Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery (5 page)

Still feeling
restless, Lin grabbed a book and made for the sofa in the office area across
from the master bedroom.
 
She curled
up under the throw Kate had left out—telling her it could sometimes get
chilly upstairs.
 
Maybe she could
forget this mystery she had uncovered by immersing herself in reading about
another.
 

She must have
drifted off to sleep because it was almost dark when Lin awoke to the ringing
of her cell phone on the nearby end table.
 
She grabbed for the phone hastily hoping it was Neal returning her call.
 
Fortunately, she was able to get it
before it went to voicemail.

She recognized
Neal’s number, “ Hi there.
 
Thanks
for calling me back,” Lin said, “I really wanted to talk to you.”

“Sorry I missed
you earlier.
 
I had to go out to get
a few things I needed for my trip and met a friend from the university for
coffee.
 
Guess I just didn’t hear my
phone ring.
 
There was a lot of
noise in Starbucks.
 
What’s
happening?” Neal asked.

“Oh, Neal.
 
You won’t believe what has happened here
since Kate left.” Lin felt her voice quavering as she talked.
 
She paused and took a deep breath.
 
She was determined not to seem upset by
all this, especially not with Neal.

“Tell me,
sweetheart.” Neal’s voice was gentle, “I’m listening.”

Lin began to
recount her story, beginning with her discovery on Saturday morning.
 
She realized that she probably sounded
just a little “shaken up” by the experience but she managed to continue the
story without breaking down.

Though she did
a good job of maintaining self-control, Neal did seem to pick up on her higher
than usual stress level.
 
About halfway
through her story he interrupted her.

 
“I’m sure anyone would be upset by all of
this,” he said reassuringly.
 

“That’s true,”
Lin confessed, “but I’m really fine.
 
It’s just been a lot to take in and try to understand.”

Lin brought
Neal up to date, telling him everything—even the part about Dorrie Johnson
being a suspected murderer.
 
It felt
good to share the whole thing including her own desire to know more about Liz
Frazier’s murder.

When she finally
finished talking, Neal was quiet.
 
He was obviously thinking about what he should say.
 
Lin realized that this was a shocking
story for anyone to hear.

“ You seem to
have a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time.”
 
Neal was clearly thinking about the
events of the previous spring in Arizona. “Of course, in this case, the crime
seems to have been committed long ago.
 
You did say the person you found died from natural causes?”

“Yes, yes,” Lin
responded, “she was stung by a bee or wasp or something and was apparently
highly allergic.
 
She didn’t have an
epipen with her—maybe she forgot it or lost it somehow.
 
I know I was surprised to see that the
insects were still active this late in the fall, myself.
 
It’s warmer here on the coast.”

“Well, you can
put this all behind you soon,” Neal offered. “I understand why you feel the
need to meet with this girl’s parents.
 
That seems to be the kind thing to do but maybe, after that, you should
just put it all aside.
 
You don’t
really need to meet with the sheriff, it seems to me.
 
There’s nothing you can do about any of
this.
 
It was an unfortunate
incident but that’s all, at least as far as I can see.”

“ That may be
true.
 
I realize all that,” Lin
responded, “but the entire episode has been unsettling. I guess I’m just
seeking some sort of closure for myself.
 
I feel sure that talking to the Sheriff and learning more about the full
story will help me to put all this behind.”

“Well, at least
let me go with you on Wednesday,” Neal sounded concerned, “I’ll be there and
you won’t be alone anymore.
 
Things
are always better when you don’t have to face them alone.” He changed the
subject, “I’m really looking forward to seeing you—we’re going to have
fun,” Neal was encouraging.

 
“I’m really looking forward to having you
here,” Lin responded. “Yes, it will be fun.
 
I can hardly wait to share this
beautiful part of my home state.
 
You’re going to love it.”

“I’m going to
love being with you,” there was warmth in Neal’s voice. “I‘ve missed you more
than you can imagine.”

“Me too,” Lin
responded, “and I’d be happy to have you with me on Wednesday.
 
Thanks for supporting me.”

They talked for
a few more minutes but only about things they would do when Neal came.
 
By the time the conversation drew to a
close, Lin felt very much her old self again excited about the prospect of Neal’s
upcoming visit.
 
She hadn’t forgotten
about her discovery, but that was more firmly in the background of her
thinking.
 
The weeks ahead were
going to be good ones, a chance for Neal and her to have personal time
together—more than just dates or even a long weekend.
 
It would, she realized, really be like
living together.
 
She wondered what
that would feel like.
 
It was
exciting, but also a little bit scary.
 
More than anything, however, she felt a sense of excitement and
anticipation about the coming holidays.
 

It was fully
dark now as Lin went downstairs to get something to eat.
 
Once again she found slim pickings in
the refrigerator and determined that she would have to go out to get some take
out.
 
That grocery-buying trip will
have to be high on the agenda once Neal and I return from Raleigh, she reminded
herself once more.

***

Mindful of her
meeting with Matt and Sara Johnson, Lin got up earlier than usual the next
morning.
 
She took Sparky for a walk
around the neighborhood, stopping by to see Eloise and make sure she had
everything she needed to care for the dog while Lin was away.

When that was
done, she packed her overnight bag; she made certain she packed her pretty new
outfit and didn’t forget the sexy blue nightgown.
 
She had to admit that she was excited
about seeing Neal in just a few hours.
 
Thinking about that dispelled her earlier anxiety about meeting Dorrie’s
parents.

Shortly after
nine, Lin was heading toward Manteo.
 
She wasn’t sure what she should say to the couple; perhaps their
questions would lead her.
 
