Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery (4 page)

“We don’t even
know who she is,” Lin lamented, “whether she has any family here or not?
 
I keep feeling like we should be doing
something further to help.”

Sue nodded her
agreement, “I’m sure the authorities will identify her, at least
eventually—maybe when they check that car.
 
They’ll be able to locate her family
then, maybe.
 
She seemed quite young
to me.”

“Probably a
teenager, I’d say,” Lin added, “perhaps a student.
 
I guess there’s really nothing more we
can do, at least not tonight, but I have a funny feeling that this situation
may turn out to be complicated.”

Sue decided to
change the subject.
 
They needed to
refocus, at least for now. “I don’t know about you but that sandwich we had for
lunch seems like a long time ago.
 
I
think we need to get something to eat.”

“I agree,” Lin
replied, “but I’d feel better if I could shower and change first.”

They arrived at
their lodgings and grabbed up their picnic stuff to take in.
 
They were missing their blanket; it must
have gone to the hospital with the victim.
 
Lin was secretly happy about that.
 
It would give them an excuse to call and perhaps find out more about the
girl.
 
They returned the borrowed
cooler to the front desk and went straight to their room, deciding not to
mention their afternoon’s adventure to anyone until they knew more about the
situation.
 
For now they both simply
wanted to clean up and find a good dinner somewhere.

A little over
an hour later, they were sitting at a quiet corner table at Casa Rustica, a
cozy Italian place not far from their lodgings.
 
Sue had ordered chicken marsala, but Lin
felt like a plain plate of spaghetti with marinara sauce and a tossed salad
would satisfy her need for comfort food.
 
They ordered wine to accompany the meal, but decided not to add an
appetizer.
 
“I don’t think I need to
add any more calories,” Lin remarked. “I managed to take off a few pounds over
the winter and I want to keep them off, if I can.
 
I need to get back into a regular
exercise routine too.’’

“Someone told
me about the Broyhill Wellness Center here in town. It’s associated with the
medical center.
 
I heard it was
non-profit; the memberships are flexible and quite reasonable apparently.
 
I think we should look into that, maybe
tomorrow.
 
If both of us commit to
go regularly, we can keep each other on track,” Sue explained.

Lin was
certainly in agreement with that.
 
Last year she’d suffered a severe shoulder injury that required surgery,
and she’d found exercise essential in keeping her shoulder flexible and strong.

Their food
arrived, and, for several minutes there was no conversation.
 
They were both ravenous and dug right
in.
 
Finally, the edge off her
appetite, Lin sat back, “I simply cannot stop thinking about that young woman
and I don’t want to wait until tomorrow to find out how she is.
 
I’m going to call the hospital and ask
about our blanket.
 
Maybe I can
learn something more.”

“I doubt any
information is going to be released other than to family or law officers,” Sue
replied, “but you can call if you want to.”

As soon as they
left the restaurant, Lin did just that.
 
She reached a receptionist in the emergency room and launched into her
inquiry about the blanket.
 
Sue
walked ahead of her to the car.
 
The
young woman put Lin on hold while she made inquiries.
 
When she returned to the line she sounded
happy, “I found your blanket.
 
The
patient is currently in surgery, but the blanket was left down here with her
belongings.
 
If you can come by,
I’ll have it here for you at my desk.”

Lin smiled as
she got into the car, “We’re off to the hospital to retrieve our blanket.
 
The girl is in surgery so at least she’s
still hanging in there.
 
Maybe we
can learn more when we get there.”

Sue smiled and
shook her head.
 
There was no
stopping Lin once her curiosity about a situation took hold, but Sue had to
admit she wanted to know more about the girl and what happened also.

They arrived at
Watauga County Medical Center and located the ER lobby.
 
The young woman at the reception desk
smiled as they approached. “I’ll bet you’re the ladies who lost the blanket.
 
I have it right here.”
 
She pulled a large plastic bag from
beneath the counter and walked around to hand it to them.

“Thanks so much
for getting it for us,” Lin said, “We hope the young lady is going to be
ok.
 
We’re really worried about
her.
 
Do you know when she might be
out of surgery?” Maybe she’ll think we’re family Lin thought to herself.

“No ma’am,
she’s been there a while now, but I don’t know anything about it. We still have
her listed as a Jane Doe. Do you ladies know her? We’d love to get more information,
maybe her name?”

