Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery (28 page)

It was an
expansive area, running the entire length of the house and facing the
sound.
 
Sun lamps in the ceiling
provided warmth and light for a beautiful array of plants—orchids,
hibiscus, potted azaleas.

“This is
lovely,” Lin remarked, “and I can see that your garden outside is equally beautiful.”
 
She approached the back glass and looked
out on a beautifully landscaped lawn and well tended flowerbeds.
 
There were no blooms now but Lin could
imagine how lovely it would be come spring.
 
Her gaze fell upon a row of white boxes
along the back of the yard. “Are those hives?” she asked.

Millicent
nodded, “I’m both a gardener and a beekeeper.
 
The bees pollinate my flowers and fruit
trees and, they are my best friends,” her voice took on a strange, almost eerie
quality.

Lin looked
around the greenhouse and saw that the shelves contained not only gardening
tools and fertilizer but also gloves, nets, and other equipment that might be
used in working with bees.
 
As she
turned to speak to Millicent, her eyes fell on a stack of small boxes.
 
With a start, Lin recognized that they
looked just like the box she and Neal had found in the mud near the site of
Dorrie’s body.

Millicent
apparently noticed her staring at the bee boxes.
 
“The bees are my friends and they help
me.” She sounded as if she were far away, deep in thought.

“Mark is not my
friend—he’s not a good husband; he cheats on me all the time,” the
distant voice took on a menacing quality. “He tells everyone I’m sick, but
that’s his fault.
 
He even brings
his whores to this house.
 
He cheats
on me in my own home.”
 
The voice
grew higher. “I’m not going to take it any more.
 
He brought that girl here.
 
She tried to say he wasn’t her lover,
but I knew better—he loves them all.
 
I’m the only one he hates.
 
I
took care of her, and I’m going to take care of you.”

 
Millicent’s voice took on a menacing
quality.
 
“How dare you come into my
home, you
slut!
 
How dare you try to take Mark away from me!” Millicent grabbed a set of
garden shears from the table and whirled toward Lin who scrambled back toward the
greenhouse entrance striking her foot on a large bag of fertilizer. She tumbled
sideways, falling to the hard tile floor.
 
At that moment, Mark Simon burst onto the scene.

“Millicent,
stop right now,” he yelled.
 
He was
much stronger than she and managed to grab her arm and remove the shears from
her hand, casting them aside.
 
“Go
upstairs right now!” he commanded.
 
Millicent dissolved into tears, her anger dissipating as fast as it had
arisen.
 
She ran from the room and
fled up the stairs.

Simon reached
for Lin, helping her up and apologizing profusely, “I hope you’re not
hurt.
 
Millicent just isn’t herself,
and today has been especially bad for her.
 
She’s delusional, really doesn’t know what she’s saying.
 
He grasped Lin’s arm firmly, guiding her
back into the house and leading her toward a chair beside the fire.

“I’m ok, really
I am,” Lin resisted sitting down, “I just need to get my ring and get
home.
 
Please don’t worry about
Millicent.
 
I understand that she’s
ill.”
 
She wanted to add that she
needed more help than she seemed to be getting here at home, but she was afraid
to say more—just wanting to make a hasty exit.
 
Simon wouldn’t hear of it.

“You’re really
quite shaken, even if you’re not injured,” he insisted, slipping her jacket
from her shoulders.
 
“You must sit
down, and let me get you a cup of hot tea.
 
I’d be remiss if I let you drive right now, especially in this weather.
I insist that you sit here by the fire—just for a few minutes.”
 
He continued to grasp her arm and pushed
her gently into the chair. “I’ll be right back with some tea.”

Lin started to
protest further, but she did feel shaken.
 
She noticed that Simon had taken her jacket when he left the room and
wasn’t sure where he might have put it.
 
She tried, not very successfully, to quell her fears.
 
Millicent Simon was obviously a very
disturbed woman.
 
Perhaps she was
delusional, but Lin wondered about her earlier remarks.
 
It seemed she might’ve been talking
about Dorrie Johnson, and on top of that, this crazy woman was a beekeeper!
 

Simon returned
shortly with a tray bearing two cups of steaming hot tea and a plate of
cookies.
 
He placed the tray on a
nearby table and handed a cup to Lin, taking the other for
himself
.
 
He seemed to have completely regained
his composure, even if Lin had not.

“Do you have my
ring?” Lin was trying to remain calm and get this disastrous visit over with.

“I’m afraid I
left it on my desk when I heard the…er commotion.
 
