CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
FARLEY WAS AT THE MORGUE waiting for Dr. Jacob Drake to begin an initial examination of the body. The fact that two bodies, one real, and one made of straw, had been taken into his examination room on stretchers would have been bizarre had it not happened before.
Dr. Drake covered the disfigured scarecrow and placed it off to the side. The previous scarecrow had been stored away in a body bag, marked Crime Scene Evidence: Non-Human Remains, setting a precedent for the County Morgue.
Dr. Drake remarked to Farley upon viewing the non-human victim, “We might have to design new storage space to accommodate desecrated straw men if this continues.”
Farley was not amused and insisted he needed a preliminary report as soon as possible. Jacob went right to work and before long was able to confirm the murder had most probably, if not positively, been committed by the same person or persons unknown. But this time, he said the pattern of blows to the skull, face, and torso lacked of evidence the perpetrator had assistance moving the large muscular body, indicating a lone assailant. The similarities in modus operandi, in fact, narrowed the margin to a person acting alone intent on severe bodily harm leading to death.
This was all Farley needed to follow his train of thought as he drove back up the mountain. Dr. Drake had promised, without further witty aside, to send the results of the post-mortem and crime lab examinations of the victim and the scarecrow with expediency.
When Farley turned onto Main Street, he could see the media vans parked in front of the police station and rightly assumed that Aura Lee was keeping them at bay. The Scarecrow Killer was on the loose again, and this was front page news. The Serena Grill was filled to capacity and there wasn’t a parking place to be had along Main Street, including his designated spot in front of the station. Deputy Purdy’s cruiser was parked on the other side of the street in an unloading zone and people were gathered in groups along the sidewalk. It was only eight o’clock in the morning.
Farley realized that the scarecrow sightings dreamt up by one disturbed teenager with his reluctant accomplice had melded in the minds of the citizens with a murderous fiend leaving corpses in the cornfields. The mounting panic that had gripped the children before Halloween was now gripping the adults. The media would do their part to make the most of it. He sighed and felt the weight of fatigue from a sleepless night as he searched for a place to park.
Aura Lee had handled the mob of people and reporters with a common sense approach. She’d addressed the throng with authority, telling them they’d have to wait for Chief Farley to ask their questions, then she’d shut the front door of the police station and locked it. After Farley arrived and answered their relentless repetitive questions, Aura Lee unlocked the door and let him in. He heard the coffee urn making brewing noises and walked toward it like a dying man finding an oasis in the desert.
“I’ll get that for you, Chief. You look like you haven’t had a wink of sleep. Sit down and read your messages while I pour you a cup. I guess you can imagine what it’s been like here, with them banging on the door and the phone ringing off the hook. I’m glad you called and woke me to let me know about what happened. I would have hated to come in unaware and faced this mob alone. That Margaret Bowling keeps calling. She’d been carrying on about her missing boyfriend and wants to talk to you.
“Dr. Mathews from Mission Hospital called about Trent Williams. He said the boy is stabilized on medication but has suffered a severe traumatic episode and needs a psychiatric evaluation. They wanted to know if he is officially under arrest. He asked that you return his call as soon as possible. He said Trent had no drugs or alcohol in his system. His father also called and wants to speak to you in person. He says they have not hired an attorney as yet. I told him you would have a lot to attend to this morning, but he will probably show up here anyway.
“Do you know who the latest victim is, Chief? The whole town is terrified and you can’t blame them, I hope it is not someone we all know. At least the last one was practically a stranger. Good gracious, Chief, what are you going to do? The mayor will be showing up before we know it and I’ve already heard from the wife of one of our town commissioners. She was in a state. She said the Halloween gala was a great success last night and was a feather in the cap of our town and now this! She wondered what the movie folks will think of our town when we let a murderer run loose who has the nerve to leave dead bodies in our gardens. I tried to be polite, but I can tell you, Chief, it took every ounce of my patience.”
At a perfect second of pause, Ben Purdy came in, preventing Aura Lee from resuming her monologue. He looked immensely relieved to see Farley.
“Am I glad to see you, Chief. I’ve been with Margaret Bowling most of the night. She was going crazy down there all alone worrying about Tanner. But she had some interesting things to tell that might explain his comings and goings. She thinks he’s been up to something, too, and that’s the reason he’s gone missing, or so she claims. She suspects he’s been seeing one of the extras he’s been working with. I wrote everything down and have my report. I can get back out there and look for him, Chief. I know you got your hands full here.”
“You don’t have to look for him, Ben. He’s down at the county morgue. Zack Tanner was murdered in the same manner as Willis Gaither, but this time, thanks to you, we have a lead.”
“Me, Chief?”
“Yes. If you hadn’t gone to the compound that night to check on his whereabouts, we might not have suspected him of foul play. He was up to something alright, but this time he’d gotten into something over his head. He didn’t take into account the killer in our midst. I’m not sure we could have prevented his death even if we tried. But because of you, we know these murders have a connection to the film company.”
Purdy was stupefied trying to absorb Farley’s praise and Tanner’s murder. Aura Lee was equally stunned and held her tongue by not reminding them she’d predicted Zack Tanner would come to a bad end.
