Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery (13 page)

The woman
looked thoughtful and seemed to decide that she could spare a minute.
 
She stepped out on the porch and closed
the door behind her.
 
“My daughter’s
asleep, she has to work tonight, but I guess we could talk out here.
 
I just have a minute though.” She
indicated that Lin should sit in one of two rocking chairs that had seen better
days.

“Thanks,” Lin
said. “I promise I won’t be long.
 
I
need to get home myself. By the way,” she handed Mrs. Frazier the yellowed
clipping Tom had given her, “a friend of mine found this story about a
shipwreck.
 
He thought it might have
been the one where your daughter Liz found some jewelry.
 
I thought you might find it
interesting.”

Mrs. Frazier
refused to take the clipping. “That was bad business from the start.
 
Liz thought she’d found something
worthwhile, something she could use to get money, better herself, but all it
got her was a fiery grave.” Her voice caught on her last words.
 
Lin realized that Liz’s death was still
a source of pain for her and wished she hadn’t brought it up.
 
She quickly withdrew the paper and
placed it in her bag.
 
She feared
that Mrs. Frazier wouldn’t talk to her at all now.
 
The two of them sat in silence for a
moment.
 

Finally, Mrs.
Frazier spoke, “Seems everything is reminding me of Liz these days; you asked
about Dorrie.
 
She did come by last
week—I think it was Thursday. Yes, that’s right.
 
I get my hair done every Thursday
morning, and she came by just after I got home.
 
I was sure surprised to see her after
all these years.
 
You know they
always said she killed Liz, but I never did believe that—still don’t.”
Mrs. Frazier was insistent on this point. “Fact is, Dorrie didn’t even know Liz
was dead before last week.
 
Somebody
over at Tim’s Bar told her.
 
Told
her Liz was murdered and the Sheriff thought she did it.
 
I could tell she was shocked to hear
it—kept asking me over and over to believe she didn’t do that.”

“ You said you
never did think she did it, though.
 
What made you so sure she was innocent?” Lin asked.

“ I’m not sure,
just a feelin’ I guess.
 
Dorrie was
a sweet kid when she first came here—all mixed up and wild-acting
sometimes but still, a sweet kid.
 
She was all tore up about Liz—sat right where you are and
cried.
 
If she’d been guilty, I
don’t think she woulda come here.
 
She woulda high-tailed it outta here if she thought the Sheriff was
lookin’ for her, don’t you think?”

Lin had to
agree.
 
If Dorrie only learned that
Liz was dead when she asked about her at the bar, then it made sense to try to
see her family.
 
A guilty person
would surely have left the area before authorities learned she was back.
 
At least that seemed to make sense.

“Did Dorrie
have anything else to say to you?” Lin carefully explained that she was a
friend of Dorrie’s parents and they were trying to find out what she was doing
in her last few days.
 
“They’re just
trying to find some understanding and closure.
 
It’s been so shocking for them.”

“I know just
how they feel,” Mrs. Frazier said and Lin could only nod agreement.
 
“Connie, my other daughter, told me that
Dorrie was found dead last weekend—bee sting, she said.
 
I could hardly believe it.”
 
She continued rocking and Lin noticed a
tear trickling down her cheek.

“Well, you can
tell Dorrie’s folks that she was here for a good purpose,” Mrs. Frazier
continued as she rocked back and forth,
 
“She told me she came lookin’ for Liz because she had skipped out owing
her rent money all those years ago.
 
She came to pay her back, to make things right.
 
Dorrie gave me five hundred
dollars.
 
I tried to talk her out of
it, wasn’t my money, anyway; she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
 
Made me take it. She said it rightfully
belonged to Liz so now it rightfully belonged to me.
 
You tell her folks that, OK?”

“I will, Mrs.
Frazier, and thank you for sharing that.”
 
Lin gave Mrs. Frazier her cell phone number, “If you think of anything
else I ought to share with the Johnsons please give me a call.
 
I’m house sitting for a friend so I’ll
be here for the next few weeks.”

Mrs. Frazier
thanked her and rose from her chair.
 
She was still standing on the porch when Lin drove away.

