by B. T. Lord
“The rumor is that she was terrified of heights.”
“If that’s true, all the more reason to rule out her accidentally tumbling off the edge. My estimated time of death still stands. Mrs. Munson met her demise between 10 pm and 2 am.”
“Thanks Doctor Rhys.” He hung up and thoughtfully continued towards his car.
He met with Cammie and filled her in on what he’d discovered so far. Getting directions from Glenn, he set out to find Splash’s house. Forty minutes later, he pulled into the driveway of a gray, weather worn two story house that lay on the edge of a large area of marshland. Beyond the reeds, he saw the ocean.
It was a beautiful spot. It was also very desolate. There was a car parked in front of an equally weatherbeaten barn. He stepped out of his car and started towards the front door when it opened and a woman stepped outside.
She wore a thick home knitted sweater and her iron grey hair was cut short. Her face was sallow, but her eyes regarded him with a quiet intelligence. This had to be Molly, Splash’s wife.
He raised his hand in greeting as he approached.
“I’m Deputy Ellis Martin,” he said as he put his hand out. “You must be Molly Mulroney.”
She looked him up and down. “So you’re the man we’re paying to keep us safe,” she said in a voice that wasn’t unfriendly. But wasn’t warm either.
“Yes I am.”
“I suppose you’re here to talk about Mrs. Munson.”
“I have a few questions to ask you. I’d also like to speak to your husband.”
“I don’t know where Splash is. He was gone when I got up this morning.”
“Does he often do that?” he asked.
“Sometimes. Come on in. I’ve got a pot on if you’d like some coffee. Thank God I was just finishing up bundling the last of the shrubs when the ocean winds started picking up. I just don’t have the stamina like I used to when those winds start to blow. At this time of year, they seem to go right through you.”
They entered, and Ellis was immediately bathed in a comforting warmth. The wood stove was burning, throwing off a welcoming heat. His eyes were drawn to the far wall. Someone had built a floor to ceiling bookcase which was filled with all sorts of volumes. He took a peek and saw history books, books on boats, how-to knitting manuals and a shelf devoted to murder mysteries. Instinct told him the majority of the books belonged to Molly.
To the right lay the small kitchen. Before him was a sliding glass door beyond which he saw the fruits of Molly’s labor. Standing sentry against the back of the small yard were shrubs bound up in burlap to protect them from the harsh winter winds.
She went into the kitchen where she took down two mugs from the cabinet. The house had the feel of being lived in and cared for. On the walls were the usual family photos, showing two girls in various stages of growing up. Scattered throughout the living room were cozy afghans that he knew Molly had knitted, adding to the deep sense of comfortability that attracted him.
“Do you take milk and sugar?”
“Just black.” She poured out the coffee and handed it to him. “Thank you,” he said as he took a sip.
“I know what you’re going to ask me,” she said knowingly as she passed him. She went into the living room and sat in a recliner that was obviously hers. There was a basket next to it filled with balls of yarn and knitting needles. On the table next to the chair was a book lying face down. He was bemused to see it was a history of the English Tudor dynasty. She saw his glance and smiled.
“Someone once said you can travel the world in a glass of wine. Well, I don’t know about the wine part, but I’ve been to some amazing places through the pages of a book.”
She slipped off her boots and rested her feet, clad in thick homemade woolen socks on the ottoman. She rested her head against the back of the chair and closed her tired eyes.
Ellis sat down on the couch opposite her and watched the woman. He glanced out the window again at the covered shrubs and knew at that moment she wouldn’t be there in the spring to remove the burlap. The thought saddened him deeply.
With her eyes still closed, she said, “You want to know why that woman fired my husband and if he was angry enough to throw her off the cliff.”
“What makes you think she was thrown off the cliff?”
“Because Violet Munson was terrified of heights. In all the years she visited, she never once stepped foot anywhere near the cliff edge. No, that woman was tossed over like a discarded banana peel.”