Purdy finally came to his senses and asked with trepidation, “Do you want me to break the news to Margaret Bowling?”
“You might as well have your first stab at doing this, Ben. After all, this was your case until it got entangled with mine. Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Yes sir!” Purdy adamantly replied.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
ELEANOR WAS WAITING WHEN CHIEF Farley arrived. When she opened the door to greet him, he was struck by the dramatic change in her appearance. Gone were the dark circles under her eyes and sallow complexion. Her posture was more erect with shoulders back and head held high. She wore a rose-colored dress that complimented her figure. There was a hint of rosiness in her cheeks. It was hard to believe she’d been out late the night before.
She extended her hand and spoke before he had the chance.
“Chief Farley, how can you ever forgive me? I’ve been so stupid. I cannot apologize to you enough. Please come in and let me try to explain. I’m not even sure if I can.”
He followed her down the hall and into the living room that seemed like another place entirely. The atmosphere that had been so bleak and somber was now filled with warmth and energy. The furniture in the room was the same but accented with bright pillows and quilted coverlets. Flowers decorated each table, filling the room with a fragrant scent. He wondered if Steven had sent them; they appeared to have come from a florist. The sound of mountain wind chimes came from the deck where overflowing flower boxes lined the railings.
She had a carafe of steaming coffee on a tray on the coffee table and poured him a cup before he could sit down. She quickly moved a pillow with a flaming red poppy on it from the big wing chair he had previously sat in. By the time she got him situated with coffee and sugar cookies and a little stand to put them on, his lack of sleep began to take effect. He hesitated to begin a long series of questions based on what he’d learned from Joyce last night and Kate that morning.
There was no need because Eleanor was ready to t
alk. The words poured from her with clarity and sincerity he found believable, making further interrogation seem absurd. He actually began to enjoy listening to her musical voice as he sank into the cushions and stretched his long legs into a comfortable position. His mother had had a musical quality to her voice, common among mountain folk. He would have drifted off in reminiscences if not for the task at hand and the story she had to tell.
“Chief, I’ll just have to begin where I should have in the first place. But I was too ashamed then, and in too much of a self-imposed exile from the world to think beyond myself. You see, it all started with the rape I experienced during my first semester at college. Before it happened, I was a different girl, far too innocent for my age but with great ambition to fit in. My childhood and adolescence had not been a happy one until I discovered the joy of doing school plays. I should have learned something of life from them, but did not. I knew that I had the face and figure to win roles and enough talent to act my roles sufficiently, but my confidence hinged on each performance and each success.
“I won a scholarship to college and knew the playing field in the performing arts would come with stiff competition. I feared failure to such a degree that I tried out for the cheerleading squad as a back-up. But even though I was chosen, I didn’t fit in with the girls who had much more experience in that area. During this time, I lost two roles for which I had auditioned and my confidence plummeted. It was in this frame of mind that I accepted an invitation to a party that turned out to be the situation I described to you after talking to Kate. Needless to say, from that night on my late husband used my experience to keep me in a state of dependence and low self-esteem.
“It seems ludicrous to me now that I could have been kept down for so long without seeing my way out, but it happened and from what Kate explained to me, it is not uncommon, although circumstances may differ. I don’t know how she did it, but Kate brought me out of the fog I’d been living in and helped me to reclaim my life. I am not about to have it taken from me again and that is why I’m telling you the complete truth.
“Something did happen to change my life about a year ago that I should have told you about. Prior to then, my husband worked at home most of the time and I had no freedom whatsoever. If he did go out it was for short periods and I never knew when he’d be back. But as his internet business grew, so did his need to go to Asheville and Spartanburg to complete lucrative deals for cash. On those days, I could be almost certain he would be gone for most of the day, sometimes until evening. Of course he called several times a day to make sure I was home, but as time went on the calls became less frequent. Since I had no license to drive, I believe he felt I wouldn’t go anywhere.
“I took up gardening to have a reason to be outside when the phone rang. He didn’t like it, but finally grew used to the idea that I could not immediately answer the phone while digging in the dirt. I know it sounds crazy, but this little spurt of rebellion gave me a spark of confidence that led to my actions after reading an announcement in the paper. It was a call for auditions for extras to be hired for a movie to be filmed near Serena. The auditions were to be held at the Serena Events Center. I looked up directions for the location because I knew the center wasn’t far from here. The thought of auditioning was not in my realm of thinking, it was more like a subconscious urge to go there. I drew myself a map to estimate walking distance. I discovered that if I walked a mile down our road to where it intersects with Stone Gap Road, less than a quarter of a mile beyond, a back road cuts down the ridge coming out near the entrance road to the center. I jotted down the time and place of the audition on a small piece of notepaper and hid it away as an unrealized dream.
“Willis never let me know ahead of time about his day trips, so imagine my surprise when on the very morning of the audition, he told me he was going to Asheville and wouldn’t be home until dinnertime. I was almost paralyzed with fear realizing I’d been given an opportunity to fulfill my dream. Nevertheless, right after he left I started moving as if driven by an unconscious force. I found my hidden directions and went into the bathroom to make myself look as attractive as possible. I knew full well that I’d be walking several miles to a place I might not have the courage to enter and taking the risk of being found out.
