading for a short time but
sleep was beginning to overtake her so she turned out the light about
eleven.
 
She didn’t hear when Sue
returned.

***

It was less
than an hour until closing when Ted and Sue arrived at Galileo’s.
 
They’d taken a chance that Olivia Lee
would be working and were happy to see her waiting on the few customers who
were still there on a Sunday evening.
 
They seated themselves in a back corner—having seen her waiting on
another couple seated in that part of the dining room. They hoped that she’d
have their table also.
 
Fortunately,
they were right.

Olivia
recognized Sue and smiled as she approached. “Hello, Ms. Gray.
 
Good to see you again—do you want
a menu?”

“Please, call
me Sue.
 
I think I’ll just have
something to drink,” Sue responded.

“Me too,” Ted
spoke up. “Do you have a dark beer on tap?”

Olivia
responded in the affirmative and they both ordered that.

As she headed
off to get their beers, Sue observed that the other couple seated near them was
getting up to leave.
 
The place was
almost empty.
 
Perhaps Olivia would
have time to talk.
 
When she
returned with the beers and a basket of chips, Sue decided to simply be direct.
“Olivia, this is Ted Whitley.
 
He
works for the Mountain Country Gazette and he’s going to do a series of
articles on some of the unsolved murder cases around here.
 
We hope that might generate some
interest on the part of the public and maybe bring some pressure to bear on the
local authorities to reopen their investigations.
 
We were hoping you might have a few
minutes to talk to us.

Olivia seemed a
little nervous, but she didn’t leave or say no immediately.
 
Rather, she was quiet for a moment and
looked back over her shoulder toward the bar area.
 
“I really shouldn’t talk to you right
now—we’re still open for another half hour and then I should help with
closing.
 
Don’t misunderstand, I’m
willing to talk to you but just not this minute,” she looked at Sue, evidently
remembering when they’d talked before. “I hate to ask, but could we meet
somewhere later, after I leave here?
 
I know it’s late but…”