Shallow Waters

by Kay Jennings

  Leave it to a teenager to state the obvious.

  “Did you see your sister this morning?” Matt asked Jack.

  Jack stared at Matt. He blinked slowly, surveyed his dad before turning back to Matt and saying “No. I just woke up.” Marjorie released her grip on Jack, and Fred put his arm around her shoulder again to steady his wife. Fern took a firm hold of Marjorie’s other arm and murmured something to her that was inaudible to the others.

  “I’m sorry, but we need to ask you all some questions,” Matt said. “Can we please all go back to the living room now?”

  “Can I eat something first?” asked Jack. “I’m starving.”

  The adults looked at him as if he’d just announced he was flying to the moon. Even with his work experience with teenagers, Matt thought it an odd response to just learning that your baby sister was in serious trouble.

  “I’ll make him some quick toast,” Marjorie said through

  gulps. Before Matt could reply, and shaking loose of Fern’s grip,

  she made a beeline toward what he assumed must be the kitchen. Fern

  glanced over at Matt, and he gave her a nod. She trotted along closely behind Marjorie.

  “I really need y’all to go back in the living room and take a seat, please. Now.”

  “Where are you from?” asked Jack, staring at Matt. He seemed genuinely curious. “You sound funny.”

  The corners of Matt’s mouth turned up in a slight smile in spite of himself. The kid had no filter.

  “Texas. I just moved here from Texas. Is it that obvious?”

  “Yes, sir, it is.” Jack threw in the “sir”, suddenly realizing that it might be in his best interests to tone down his act. “I knew you weren’t from Port Stirling.”

  “Mr. Horning is our new police chief, Jack,” said his father. “In fact, he just got to town and hasn’t really taken over yet,” added Fred, looking down at his shoes and the tears falling on them.

  “Actually, Bill Abbott did swear me in this morning,” said Matt. “I’m officially in charge of your daughter’s case. I’m sorry to do this, Fred, but I’ve brought along Officer Finley and Lieutenant Sonders because we need to take statements from everyone in your family. We’ll try to make this as brief as we can, sir.”

  Fred corralled his son, and together they moved to the sofa. All of a sudden, Fred looked more like Jack’s grandfather than his father. Ashen-faced except for a red nose and red eyes, he shuffled down the hall and sat down gingerly, pulling the boy close to him.

  Jack fidgeted and looked uncomfortable.

  “Where are your other children? We need everyone in this room right now.”

  The mayor looked confused. Everything was happening too fast. Finally, he said, “Susan and Gary went to the farmer’s market right before we called you. Susan wanted to get some food so we wouldn’t have to go out later until after we’d found Emily. She got her driver’s license last week, and we still like someone to ride with her, so Gary went along. They should be home soon.”

  “Call them please,” directed Matt. “Tell them they need to come home immediately—no stops on the way.”

  “Where’s my daughter, Mr. Horning?” He squeezed his son’s hand as he looked up into Matt’s face. Fred was openly crying and his voice was choked. “What happened to her? Where is she?”

  Jay cleared his throat behind Matt as if he was trying to help the mayor clear his.

  “Dr. Bernice Ryder—the Chinook County medical examiner . . .”

  Matt started.

  “I know Bernice,” Fred interrupted.

  “Of course. Dr. Ryder and the ambulance attendants have taken Emily to the lab in Buck Bay, while we came here to talk to you. I’m so sorry, Fred. I don’t know what else to say.”

  “Do you mean my sister is dead?” said a stone-faced Jack Bushnell.

  “Yes, son, I’m afraid she is,” said Matt as gently as he could. “Her body was found on the beach this morning.”

  “How did she die?” asked the boy.

  “We don’t know that yet, and won’t until after your parents have identified her body for certain.”

  ‘Her body’ hung in the heavy air for a moment. Matt took out his spiral-bound notebook from the pocket of his navy jacket.

  “Where did you find her?” Jack persisted.

  “I’d rather not go into that yet,” Matt said sternly to the boy, and gave him his tough detective look in the hopes of silencing him.

