“ I was an elementary school principal in Charlotte for more than fifteen years,” Lin offered, “ just retired last year. I’m very comfortable with kids. I’d enjoy sharing with them and I’m sure I can manage behavior.”
The ranger smiled, “The teachers usually have the groups well in hand, but they do welcome our help sometimes. I think you’re hired Ms. Hanna—you’ll need to complete a volunteer application form for our records, and if you can wait a moment, I’ll get one for you. Mind if I bring our schedule too? We have trips starting next week.”
“That’s great, Mr. Davis,” she noted his name tag, “but please call me Lin.”
“And I’m Bob,” he offered his hand. “What about your friend? Does he want to volunteer also?” he nodded in Neal’s direction.
“He’s a professor of archeology, I’m not sure how he would feel about herding elementary kids around,” Lin joked.
“Really,” Bob said, “we just got another grant, or rather The First Colony Foundation did, to do some more surveys around the site. We had a dig a couple of years ago that found some artifacts from the right time period for the lost colony. Scholars are still looking for answers here. I’m sure your friend would be interested in that.”
Having overheard this part of the conversation, Neal came over and was soon engaged in a lively conversation with Bob Davis. Lin took the time to complete the volunteer application and checked the schedule of field trips for the coming weeks. She chose two dates for the upcoming week and signed up to lead the groups. The next week she signed up for two more groups, but she decided to forego the third week. That would be just prior to the arrival of her family for the holidays and she thought she might need more time to prepare for their visit. She returned the form and the calendar to Bob.
“This is great, it’ll be so helpful for our staff,” he smiled.
“If I find I have more free time, I’ll come help some additional days—if that would be ok. I’m just not sure how busy I’ll be later getting ready for holiday visitors.”
“That would be fine. We can always use some additional help around the grounds and here at the center. Plan to come anytime you feel you can. What about a uniform?”
“ I saw that Kate had a couple and we are about the same size,” Lin said. “I can probably use one of hers.”
“I’ll see you next Monday,” Lin offered her hand to the ranger.
“And I’ll be by this Friday to meet the archeology crew. Maybe I can be of some help to them,” Neal seemed enthusiastic about the possible opportunity.
Bob Davis gave Lin a folder of reading material she could use to prepare for talking with the school groups. “See you Monday,” he smiled. Turning to Neal he explained, “I won’t be here on Friday. I have to work tomorrow—we’re open on Thanksgiving—so Friday is my ‘holiday’ but I’ll let the ranger on duty know you are coming. She can introduce you to the archeology crew and I feel sure they’ll be delighted to have your help.”
Lin was pleased with the results of their visit. She knew she would enjoy helping out, and she was especially happy that Neal had found something he might be interested in doing also.
As they drove out of the park, Lin noticed that it was already past noon. “I’m not really hungry after that big breakfast this morning, and we probably need to head back home. Sparky might be feeling neglected. He loves to take walks and play.”
“You may not be hungry, but I could use a sandwich or something,” Neal replied. “Then we could take Sparky out somewhere—a little windy for the beach though.”
“How about Nags Head Woods,” Lin offered.
“You want to return to where you found Dorrie’s remains? I thought you wanted to forget about that.” Neal seemed surprised.
“Actually, I’m feeling much calmer now,” Lin offered. “I realize that accidents like this happen. I’ve gotten over my initial shock; besides, I plan to call Matt and Sara Johnson tonight, and I could possibly give them a better sense of what might have happened if I revisit the scene when I’m able to focus more clearly on the surroundings. I’ll be fine…” Lin reached for Neal’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
Neal didn’t say anything more about Lin’s suggestion as they drove across the Baum Bridge and turned toward Kate’s home. Instead he chatted enthusiastically about meeting the archeologists at Ft. Raleigh on Friday and the possibility that he might volunteer to help with their survey. When they arrived home, he headed for the kitchen to make himself some lunch while Lin went upstairs to change into jeans and a sweatshirt. When she’d dressed, she went back downstairs and poured herself a glass of milk. That was all she really wanted. She joined Neal at the kitchen table. He had finished his sandwich and was working on a crossword puzzle. “Sure you don’t want something to eat?” he smiled at her as she joined him.
“Not really hungry,” she replied, “this will hold me until dinner. I thought it might be fun to try Capt. George’s Seafood Buffet tonight. I’ve heard it’s fabulous—anything you want and all you can eat,” she grinned.
“Then, that’s the plan,” Neal agreed. He put his puzzle aside and reached for her hand.
“I’ve been thinking about all Sheriff Midgett said—or rather didn’t say—this morning, Lin. I know you have a lot of questions, so do I, and I know you. I don’t think you’ll be able to forget about all of this until you’ve found some answers. I understand this. I have questions myself, and I can only imagine how the Johnsons must feel but…” Neal’s voice caught a bit, “I don’t want to see you get hurt, and I’m afraid of what might happen if you get further involved in all this, after what happened last spring…”
“I’m not going to get involved—there really isn’t anything to get involved in here,” Lin sought to reassure him, “Liz Frazier’s murder is certainly a cold case—I doubt that anything new could be learned about that anyway—and Dorrie died from an allergic reaction to a bee sting. The only real mystery is her past involvement with Liz and what she was trying to do by coming here. I’ll call Matt Johnson tonight and share what we heard today. That’s really all I can do and I do feel I should do that much. I don’t know if Dorrie killed Liz or not, but I’m sure that the sheriff really has no proof and that should help her parents feel better, at least I hope it will.”
