Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery (36 page)

Neal was
beginning to get the picture more clearly now.
 
Simon was as sick as his wife and even
more dangerous.
 
Mike Clark had been
his instrument of terror and torture, doing his evil bidding.

***

Lin woke from
her nap, and almost immediately, realized that the house was empty.
 
Sparky was lying on the rug beside her
bed, but there were no sounds coming from the office across the way where Neal
was supposedly working on his article.

She got up and
crossed the hall; there was no sign of Neal and no evidence that he’d been
working earlier.
 
She went back to
the bedroom.
 
As she entered, she
saw the note on the dresser.
 
She
smiled as she read it.
 
He’s gone to
meet the Sheriff she
thought,
maybe he’ll come back
with my ring.
 
Glancing at the
clock, she realized that she’d slept far longer than she’d intended.
 
It was already late afternoon.
 
Neal must’ve been detained in
Manteo.
 
She picked up her phone and
punched in his number.
 
It went
straight to voice mail.
 
He must
have it off for some reason, she realized.
 
She decided to call the Sheriff’s office to check on his
whereabouts.
 
Maybe he was
there.
 
When she reached the officer
on the desk she identified herself. “I’m trying to reach Neal Smith.
 
He said he was meeting the Sheriff at
the bank this afternoon.
 
I wondered
if he might still be there or meeting with the Sheriff at his office.”

“No ma’am,” the
young woman answered.
 
“The Sheriff
got back from the bank almost two hours ago, but Dr. Smith had called and left
him a message.
 
Said he wanted Sheriff
Midgett to meet him at the Whalehead Club.
 
I guess they’re still there.”
 
Apprehension grew deep within Lin as she contemplated the implications
of this message.
 
Why would Neal be
going to the Whalehead Club?
 
Why
would he want the Sheriff to join him?
 
It hit her like a bolt from the blue; Neal was in trouble.
 
She knew it.
 

She grabbed her
jacket and the keys to the jeep; her own keys were gone; Neal must’ve driven
her car.
 
At the last second she
decided to take Sparky with her, and she hastily leashed the dog.
 
Somehow, she didn’t want to be on this
trip alone.

***

Neal glanced
around hoping to see signs of law enforcement arriving, but he saw
nothing.
 
He felt a growing sense of
desperation.
 
Was no one coming to
help?
 
Had the Sheriff not gotten
his message? He no longer felt sure that he could escape this man.
 
Simon caught him looking around.

“Who are you
looking for?
 
This place is closing
in just a few minutes.
 
There’s no
one out here?
 
Did you not listen to
me?
 
Did you tell someone you were
coming here?”

Neal shook his
head in denial, “No one’s coming, you can see that for yourself.
 
You talked about Connie, now tell me
about Liz, that was a long time ago…” He wanted to keep Simon talking as long
as possible.

Simon got a far
away look in his eyes; he relaxed his grip on the gun just a bit, sliding it
away from Neal’s throat, but keeping it firmly against his chest. “Liz was
never worth much, not to herself, her family, nor to me,” he smiled. “She was a
sexy little thing though, always ready to party but…then she got greedy, found
that jewelry but didn’t know what to do with it.
 
I tried to tell her, tried to show her
that I could help her make something of herself.
 
If only she’d listened, I could use that
jewelry to grow my business, she could’ve had whatever she wanted.
 
I would’ve kept her in style, but she wouldn’t
listen.
 
She was greedy and way too
dumb to know what was good for her.
 
Well, she shouldn’t have come home when she did that night.
 
If she’d stayed away, I might’ve helped
her anyway.
 
She was just plain
dumb.
 
What happened was her own
fault.”

Neal was
beginning to run out of things to say.
 
How was he going to keep Simon talking?
 
He was growing more certain that he was
going to have to deal with this alone; no one was coming, at least not in time
to help.
 
Simon continued to stare
off into space, but he kept the gun firmly pressed against Neal’s body.

Finally, Neal
thought he heard a car in the distance.
 
Was someone coming into the parking lot?
 
He wanted to look, but didn’t want to
attract Simon’s attention.
 
The
crazy man was staring off into the distance, probably deciding on his next
move.
 
Neal decided to try to get
him talking again.

“OK, I’ve heard
your story now,” he said in what he hoped was a steady voice, “Now what about
my ring? How do I get it back?
 
What
do you want me to do?”

Simon turned
with an eerie smile, “Now you’re being reasonable.
 
That’s the way to do business, be
reasonable.
 
As you know, I use
jewelry as collateral; it keeps its value and carries no risk to the
lender.
 
Now, I’m going to ask that
you lend me twenty thousand dollars.
 
When I have the money, then you’ll have the ring—not before.”

“But, I don’t
understand,” Neal couldn’t believe what he’d just heard, “I own that ring now,
it’s mine not yours to use.”

Simon grabbed
Neal by the shoulder, jamming the gun further into his ribs a smirk on his
face. “I thought you were smart enough to understand that old saying, ‘possession
is nine points of the law’.
 
I
possess the ring; it’s in my control, and if you want it back you’ll get the
money—by tomorrow; otherwise, I’ll simply go elsewhere for my loan.
 
Don’t worry, I always pay my debts.”

Simon stared
off into space giving Neal a limited opportunity to glance over his
shoulder.
 
He observed that Pete
Midgett and two of his deputies were approaching slowly from the far side of
the house.
 
They were still some
distance away, however.
 
Midgett
signaled him to stay calm.

“OK.
 
You’re right.
 
You have the ring and I want it.
 
I’ll have the money in hand by tomorrow
morning.
 
Where shall we meet?” for
the first time, Neal realized he wasn’t alone.
 
