Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery (15 page)

“I began doing
some baking for the holidays today, but this seems like a good time for a shot
of sugar to go with our caffeine,” she declared.

Lin had to
agree.
 
Hot fresh coffee and
delicious chocolate chip cookies were the perfect prescription.
 
Caffeine and sugar were supposed to make
one jittery, Lin realized, but right now she found them soothing.

Neal soon came
in to report that everything seemed sound and undisturbed.
 
“I think Sparky must have scared off the
intruder, that along with Eloise being alert enough to call the cops and turn
on all her lights. We had only left lights on at the door and on the porch,” he
shook his head, “next time we go out, we’ll light the place up in full”

“ I don’t want
to worry Kate, but maybe I should call her next week and see if she wants to
have an alarm system put in,” Lin offered.

“I don’t think
many folks in this neighborhood have one—maybe some of the summer
families,” Eloise mused. “We’ve really never had any break-ins here that I can
recall. Guess times are changing.”

Neal and Lin
didn’t stay long.
 
Neal helped
Eloise check her own house before they left, just to be safe.
 
They thanked the kindly neighbor for her
help and hospitality and walked back to Kate’s.
 
Once inside, they checked all the doors
and windows one more time before going upstairs to bed.

The stresses of
the evening—her conversation with Neal about his concerns for her safety
and well being, along with the shock of the attempted break-in—caught up
with Lin and, in spite of her late dose of caffeine and sugar, she fell asleep
almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
 

Neal took one
last look at her lovely face as he turned out the light and settled in
himself.
 
He wasn’t sure what was
going on here, but he feared that tonight’s prowler was not simply a thief
looking for valuables.
 
He might be
wrong, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that these events were somehow related
to all the other stuff going on here.
 
Who was this prowler? What was he after?
 
All these concerns floated through
Neal’s head as he pulled Lin close to him in a protective embrace.

***

Fortunately,
Neal had remembered to set an alarm or Lin would surely have overslept.
 
He was already up and showering when the
jangling noise roused her with a start.
 
She lay back on her pillow clearing her head and trying to think about
the day ahead—leading the school group on a field trip while Neal worked
on gridding the survey sites.
 
After
that, they had to head back for their appointment with Ken Parker.

At least I can
kill two birds with one stone, Lin thought.
 
She could use the meeting with Ken about
the attempted break-in to ask if he could inquire about Connie Frazier as well.

“See you’re
up,” Neal said as he exited the bathroom, his hair still damp from the shower.

“Thanks to the
alarm, otherwise I’d still be sleeping.”
 
Lin hopped out of bed and dashed quickly to get her own shower.
 
She was glad she’d taken the time last week
to review the background material for the field trip.
 
She just hoped she could fit into one of
Kate’s volunteer uniforms.

By the time Lin
had showered and dressed Neal had coffee ready downstairs.
 
He found a few muffins left over and
warmed them for a quick breakfast.
 
They had just finished eating and were stacking their dishes when Lin’s
cell phone rang.
 
She saw that it
was Ken Parker, so she took the call as she let Sparky out for a few minutes
before they left for the day.
 
She
went to the porch so that she could see the dog as she talked.

“This is Ken
Parker,” the young officer identified himself. “I understand you folks had an
unwelcomed visitor last night.”

“Unfortunately,
we did,” Lin replied, “thanks to Sparky and our neighbor no damage was done.”
 
She went on to praise the professional
manner of the young officer who had been on the scene.

“Thanks, I’ll
pass that along,” Ken replied, “Actually, I need to talk to you about something
else.”

Lin
interrupted, “We’re due at Fort Raleigh shortly and were just on our way out
when you called, but we’re coming in this afternoon about one to fill out the
paper work for this attempted break in, could we talk then?”

“If that’s the
earliest you can make it, I suppose it’ll have to do,” Ken replied,
 
“ but plan to stay after you do the
paperwork so we can talk.” He sounded serious.

“We will,”
Lin
responded, “I had something I wanted to ask you about
anyway, but may I ask what you need to discuss with us?”

Ken was quiet
for a moment before he spoke.
 
There
was a concerned weariness in his voice, “ Connie Frazier’s body was found this
morning in the dumpster behind Tim’s Bar and Grill.
 