I’ll go up and get it shortly, when
we’ve finished our tea.” He smiled as if nothing had happened, as if this was
merely a friendly visit.
 
Lin was
astounded that he could remain so calm.

“Your wife
seems really quite disturbed,” Lin found that she couldn’t ignore this
situation. “She made some serious accusations, and even if she is delusional,
she is obviously capable of violence.
  
Perhaps she needs to be in a more
secure environment, at least for the present.” Lin couldn’t pretend that what
had happened was insignificant, to be settled over a cup of tea.

“Really, things
are not quite as bad as they may seem to you, after this incident.
 
Millicent is usually quite calm, but I
think her medication is off a bit.
 
Her doctor is trying to adjust it.
 
Your presence must have disturbed her in some way.”

Lin couldn’t
believe he was trying to say she was responsible for Millicent’s outburst.
 
“Your wife seems to think you’re
unfaithful, she pressed on.
 
She
mentioned your bringing your lovers into her home, even said she ‘took care’ of
one recently.
 
I think she placed me
in that category, frankly.”

“Which
certainly proves her delusion,” Simon fixed his gaze upon her.

Lin took
another long drink of the hot tea.
 
She was more than ready to get out of here, ring or no ring.
 
She felt certain that Dorrie Johnson had
been in this house, and Millicent Simon had encountered her in some way.
 
Maybe, Dorrie’s allergic reaction came
from a sting received here.
 
The
weather was much warmer then, and the insects were still active.
 
Lin decided that it was time for her to
leave.

“I really must
be going now, if you’ll please get my coat, I’ll leave you to take care of your
wife.
  
I accept your apology
and I hope you’re able to get her medication straightened out soon.
 
After all, I wasn’t hurt, only
frightened and I’m sure she didn’t know what she was doing.
 
Don’t worry about getting the ring just
now, I’ll have Neal pick it up on Monday.”

“ Oh, I’ll get
it right now, and your coat.
 
I’ll
be back in just a moment.” Simon left the room.

Lin finished
the last sip of her tea.
 
She placed
the cup on the table as she rose from her chair.
 
She felt very strange.
 
The room began to swirl and tilt around
her. She reached out to steady herself, knocking the lamp from the table as her
knees crumpled beneath her, and she felt herself descending into a black void.

It was just
past six when Neal pulled into the driveway at Kate’s house.
 
He was later than he’d expected to be
and was dirty and tired. Had it not been the last day before the holiday break,
the team would have probably quit early; however, they’d pressed on with the
task of securing and covering the sites, knowing that it had to be completed in
spite of the weather.
 
Fortunately,
the heavier rain had held off.
 
The
forecast called for this storm to worsen overnight.
 
“The first Nor’easter of the winter
season,” the weatherman on the radio had called it.
 
Neal knew that these coastal storms
could bring damaging winds and flooding conditions.
 
While this one wasn’t predicted to be
quite as strong as they could be later in the season, there were still warnings
of high seas and risk of beach erosion and flooding on the sound side of the
islands.
 
Neal realized that there
was a good reason these folks had built their homes on sturdy piers.

He was
surprised to see that Lin’s car wasn’t parked under the house and there were no
lights on, inside or out.
 
He
gathered his things and climbed the steps to the main level.
 
He checked his phone to see if he’d
missed a call, but there was no message and no missed calls; he dialed Lin’s
cell number.
 
It went immediately to
voice mail.
 
That’s strange he
thought,
she doesn’t usually turn her cell off
,
maybe her battery is dead
.
 

Sparky got up
from his bed and leaned against Neal’s leg.
 
Funny, he wasn’t his usual exuberant
self.
 
Maybe this weather’s getting
to him, Neal reasoned.
 
He put his
phone aside and let the dog out into the yard to do his business.
 
Fortunately, Lin had left a large beach
towel out by the door to dry the animal when he came in.
 
The rain was beginning to fall harder,
and the dog still felt damp despite Neal’s best efforts to dry him.
 
He took him out onto the glassed porch
and turned on the gas fireplace, leaving the animal to dry more.
 
Sparky must’ve appreciated this because
he promptly curled up in front of the fire.

Neal checked
his watch.
 
It was almost six-thirty
now and no Lin.
 
He decided to call
Eloise.
 
The neighbor answered
promptly.

“Eloise, this
is Neal.
 
Lin’s not home yet.
 
Have you talked to her today?
 
Did she mention what her plans were?
 
I’m getting a little worried, what with
this rain and all.”

“I did see her
earlier.
 
It must’ve been about
twelve-thirty or one o’clock.
 