He still wasn’t sure how he’d get out of
this unhurt, but at least, someone was coming.

“I’m not sure
where I’ll be tomorrow,” Simon had resumed his demeanor as a business
professional, but the gun was still firmly stuck in Neal’s ribs. “Don’t worry,
I’ll call you first thing tomorrow morning with directions.
 
Now we’re going to get up and walk
carefully back to your car, don’t try anything funny.”
 
Neal suddenly realized that Simon must
have seen the police approaching.
 
He felt him grip his collar firmly, pulling him to his feet. Oh my God,
Neal thought, I’m a hostage.

Simon started
to move back away from the bench dragging Neal along with him.
 
He stepped off the path onto a thick
patch of damp grass, and Neal realized that Simon’s foot was slipping.
 
His hand jerked back, and he momentarily
lost his grip on Neal’s collar.
  
Neal flung himself aside, diving toward the hedge that edged the
path.
 
He vaulted over the top
landing hard on the ground as Simon fired wildly toward him.
 
The shot missed.
 
He heard the sheriff’s men return the
fire and then the sound of running.

“He’s heading
toward the village, toward the lighthouse,” Pete Midgett’s booming voice rang
out.
 
There were no more shots for
the moment, but Neal could hear the deputies in pursuit.
 
He looked up to see Midgett standing over
him, “Are you hit?” he asked.

Neal shook his
head, “No, I’m fine, he’s crazy though, go after him, I’m OK.”
 
The Sheriff took off after his men,
moving surprisingly quickly for a man of his size.

Neal lay in the
grass where he’d landed for a few moments, waiting to catch his breath.
 
He continued to hear the sounds of
running and assumed the Sheriff and his men were still in pursuit.
 
Suddenly, in the distance, he heard more
shots, several fired in quick succession.
 
He got himself up and began walking back down the path toward the
club.
 
One staff member who appeared
to be locking things up approached him, “What on earth is going on? I thought I
heard gunshots.”

“You did,” Neal
responded, “and I’m not sure what they mean at this point.
 
The Dare County Sheriff and his men are
here.
 
They’re pursuing a man wanted
for a crime in Manteo.
 
If I were
you I’d go back inside and lock myself in.
 
I promise I’ll send an officer back to let you know when it’s safe to
leave, or I’ll come back myself.
 
Just don’t let anyone else in.”

The frightened
employee obeyed quickly.
 
Neal
continued on to the parking lot.
 
As
he emerged from the tall shrubs that bordered that part of the lawn, he
recognized Kate’s jeep pulling into the lot.
 
Realizing it had to be Lin, he hurried
to meet her.

She jumped out
of the vehicle and started to run toward him before realizing that her feet
were still too sore to manage a full out run.
 
She slowed to a walk as he quickened his
step to meet her.
 
Wrapping his arms
around her, he drew her close. “It’s Simon.
 
He ran toward the lighthouse and Pete
Midgett and his guys are chasing him.” Sparky was jumping and barking in the
vehicle trying to get out.
 
They
went back to the car to get him.
 
Neal grasped the leash firmly to keep the excited animal under
control.
 
Lin smiled and reached
down to calm the dog.

“I wasn’t sure
what I was going to find here,” she remarked, “but I didn’t feel like facing it
alone.
 
That’s why I brought
Sparky.”

“I’m still not
sure what’s going on over there,” Neal indicated the area near the
lighthouse.
 
There were more shots a
few moments ago but then nothing.”

At that moment
two Currituck County patrol vehicles pulled into the lot.
 
Evidently, Pete Midgett had called them
before coming out himself.
 
Neal
directed them toward the lighthouse and village then returned to Lin’s side.

They waited,
listening for sounds that might suggest what was happening in that part of the
park, but all was quiet.
 
“I don’t
know who was shooting when I heard those last shots—Simon or the officers,”
Neal said. “ I think we should stay out of their way; let’s sit over here to
wait,” he indicated a nearby bench, “and I’ll tell you what’s been going on.”

Lin listened
silently to Neal’s story. “Millicent Simon isn’t the only crazy person in that
family,” she shook her head in disbelief at Neal’s tale.

“You’ve got
that right,” he added. “The only thing that matters to him is his business and
his business reputation.
 
He has no
morals at all when it comes to respect for human life.
 
The guy is totally nuts.”

“And you are
totally lucky to be alive,” Lin said, holding his arm tightly.

“As are you,”
Neal leaned down to kiss her softly on the forehead. “I guess we both are, but
he still has your ring somewhere.”

“
It’s
just jewelry,” Lin said, shaking her head. “We still
have each other and that’s all that counts.”

At that point
they heard a siren approaching, and an ambulance pulled into the main entrance,
heading for the lighthouse area.
 
“C’mon,” Lin said. “It’s been quiet over there for awhile and now the
EMTs are here.
 
Whatever’s been
going on is over now.
 
Let’s go find
out.”

Together they
walked across the road and through the village toward the lighthouse where the
ambulance was just pulling into position.
 
Yellow crime scene tape marked a secured area around the base of the
lighthouse.
 
The door to the brick
structure hung open and slightly askew.
 

As Lin
approached the scene she stopped, momentarily averting her eyes. Neal took a
deep breath and dropped her hand in shock at what he saw.
 
The broken twisted body of Mark Simon
lay on the brick pavement at the foot of the tower in a growing pool of blood.

***

Almost two
hours passed before the broken body of Mark Simon was loaded into the
ambulance.
 
The Currituck medical
examiner had pronounced him dead at the scene.
 
The officers had closed the lighthouse
door as best they could and roped off the scene.
 
A deputy would keep watch to protect the
property until a better, more secure fix could be found.