Lin had to
admit, “No, we don’t actually know her.
 
We did find her injured and stayed with her until help arrived, but we
don’t have any more information.
 
Hasn’t the Sheriff’s department found out who she is yet?
 
I thought they were going to check in
her car?”

“If they know
anything, they haven’t contacted us yet,” the receptionist responded.
 
About that time an older woman with a
stern look came by. “You need to get back on the desk Cindy.”
 
She turned toward Lin and Sue.

“We really
can’t give out any information except to family members, and, in this case, we
really don’t have any information to share anyway.
 
You ladies will have to ask the
Sheriff’s department later, perhaps they’ll know more.”
 
She turned and walked quickly down the
hall.

“So much for
that,” Sue said as they left the building. “Guess we’ll have to wait to learn
more.”

“I guess, but
it was worth a try.
 
At least we got
our blanket back,” Lin responded, “but it’s all bloody from being wrapped
around the victim so we’ll need to wash it.
 
I think the lodge has a laundry room
maybe.
 
We can check.”

By the time
they’d located the laundry it was growing rather late so they elected to save
the task of washing the blanket until the next morning.
 
They both went to bed and Sue was soon
asleep, but Lin found she couldn’t stop thinking about the young woman they’d
found.
 
Tired though she was, sleep
just wouldn’t come to her restless mind.
 
Finally, she decided to read hoping that would help her to relax.
 
She located her IPad with its Kindle
app. Its bright screen meant she wouldn’t need a lamp, and there’d be no light
to disturb Sue.

That did the
trick.
 
After only a couple of
chapters of her favorite author’s most recent mystery, she found herself
nodding off.
 
She barely managed to
close the IPad and place it on the nightstand before falling into a deep sleep.

When Lin opened
her eyes the next morning it was almost nine.
 
She couldn’t believe she’d slept that
late.
 
She must’ve been really tired
after their long and somewhat stressful day.
 
She glanced around the room; there was
no sign of Sue.
 
She must’ve gotten
up and gone out already.
 
Lin saw no
note so she figured Sue couldn’t be far away.

She hastily got
up and made for the shower.
 
By the
time she’d finished Sue was back.
 
She’d brought coffee from the lobby—fresh and hot.
 
Lin gratefully took a sip and then
turned to finish drying off. “Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked.

“Oh, you were
really sawing logs when I got up, and I knew you were still awake when I
drifted off last night.
 
I wasn’t
sure when you actually went to sleep so I decided not to disturb you.
 
I’ve had a nice walk, but I’m getting
hungry so hurry up and get ready.
 
Sally
has a nice continental breakfast buffet out there; there’s even a waffle maker
available.”

Lin hastened to
dry her somewhat unruly, curly hair and donned some slacks and a T-top.
 
She slipped on some sandals and was
ready to go.

It was almost
time for the breakfast buffet to be shut down, but there was still plenty of
food.
 
Sue made herself a waffle,
and Lin decided to toast a bagel to have with cream cheese.
 

Spotting a
stack of newspapers on the desk, Lin went to grab one.
 
It was the Charlotte Observer, and she
found no mention of the incident with the young girl found on the Parkway.

“I guess there
are too many unknowns for this to be much of a story yet, at least beyond this
immediate community, and it was probably too late yesterday for it to make the
local paper this morning.”

They both
lingered over second cups of coffee and read the news of the world and the
state.
 
It was nice to relax, but
Lin felt herself growing increasingly restless.
 
She really wanted to know if the girl
they found yesterday had been identified yet, how she was doing physically, and
whether or not this fellow “Pete” had been found.

She was just
about to try to call the sheriff’s office or the park ranger Mark Scott when
Sue intervened, “Lin you have to be patient.
 
You know we’re going to hear from
someone today, but they said it might be later.
 
We’ll find out more about this, I feel
sure.”

“You’re right,
I know.
 
That’s how I get into so
many difficult situations.
 
I can’t
seem to control my curiosity,” Lin confessed. “ I need to stay busy until we’re
contacted about this.
 
What do you
suggest that we do?”

“Give me your
car keys,” Sue said, “I have an idea.”

Soon they were
riding out into the mountain countryside.
 