She didn’t
want to share anything that might be overly disturbing, but she also wanted to
help them answer their questions about what had happened to their daughter to
the best of her ability.

When she
arrived at the waterfront dining room of the Tidewater Inn, the host greeted
her immediately, “You must be Ms. Hanna.
 
The Johnsons are expecting you.”
 
He guided her toward a table in the corner of the room that overlooked
the harbor.

Matt and Sara Johnson
looked to be about Lin’s age, maybe a little older.
 
They both appeared tired and a bit
drawn.
 
Lin realized that they had
probably not slept very well—not unexpected.

She introduced
herself as she took her seat.
 
Matt Johnson
offered Lin coffee from the pot that was already on the table. “We’ve not
ordered yet but there are lots of good choices on the menu,” he passed a copy
to Lin.
 
Sara Johnson didn’t say
anything.
 
Her blue eyes were rimmed
with red and she seemed to be trying to hold back tears.

After the
waiter had taken their order, Lin decided she would broach the subject they
were there to discuss.
 
She was sure
it was difficult for the couple to face the fact that their daughter was
gone.
 
Perhaps she should be the one
to break the ice.

“Let me tell
you once more how very sorry I am about your daughter. I have two children
myself who are probably about the same age, and I can only imagine how
difficult this must be for you.
 
I’m
sure you were proud of Dorrie.”
 
Lin
hoped that recalling better memories might help start this conversation.
 
It seemed to work.

Sara Johnson
turned to Lin with, at least, a hint of a smile. “Yes, we had become quite
proud of her.
 
Dorrie had really
turned her life around in recent years.
 
This is devastating for us—especially what the Sheriff…” she couldn’t
continue.

Matt Johnson
changed the subject. “Perhaps you could tell us about finding Dorrie, Ms.
Hanna.
 
I’m sure it has been
upsetting for you, and we appreciate your willingness to talk to us.
 
We just need to know where it happened
and what you observed—just to help us deal with the fact of losing her.”

Lin understood
and she told her story as simply and directly as possible.
 
Fortunately, she now felt able to
control her own emotions.
 
She
decided not to mention what she had read in the newspaper about Dorrie being a
murder suspect. It was obvious that Matt and Sara Johnson already knew about
that.

As Lin
concluded her account, Sara Johnson turned to her, “Are you sure that Dorrie’s
epipen was not evident at the scene? We find it hard to believe she would take
a walk in the woods without it.
 
She
has been allergic since childhood and always carried one with her as far as we
knew.

“I didn’t see
any sign of that,” Lin replied, “and I feel sure that the law enforcement folks
searched the area and her person for indications of what happened.
 
Perhaps she lost it or had left it in
her hotel room.”

“We went by the
Holiday Inn in Southern Shores yesterday.
 
The manager had cleared all of her belongings from the room and given
them to the Sheriff.
 
He returned
them to us, but there was no pen among the items.
 
None was found in the woods either, at
least not close to where she was found.”

“I’m sure that’s
puzzling to you,” Lin responded. “I find that unusual myself; however, there
are several long trails through the woods and some are over wet, boggy
areas.
 
It is quite a large
preserve.
 
If she were out walking
she might have lost it and it would be hard to find.”

“That’s true,
of course,” Matt Johnson spoke up. “It appears that Dorrie met with a most
unfortunate accident.
 
That is hard
to accept, but I think we’ll simply have to.
 
What I cannot accept is this character
assassination being perpetrated by Sheriff Midgett.
 
It’s bad enough to lose a daughter
without having her branded as a murderer who escaped punishment for more than
ten years.”
 
At this point, Lin
realized that Sara Johnson had completely dissolved into tears.
 
She got up and turned to Lin, “Thank you
for coming, Ms. Hanna.
 
I’m sorry
but I simply cannot sit here any longer, I do apologize.”
 
With that Sara made a hasty exit back
toward the hotel lobby.

Matt Johnson,
however, remained seated.
 
He was
clearly angry but in good control.
 
He offered Lin another cup of coffee.
 
She accepted, realizing that he needed
to talk more.

“If you have
time Ms. Hanna, I’d like to tell you Dorrie’s story, at least from our
perspective,” he began.

Lin consulted
her watch; she had plenty of time so she agreed. “Perhaps we could take our
coffee out on the porch.”
 
They had
obviously finished eating, although neither Sara Johnson nor her husband had
eaten much of their meals.

When they were
settled at a sunny spot beside the water, Matt Johnson began his story.
 
He related how Dorrie had gone through
some very difficult times as a college student, calling them her “wild”
years.
 
Apparently she’d left school
after her freshman year.
 
She had
come to the coast to work for the summer but the wild behavior had continued
and she didn’t return to school in the fall.

“Those were
tough times for us,” Mr. Johnson related. “ Dorrie was drinking, using drugs, and
refusing to listen to any advice.
 
Finally, we felt we had to cut her off, take a tough love approach, if
you want to call it that.
 
We felt
that she had to come to her senses on her own.
 
She certainly wasn’t willing to listen
to anyone else.”

He continued, “
The result was that we didn’t hear from Dorrie for almost two years.
 
It nearly killed Sara, but I felt we had
no choice but to stick to our guns.”

“When did all
this happen?” Lin asked.

“ We had laid
the law down to Dorrie in the fall of 2000—when she refused to return to
school and stayed down here—supposedly to work but, we think, mostly to
party.”

He continued, “
The next time we heard from Dorrie was the summer of 2002.
 
She was living and working in the
Washington, DC area and had returned to school.
 
She was attending a community college up
there.
 
She told us that she had
realized she needed to get her life together and she was ashamed to face us
with all her problems.
 
She left
here sometime in the fall of 2000—November, I believe she said it was.”