He was surprised by the sudden venom in her voice. His feelings were confirmed when she added, “Not that I blame Splash if he was stupid enough to pitch her onto the rocks.” She opened her eyes and laughed when she saw the deputy’s face. “Didn’t think it was that easy to shock a police officer. It’s amazing what cancer will do to you. It gives you courage you never knew you had to say anything you want.” She took a sip of her coffee. Wrapping her fingers around the mug, she leaned forward. “I’m dying, deputy, so I don’t have the time or the desire to bullshit. I never liked the Munson family. They treated Splash as though he existed solely to make their lives comfortable. Of course, he didn’t help matters any. They snapped their fingers and he came running, night or day like a trained seal. Didn’t matter the time. They needed something, he was there. It’s a miracle we managed to squeeze in enough private time to have children. I should have known when I married him though. He’s the third generation of Mulroneys to serve that family. His grandfather worked for Phil Munson. He’s the one who built the Munson cottage.” She snorted. “Don’t you love the pretension? Cottage, my ass. My house can easily fit into that cottage and then some. Who do they think they are? Those robber barons of the Gilded Age who built huge monstrosities and called them cottages?” She shook her head. “Just like his grandfather and father before him, Splash took it as some kind of badge of honor that the mighty Munsons depended on him so much. He couldn’t or wouldn’t see that they never cared about him. If Splash hadn’t been around, they would have easily hired someone else. Jobs are scarce around here in the winter. Anybody would have jumped at the chance to make money to go over and check up on the house every once in a while.”
“Did the Munsons pay well?”
She barked out a contemptuous laugh. “Can’t you tell by the lap of luxury we live in?” She took another sip of coffee. “I worked for many years as a teacher to make ends meet. I had to give it up once I got sick. Now we’ll need to figure out a Plan B.” She looked around the living room, her nose wrinkled in disgust. “Mrs. Munson finally showed Splash how valuable he was to them, didn’t she? After sacrificing his family for thirty-five years, she suddenly fires him. Just like that. With no explanation and no severance pay. See you later and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. It devastated him, deputy. To have worked for them for so long and to be treated in such a cold manner. It’s a sin, that’s what it is.”
“Do you know why she fired him?”
“Splash told me she had a hair across her ass when he went over there. He didn’t know what set her off, but he guessed it was her son Andrew.” She harrumphed. “What a useless waste of space he is.”
Molly told him the story he’d already heard from Keith regarding Andrew’s behavior at Fiske’s a few nights before. “Splash was at the wrong place at the wrong time. She needed someone to vent her anger over. Heaven forbid she should direct her disgust at the person who deserved it. I’ll be honest, deputy. I didn’t like Violet Munson, but not even someone as ungrateful as she was should have died the way she did. Yet, at the same time, I’m thankful that whatever time I have left in this life won’t be used up having to deal with that family ever again.”
“Where was Splash last night?”
“He came home, told me what happened and took off to Fiske’s to drown his sorrows.”
“What time did he return home?”
“Had to be around eleven. He knows how forgetful I’ve become since the chemo treatments and always ma
kes sure he’s here to give me my medication at eleven thirty.”
“What time did you go to bed?”
Molly eyed him steadily. “Splash had nothing to do with what happened to Mrs. Munson. He may be many things, but he’s not a murderer.”
“Please answer my question.”
She hesitated. “I went to bed at 11:45.”
“Did Splash join you?”
For the first time, Ellis noted a look of fear dart across Molly’s features. She lowered her eyes and picked at her sweater. “Whenever Splash gets upset, he goes out to the barn where he tinkers on his boat. It’s his form of meditation. After what happened, I’m sure that’s where he went.”
“But you can’t be certain?”
She refused to answer.
He drained his coffee mug and stood up. Taking a business card out of his pocket, he placed it on the small table beside her. “This is my number. Have Splash call me as soon as he shows up.”
He placed the mug in the kitchen sink. As he did so, he looked out the window again and saw the large barn she’d referred to. What caught his eye however, was the tarp peeking out from behind the building. The edge had come undone and was snapping noisily in the wind.