They headed for the little community of Valle Crucis where Sue pulled
into the old Mast General Store.
 
It
was the parent store of the one they had visited in downtown Boone, but this
one was a genuine, original country store complete with a pot-bellied stove and
a sprawling porch where a few musicians were busy tuning up their instruments
for a jam session later.
 
The
merchandise was similar to the store in town, but this place boasted old-fashioned
soft drink chests and a still-functioning rural post office.
 
Fortunately, the barrels of candy had
been moved to a nearby annex so they weren’t as tempted to indulge.
 
After leaving the store they continued
to explore the countryside.
 

Sue pointed out
the patterned quilt squares painted on several of the barns. This “tour” of
painted designs was planned by the local arts council to encourage visitors to
enjoy the beautiful rural areas surrounding the towns. “Where did you find out
about all this?” Lin queried. “You’re a regular high country tour guide.”

“After my walk
this morning, I spent some time looking at some brochures and travel guides at
the lodge.” Sue confessed. “There’s really quite a lot to see and do around
here, especially on a beautiful day like today.”

By late morning
they returned to the lodge where their hostess greeted them. “Someone has been
trying to reach both of you.
 
Some
guy from the park service.”
 
Mark
Scott had left a number for them to call.

“Do you have a
few minutes?” he asked when Lin reached him by cell phone. “I’d like to come
over to the lodge and meet with you both, if there’s some place we could talk
there.”
 
The manager agreed that they
could talk in the lobby.
 
Most of
the weekend guests had left for home and things were pretty quiet.

“I’ll be there
in about half an hour,” Mark said and ended the call.

Sally started
brewing a fresh pot of coffee.
 
She
even produced a tray of pastries left from the morning’s buffet.
 
“I’ll be in the office if you need
anything,” she said, “What’s your meeting about, if I may ask?
 
I’m just curious.”

Sue caught
Lin’s eye as if to caution her about what she revealed.
 
Lin agreed that, until more was known,
it was best not to say too much about yesterday’s incident.
 
She turned to their hostess, “ There was
an accident on the Parkway yesterday, and we happened to be in the area.
 
I think the ranger just wants to know
what we might have seen.
 
Thanks for
the coffee and pastries, that was very thoughtful.”

“Oh, you’re
quite welcome,” Sally replied, “let me know if you need more of anything.”
 
She retreated to the office to catch up
on paperwork leaving Lin and Sue to wait for Mark Scott’s arrival.

When he finally
got there the young park ranger seemed a little worse for wear.
 
The dark circles under his eyes revealed
that he’d probably not slept very well.
 
His eyes perked up at the sight of the coffee and pastries though.

“I’ve just come
back in from the Parkway,” he said as he poured himself a mug and grabbed a
frosted doughnut. “I didn’t get any breakfast this morning, this is great.”

“You’ll have to
thank the manager of this place for these,” Lin responded, “she’s been a great
hostess.
 
This is a great place to
stay.”
 

“Kinda costly
if you’re volunteering for the summer isn’t it?” Mark asked.

“Well, it’s the
most reasonable place we found, but we’re only here for a few more days,” Sue
added, “after that we have a house lined up.”
 
She explained their rental/caretaker
arrangement as she refilled her own coffee.

Mark finished
his doughnut and then took a blueberry muffin, but he placed that to one side
and pulled out his notepad, “I guess we should get started, could you tell me
again exactly what you saw and did yesterday?
 
I need to fill in any gaps I might have
in my notes.
 
I need to hear it from
both of you.”

Sue and Lin
each recounted their experience in turn as the young ranger carefully took
notes.
 
Lin was still feeling
antsy.
 
She was dying to ask about
the girl’s identity and condition and whether or not the missing Pete had been
located, but she managed to control herself until Mark appeared to be finished
with his note taking.

“May we ask you
a couple of questions?” she said when it appeared he was done. “Do you know
anything about the young woman’s condition? Have you found out who she is yet?”

“She had
surgery last night, I believe, to repair her shoulder and arm.
 
She was shot with what we think was a 20
gauge shotgun.
 
Did a lot of damage,
but no vital organs were involved. Luckily you found her and helped stop the
bleeding.
 
That probably saved her
life.
 
 
It’s going to take a long time for her to
heal fully, lots of therapy, but eventually she should be OK according to the
surgeon,” Mark offered.