She
was heading into Manteo to pick up her ring, I believe.
 
She mentioned getting together for tea
later this afternoon; I’m surprised she’s this late myself.
 
Something must’ve come up.
 
Maybe she realized she needed to do some
errands while she was there.
 
She
should be along shortly, but I’m a little surprised she didn’t call either of
us.”

“Me too, it’s
not like her,” Neal tried not to let the worry show in his voice.

“Tom’s coming
over for homemade soup and bread shortly,” Eloise seemed to be trying to turn
the conversation to a normal topic. “When Lin comes, why don’t the two of you
come over and join us.
 
I’ve made
plenty and it’s a great night for soup.”

“Thanks,
Eloise.
 
We’ll plan to do that.
 
I was late getting in myself and I feel
sure Lin won’t feel like cooking when she arrives.”

Neal ended the
call.
 
He tried to shove his
concerns aside; after all, Lin was a responsible person, quite capable of taking
care of herself.
 
There must be some
logical explanation for her tardiness.
 
Her phone must surely be out or she would’ve called.
 
Traffic was probably bad due to this
weather.
 
She would certainly drive
slowly and carefully in the rain.
 
He continued to outline reasons why he shouldn’t be worried as he went
upstairs to shower.
 
Getting the
grime of the day off could only help things.

He did feel
better when he finished showering.
 
Wrapping
a towel around himself, he went to the stairs calling out for Lin.
 
There was no answer.
 
Still towel-clad he hurried downstairs
to check the parking area.
 
Lin’s
car still wasn’t there.
 
He did
notice that Tom Miller had apparently arrived next door.
 

Neal went back
upstairs and dressed quickly in jeans and a warm sweater.
 
He found a slicker and some rubber boots
in a downstairs closet and put them on, grateful that Kate seemed to be well
prepared for guests caught in inclement weather.
 
He grabbed a second slicker that looked
smaller.
 
Maybe Lin had experienced
car trouble.
 
She could be stranded
on the highway and she probably hadn’t taken any rain gear with her.
 
He stuffed the slicker and another pair
of rubber boots into a tote.
 
He
checked on Sparky, turned off the gas logs and let him into the house.
  
He decided to leave a note for
Lin, just in case, to let her know he was first going over to Eloise’s and then
he was going to drive over to Manteo to look for her.
 
“If you get home, call Eloise and then
call me on my cell,” he added.

“Still no
word?” Tom Miller greeted him at the door. “Eloise told me Lin hasn’t come home
yet.”

“No, and I’m
really getting worried now.
 
I think
I’ll go look for her, in case she’s had car trouble and is stranded.
 
Her cell phone must be out.
 
I’ve tried several times, and it just
goes to voice mail.”

“I’ll go with
you,” Tom said. “Eloise can keep an eye out here and call us if she comes
home.
 
Meanwhile, I’ve got a
suggestion,” he seemed hesitant, “Have you called the police to see if there
might’ve been an accident? I hate to mention the possibility but…
”
 
Neal was
dialing 911 before he could finish his sentence.
 
The operator he reached listened
intently, but then told him they’d had no calls from a Lin Hanna and no
accident reports, as yet. “Surprising given this weather, but so far nothing,”
she reported. She took Neal’s number and promised to call him should she
receive an emergency call from Lin or an accident report involving her
car.
 
Neal gave her a description
and the license number.
 
He was
growing more concerned by the minute.

Tom had already
gotten his own coat and boots back on and was ready to go.
 
Neal started to insist that he stay put,
out of the weather, but then he realized that he would be grateful for the
company of the older gentleman.
 
Besides Tom knew more about the roads in the area.
 
It won’t do Lin any good if I get lost,
Neal thought.

Eloise gave
them a tall thermos full of hot coffee to take with them and promised to keep
the soup hot until they returned—with Lin.
 
The two men were quiet as they headed
out, following the main route down the banks and into Manteo.
 
The rain was harder now, and the wind
had picked up a bit.
 
Visibility was
not great; Neal drove slowly so that they wouldn’t miss anything on the
roadside.
 
As they crossed the bridge
and entered the town, Neal felt a growing sense of anxiety.
 
They’d seen no sign of Lin along this
route.
 
The town was almost
deserted.
 
Apparently even the
restaurants had closed early, probably lacking customers due to the weather.

“I’m calling the
Sheriff’s office,” Tom announced, tapping the numbers on his cell phone.
 
When he connected he described the
situation, outlining the steps they’d already taken to try to locate Lin and
asking for help.
 
Apparently he was
getting the same information they’d already received from the 911
operator
.

