An Equal Measure of Murder

by B. T. Lord

  Her fingers shook as she brought up the keypad on her cell. She pressed down the first number. Then the second. As she paused to check the paper for the third number, the door to the cottage suddenly flew open. She jumped in fright, the cell tumbling from her hand and onto the floor.

  She hadn’t heard the wind, but it howled into the house, throwing itself against her face. Springing out of the chair, Violet hurried to the door. She grabbed the doorknob to push it closed when the wind abruptly stopped. Perplexed by both the door abruptly flying open and the wind dying down, her bewilderment turned to panic when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It was the same feeling she’d gotten in the basement. Where she’d discovered the nightmare.

  She wasn’t alone.

  Someone was standing behind her.

  She stood paralyzed, unable to move. Her heart hammered in her ears and her knees weakened. Her eyes scanned the foyer looking for a weapon, anything to defend herself with. On the table was a lamp. If she could move quickly and grab it –

  It had to be fast. Violet gathered her courage, then leapt forward. She managed to curl her hand around the base of the lamp. She tore it out of the socket and turned around.

  “NO!”

  Violet screamed as the voice rushed at her. And a face.

  Dear God, it can’t be.

  “You never should have fired me the way you did,” he yelled before grabbing the front of her sweatshirt.

  “You bastard!” she shrieked. She swung the lamp before her like a baseball bat. The shade flew off as the bulb exploded against the side of his arm, cutting the skin and spraying blood into the air He staggered backwards, bellowing in pain.

  Overcome with panic, Violet turned and ran out into the night. Consumed by the primal urge to survive, she ran blindly, her only thought to get as far away as she possibly could from the house and the man inside.

  It wasn’t long before Violet’s body seized up. Her chest exploded in agonizing pain as she tried desperately to catch her breath. She was out of shape and lacked the stamina to keep going. But he was back there somewhere. Ready to kill her.

  She pushed herself forward.

  The sound of the pounding waves caused her to skid to a stop. Damn it, she’d gone the wrong way! Instead of running towards the road where she might have been able to flag someone down, she’d instead headed towards the cliff.

  She was trapped.

  Her mind teetered on the hysterical. No, wait. There was a path here somewhere. It led down and through the marshes. On the other side was the road.

  If she could find the path, she could get to the road.

  Violet tried to move forward, but her legs were like rubber. Her chest hurt so much, she found it difficult to breathe. She tried to calm her racing heart. She looked back towards the house and realized she was alone. He hadn’t come after her.

  She must have disabled him when she hit him with the lamp.

  She felt a spark of hope.

  As her breathing slowed, the cold crept in. She’d run out without a coat and the night temperatures were below freezing. She reached into her jeans pockets to call for help before remembering she’d dropped her cell when the door blew open.

  Despair welled up. She was alone. And defenseless. And in danger of freezing to death. All she had left were her wits. And the urge to survive.

  Surrounded by a night sky made darker by overcast clouds, Violet forced herself to walk on. At first, she was frantic to find the path. Then she recognized that even if she couldn’t find it, she could still hide out among the reeds. They were so thick, he’d never find her. She just had to reach them.

  Forcing the hysteria down, she continued walking. She couldn’t see where she was going, but, unless he had a flashlight, he was as helpless as she was. She just had to keep ahead of him and reach the marshes. She pushed aside the realization that she might freeze to death in the icy water. She’d worry about that later. Right now, she had to stay focused. Her only hopes of survival lay in hiding away from him.

  Her body grew increasingly numb from the cold, but she pushed herself to keep going. She felt as though she’d been walking for hours. Yet, there was still no sign of him.

  Maybe he gave up.

  The thought that he’d decided to let her go gave Violet added courage. However, the courage faded away when she heard the sounds of the ocean growing louder again. She came to an abrupt halt as the horror of what she’d done sank in.

  She hadn’t walked towards the marshes. Somehow, in the dark, she’d become disoriented.