Sue spoke up,
“What about that huge gash on her head? She had some other cuts and bruises
too.”

“We think that
somehow she went over the edge of that drop-off at the overlook.
 
Maybe the force of the shotgun, or maybe
she just fell as she was trying to get away from the shooter.
 
Possibly she hit her head.
 
She has a slight skull fracture and a
concussion.
 
Somehow though she
managed to crawl back up.
 
That
must’ve been shortly before you saw her fall at the roadside.
 
We’ll know more when she wakes up and we
can talk to her.
 
Right now she’s
still unconscious.”

Lin was itching
to ask for more details, but then maybe they weren’t known yet.
 
“Who is she? Were you able to identify
her from the car?”

“Actually, it’s
not her car.
 
She may have been with
the owner.
 
It’s registered to a
Peter Dunne from Charlotte.
 
He may
be a student here.
 
We’re still
looking for him but no luck so far.
 
I’ve got to get back out there to help with the search,” Mark added as
he rose to leave, “Thank you ladies for the information and please thank the
manager for the coffee and pastries.”

As the young
park ranger left the building, Lin turned to Sue. “I feel as if we ought to do
something for that young woman.
 
Here she is lying unconscious in a hospital without anyone knowing who
she is.
 
She has no family there to
be with her because the authorities don’t know whom to notify.
 
She must live or work somewhere around
here, maybe she’s a student, but probably no one has reported her missing.
 
I wish we could help.”

“I’m not sure
what we could do,” Sue spoke practically. “Most likely she’s in ICU at this
point, especially having just had major surgery; no one would be allowed to
visit her anyway, except family.
 
Lin, you’re just going to have to give this one some time.
 
Sooner or later she’ll be identified,
her family will be contacted, and things will work out.
 
I’m sure we can go to see her later,
when she is better and has been moved to a regular hospital room where she’s
allowed visitors.
 
Meanwhile,
patience is called for.”

“I just wish I
had as much patience in these situations as you do,” Lin remarked, “you’re
right, as always.
 
I just find it
hard to let these things go.”

“You don’t have
to let it go entirely,” Sue smiled, “just wait until there is actually
something concrete for us to do.
 
Meanwhile, I’m going to the room and read that new book I started before
all this came up.”

“And I think
I’ll take a walk to get rid of some of this restlessness,” Lin replied.

***

It was almost
six o’clock Sunday evening when Lin and Sue decided it was time to find
something for supper.
 
Sue had spent
the afternoon reading and napping.
 
Lin had walked from the lodge all the way to the university and then had
enjoyed walking through the grounds there, admiring the lovely beds of blooming
flowers and the shady park-like areas that graced the campus.
 
There were few students about on a
Sunday afternoon.
 
Everything was
calm and peaceful which she found relaxing.
 
When she returned she found Sue asleep
and had decided to take a nap herself.
 
Both had skipped lunch, and now were quite hungry.

“We need to
visit the market again while we’re out,” Sue reminded Lin.
 
“We’ll have to pack our lunches for work
here.
 
No apartment to return to or
nearby fast food spot on the Parkway.”

“I have an
idea,” Lin suggested,
 
“the manager
here told me that the Harris-Teeter store over on Blowing Rock Road has a salad
bar, pizza bakery, and even an Asian food bar in addition to a deli.
 
Why don’t we shop there for lunch stuff
and pick up something for dinner to bring back here.”

“I’ll vote for
that,” Sue replied, grabbing her purse and heading for the door.

Later, when the
shopping was done and they’d polished off the slices of pizza and bowls of
salad they’d purchased for their evening meal, Lin realized that Neal had said
he’d be calling her sometime that evening.
 
She hated to admit that she’d been so wrapped up in the events of the
weekend that she hadn’t really thought about him at all.
 
Now she checked the clock.
 
It was almost eight; he’d probably be
calling soon, being aware of the time differential.

“I think I’ll
go down to the lobby to get some coffee,” Lin announced, “care to join me?”

Sue winked at
her knowingly, “No, but if you’ll lend me your car, I think I’ll make a run to
the CVS pharmacy down the street.
 
I
need some shampoo and some other toiletries and I’d like to get them now.
 
Might be too busy once our week gets
going.
 
Do you need me to pick up
anything for you?”