Her visit with
Mrs. Frazier had given Lin her best news yet.
 
Although nothing she said proved
anything, Lin felt that her belief in Dorrie’s innocence would be a real
comfort to Matt and Sara Johnson.
 
As she drove into Kate’s neighborhood, she reflected on her day.
 
She had really learned a great
deal—maybe all that she needed to share with Dorrie’s parents.
 
There was one piece missing though.
 
They might feel better if they could see
the medical
examiner’s
complete findings regarding
Dorrie’s death.
 
Lin knew that they
might not want to know everything, but she didn’t get that feeling from Matt Johnson
when they last talked.
 
She decided
that she would call Ken Parker later and see if he could do anything to help in
that direction.

It was close to
four when Lin finally arrived home.
 
She was surprised to find that the Jeep was still missing; Neal hadn’t
yet arrived.
 
Sparky was there to
greet her, however.
 
The dog was
running back and forth on the screened porch, barking excitedly, eager for some
attention.

As she entered
the kitchen, Lin noticed that the answering machine was blinking.
 
That reminded her that she had silenced
her cell phone while she was talking with Tom and had yet to change the
setting.
 
Neal might have tried to
reach her.
 
A quick glance at her
phone revealed that there was indeed a voice mail message.
 
Neal had called more than an hour
earlier.

Lin checked
both messages.
 
They were the same,
both from Neal saying he would be late finishing up with the archeology team
and asking her if she wanted to join them later for dinner at The Crab Shack in
Nags Head.
 
She quickly returned his
call.

“ Hi there,
about time you called back,” Neal teased, “Guess you got my message.”

“I did, both of
them, I’m home now.
 
I had coffee
with Tom Miller this afternoon and had silenced my phone while we talked.
 
Forgot about it until now or I would’ve
called back earlier.”

“That’s fine,”
Neal replied, “I thought I’d be home by now but we’ve found some really good
potential sites for further surveys and decided to mark them today.
 
The other team members invited us to
join them for dinner tonight, are you up for that?”

“ Sounds like
fun,” Lin replied. “Are you coming home first or should I plan to meet you?”

“Oh, I’ll be
back in about an hour, we’re all too dirty to enjoy dinner at this point.
 
They’ve made reservations at The Crab
Shack for seven.”

“Sounds good,
see you soon then,” Lin replied, happy to have a chance to shower herself and
rest a bit before dinner.
 
She felt
she had had a productive day, but she was tired.
 

Sparky had
waited eagerly by the kitchen door throughout Lin’s conversation with Neal so
she left her bag on the table and grabbed his leash.
 
A quick tour of the neighborhood would
do them both good.

***

It was past ten
that evening when Lin and Neal returned from dinner with the team of
archeologists.
 
It had been a fun
evening.
 
Everyone was enthusiastic
about the prospects for working on the sites at Fort Raleigh.
 
Lin found their excitement was
contagious and she was especially happy to see Neal so eager to be involved as
a volunteer team member.
 
She
realized that it had been months since he had had the opportunity to do any
fieldwork.
 
This would be good for
him.

They had
lingered over coffee after dinner talking about plans for the following
week.
 
Neal was planning to return
on Monday to beginning gridding the sites they had identified.
 
They discussed their schedules as they
walked to the car.

“We can drive
over together,” Lin said, reminding Neal that she had volunteered to work with
a school group that day, “Maybe stay in town and do some Christmas shopping
after we finish at the park.”

“Good idea,”
Neal said. “I should be done by early afternoon.
 
I’ve already done some of my shopping, but
I could use your advice on gifts for your grandkids.
 
It’s hard to believe Christmas is only
three weeks away, we need to do something about decorating Kate’s house.”

“This weekend,”
Lin
responded, “we can find a tree maybe
tomorrow.
 
Kate showed me where she
keeps all her decorations.”

They let Sparky
out in the back yard for a few minutes before heading wearily upstairs.
 
It had been a long day and they were
both tired.

They lay in the
large bed happy to be able to rest.
 
The showers that had been promised earlier had finally arrived.
 
The gentle rain made a soft sound on the
roof.