Neal squeezed her hand and smiled, “ Me too, I want you to know that I do support you in this—I do understand but please be careful. I need you to be safe—both physically and emotionally,” Neal said softly, “you’re so important to me, Lin.”
Lin rose and walked behind Neal’s chair. She put her arms around him and leaned her head against his, “You’re important to me too,” she replied.
At that moment Sparky bounded into the room. He raced toward the door where his leash was dangling from a hat rack and began to jump up and down and bark.
“Let’s go to walk,” Neal laughed. “No more talk. Sparky’s ready for action.”
Chapter 6
The sun filtered through the taller trees dappling the path with light as they crossed the wooden bridges that spanned the brackish water at the start of the trail. It was chillier than it had been when Lin and Sparky were there during the past weekend. Lin was glad she’d added her fleece jacket over her sweatshirt. Neal had also dressed warmly. He held Sparky’s retractable leash and allowed it to play out a bit so that the eager canine could trot ahead of them as the trail began to ascend the old dunes into the maritime forest. Lin noted that there were still a few wildflowers blooming along the edge of the trail though the cooler temperatures seemed to have curbed the insects. At least Lin didn’t observe any bees as she had before. She couldn’t help but think that Dorrie might have been safe had the day of her ill-fated walk not been a warm one. Why didn’t she have her epipen with her? That question still bothered her, especially given what her parents had said about how severe her allergy was.
Neal and Sparky had gotten ahead of her. She saw that they were approaching the part of the trail that c
urved down the hill above the water where Dorrie’s remains had been found.
“Hold up,” she called. “I’m coming. I think this is the place where Sparky went off the trail—where he found Dorrie.”
She started down the hill, stopping when she recognized the slope where the dog had gone down and where she had taken her spill. The litter on the forest floor revealed where she’d landed and slid on her bottom.
“This is the place,” Lin said, remembering.
She jumped back with a start as Neal placed his hand on her backside and gave her a friendly pat. “So this is where that lovely green and yellow bruise came from,” he teased.
“Stop that!” Lin gave him a playful shove. “ Let’s go down—but carefully—it looks as if the water is lower than when I was here before.” She indicated a depression that was disturbed along the muddy apron of the pond, “I think the body was here, but it was partially covered in water when we first saw it. This water must connect somehow to the sound and the tide must be low.”
“Could be,” Neal agreed as the made their way carefully down the slope, “good thing we wore old shoes. Sparky may need a bath.”
Lin looked up to see that the dog was pawing vigorously in the now exposed mud, part of the area that would have been underwater when they found Dorrie’s remains.
“Sparky, stop that. Come here!” she called. Neal tried to help by reeling in the leash. Sparky resisted. He pawed vigorously at an object buried in the soft mud.
“What’s he got?” Lin began to slog her way toward the spot where Sparky continued to dig. No matter, she would have to wash these shoes anyway she thought.
Sparky had uncovered a small rectangular box that had a round hole on one end and an oval opening along one side. Some sort of wire mesh covered the oval opening. Lin picked up the object and attempted to wipe away some of the mud.
“ What do you make of this?” she handed the box to Neal.
He examined it with a shrug. “I’ve never seen anything like this before, maybe its some sort of bait box—something a fisherman might use for live bait,” he casually tossed the object back on the mud flat.
“You’re probably right,” Lin said. “It would’ve been underwater when we were here before. Ken Parker told me they searched the trail and I’m sure they searched this area also. I think they were looking for an epipen that Dorrie might have lost along the way. They might not have seen this though.” She retrieved the strange little box from where it had landed.
“I don’t think an epipen would have been in a container like that,” Neal joked, “bring it along, though. I’m curious as to what it might be, anyway. Maybe someone can tell us.”
“Done,” Lin said. She carried the object in her hand, not wanting to get the sticky mud in her pocket.
They continued their walk around the area and back up to the trail. Lin tried to mentally record the scene so that she could give Dorrie’s parents some idea of what might’ve happened to her. Had she been stung along the trail and tried to reach the water for relief? Did she fall and slide in? Did she actually die from anaphylactic shock or did the shock cause her to fall and drown? Lin knew what she had been told by Ken Parker, but she began to realize that she really didn’t have full information. Perhaps the Johnsons had been given a copy of the medical examiner’s report. That would probably answer these questions. Lin caught herself as she realized that she also wanted to know these details. Of course, it really didn’t matter, she thought. The end result for Dorrie had been the same. The same old question arose, why did she not have her epipen with her? In the back of her mind Lin thought, I’d really like to talk to Ken Parker again—maybe explore a few more details from the medical report. She tried to push this thought aside. She had no good reason to seek more information. Matt and Sara Johnson probably already had the report and they would share the information if they chose to do so.