  She was right back where she’d started.

  Terror seized her.

  All rational thought disappeared as Violet ran blindly through the darkness. A wind came up, blowing against her face. She struggled to keep moving against the chilly gusts. Her strength ebbed as her exhausted legs stumbled beneath her. Tears froze against her cheeks.

  Then she took a wrong step. She cried out as her ankle twisted and she sprawled to the ground. She immediately tried to scramble to her feet, but it was too late. A pair of ice cold hands grabbed her by the middle and jerked her up. Violet frantically begged for her life as she fell apart. Fighting against the iron grip, the last of her strength ebbed away.

  “Why? Why are you doing this?” she screamed.

  “Because you wouldn’t listen.”

  The last thing Violet heard as she was propelled through the air was the sound of chilling laughter. It grew fainter until it stopped altogether when she hit the ocean-soaked rocks below.

  Cammie had gotten to the point where she’d walked the beach at Paradise Cove so many times, she was on a first name basis with the seaweed and sand. Equally bored, Jace discovered a beach further up the coast that had caves carved into the cliff wall.

  “Maybe we’ll find one that’s haunted,” he joked. “According to Aunt Maud, some of the coffins from the shipwreck ended up in those caves.”

  Cammie looked forward to meeting a ghost if only to break up the monotony.

  They borrowed one of the hotel’s vehicles and drove the forty-five minutes to the parking area atop the cliff. The sun was out for a change, but as soon as they reached the bottom of the metal stairway, the wind from the surf cancelled out any warmth. Thankfully, the two had bundled up and they basked in the sunshine as they walked down the beach hand in hand.

  “How did your aunt and uncle end up out here anyway?” Cammie asked as she watched the waves ebb and flow in their eternal rhythm.

  “They found out about the Coffins years before it became popular and fell in love with the place. They vacationed here every July, staying at the hotel they ended up buying when the owners decided to retire. I’d always wanted to visit, but…”

  Cammie smiled. “But your father would have had a fit if you went to visit the brother he hates.”

  Jace shrugged. “Dad doesn’t hate Glenn. He just—”

  “Dislikes him? Despises him? Disrespects him?”

  Jace threw her a pointed look. “Behave yourself.”

  “Let’s face it, Jace. When your dad doesn’t like someone, he doesn’t go out of his way to hide it.”

  She knew because Harold Northcott didn’t like her. At all.

  “Okay, he can be a little ornery.” She raised an eyebrow. “Alright. He can be very ornery.”

  “What happened between the two of them?”

  “To be honest, I don’t really know. When I was a kid, I remember us all visiting Glenn and Maud on a farm they owned outside Portsmouth. Then all of a sudden, the visits stopped, and their names were never mentioned again.”

  “Hmmmm. Sounds like a mystery worth solving.”

  “The mannequin whet your extreme nosiness?” She harrumphed. Jace threw his arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. “You lucked out, babe. You found the one job that allows you to be legally nosy.”

  She laughed. “I like that. Legally nosy.”

  “How are you doing?” he asked, concern replacing his p
layful tone.

  She sighed. “Well, you saw what happened a few nights ago…but I do feel as though I made it over a hurdle. A teeny-weeny hurdle, but a hurdle nevertheless.”

  “We’ll stay here for as long as you need to.”

  She stopped and looked up at him. “Are you sure? The Night Hawks are probably burning me in effigy even as we speak for taking you away. As for the garage, every person in Twin Ponds needing an oil change will be after my blood. By the time we get back, you’re going to have a stadium of cars waiting for you. I won’t see you again until next Spring.”

  “They’ll get over it. No one is indispensable. Even me.” They began walking again. “To tell you the truth, these past few weeks have really allowed me to get to know Glenn and Maud. I don’t know what happened between them and Mom and Dad, but they haven’t let that affect the awesome way they’ve treated you and me. I’ve especially enjoyed helping Glenn around the hotel. We’ve bonded in a way I didn’t expect.”