  “Shit like this doesn’t happen in Port Stirling,” argued Jack. His father did nothing to scold his language, and was again staring at his fascinating shoes. Fred appeared to be in shock.

  Yeah, that’s why I took this job. Because shit like this doesn’t

  happen here.

  Matt took note of father and son’s appearances. Starting with his tan loafers and same-colored socks, everything about the mayor was clean and tidy, including his creased khakis and dark green sweater. An unobtrusive watch on his left wrist.

  Jack had on mismatched PJ’s and was barefoot. Without staring too hard, both males looked free of dirt, sand, blood, or any marks on their face or body.

  “Please call Susan and Gary and tell them to come home,” Matt said again to the mayor, this time more sharply. “Do you need Officer Finley to get a phone for you?”

  “What? No. I have a phone,” Fred said, fishing into his pants pocket.

  The officers waited quietly while Fred phoned his son’s mobile phone. Matt nodded his approval while Fred choked out that it was an emergency, and they needed to come home right now.

  Once Fred had hung up, Matt said, “I need to ask you a few preliminary questions for the record, Fred. Are you OK to proceed?”

  “Do your job, Chief,” the mayor said quietly.

  Matt turned to Jay and said, “Officer Finley, please go into the kitchen with Mrs. Bushnell and get her statement. Lieutenant Sonders, please take Jack into the dining room for questioning,”—he motioned to the room which led off the living room through a second archway—“

  and be on the lookout for the other two children. Any questions?”

  Jay took off with a backward glance at Matt. Matt caught his apprehensive look, and he gave him a slight rise of his chin that said “You can do this.”

  Lieutenant Sonders nodded at Matt and said to Jack, “Let’s go, young man.” Jack, to Matt’s relief, patted his dad’s knee, got up, and followed Sonders silently into the adjacent room. Fred’s eyes followed his son.

  Once they were alone in the living room, Matt asked Fred, “When did you last see Emily?”

  He looked at Matt with an anguished face for several excruciating moments before squeaking, “Between 6:30-7:00 p.m. last night when I put her to bed.”

  “How did she act? Anything unusual about her?”

  “No. She didn’t want to go to bed yet, but that was normal—Em never wants to go to bed. Afraid she’ll miss something, I guess,” Fred allowed.

  “So, nothing odd about her behavior last night?”

  “Nothing. Just my perfect little girl.” Fred’s shoulders began to shake, and Matt moved beside him on the sofa.

  “Just a few more questions, Fred. I’m so sorry to have to do this.” Matt waited while Fred caught his breath. “Was anyone with you when you put Emily to bed?”

  Fred looked puzzled. “No. I always put her to bed when I’m home.”

  “So you were alone with her?”

  “Yes. Yes, I suppose I was. I’m sure her mother would have gone in at some point and given her a nighty-night kiss, but when I left her she was alone.”

  “Did you turn out the light?”

  “Of course. Like always.” Fred took in a sharp intake of breath and paused, looking directly at Matt. “Are you sure my daughter has been killed?” he pleaded.

  “Dr. Ryder said Emily
died quickly and wouldn’t have known what was happening to her,” Matt said softly. “I hope that helps some.”

  Fred put his face in his hands and sobbed. Matt sat patiently while the mayor broke down, and then finally said, “Do you own a knife, Fred?”

  The change in topic and tone startled Fred and he turned to his new police chief, a spooked look on his ravaged face.

  “What do you mean? Was she stabbed?”

  “Please answer my question, Mr. Bushnell.”

  Taken aback at being spoken to in this manner, Fred answered. “I have a small pocket knife, and, of course, we have a set of kitchen knives. Was Emily stabbed?”

  “Do you have your pocket knife on your person now?” Matt asked, ignoring Fred’s question for the second time. “If so, may I see it, please?”

  Fred reached into a side pants pocket and pulled out a small knife sheathed in a camouflage design. He handed it to Matt, who grabbed it with his clean handkerchief, and opened it up, splaying the three different blades. The pocket knife wasn’t big enough to do any real damage, and all three blades were clean and looked barely used. Nevertheless, Matt opened Jay’s police kit, and deposited the mayor’s knife in a small plastic bag.