He came back into the living room and was about to say good-bye to Molly when he saw her dozing in the chair. The interview had taken a lot out of her and she’d fallen into an exhausted sleep. He removed the afghan from the back of the couch and lightly draped it over her before he quietly let himself out. Rather than leave, he instead walked towards the barn and the tarp. With his instincts humming, he grabbed the flapping corner and pulled it back.
There in the bright glare of the sunlight was the tail end of a small green coupe that perfectly matched the description of Andrew’s car.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The alarm clock shrilled for a few seconds before it was picked up and hurled across the room. It hit the far wall and fell silent when it crashed onto the bureau.
Rick rolled over. It couldn’t be time to get up already. He felt as though he’d fallen asleep only twenty minutes ago. Maybe he had. He’d spent the night wide awake as he pieced together the information he and Emmy had uncovered so far. He’d gone over the paperwork so many times, he could recite them from memory.
But now he was paying for his nightly mental exertions. He was exhausted, and his eyelids began to close. If he gave in, he’d fall asleep again. He needed to get going. One way or another, today was the day he and Emmy were going to get even closer to finding out what happened to Mynter and the teenagers.
He stumbled into the shower and turned on the water full blast. Somewhere between washing his hair and lathering his body, he suddenly felt an anxiety deep in his belly. It reminded him of the times he’d done something he shouldn’t have and knew he was about to get called out on it. He frantically went over the day before, wondering if he’d pissed someone off, or missed a crucial clue somewhere along the way.
The answer to both questions was no. He wasn’t prone to these feelings coming out of nowhere. There had to be a reason for it.
He shrugged it off and finished his shower. However, after shaving and throwing on his uniform, the anxiety had only increased. He glanced out the window and for the first time noticed the thick fog. He wasn’t sure what one had to do with the other, but as he looked out over the white haze, the anxiety grew deeper.
“This blows,” he muttered as he grabbed his parka and headed out the door. He started to call his grandmother, only to remember she’d gone to visit one of her daughters in Caribou. He dialed his great aunt and discovered Gran was asleep and everyone was fine. It wasn’t until he hung up after speaking to yet another cousin that he recalled the threatening note Emmy had received.
Was that causing his uneasiness? Was it possible she’d received another?
He tried to scoff at his apprehension, but he couldn’t shake it. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was close to 8 am. Knowing Emmy would be up, he dialed her cell. It rang several times before it went into voice mail.
“Hey Em, it’s Rick. It’s nothing important but call me when you get this message.” He then called HQ on the off chance she’d gone into work early, but it went straight to the answering service. He clicked off and wondered if he should just drive over to her house. It wasn’t too far out of his way.
Heading out in her direction, he was confident he could come up with an excuse for visiting so early that would mollify Mrs. Madachuck. As far as he knew, there wasn’t a woman alive who was completely immune to his megawatt charms, including Cammie.
The fog was thicker out where the Madachucks lived. Blinded by the white curtain, he had no choice but to drive at a crawl as the opaque mist cut down sharply on visibility. In the distance, he thought he heard what sounded like the sharp barking of a dog. It was muffled by the fog, but it nevertheless caught his attention. He rolled down the window to hear better. Edging closer in the direction it was coming from, he noticed the barking had turned frantic. His heart stopped when he realized it sounded exactly like Augie.
The slow pace he was forced to maintain had him jumping out of his skin, but he couldn’t risk having an accident or plowing into someone. Shit, he’d never seen fog this thick before. He cocked his ear. The barking now sounded as if it was coming from just ahead. Squinting through the windshield, he thought he saw a flash of red appear through the mist.
Ready to tear his hair out if he had to drive any slower, Rick pulled over, turned on his hazards and continued on foot. A few moments later, a dark little bundle of purple and white erupted from the fog and ran at him.