“I was almost half way there when I began to have doubts and thought of turning back. Just then, a car slowed and the woman driving asked if I needed a lift. I took this as a sign I should continue. She talked pleasantly of the weather and took me right to the door of the center without asking questions or asking my name. She probably thought I worked there. She waved goodbye as I pretended to go towards the door. When I reached it, I found the courage to go inside. I was immediately herded into an audition line and told to wait. As you know, the interior is enormous. There were people gathered by the stage, some distance from our line, who appeared to be having a serious discussion. Someone in front of me pointed out one of the stars of the film.
“Nearer to us stood a group of assistants looking us over and off to the side stood a large woman who appeared to be in charge. She called one of the assistants over to her and pointed in my direction. I learned from the person next to me that I was supposed to have an audition acceptance letter with me from information I was supposed to have sent in. I was about to leave when the assistant who had been talking to the large woman stopped me and asked me to wait.
“As I stood there, excitement erupted over another famous star, Megan Murphy, who joined the others near the stage. It was difficult to see her from the opposite side of the room, but I tried. I learned that the Events Center was also being used as a temporary base of operations for costume fittings and meetings and readings until the location site was ready. The start of filming was weeks away and the entire cast had not yet assembled. Members of the cast were not to be approached and we had only a brief glimpse of them before the audition interviews started.
“When my turn finally came, I could hardly breathe. I was asked a few questions about my size and weight and other particulars when it suddenly dawned on me that I was doing the impossible. I’d been taking one step after another toward something that could not possibly happen. I felt like running but could not because I was caught in a dream that I wanted to last forever.
“That dream turned into a nightmare when I heard the sound of Willis’ voice. I felt the painful grip of his hand on my arm as he pulled me away from the others and then slapped me hard in the face in front of everyone. The shocked faces I could see became clouded by the stinging tears in my eyes. A wave of humiliation washed over me as he dragged me like a rag doll from the room.
“You see, Chief, in my haste to leave that morning, the time and place note had fallen into my bathroom wastepaper basket. Willis had come home early. I should have known he would when he’d said he’d not be home until dinner. I’d been too excited to realize he given me the time frame as a trick. I won’t go into details, but that night I fell into a deep internal abyss that I could not emerge from until the day I learned he was dead. Even then, I couldn’t believe it was true and thought it might be another trick.
“Then you came, and the truth began to seem real, but I couldn’t make sense of it. I simply couldn’t comprehend the how or why or who could have killed him? I thought I must have wished it, perhaps in the aftermath of the audition. I somehow felt guilty, which was strange because I’d felt nothing since that night. I wondered if you might arrest me. But then you got up to leave.
“Without your mercy, I would not have met Kate, and through her, Dev and Steven. Steven said he remembered me from the auditions, but didn’t let me know at first, not wanting to embarrass me. He finally told me and came up with the idea of the party as a healing experience. We hadn’t thought for a second that the incident at the audition might be linked to my husband’s murder. I didn’t know a soul there. No one there knew me.”
Farley sat up from his relaxed position. He hadn’t thought of Steven. He understood Eleanor’s naivet�
�, but Frye was another story. He had a lot of questions for Frye, and Joyce Crenshaw. Why had she been so eager to call him from the party to report recognizing Eleanor? She hadn’t been near as forthcoming about Zack. If he’d been involved with one of the extras, surely she would have known about it. Sherwood had described her as a hands-on casting director, “a mother hen to her flock of extras.” If she’d been as watchful and concerned about Tanner as she’d let on, how had she lost track of him so easily? Had she been protecting him? There was something about her that didn’t sit right with Farley.
Farley believed Eleanor Gaither. He had followed his gut instincts about her initially, but now he was convinced she had nothing to do with her husband’s murder. Unfortunately, her one attempt to rebel against her husband’s authority may have been a catalyst to at least one of the murders. Witnessing the brutality of her humiliation at the auditions may have triggered someone to an act of retribution, driven by a psychotic need to punish the offender. The second murder could indicate a pattern of offenses. If there were previous murders, the Sutton farm might not have the relevance he believed it to have.
He had not heard from Jim Sutton; perhaps his theory had reached a dead end. Could the body of the small woman buried beneath the scarecrow be nothing more than a coincidence? Stranger things had happened. There were many victims of murder lying beneath the trees and the soil of his land. But he could not dismiss the woman they’d found. Someone had put her there, someone had known about it, and someone had tried to dig her up.
Had Gaither been placed in Sutton’s garden as a symbol of what lay beneath it? Was the community garden chosen later as a convenience, or to bring more shock value to the crime? In each case, there had been a time lapse between the time of the murder and the placement of the body. After each murder, the killer had to wait until nightfall and, at great risk, stage a scene of horror for maximum effect. There was a distinct dichotomy in these cases; a seemingly spontaneous choice of victim, but a well-planned final scene, like something created on a movie set.
The Silent Scream of the Straw Man Page 20