By this time Lin and Neal had regained the higher part of the trail. They continued their walk until they came back around to the reserve’s entrance area. It was really a beautiful place. Lin was glad to have completed the walk that had been cut short earlier.
“We’re pretty messy,” Neal observed as they approached Kate’s Jeep in the parking lot. “Unless we want to have a major clean up job to do with this vehicle, we’d better take our shoes and socks off.”
Lin realized that they not only had dirty shoes, the bottoms of their jeans were muddy as well. They removed the shoes and socks and rolled the dirty jeans up to their knees to protect the car’s interior. Sparky was relegated to the back of the vehicle where there was a rubber mat.
“Well, I was going to suggest we stop for coffee before we went back home but I think we’d better not try that,” Lin laughed. “This being a beach community most places adhere to a ‘no shoes, no service’ policy.”
***
Like so many homes in coastal areas, Kate’s was raised on piers and the area beneath the main level had an outdoor shower, sink, and faucet for cleaning up from beach excursions. The laundry room was there also. Both areas were at least partially protected from view. Neal managed to clean Sparky’s feet and he and Lin stripped off their jeans and tossed them into the washer along with their shoes and socks before they went upstairs.
“I now understand why these homes have such facilities outside,” he smiled as they entered the kitchen.
“Protects the house from sand and such,” Lin agreed. “The sink is good for cleaning fish but,” she hastened to add, “don’t count on me to do any of that.”
Neal grinned at her, ”I’m not much of a fisherman, but I’ve always wanted to try a deep sea fishing trip—maybe when Ben and Brian come…”
“I think they would love that,” she responded. “I know they’ve both been before, and they’ve mentioned perhaps doing some fishing while they’re here, provided the weather cooperates.”
“Maybe, I’ll check it out,” Neal responded, “Now I think we need to check out the shower upstairs before we have dinner.”
Lin grinned and shook her head, “I recall the last time we tried to shower together—this shower is not so large or luxurious…”
“We’ll manage,” Neal laughed, “where’s your sense of adventure? Besides, I think I should check out that bruise. I need to be sure it’s healing properly.”
***
Later, after they returned from feasting on seafood at Capt. George’s, Lin placed her call to Matt Johnson. His voice sounded tired when he answered. Lin could hear the concern and worry he must be feeling.
Using her notes to make sure she didn’t leave anything out, she related what they’d learned in their conversation with the Sheriff. There was really not much information that hadn’t been available in the news accounts that the Johnsons had probably already seen.
“Honestly,” Lin added when she had finished reviewing the facts, “the case against Dorrie seems to be based mostly on circumstantial evidence. Of course, it will never be heard in court, but I seriously doubt any charges could’ve been proven.” Lin realized she was drawing conclusions, but she wanted to be able to provide this father and mother with some sense of comfort.
“I do appreciate your sharing this information, Ms. Hanna,” Matt said, “and I wish I could say that’s enough for us, but I simply can’t let this go. I realize that we may never know the extent to which Dorrie may have been involved in this case—after all, that trail is more than ten years old—but we want to try to find out what Dorrie was doing when she was there recently. She told us she wanted to repay Liz Frazier what she owed her, and we believed her. If she knew Liz was dead that would’ve made no sense at all. Someone had to have seen her and talked to her before she died,” there was a catch in his voice.
“Sheriff Midgett indicated they were looking into that…”Lin started to respond but Matt cut her off.
“I’m afraid I have no confidence in that. I don’t believe the Sheriff will seriously investigate Dorrie’s death or the events precedin
g it. After all, why should he—it was an accident and a happy one as far as he's concerned,” Matt Johnson sounded bitter. “We’ve been able to gain access to Dorrie’s financial records since we returned, and there’s no indication anywhere that she ever had any stolen jewelry; nothing like that was found in her safe deposit box or in her home. No large infusion of cash went into any of her accounts, nothing. If she stole valuable jewelry, why didn’t she cash in? Instead, she went to a shelter for help.”
What he was saying made sense to Lin. She had thought of the same questions. She also doubted Sheriff Midgett cared enough to seriously pursue an investigation of the dead girl’s movements and activities.
Lin realized that Matt was still talking, though her own thoughts had wandered.
“We’ve tried to find a private investigator locally, but there’s no one. The guy we talked to in Richmond said he’d go down there, but that would cost a fortune what with expenses and all,” Matt lamented. “He said to talk to the local cops so where does that leave us.”
Before she fully realized what she was saying, Lin found herself offering to make some local inquiries and see what she could learn about Dorrie’s activities. She didn’t think the Sheriff would be helpful, but she remembered that Ken Parker seemed to be more understanding.
“I could talk to a local police officer I met during all of this,” Lin offered. “I don’t think his department is actually involved directly any more, but he might be able to help in some fashion.”
“We’d certainly appreciate anything you could do to help,” Matt sounded relieved. “I thought about coming down myself—and I still may—but Sara is still so upset. She can’t even talk about it, and I don’t want to put her through any more. I don’t think I should leave her here alone…”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Lin agreed. “I’ll see what I can find out and let you know.”
Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 7