 
“I’ve always liked to listen to the rain
as I’m falling asleep,” Lin said.

“ Me too,” Neal
responded, putting his arm around her.

 
“How did your day go?
 
We spent so much time talking about the
work at Fort Raleigh, I didn’t even ask you?”

“I think I
learned pretty much what I need to know,” Lin replied. She briefly recounted
her day’s activities, concluding with her visit to Mrs. Frazier. “I may talk to
Ken Parker sometime this weekend to see what I can find out about the ME report,
but that will probably be all I can do at this point.
 
I just hope this information will help
Dorrie’s parents.”

“It should,”
Neal
responded sleepily, “you’re a caring person Lin. Not
everyone would be willing to go so far to help someone, especially folks they
just met.”

“Well, not
everyone finds a dead body when they’re out walking the dog,” Lin reminded him.
“I think I’m helping myself, as much as I’m helping them.”

Neal drew her
closer and kissed her gently.
 
They
drifted off to sleep comfortable in each other’s arms.

Friday night’s
rain lingered until mid-morning Saturday, but then the gray clouds blew away
and were replaced by puffy white ones dotting an otherwise clear blue sky.
 
The front had brought colder
temperatures.
 
There was a decidedly
wintry nip to the air as Lin and Neal set out on their holiday errands.
 
They found a station playing Christmas
music on the radio.
 

They observed
Eloise stringing lights along her front porch with the assistance of Tom Miller
and stopped to say good morning.
 

“This shift in
the weather has put me in the holiday spirit,” Eloise smiled. “I had to bribe
Tom with breakfast to get him over to help,” she teased.

“We’re heading
out to find a tree ourselves,” Lin replied. “ I’m getting excited about my
grandkids coming,” she admitted. “They’ll be here in about two weeks, soon as
school is out.”

“That’s so much
fun,” Tom picked up on her light-hearted mood. “I still remember when my own
grandkids were small.
 
Made the
holidays so exciting.
 
I still get
excited about seeing them, even though they are all grown now.
 
They’ll be coming soon also.”

Eloise
announced that some of her family was also planning to spend part of the
holiday season at her home.
 
“We’ll
have to have a big Christmas party, what with all this company coming.
 
We can do it right here at my house,”
her eyes were sparkling in anticipation.

“Sounds like a
plan to me,” Neal joined in the festive mood. “Just set the date and Lin and I
will help.”

The festive
mood that started the day continued as they selected a tree and had it tied on
top of the car.
 
The nursery
promised it had been cut just the day before in the North Carolina mountains,
but Lin insisted that they take the tree back to the house and put it in water
before they proceeded with the rest of their plans.
 
She realized that many of the “fresh
cut” trees, even those sold in state, were often cut pretty far in advance of
actual shipment.
 
She had to
instruct Neal in cutting off part of the bottom so that the tree could more
readily absorb water.

“Guess, I’m a
novice when it comes to Christmas; sometimes I don’t even bother with a tree at
all. When I do, it’s generally a small artificial one,” he admitted. “ I really
am looking forward to having a real Christmas this year,” he grinned, “and
spending it with you.”
 
He wrapped
an arm around her and gave her a big hug.

“Merry
Christmas, Neal,” Lin smiled. “I’m glad you’re here.”

They left the
tree standing in a tub of water under Kate’s house and set out on the rest of
their errands.
 
The day passed
quickly, and Lin found no time to think about what she had learned the previous
day.

They stopped by
a local nursery and purchased two wreath forms.
 
Lin had noticed there was a large holly
full of berries in Kate’s yard, so she decided to make simple wreaths for the
front door and the porch.
 
Neal
offered to help by cutting the prickly branches for her.

They shopped
the outlet mall for a while, selecting shirts for Ben, Jr. and Brian and some
lovely silk scarves for Erica and Lucy.
 
Neal was pleased with the selections.
 
A couple of times he wandered off,
leaving Lin to shop on her own for a time, and she suspected he was making
purchases for her.

The children
were harder to shop for.
 
Lin wasn’t
sure what items were on “Santa’s” list, so she suggested that they head up to
Southern Shores where they might find a better selection at Wal-Mart.
 