According to her Mom she went to meet
you Saturday afternoon before she reported for work that evening.
 
That was the last time her Mom saw
her.
 
You must have been among the
last people who talked to her; we need to know what was on her mind.”

Lin was
stunned.
 
She couldn’t find her
voice for what seemed like a long time but was probably only a few
seconds .“
Neal was with me when I talked to Connie.
 
We’ll both be in this afternoon and will
be happy to share any information we have.
 
I can’t believe this has happened.”

“I know,”
Ken
replied, “it’s tough.
 
I’ll expect you both at one.”

Lin hung up the
phone and called Sparky to come in.
 

“You won’t
believe what’s happened,” she told Neal as she came back to the kitchen.
 
She briefly shared Ken’s news as they
gathered up their belongings for the morning at the fort.
 
He was equally shocked.

They were both
silent as they drove down the main highway and crossed the Baum Bridge to
Roanoke Island.
 
Finally, Neal
spoke. “This raises a lot of questions in my mind—Connie dead, the
break-in attempt at the house, the fact that you’ve been asking questions about
Dorrie Johnson, not to mention the stuff Connie brought up when she talked to
us.
 
What if it’s all tied together
somehow?” he grasped Lin’s hand and squeezed it. “Frankly, I’m concerned, extremely
concerned for your safety.”

Lin tried to be
reassuring, “ We shouldn’t try to make assumptions, we’ll talk to Ken this
afternoon and he’ll probably have more information by then.
 
This time I’m borrowing a page from your
book,” she smiled and gave his hand a squeeze, “let the police do their job and
figure this out.
 
Besides, we’re in
this together. I’m concerned for you too.”

Neal gave her a
smile. “You’re right.
 
We’ll just
have to wait until this afternoon, maybe Ken will have some answers for us
then.”

The morning
passed quickly.
 
Herding a group of
inquisitive third graders around the park was more than enough to keep Lin
occupied.
 
She enjoyed the
enthusiasm of the youngsters and was glad that they had lots of good
questions.
 
Evidently their teacher
had prepared them well for this field trip.
 
Before they left they stopped at the
visitor center where the staff had prepared hot chocolate and Christmas cookies
for the group.
 
Lin took a moment to
talk with the teacher and complement her on the student’s good behavior as well
as their enthusiasm.

“It was a
pleasure to work with your students, I really enjoyed them,” Lin said.

“Thanks,” the
young teacher responded, “you did a super job with them.
 
Have you had much experience with school
groups?”

“Actually, your
class is my first here, but I spent more than fifteen years as an elementary
principal before my retirement last year.
 
I guess you could say I’ve had my fair share of experience with kids,”
Lin smiled. “It’s fun for me to have the chance to do things like this.”

The teacher
rounded up her group and prepared to leave.
 
Lin said her goodbyes and wished
everyone a Merry Christmas as they boarded the school activity bus that had
pulled up out front.
 

When the kids
left, Lin returned to the office area and checked the schedule for the week
once more.
 
She was scheduled to do
another group on Wednesday, but that was all for this week.
 
She checked with the ranger on duty and
asked if he needed her for anything else, but he said everything was good so
she was free to go anytime.

Checking her
watch, she saw that it was just a few minutes past eleven.
 
If Neal could wrap things up at the site
where he was currently working, they might have time for lunch before they met
with Ken.
 
She pulled out her cell
phone and called him.
 
Fortunately,
he was almost done with the first survey site. “If you could walk down here and
help me bring the equipment back, we could be off in just a few minutes,” he
said.

“I’m on my
way,” Lin replied as she headed out the door and down the path toward the
forested area near the shoreline.

They made quick
work of loading the equipment on a cart and returning it to the storage shed
behind the visitor center.
 
Neal
went in to let the staff know that he would return the next day to continue the
gridding.
 
Hopefully, he could have
most of the sites ready when the full team returned on Thursday for a few days.

As they drove
back toward the center of Manteo, they were both quiet and thoughtful.
 
Without the welcomed distractions of
their work, they were both thinking of their coming visit with Ken Parker.
 
Finally, as they were parking near the
waterfront, Neal turned and forced a smile. “Let’s try that neat little café we
noticed when we were down here talking to the Sheriff; you know, the one across
the street from the waterfront with all the blue glass bottles in the
windows—what was it called?”

