Lin realized that this timing coincided with the local news account of when Liz Frazier had been murdered, but she did not mention this to Mr. Johnson.
“ She told us that she originally went to a shelter and got some help with giving up alcohol and drugs. Gradually things got better, she got a job, went back to school. When she finally felt things were turning around, she contacted us.” Mr. Johnson smiled, “We were extremely proud of her. She had come so far on her own.”
Lin listened in silence as Mr. Johnson continued to talk about what Dorrie had accomplished. She had finished college with a business degree and had been working for several years with a financial advising firm.
“We haven’t seen as much of Dorrie as we would’ve liked, since all this happened and she finished school,” Mr. Johnson reported. “Her work kept her very busy, but she always managed to visit us during holidays and we talked frequently. I would say we had a good relationship. We saw as much of her as many of our friends saw of their own adult children and we were certainly proud of her pulling herself together.”
Lin understood what he was saying. She often wished that she saw more of Ben and Lucy but they too led busy lives. That did not really mean that they were not close, however.
“Did you know that Dorrie was coming to the Outer Banks?” Lin felt the need to ask.
“As a matter of fact, she called us last week to tell us about this trip and to say that she would stop by Richmond on her way back. In fact, we were expecting her to arrive today—we were going to have an early Thanksgiving—and now this.” Mr. Johnson seemed near tears himself, but he continued.
“Dorrie told us that she was coming to try to find Liz Frazier, she said that when she left she owed Liz two months rent money. Since she had become successful, she’d begun to think about repaying her debts and helping folks who had helped her. She made regular contributions to the shelter where she’d first lived and now she was thinking about her debts to others.”
Lin was surprised by what he was saying. If Dorrie had killed Liz then why would she come back to find her and repay a debt? Could she have committed the crime while drunk and on drugs and not even remember it? Had she actually robbed Liz rather than simply owing a debt? She wanted to ask all these questions but realized it was pointless. Mr. Johnson obviously only knew what his daughter had told him. Liz realized that Mr. Johnson was still speaking to her so she redirected her attention to what he was saying.
“ That is why we cannot accept what the Sheriff is saying about Dorrie. We simply don’t believe she would be capable of such a crime. She might have been a “wild child” but she was not a murderer,” he was adamant. “Whatever else happens, we’ve got to find a way to clear her name and restore our memories.”
Lin had no answer for the man. She understood his distress but she didn’t know enough about the situation to offer any answers. What could she offer this kind man that would be of comfort to him and to his wife?
Lin surprised herself by what she said next. “Mr. Johnson, I’m going to meet with Sheriff Midgett later this week. I asked to talk to him so that I could find some answers for myself. As you can imagine, all of this has been quite shocking for me too. Finding your daughter, reading about the earlier crime in the paper… I may not learn anything you don’t already know, but I’d be happy to share the results of my conversation with you, if you’d like.”
Mr. Johnson turned to her with a look of relief. “Thank you, Ms. Hanna. That would be very kind of you. I’m afraid neither Sara nor I are able to face talking with the Sheriff, after what we read and what was initially reported to us by the department regarding the death of Liz Frazier.”
“We’ll be leaving Manteo tomorrow to return to Richmond. All of the arrangements for Dorrie should be completed today,” he reported sadly, “but let me give you a card. Perhaps you’ll call us after your conversation with the Sheriff?”
Lin accepted the card and agreed that she would call and share whatever she learned. Thanking her for this and for coming that morning, Mr. Johnson took his leave and returned to his room.
Lin remained on the porch for a short while, accepting another cup of coffee when the waiter came by. She still had plenty of time. As it were, she would be quite early if she left right then. Silently she chastised herself for getting further involved in all of this. What happened to “putting this all behind her?” She hadn’t expected to have any further contact with Matt and Sara Johnson after today. In fact she had more or less promised Neal that she would drop the entire matter after talking to the Sheriff and he had felt she should, perhaps, not even do that. Now she was not only planning to talk to him for her own peace of mind and sense of closure; she had promised to further involve herself by reporting what she learned to Dorrie’s parents. Why had she offered to do this? Mr. Johnson hadn’t asked anything of her.
Lin realized that her own desire to be helpful to others was kicking in. Throughout her career as a teacher and school administrator she’d always been faced with situations that required her to ask questions, to examine events and behaviors, to try to understand fully what was happening. Her goal had always been to help students and their parents. She’d learned long ago not to simply accept things that happened at face value but rather to look for underlying issues. She supposed that this was simply “her”—part of who she was.
Lin sat back, closed her eyes, and tried to relax. Somehow, this desire to help others, not to mention a strong sense of curiosity and desire to know and understand what was going on around her, seemed to lead to her getting involved where she probably shouldn’t. She realized that she might regret pursuing this but Matt and Sara Johnson at least deserved to know why their daughter was the prime suspect in this case. There had to have been strong evidence against her when the crime occurred. Hard as it might be for the Johnsons to accept the fact that their daughter had been involved in a crime, it would be better for them if they, at least, knew what evidence had led to that conclusion. At least Lin could use this as rationale for calling them after she talked to Sheriff Midgett. That would be it, she promised herself, one phone call and then she would put the whole mess aside and move on. Neal was on his way and they had several weeks ahead to enjoy each other and this lovely place. Then there would be Christmas with her entire family joining them. She had a lot to look forward to and she was not going to let this unfortunate experience spoil her holidays.