“Let me talk to
them,” Neal knew that a person wasn’t considered missing for twenty-four hours,
but he’d be damned if he was going to wait that long to get some help finding
Lin.
 
He tried to explain that she’d
received some threats earlier, had been followed even but got nowhere.

“We’ve had no
reports about any of this,” the deputy on duty repeated. “If we hear anything
we’ll call you, and if she’s not home by midday tomorrow you can come in and
file a report.”

Neal took a
deep breath.
 
There was no point in
arguing with this person. “Is Sheriff Midgett there?” he’d decided to switch
tactics.

“Yes, sir.
 
Our entire crew is working overtime this
weekend because of the storm but I’m sure he’s busy, sir.”

“The Sheriff
and I have met earlier.
 
The missing
person is Lin Hanna, the lady who found the body of Dorrie Johnson, that girl
who died a couple of weeks ago.
 
I
need to talk to him now.”
 
Neal was
practically shouting but it seemed to have some effect.
 
Pete Midgett came on the line shortly.

Grateful to
have the Sheriff’s ear, Neal outlined the immediate situation. “I’m sure
something has happened to Lin,” he insisted. “Hopefully, just car trouble and a
dead cell phone but my friend and I have been looking for her, and we can’t
find her.
 
We need some help.”
 
He waited expectantly for the Sheriff’s
reaction.

“OK, then, why
don’t you come by my office and we can go over all this.
 
You can catch me up on what’s been
happening since the Johnson girl died.
 
If we’ve had no reports today then I’m not sure what we can find, but
I’ll alert my patrols to watch for the car.
 
Let me get the identifying information
again.”

Neal swallowed
hard, trying to stay calm, and repeated the information about Lin’s car.
 
“We’ll see you shortly, Sheriff, and
thanks for helping.”

It only took a
few minutes to reach the Sheriff’s office.
 
The wind had picked up and the rain was coming down harder.
 
Neal and Tom were dripping by the time
they entered the reception area.
 
The young officer behind the counter hastened to point out a rack along
the far wall where they could leave their slickers and boots; apparently she
was not eager to have them leave puddles on the carpeted floor.
 
She directed them to a conference room
and offered to get them a cup of coffee.

“Not for me,”
Neal declined her offer. “I’ve been drinking coffee steadily for the past hour,
probably had enough caffeine, but thanks.”
 
He was feeling increasingly worried about Lin, but he couldn’t blame his
anxiety on caffeine alone.

The Sheriff
arrived shortly.
 
He seemed somewhat
weary; it had been a long day and the weekend promised no rest for him or for
his staff, at least not until the storm let up sometime on Sunday.
 
He started to sit in one of the wooden
chairs at the end of the table and then thought better of it. “Let’s move this
meeting to my office.
 
We can all be
more comfortable there,” he suggested.

Pete Midgett’s
office was spacious but not particularly fancy.
 
The furnishings were simple but
comfortable and included a large leather desk chair more suited to the
Sheriff’s bulk than the wooden chairs in the conference room they’d left.
 
Neal and Tom settled into the
upholstered armchairs that faced the desk.
 
Midgett removed a stack of files and picked up a pen and pad on which to
take notes.

“OK, why don’t
you start by telling me what you know about Ms. Hanna’s activities today.
 
What were her plans? Where was she
going?
 
When were you expecting her
home?”

Neal outlined
what he knew about Lin’s plans making sure to include the fact that she’d told
Eloise she’d be back in the afternoon and they could have tea. “So far as I
know that’s all she’d planned—run some errands this morning, pick up her
ring from the Simon gallery, then go home.
 
She didn’t call Eloise or me to change anything, and now I can’t reach
her cell phone.
 
It goes straight to
voice mail.”

Midgett pushed
a button on his desk set, “ How ‘bout giving Mark Simon a call.
 
Find out if Lin Hanna came in to get her
ring today and what time that was for me.”

“At least that
way, we’ll know if she did make it into town and when she might’ve left,” he
explained, “Now maybe you can catch me up on what’s happened regarding the
death of Dorrie Johnson since we talked a few weeks ago.
  
I guess you know Ken Parker over
in Kill Devil Hills has been looking into that as part of his investigation of
the death of Connie Frazier.”
 
He
shifted in his chair, reaching for one of the files. “ Depending on how this
case with Billy Thornton works out, we might be reopening the investigation
into Liz Frazier’s death also.
 
I
guess I might’ve been a bit quick, jumping on Dorrie as the guilty party there,
but that’s the way things looked ten years ago.”