“I think it’s
the Full Moon,” Lin responded. “It’s a brewery too, I think.”

“That’s the
ticket,” Neal managed a smile, “Nothing like a good lunch before talking to the
cops. I’m a bit grubby though, should’ve brought a fresh shirt with me.”

“You’re fine,”
Lin said as Neal straightened his collar and slipped his jacket on.
“Fortunately, it’s pretty cool today, your jacket covers the smudges,” she
teased.

They did enjoy
the café.
 
Neal had a crab cake
sandwich and a dark beer while Lin decided on seafood chowder, a salad, and
iced tea.
 
Neither of them brought
up the topic of their upcoming visit with Ken.
 
Instead, they resumed their discussion
of plans for things to do during the upcoming family visit.

Soon enough
lunch was finished, and they reluctantly left the café to head back to Kill
Devil Hills for their appointment.
 
Lin found her thoughts returning to questions about what had happened to
Connie.
 
It was hard to believe that
the vibrant young woman they talked to less than two days ago was now
dead.
 
Lin found it hard to
comprehend.
 
She had come to the
coast to help a friend and enjoy a holiday vacation with Neal, her kids, and
their families.
 
She had been here
less than two weeks and already things seemed to be spiraling out of
control—two dead young women and lots of unanswered questions.

***

They arrived a
few minutes early for their appointment.
 
The receptionist was expecting them and ushered them into a conference
room.
 
“Sgt. Parker will be here
shortly, he’s meeting with the crime scene techs right now.” She gave them a
couple of
forms,
“These are the report forms for the
attempted break-in last night at your place.
 
You can be completing these while you
wait.”

The forms were
pretty straightforward.
 
They had just
completed them when the door opened and Ken came into the room.

Greetings were
exchanged, and Lin introduced Neal to Ken. “I’m sorry this happened,” Lin said,
“but I’m glad you’re the one in charge of this investigation. I feel confident
you can learn why someone wanted to break into Kate’s house.”

“I certainly
hope so,” Ken responded, “but I’m afraid just now the death of Connie Frazier
is our top priority.”

“Of course,”
Lin agreed. “It’s hard to imagine she’s dead.
 
We just talked to her Saturday afternoon.”

“That’s why I
need to talk to the two of you,” Ken prepared to take notes and pulled out a
small tape recorder. “Do you mind if I record our conversation? It helps me to
keep track of information gathered during our investigation.”

Both Neal and
Lin nodded their agreement.
 
Over
the next few moments Lin explained how she had been inquiring about Dorrie Johnson
activities before her death on behalf of her parents. “I talked to Mrs. Frazier
on Friday because Dorrie had visited her earlier.
 
Apparently Connie was asleep at that
time.
 
She called on Saturday and
said she wanted to talk to me, so I invited her to come meet with the two of us
at Starbucks.”

Lin related
what she could remember of their conversation with Connie; Neal filled in the
gaps from his recollections.
 
She
covered everything she could think of, including Connie’s suspicions regarding
Billy Thornton and Dorrie’s comments to Connie about the boyfriend Liz had
argued with prior to her death.
 
Ken
was quiet, taking notes and asking questions as the story proceeded.

“Actually, I
had planned to ask you to inquire about Connie failing to show up for work last
night before you called us this morning with the news of her death,” Lin
said.
 
“I was also planning to ask
you about the ME report on Dorrie Johnson.”

Parker seemed a
bit puzzled, “Why were you going to ask about the report on Dorrie?
 
We turned all of the information we had
on her over to Sheriff Midgett since it related to his case regarding the
murder of Liz Frazier.
 
I’m sure
that the medical examiner would’ve kept a copy, but we are no longer involved
in that case.
 
Why were you
interested?”

“I think
Dorrie’s parents would like to know more of the details regarding her death and
apparently the Sheriff didn’t share a copy with them; he only told them about
the finding of death by a severe allergic reaction,” Lin responded, “I talked
with the Johnsons, at Sheriff Midgett’s request, and they asked me to try to
learn more about what Dorrie was doing while she was here.
 
Basically, I have already collected some
information but they would like more particulars I think.”

Ken reached
into his wallet and produced a business card with contact information for the
Dare County Medical Examiner’s office, “I think that their best bet is to
contact the ME directly.
 