  “I suppose you could say there’s been two healings taking place here. My healing with what happened and yours with your family.”

  He bent down and kissed her deeply. “You’re right.”

  With their arms around each other, they continued down the beach. They’d gone about half a mile when Cammie slowed her step.

  “Shoot, don’t tell me those teenagers have stolen another mannequin.”

  “What do you mean?” Jace asked.

  “Look.” She pointed to a pile of boulders that showed they were at the end of the beach. Lying across the top nearest to the cliffside was what looked like a mannequin wedged between two of the larger rocks.

  “I know there isn’t much to do around here during the winter, but it’s creepy to take mannequins, dress them up and throw them into the ocean or onto the beaches as if they were real bodies,” Jace replied as he took in the sight.

  Cammie stared at the mannequin as a wave came up and hit the mannequin’s arm. She gasped aloud when she saw the hand sway back and forth in the foam.

  “Shit!” She exclaimed as she pulled away from Jace and ran across the sand.

  “Cammie, wait up!” he called out as he ran behind her. She stopped when she reached the rocks. “What’s the matter?”

  “That’s a real body,” she panted.

  “How do you know?”

  “Look at the way the arm and wrist are moving when the water hits it. A mannequin doesn’t have that mobility.”

  The tide was coming in, stopping them both from scrambling onto the rocks. Getting as close as they could without risking being pummeled onto the boulders or swept out to sea, they saw for the first time the hideously unnatural position of the woman’s broken body.

  “We’ve got to get her off those rocks before the tide takes her,” Cammie exclaimed.

  “Don’t even think about climbing out there,” Jace warned. “She’s already dead. And I have no intention of having you join her.”

  “There must be people on this island who’d know what to do. Call Glenn and tell him what’s going on. I’ll call Deputy Martin and inform him.”

  Jace watched as she took out her cell from her coat pocket and made the call. His mouth settled into a grim line before he took out his phone and dialed his uncle.

  Cammie was proven right. Within fifteen minutes, a group of men showed up, led by Glenn. Using ropes and a human daisy chain, they managed to secure the body and bring her off the rocks. They gently laid her down on a tarp that had been laid out on the sand, well away from the rising tides. A hush fell over the group as they looked down at what remained of a woman they all recognized.

  During the rescue mission, Cammie kept Ellis apprised of what was happening.

  “Do you need me to describe the injuries?” she asked.

  “That would be helpful. It might tell me whether it was an accident or deliberate.”

  As soon as she’d called to tell him about the body, Ellis hurriedly threw on his coat and ran down to the dock where he kept his boat. He was now speeding towards Eagla, his phone pressed to his ear with one hand while he steered with the other. He listened as Cammie politely asked the men to move so she could get to the body. The phone then went silent, the only sounds the winds echoing down the line.

  “Hello? Cammie? Are you still there?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  Her voice sounded strange. “What is it?” he asked.

  “I know her. I know the victim.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Her name was Violet Munson,” Cammie explained. “She and her son Andrew lived in Twin Ponds until last month when they moved to Presque Isle. Her husband passed away in September. I heard she wanted to downsize, as well as needing a complete change of scenery. I knew the Munsons had a summer home, but I didn’t realize it was on Eagla. Nor did I know she was here.”

  “I’m putting into the harbor now. I should be there shortly.”

  “I’ll keep the scene secured until you arrive,” she said before hanging up.

  “What a tragedy,” Glenn said as he came up beside Cammie.

  “Did you know her?” Cammie asked.

  “Everyone on the island knew the Munsons. It’s hard not to miss their huge house on the bluff above, or her son Andrew down at Fiske’s.”

  “That’s the local watering hole, right?” Glenn nodded. “Was Andrew a heavy drinker?”

  “He pretty much has a stool at the bar with his name on it.”

  “Do you know why she was here? Or when she arrived?”