Chapter 4
The drive west was, thankfully, uneventful. Flat stretches of open farmland punctuated by pine forests gradually yielded to the slightly hillier terrain near Raleigh. The state capital sat near the border of the coastal plain and the hilly piedmont area of the state. There were more hardwoods here and many of them had already lost their leaves resulting in a mostly brown and tan landscape that foreshadowed the coming winter. Lin was grateful to realize that she would enjoy a few more weeks before that happened on the Outer Banks. The climate there was a bit milder. She knew that the coast could experience terrific storms even though the hurricane season would soon be past. Even so, warm sunny days were not uncommon during the weeks leading up to the New Year.
Even though she had taken her time, stopping for a coffee break along the way, Lin arrived at Raleigh-Durham airport about an hour ahead of Neal’s scheduled arrival. She parked the car and went into the terminal looking around for what she might do to pass the time. She hadn’t eaten lunch, but she wasn’t really hungry. She had, after all, had a late breakfast. Neal had mentioned making dinner reservations so she really didn’t want to eat a meal at this point; it was a few minutes past four. Lin spotted a Starbucks that wasn’t far from the place where arriving passengers exited the concourse and decided that a latte would make a perfect afternoon snack.
Someone had left a newspaper on one of the tables. Lin browsed through some of the articles and then decided to work on the crossword puzzle while she waited. A couple of times she got up to check the arrivals board, happily noting that Neal’s flight
was scheduled to arrive on time a little after five. Her excitement over his arrival had pushed the events of the weekend and her talk with Dorrie’s parents to the back of her mind—at least for the present.
Finally, the board indicated that the flight had landed. Even though she realized it would be several minutes before the passengers disembarked and made their way to the main terminal area, Lin moved closer to the concourse exit area to wait. It was almost twenty minutes before she saw Neal heading her way. He broke into a huge grin when he spotted her his blue eyes sparkling as he made his way through the crowd.
“Boy am I glad to see you,” he exclaimed as he dropped his carry on bag and grabbed her in a huge bear hug. “It’s been a long day but well worth it.” He noticed that she had wrapped both arms around him, “Hey, looks like the shoulder is back to normal.”
“It is,” Lin responded, “just an occasional twinge here and there.” She planted a kiss on his cheek, “I’m so glad you’re finally here.”
“Me too,” Neal replied. He picked up his carry on and took Lin by the elbow guiding her away from the ever-growing numbers of people flowing from the concourse toward a quieter spot to one side of the entrance. “Now, how about a real welcome kiss.” He put the bag down and drew her into a close embrace kissing her deeply and with a hunger that expressed how truly happy he was to be with her. Lin responded eagerly returning his embrace fully. All of the anxieties of the past weekend vanished completely.
Finally, Neal stepped back, “I guess, I’d better go claim my luggage. Coming for such a long visit I had to pack a lot more than usual.”
“Tell you what,” Lin said, “I’m in the parking garage across the way. Why don’t I go get the car and I’ll pick you up at the arrivals lane in front of the baggage claim area. Should save a few minutes anyway.”
Lin took Neal’s carry on bag with her and headed out to the garage. By the time she got the car and drove back around to the terminal Neal was just exiting the baggage area with two fairly large bags. She popped the trunk and waited while he lifted the heavy bags and placed them inside.
“You must have big plans,” she teased, “that involve getting dressed up a lot. I should’ve told you that things are usually very casual at the beach.”
Neal grinned and winked at her, “Actually, my most immediate plans focus more on getting undressed than on dressing in any fashion.”
“Oh, really!” I fell right into that one Lin thought; she felt herself blushing as she tried to focus on the signs for exiting the airport.
“Indeed, they do,” Neal continued with a grin on his face, “and, for your information, one of those bags is filled with Christmas gifts and notes for some writing I’m currently working on. My laptop is in the carry on. I plan on getting some work done while I am here.”
“ Kate has a nice office area upstairs so that should be easy for you,” Lin was glad to change the subject, at least for the moment.
“ That’s great,” Neal responded, “but first things first.” He gave her directions from his reservation form and soon they were pulling up at the hotel he had booked for the night. The elegant entrance took Lin’s breath away. She’d been expecting more basic lodgings. The valet took her car and the bellhop loaded the luggage they needed for overnight.
“I wasn’t expecting anything so luxurious,” Lin remarked as they exited the elevator on the eighth floor.
“Nothing but the best,” Neal grinned. “It’s only one night, but I want it to be special.”
The room was large, centered with a king sized bed. There were comfortable chairs near the windows and an arrangement of fresh flowers on the table in between. Next to that, Lin saw a bottle of her favorite wine, Malbec, and two glasses.
She smiled at Neal. “You’ve thought of everything.”
“I hope so,” he replied crossing the room and embracing her once more. “I can’t forget our wonderful weekend at the Canyon, and I wanted this to be just as special. I’ve really missed you.”