  “I’ll need to keep this for now,” Matt explained, seeing the stricken look on Fred’s face. “It’s just procedure—nothing to worry about. We’ll want to see your kitchen knives, too, but let’s keep going for

  the time being. Who, exactly, other than you, your wife, and Jack live in this house currently?” Matt inquired. “Full names, ages, occupations, please.”

  “My other daughter, Susan, who will be sixteen tomorrow, lives with us. She’s a junior at Port Stirling High School. And my oldest son, Gary, is home visiting from college. The U of O is on break. He’s 18. Nineteen next week.”

  Just then, new voices came from the kitchen. Lieutenant Sonders got up from his dining room chair, instructing Jack to stay put, and went to the kitchen to collect Susan and Gary. He pointed out chairs for them around the dining table close to where Jack sat, and darted an “under control” look in Matt’s direction.

  Matt saluted back at him. Just then, Marjorie went into the dining room, and handed a plate and glass of orange juice to Jack. Her hands shook so badly the juice sloshed around in the glass.

  “Thanks, mom” said Jack, grabbing for his breakfast before it ended up on the floor.

  Jay escorted Marjorie back into the kitchen, out of Matt’s sight. Jack wolfed down his food.

  “Did all five of you sleep here last night?” Matt continued his interrogation of the mayor.

  “Yes,” said Fred. “Oh, no, wait. Susan was at her friend Chloe’s house for a slumber party. All the girls stayed the night.”

  “But both of your sons and you and Marjorie slept here?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Did the four of you leave the house at any point during

  the evening?”

  “Well, Marjorie and I were here all night. All six of us had dinner together, and…”

  “What time was that?” Matt interrupted.

  “I don’t know. Early. Probably about 5:30 p.m. Jack was going to the movies with a friend, and Susan was eager to get to her party, so I know we ate pretty early. Gary was going out later too. Meeting up with some of his old high school buddies.”

  From the adjacent room, likely hearing his name mentioned, Jack said loudly, “I went to the movies!” Or maybe it only sounded loud in the muted, glum atmosphere of the two rooms.

  “But you slept here, Jack,” corrected his father. “That’s what Chief Horning asked.”

  “Yeah, I slept here. I get it,” the boy said. “Sorry, dad.”

  “Were you awake when your sons came home?” Matt asked. “What time did each get back?”

  Fred stared at Matt for a longish moment before answering. “I’m afraid I was asleep. It had been a long week, the wife and I had a martini and watched a movie, and I fell asleep during it.”

  “What time was that?”

  “Not sure. 10:00 p.m. maybe?”

  “Did you look in on the kids’ rooms? Did you check on Emily?”

  Again, Fred met Matt’s direct gaze before speaking. “We have to walk by all of their rooms to the end of the hall to go upstairs,” Fred said. “Emily and Jack’s doors were both closed and Emily’s lights were off, like normal. Jack’s light was still on, which was also normal. We assumed that Emily was asleep, and Jack was doing whatever Jack does at night.” Fred sounded defensive.

  “What about Gary’s room? Was he home?”

  “I don’t think so. His door was open, and he always closes it when he’s in his room. It’s not unusual for Gary to stay out late. We didn’t think anything of it. He’s old enough to do what he wants.” Prickly tone.

  “You didn’t check to see if he might be in the kitchen or someplace else in the house?”

  “No.”

  “Did you wake up at any time during the night? Did you hear anything unusual?”

  “No. I told you, I was tired.”

  “So you didn’t hear anything all night?”

  “Look, Horning,” Fred said, his voice rising. “I’ve told you everything was normal, I didn’t hear or see anything during the night. If I did, I would tell you.”

  Ignoring Fred’s outburst, Matt said, “Did your wife go to bed when you did?”

  “Yes. She probably read for a while, she usually does. I went to sleep the minute my head hit the pillow.”

  “Do you know if Marjorie left your bedroom during the night?”

  “I don’t think so—she told me this morning she didn’t hear anything all night either.” Fred paused before adding, “But I guess I don’t know that for sure, do I?”

  “If you were sound asleep all night,” Matt answered, “no, I guess you don’t know for sure.”