  “Eagla is like the small town you’re from,” Glenn replied. “There isn’t much that escapes people’s attention. The scuttlebutt was that she and her sons were here to pack up the house and get it ready to be sold. I suppose the memories of happier times when her husband was alive were too much for her. Or at least that’s what we guessed. Mrs. Munson wasn’t one to share her private thoughts, or what she was doing in her life.”

  “Then how do you know about the house sale?”

  “Their caretaker is Splash Mulroney. His family has lived on the island for generations. When he’s had a few beers at Fiske’s, his discretion goes out the window. I heard he was both bragging that Mrs. Munson had enough confidence to make him the point man between the realtor and the family while at the same time, he was worried because he was losing a sizeable chunk of his income. I think he was hoping whoever bought the house would keep him on to look after it during the off season.”

  “Do you know when they showed up?”

  “They came in on the ferry a week before you and Jace arrived.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to know if there was any trouble between Mrs. Munson and anyone on the island? Or maybe within the family because she was selling the family summer home?”

  Glenn gave her a curious look. “You sure are curious about all of this, aren’t you?”

  Cammie mentally kicked herself. She’d forgotten that Maud and Glenn had no idea what she did for a living. She wondered if she should say anything. However, if Ellis asked her to assist in anyway, it was better the Northcotts understand why. She therefore took Glenn’s arm and walked him far enough away from the men milling about nearby to ensure privacy. “I probably should have said something earlier. I thought it would be easier to keep what I do under wraps. Sometimes, it makes people uncomfortable.”

  “Why? You some sort of spy or something?” he jested.

  “Actually, I’m the sheriff of Clarke County.”

  “You? A sheriff?” he laughed. He swallowed his laughter when he saw the serious expression on her face. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

  “Afraid not. I’m sorry, Glenn. I didn’t do it to hurt you or Maud. As I said, some people get weirded out in the presence of a law enforcement officer. I was meeting you for the first time and I didn’t want it to become the elephant in the room.”

  She held her breath, wondering if he’d be offended. They’d been very kind to her; she’d hate to have the relationship she’d built up wi
th them ruined because she’d opted to be discreet about her profession. Considering how much Jace’s parents loathed her, she wanted to have at least one decent relationship with a Northcott relative. “Well,” he finally said, “it’s a good thing I hid my stash of marijuana then.”

  Cammie blinked, then breathed a sigh of relief when he broke out in laughter.

  “It’s alright, Cammie. The last time I smoked was back in college. It made me throw up.”

  “Deputy Martin should be here momentarily,” she said. “He’s going to need everyone’s contact information in case he needs to ask you all some questions.”

  “I can start pulling that list together.” He leaned over and whispered. “Your secret is safe with me. I’ll just tell the guys you watch a lot of cop shows on TV. That’s how you know about contact lists and all.”

  “That works,” she agreed.

  As Glenn walked off, she sidled up next to Jace and told him about her conversation with his uncle. “He thought I was joking,” she chuckled.

  “When you’re out of uniform, you don’t look like a cop.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling with mischievous humor. “Yeah? What do I look like?”

  He threw his arm around her and drew her close. “Like someone who wants to be a cop,” he teased.

  When Ellis finally arrived, he was accompanied by a man of average height. He had thick blonde hair and brown eyes. “This is Dr. Greg Rhys,” Ellis explained as they approached the body. “He’s the local doctor.”

  They shook hands as they introduced themselves.

  “I moved to Eagla to get away from all this.” Seeing Cammie’s quizzical look, he grinned. “I was county coroner in New Hampshire before I realized I was spending too much time with dead bodies instead of live bodies like my wife and kids.”

  “How long have you been on Eagla?” Cammie asked.

  “About a year now. Long enough to get to know everyone on the island. Including this poor woman.”

  He knelt down and began a cursory examination. Cammie turned her attention back to Ellis while pointing towards the men. “I had Glenn get everyone’s contact info. They did a tremendous job removing Violet’s body from the rocks before the tide came in.”