After browsing the entire toy department
they finally settled on a selection of puzzles and games.
 
They ended their shopping by purchasing
wrapping paper and ribbon, including some red velvet ribbon for the wreaths Lin
planned to make.

By that time
they were both exhausted and a bit hungry.
 
They had eaten a good breakfast, but it was now almost three in the
afternoon.
 
Lin suggested that they
stop at the Starbucks for coffee and a snack before heading home with their
purchases.

They had just
settled down with steaming cups of dark roast Christmas Blend and blueberry
scones when Lin’s cell phone rang.
 
She didn’t recognize the local number, but she took the call, heading
outside where she could avoid the general hubbub in the noisy shop.
 
The caller identified herself as Connie
Frazier, Liz Frazier’s sister.

“Mom told me
you came by yesterday, I’m sorry I missed you.
 
I wait tables at Kelly’s and I had to
work last night so I took a nap.
 
I
really want to talk to you.
 
Mom
said you were asking about Dorrie Johnson.”

“That’s right,”
Lin
replied, “I’m trying to find out what she was
doing in the days before she died.
 
Her parents just want to have some idea.
 
They are really upset, especially with
it being reported that she was involved in your sister’s death,” Lin hesitated
to use the word murder.

“I know what
the Sheriff is saying,” Connie sounded angry, “but I also know that Dorrie
would never have harmed Liz.
 
She
was a messed up kid, but not that way…I told everyone back then that she never
hurt Liz, but no one believed me.
 
I
told them who killed Liz—at least
who
I think
did it.
 
They said then that there
was no evidence to prove that.
 
Everything pointed to Dorrie.
 
I talked to Dorrie last week too, later on Thursday after she talked to
Mom.
 
I went to her hotel and told
her what I thought.
 
She had some
ideas about Liz’s death too.”

Lin could sense
that Connie was upset and that she needed to talk to someone, but she realized
that the sidewalk was not in a good place for such a conversation.
 
“Maybe we could get together and you
could tell me what you and Dorrie shared.
 
I’m at the Starbucks right now, would you have time to come by?”

“Sure,” Connie
said.
 
“I don’t work until five and
I’m only a few minutes away.
 
I can
stop by before I go to Kelly’s”

“Good,” Lin
replied, “I’m with a friend.
 
We’re
sitting at a table near the back.
 
I’ll watch for you.”

Lin went back
into the coffee shop and told Neal about the call. He didn’t seem happy to have
their holiday mood interrupted by a return to gathering information about
Dorrie Johnson. “Besides,” he said, “it sounds like she wants to talk about who
killed her sister and that’s like beating a dead horse.”

“I realize
that,” Lin agreed, “Liz’s murder was more than ten years ago and Connie said
she told authorities about her suspicions at that time.
 
I’m sure they investigated all that
then—but Dorrie died sometime on Friday and Connie talked to her on
Thursday so she might know something more about what she did before her
death.
 
This will fill in some gaps.”

“I suppose,
you’re right,” Neal said.
 
He took
their cups to be refilled.
 

A short while
later an attractive young woman, probably in her mid-thirties entered the
shop.
 
She made her way to the table
where Lin and Neal were sitting.

“Can I get you
some coffee?” Neal was putting his best foot forward.

“Thank you,”
Connie smiled, “Medium roast, no room for sugar or cream.”

The line was
long. It was evident Neal would be a while waiting for the coffee so Lin
decided to go ahead.
 
“Connie, what
did you and Dorrie talk about when you visited her last Thursday.
”

“Well, we
mostly talked about Liz.
 
Had a good
cry over that, actually.
 
Dorrie
didn’t know Liz was dead, much less murdered, before she got down here.
 
She told me she had run away a couple of
days before Liz died—she owed Liz money so she left without telling her,
while she was at work one night.
 
Dorrie told me she was jealous of Liz finding that jewelry and thinking that
was going to be her ticket to a fresh start.
 
Apparently that made Dorrie think about
her own life, and she decided she had to get away from all she was into and
start over somewhere.
 
She ran away,
but she didn’t steal anything, nor hurt anybody.”