“Augie!” he exclaimed as the dog launched itself into his arms. He barked in Rick’s face before jumping out of his grasp and hurrying over to the flash of red the deputy had seen.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” Rick moaned as he saw what the red was. Emmy lay sprawled across the ditch, the muddy water running up and around her torso, soaking her coat and jeans. Kneeling down, he gently ran his hand along her ice-cold cheek. “Emmy, Emmy…” he said, but there was no reply. He pushed his fingers past her scarf and cried out in relief when he felt a pulse along the side of her throat.
Emmy was on the chubby side and it took Rick several minutes of struggling to get her up and into his arms. He let out his breath as he stumbled under her weight. He turned to walk back to his car and cursed when he realized he couldn’t see it through the fog.
“Crap!” he yelled out in frustration. Augie danced near his ankles, barking up at him. “Okay, we need to calm down.” He looked at the dog. “Make like Lassie and go find my car. There’s a filet mignon in your future if you lead me to it.”
Augie blinked at him. Then took up the challenge. He ran back and forth several times with Rick close behind until the deputy finally spied the blinking hazard lights. “You rock, Augie!” he panted as the little dog took a victory lap around the car.
Rick leaned the unconscious woman up against the vehicle while he got the back door open. He then lifted her up one last time and managed to lay her out on the backseat, where he collapsed on top of her. “Shit girl, no more macaroons for you.”
He caught his breath, then lifted himself up and out of the backseat. He went to the trunk where he took out a blanket which he laid over her. Augie jumped in and burrowed against her shoulder, his butt peeking out from beneath the blanket.
Once he was in the front seat, Rick whipped out his cell and called Doc.
“I’m on my way in. Emmy’s been hurt.”
“Why is Andrew Munson’s car hidden behind your barn?”
Ellis was seated once more in the Mulroneys’ living room. Across from him was Splash. Molly remained in the kitchen, sitting on a stool and silently watching the proceedings. Ellis noted the surprise on her face at the mention of Munson’s car on their property.
After discovering the coupe, he’d run the plates and saw it was registered in Andrew’s name. He returned to his car and sat quietly, digesting everything
he’d been told so far that afternoon. Just as he was about to pull out, Splash arrived home. His clothing was rumpled, his eyes were swollen and bloodshot and it looked as though he hadn’t slept in days. As soon as he stepped out of his vehicle, Ellis stepped out of his and asked to speak to him. Now they were all gathered in the Mulroney living room.
“I wasn’t hiding his car,” Splash answered defensively.
‘Then why is it under the tarp behind the barn?”
“I was protecting it from the wind.”
“Why? Do you believe Andrew won’t be coming back for it any time soon?”
Splash nervously licked his lips. “Look, I didn’t steal the car if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“Then why do you have it?”
“I found it.”
Ellis raised an eyebrow. “You found it? Like a lost mitten or a misplaced key?”
Splash glared at him. “I’m telling you I found the damned thing.”
“Where?”
“I was on my way home from Fiske’s last night when I saw it sitting just before the turn off to Bluff Road. It’s no secret how much Andrew likes to drink. I thought maybe he’d passed out on the front seat, so I pulled over to take a look. He wasn’t there, but the keys were in the ignition. I didn’t want any of the local kids getting any ideas about taking it for a joyride, so I decided to drive it home and keep it for him here.”
“What time did you find Andrew’s vehicle?”
“Had to be around 10:30 or thereabouts.”
“Walk me through yesterday, Splash.”
He rubbed his whiskers with the palm of his hand. “I got up around eight am and puttered around the house. I then went over to the Munsons to see if they needed anything.”
“Did you often do that?”
“Sometimes.” Splash then recounted what occurred between him and Violet, making sure to leave out the anxiety he’d felt when he’d awakened yesterday morning. He didn’t understand it himself and didn’t think the deputy or Molly would either. When he was done, he looked at Ellis. “I left Fiske’s around ten, found Andrew’s car, and drove it home. After putting the tarp on it, I came in and told Molly what happened. I made sure she took her meds and when she went to bed, I tried to forget about the day by watching TV. But I couldn’t relax. So I went into the barn to work on my boat. That’s about the only thing that really relaxes me these days. I was out for a couple of hours. Then I came in and went to bed.”