“Me too,” Lin answered as he leaned down to kiss her once more.
Neal uncorked the wine, letting it breathe before pouring each of them a glass He began to further explore their quarters. Lin sat in one of the chairs by the window and sipped her wine, watching him as he moved about the room. He was a sight for sore eyes.
Neal opened the door to the bathroom and exclaimed, “You have to see this! It’s more like a spa than a bathroom.” He beckoned for Lin to join him. The bathroom was huge with double sinks, a whirlpool tub, and a huge shower with a rain head and a long wooden bench along the back wall.
Neal consulted his watch. I’ve made dinner reservations at someplace called the Angus Barn but not until seven-thirty. There is certainly no need to hurry; the restaurant is practically next door. The management here recommended it to me.
“It’s a wonderful steak house,” Lin offered, “one of the best anywhere and it is close by. We passed it on our way here.”
Then we have plenty of time to relax before we go. Neal slowly began to unbutton Lin’s blouse, “I think a nice warm shower would be just perfect right now and that shower is certainly big enough for two. I’d get lost in there alone.”
Lin could only nod her agreement as Neal proceeded to undress her and then himself. He reached into the large shower, turning on the steaming water as he led her in after him. The warmth Lin felt throughout her body was not entirely coming from the soft steam that quickly enveloped them. There was no more talking. Gazing into her eyes with deep affection, Neal sat down on the wooden shower bench drawing her gently down to his lap.
What began in the almost tropical warmth of the luxurious shower ended almost an hour later atop the king sized bed in a tangle of soft white towels.
“We’ll need to dress for dinner soon,” Neal murmured. “It’s almost seven.”
“Not, just yet,” Lin responded, pulling him toward her once more. “Just a few more minutes. Hold me close.”
They lay together entwined in the damp towels, but Lin felt only the warmth of the afterglow of their lovemaking. Somehow she felt safe and secure in Neal’s arms. Their relationship had had a rocky beginning, but now it had blossomed into something special. Last spring her trust in Neal had waivered when she had questioned some of his actions, but he had righted that situation and had been forthright in accepting his own responsibility for what happened. His efforts had helped put an end to a dangerous art theft ring. Since that time, Lin had felt only trust and honesty in her relationship with Neal. While she still was not sure where the relationship was heading, she knew that they were in a good place right now.
***
They arrived at the steakhouse just a few minutes late for their reservation. The rustic barn-like building was already decorated for the holidays. A large fir tree dominated the entry area bedecked with hundreds of white lights and glittery ornaments. A warm log fire burned in the double-sided fireplace.
“I can’t believe that Christmas is almost upon us already,” Neal smiled at the inviting scene. “It’s not even December yet, but every place I go seems to be gearing up for the season.”
“Well, Thanksgiving is this week so I guess its time to decorate—get us in the mood for shopping,” Lin responded. “It is nice though, I love the holidays.”
“I’m especially looking forward to this holiday season,” Neal added, “spending it with you will be really special—your family too, of course.”
“They’ll keep us busy,” Lin smiled, “especially Sam and Emma. You remember how energetic they were when they came to visit me last summer.”
“Indeed,” Neal responded, “but I enjoyed every minute I was included. I realize what I’ve missed by not having kids and grandkids of my own. It’ll be fun to share yours—this holiday.” Neal didn’t add that he would like to share them beyond this season, but his expression gave away his thoughts.
By this time they were seated in the dining room near the warmth of the fire. The dinner was wonderful�
�great food, good wine, and a warm holiday atmosphere.
Their conversation focused on plans for the next few weeks. Lin eagerly outlined a number of activities that she felt Neal would enjoy as well as day trips they might make together and with her family. There was no mention of the grim events of the past weekend. Frankly, Lin was happy to put this behind her for a while and focus on Neal and the plans they were making.
***
Tuesday morning dawned chilly but sunny. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, Neal and Lin hit the road for the drive back to the Outer Banks. Their romantic reunion had left Lin in a great mood. She was feeling very calm and relaxed as they left the traffic of the Raleigh area and found themselves driving back through expansive fields of cotton—most full of brown stubble but some still snowy white with bolls yet to be harvested. The land grew flatter and marshier the nearer they got to their destination. Soon they were crossing the Alligator River onto Roanoke Island and into the town of Manteo. Their arrival reminded Lin of her appointment the next morning with Sheriff Midgett. She realized that she hadn’t thought about that meeting during the entire time she was with Neal in Raleigh, but now she found herself once more thinking about all the questions that had been raised by Matt Johnson. She had to admit she had questions herself. Hopefully, the sheriff would be able to produce some answers for them both.
Remembering that a grocery store visit was in order if she and Neal expected to eat at home, Lin pulled into the Harris Teeter parking lot as they arrived in Nags Head.
“Thanksgiving dinner?” Neal queried, with a sly grin.
“Not on your life,” Lin responded, “I have no plans to cook Thanksgiving dinner—Christmas will be quite enough. Besides I hear the buffet at Capt. George’s here is fantastic. We can go out. This is a more basic trip. The cupboard at Kate’s is pretty bare.”
Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 5