“ What about
the jewelry,” Lin asked, “ Did you see it?”

“Sure did,”
Connie said, “it was real pretty.
 
Looked real to me, but then I don’t know about those things. Liz said
Billy thought it was valuable though, and I guess he knew.”
 
There was a hint of bitterness in
Connie’s voice.

“Whose Billy?”
Lin asked.

“Billy
Thornton, he runs Island Pawn, Liz showed it to him,” she said. Connie lowered
her voice and stared at her hands.
 
Lin could see that she was trying to control her emotions. “I always
thought Billy was the one who killed Liz and set that fire.
 
I think he took that jewelry.
 
I told the cops that but they said he
had an alibi and it checked out, but I still think he did it.
 
He moved his shop to a new bigger place
right after that—and…” her voice trailed away as Neal returned.

Lin felt the
urge to keep Connie talking but she wanted to return to Dorrie. “What did
Dorrie think?” she asked.

“ She
disagreed, I think she always had a crush on Billy—he’s a handsome
guy.
 
Dorrie said Billy told Liz to
take the jewelry to Manteo to some of those gallery people and let them check
it out, you know, see what it was worth.
 
Dorrie had her own ideas about what happened to Liz.”

“What did she
think?” Lin pressed on.
 
By this
time Neal had placed the cup of coffee in front of Connie without interrupting
the conversation.

“Dorrie said
Liz was dating some guy from Manteo who ran some sort of shop—sold
antiques, art, something like that.
 
I didn’t know anything about who Liz was dating—she had a lot of
boyfriends—but Dorrie said this one seemed special, at least to her.”
Connie lowered her voice even more, “Dorrie said he was married and didn’t want
Liz to tell anyone they were dating, afraid his wife would find out, but she
remembered that they had a big argument over this jewelry Liz found.
 
He wanted to take it to his shop to keep
it safe.
 
Said someone was going to
steal it with Liz talking it up all over the place.
 
He said he’d keep it for her and find
out what it was really worth, but Liz didn’t want to let it go.
 
They argued and she sent him packin’.
 
This must’ve been about a week before
Liz died, a couple of days before Dorrie left town.
 
She thought he might’ve had something to
do with the whole mess, but I’d still put my money on Billy Thornton.”
 
By this time Connie seemed spent
emotionally.
 
She was close to tears
as she sipped her coffee.

“Did Dorrie
tell you this guy’s name?” Lin wanted to get as much information as
possible.
 
Maybe Dorrie tried to
contact this person.

“She couldn’t
remember, said she was high a good bit of the time when he was around.
 
She just knew he was from Manteo and he
was married.”

Lin realized
that all of this was interesting, but she still didn’t know what Dorrie did
during her last twenty-four hours.
 
Where did she go?
 
Who did
she see?
 
She turned to Connie. “Did
Dorrie tell you what she had planned for Thursday evening or for Friday?”

“As a matter of
fact, she said she intended to look up Billy Thornton, asked me if he was still
single.
 
It seems she had sort of a
crush on Billy back then.
 
When I left
her, she said she was going to stop by his store and see if it was still open.”

“Is Billy still
single?” Lin asked.

“Oh, yes, he’s
never married.
 
Lots of girlfriends
but he never settled down.”

Lin added one
more item to her “to do” list.
 
She
needed to talk to Billy Thornton.
 

***

Lin noticed
that Neal didn’t have much to say as they were driving back to Kate’s house.
 
They unloaded their purchases deciding
to put them upstairs until they had the opportunity to get them wrapped and
under the tree.
 

“We should try
to get the tree in after dinner,” Lin said. “If we can set it up the branches
will have time to relax a bit, and we can decorate it tomorrow.
 
She knew Neal was worried about the
information Connie had shared with them, but she decided not to bring that up
for discussion at the moment.
 
They
had enjoyed a fun day shopping and preparing for the holiday, and she wanted
that mood to continue.

“Let’s do it
now,” Neal gave her a small wink. “It’ll be easier to get it in while it’s
still light I think.
 
Let’s find the
stand and decide where to put it.
 
Then we can relax, have a drink,
make
dinner….”