  Chapter 6

  Saturday, 11:00 a.m.

  “I’ve got what I need from you now, Fred,” Matt said. “I’ll want to talk to you again later after you’ve identified your daughter’s body. More about Emily’s activities and your family’s whereabouts in the last few days. Understood?”

  “Yes.”

  Matt stood up and walked into the dining room. He introduced himself to Gary and Susan, and they both stood to shake his hand. Both of them were crying.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Matt said to the siblings. “We’ll find out what happened to your little sister, I promise you. Lieutenant Sonders, are you about ready to wrap up here?”

  “Yes, Chief. I have statements from all three.”

  “OK, good. Let’s see how Officer Finley is doing in the kitchen. If he’s ready, we’ll take Mr. and Mrs. Bushnell to Buck Bay now.”

  Matt moved into the kitchen, which was separated from the dining room by a low wall with a built-in buffet. Jay and Fern sat at a small round kitchen table, where Jay was still questioning Marjorie. Fern caught Matt’s eye and slowly shook her head “no”.

  Matt sauntered behind Marjorie over to the kitchen countertop next to the sink that overlooked a large, nicely-landscaped back yard. He appeared to be checking out the view, but was really inspecting the set of knives in a wooden block between the sink and the cooktop. The set had twelve slots, and there were ten knives resting in their proper slots. He glanced into the farmhouse-style antique copper sink to see if perhaps it held two dirty knives, but there were no dishes or cutlery at all—clean as a whistle. Matt started to surreptitiously open the dishwasher, but then thought better of it. If there is a knife in there and I take it without a search warrant, it might screw up the case.

  “We’re about finished here, Chief,” Jay said. “I’ve got Mrs. Bushnell’s statement for now.” Lieutenant Sonders had joined them in the kitchen, and the three kids were lurking behind him.

  “OK, thank you all for your
time, and, again, please accept our condolences on your family’s loss,” said Matt. “Here’s what’s going to happen next. Fern, did you get ahold of that pastor you mentioned?”

  “Yes, I did. Pastor Winston and his wife Patricia are on their way here now. It should be just a few minutes.”

  “OK, good. Kids, Pastor Winston and his wife are going to stay with the three of you while Ms. Byrne, Officer Finley and I escort your parents to Buck Bay to identify Emily’s body. The three of you are not to leave this house. And no one is to enter Emily’s bedroom. Do you understand me?”

  The three siblings nodded silently.

  “I need a verbal answer from each of you,” Matt said firmly, staring them down.

  They all said “yes” simultaneously.

  “Lieutenant Sonders, please get the forensics team here and supervise their work. This is now a crime scene. Am I clear?”

  Matt walked over to Ed Sonders and with his back to Fred and Marjorie, whispered “And please get a search warrant from whatever judge has to issue it as quick as you can.” Sonders nodded and whispered back, “Consider it done.”

  The doorbell rang, a loud, jarring buzzer, and everyone jumped. Fern Byrne composed herself first and said, “That must be the Winstons. I’ll get the door.”

  Once Pastor John and his wife Patricia expressed their grief and comforted the Bushnell family, Matt addressed them. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’d really appreciate it if you would stay here with the kids and Lieutenant Sonders while our forensic team does its work in Emily’s bedroom. We’ll take Fred and Marjorie over to Buck Bay to see their daughter, and then we will drop them off back here. We’ll likely be gone about 90 minutes. Are you good with that?”

  “This is a terrible tragedy, and the Lord works in mysterious ways,” droned Pastor Winston. “The good wife and I will do what we can to bring solace to this stricken house. At this time of sadness and . . .”

  “Thanks,” interrupted Matt. “We’ll be back as soon as possible. Mr. and Mrs. Bushnell, please get your coats. We’ll go in the Port Stirling police car.”

  Fern went quickly to Susan Bushnell who was sobbing loudly in the doorway of the kitchen. She gave the girl a firm hug, and said “Go lay down for a while, and I’ll be back soon. We can talk, OK?” Susan looked at Fern through teary eyes and nodded her assent, grateful for Fern’s kindness.