He would
only release that information to the family, I’d imagine, since there is no
ongoing criminal investigation into Dorrie’s death.”
 

Lin took the
card and slipped it into her pocket, “I’ll share this with them, thanks, Ken.”

“Well, I guess
that just about wraps up what I need to know about your conversation with
Connie.
 
You’ve been very helpful,
but I have a couple of follow-up questions.
 
First, was it very crowded in Starbucks
when she was there?
 
Could your
conversation have been overheard?”

This time it
was Neal who spoke up.
 
“Yes, it was
a busy place.
 
We were seated near
the back, but there was an almost continuous line of customers, and it is quite
possible someone may have overheard part of what she was saying.”

“I see,” Ken
made a note regarding this fact. “Anything else you can add to what we’ve
already gone over?”

Again, Neal
spoke up.
 
Lin was a bit surprised
when he spoke.
 
“ I can’t think of
anything more we could add to what we have already told you, but I think we
both have some questions we would like for you to answer for us.
 
I know this is a major, on-going
investigation you’ve got going here, and you are probably not at liberty to
share much information with us, but I for one am becoming quite concerned that
this attempted break-in we experienced last night was not a simple robbery
attempt.
 
What if that was somehow
connected with our seeing Connie yesterday?”

Ken sat thoughtfully
for a moment, reviewing all of his notes and perusing the completed break in
reports they had completed.
 
Surprisingly, he did not seem at all dismissive of Neal’s concern.
 
Finally, he spoke, “Please excuse me for
a moment and let me get the remaining file on the break in, I’ll be back in a
moment.”
 
He got up and left the
room.

When he
returned a few minutes later, he had the file on the break in attempt.
 
Adding their reports to the stack of
papers, he took a few moments to carefully read everything in the file.
 
When he had finished he sat back and
looked straight at Neal. “I think you have good reason to be concerned.
 
I’m going to ask that a police patrol car
make regular
passes
through your neighborhood
beginning tonight.
 
Don’t be alarmed,
but if you leave, please make sure there are lots of lights on.
 
Maybe you might even want to leave the
outside lights on all night for a time.”

Lin spoke up,
“We appreciate your help and we will take precautions.
 
What makes you think that there might be
a connection here to Connie’s death?”

Ken seemed
hesitant to answer but finally he said, “We can’t be absolutely certain until
all of the crime lab reports are in, but our officer on the scene found a short
crowbar in the shrubs near your place.
 
Connie Frazier was badly beaten.
 
Her official cause of death has not been confirmed as yet, but it
appears she was attacked with a blunt instrument of some kind.
 
There could be a connection there.”

Lin was
stunned.
 
Was their prowler trying
to break in and attack them?
 
She
had assumed the crowbar was only a device for getting into a door or window,
perhaps to steal something.
 

Apparently,
Neal had already had other thoughts, “I was afraid of that,” he said soberly.
“There are too many things going on here for
there
not
to be any connections.
 
What did the
crime scene techs find this morning?
 
Were there any helpful prints?”

“Not much at
the house,” Ken responded, “the prowler evidently wore gloves.
 
There were some footprints but of a
rather generic pattern found on many rubber boots.
 
Almost everyone who lives here has
rubber boots to wear when fishing.
 
They might help us, but I doubt it.
 
Our best bet is finding some trace evidence on the crowbar that might
tie it to Connie.
 
We’ve contacted
the state lab in Raleigh about that work already.”

“I guess we’ll
just have to wait on that information,” Neal said, “but I feel I must share
with you my general concerns about this entire situation.”
 
He carefully explained to Ken what Lin
had been doing on behalf of Dorrie’s parents, even though Lin had already
mentioned this, and the feeling he’d had that, somehow, all of this was tied
together.
 
“I know that Dorrie’s
death was ruled an accident, and there’s no evidence otherwise, but I can’t
shake the feeling that somehow Lin’s presence here, her talking to folks about
Liz Frazier, her visiting with Connie, all of that seems to have ‘stirred up’
something.
 
I’m not sure how
everything fits together, but my gut feeling is that it does fit somehow and it
has me worried.” He reached instinctively for Lin’s hand.
 
The gesture was not lost on Ken Parker.