“Ms. Hanna, I’m sorry if I seem impatient, but this has been a tough few days here and I’m tired. I should thank you for finding out what Dorrie was doing during her days here. Your information that she was with Billy that Thursday night before her death was important in our investigation,” he admitted, “but I don’t think I need to remind you of the risks you take when you try to ask questions and look into things on your own. This case is in good hands and I’m going to ask you to let us handle all of it from now on, for your own safety.”
“I understand,” Lin realized that she shouldn’t say anything more, but she couldn’t bring herself to promise not to ask any more questions. Instead she smiled and shook hands with Ken and asked him to please let her know what he learned about the strange box, the bee cage as it were, if he could.
“I’ll do that,” Ken smiled and extended his hand, obviously trying to demonstrate that he forgave her earlier intrusions.
Lin followed Matt Johnson to the parking lot and stopped to say good-bye.
“If I can do anything more to help you, please don’t hesitate to ask,” she offered.
“I won’t,” Matt replied kindly. “I do appreciate all the information you gave us, and I think Sgt. Parker realizes that it did help. I think he’s just concerned about your safety. Hopefully, this is all behind us now.”
There was one thing more Lin felt she had to say. “I hope you and your wife won’t assume that Dorrie was using hard drugs voluntarily during her visit. I’m not sure about that. They found pot at Billy Thornton’s, but that was all, and he claims that was all they did. Smoking a little pot might not be the best thing, but it’s a far cry from using heavy drugs. I do think it’s possible that Billy might’ve given her something else even though he apparently denies that. Just keep an open mind about that until the investigation is complete.”
“I will,” Matt assured her, “at least I’ll try. I don’t plan to mention that possibility to Sara in any case, not right now. I just wish we knew how she got to Nags Head Woods where you found her. What was she doing after she left Billy’s? How did she manage to drive herself if she were so hung over?”
“There are still a lot of questions,” Lin admitted. “Let’s hope Ken Parker finds those answers.”
***
A short while later Lin arrived at the Holiday Inn Express. She was feeling let down and frustrated after her visit with Ken Parker. She knew he was just trying to do his job, but she felt there were huge gaps in information left to fill in and she feared that he thought the important information about Dorrie’s death had already been uncovered. He seemed convinced that the only possible issue was whether or not Billy Thornton might have drugged her intentionally, or whether Dorrie had knowingly used drugs with him. Either way, negligence or date rape was the only possible charge there.
Lin still felt that learning more about what Dorrie did on Friday would help clarify things, but right now her own thoughts were confused. She definitely needed some old fashioned exercise, for a lot of reasons.
A half hour later she had worked up a good sweat on the treadmill and was gently lifting some light weights. She had neglected her prescribed exercises for her repaired shoulder since her arrival here and didn’t want to overdo things. It’ll take me a couple of weeks to get back in the swing of this, she thought. Maybe Kate has some weights somewhere, and I can exercise at home too. She did a few more reps then put the weights aside and went to the locker room to change into her swimsuit. Swimming was her favorite exercise, and it was good for the shoulder too.
It was already five o’clock so she tried again to call Neal. She didn’t want him to worry about her. Fortunately, she reached him this time. “I’m on my way home in the next five minutes,” he said. “What’re you up to?”
“I’m at the pool, trying to get some exercise. Why don’t you go by the house, grab your trunks, and join me here?”
“I’m sure that would be fun, good for me too,” Neal replied, “but I think I’ll pass this time. I’ll start dinner, that is if we have any food in the house,” he teased.
Lin gave him a quick run down of the groceries she’d bought and promised she’d be home in an hour. She stuffed her phone in the locker with her clothes and entered the pool area. The heated pool was enclosed in a greenhouse type of structure. The atmosphere was warm, almost tropical. Lin eased herself down the pool steps, slowly submerging herself in the warm water. It felt so good. She warmed up with a few water aerobics exercises and then began to swim laps using slow regular strokes to achieve a full range of movement in her shoulder. After a half hour of swimming she decided it was time to leave. She would wait until she got home to shower.
In the locker room, Lin dried herself off and put on the sweats she had brought. She found her thoughts returning once more to Dorrie and the unanswered questions about what she had done on Friday. Good grief, she told herself when she thought about where she was. Dorrie was staying right here. She should’ve come back here when she left Billy’s; she wasn’t planning to leave until Saturday. The police found her stuff still here when they checked. Lin decided to go by the lobby to see if anyone there might recall having seen Dorrie at all on that Friday. If anyone had seen her, they might have noticed something about her condition.
There was no hair dryer evident in the locker room, so Lin gave her curls another quick rub with the towel and tried to arrange them in some semblance of order. She stepped into the hallway and headed for the lobby area. She was happy to see that the young man she had spoken with on her earlier visit was on duty. He would remember Dorrie because he had helped her with her key on Wednesday night. She waited quietly while he checked in a customer. When he’d finished she approached the desk.
“Hello again, Mr. Kerry,” Lin was grateful for the young man’s name tag as she certainly hadn’t recalled his name, “I finally made it back to use your gym facilities.” The young man seemed not to recall who she was. “You might not remember me,” she extended her hand in greeting. “I’m Lin Hanna and we talked about the young lady who died a couple of weeks ago, she was staying here…”
“Oh, yes, I remember now,” Dave Kerry seemed embarrassed to have forgotten. “You were asking about her and I told you about helping her with her key.”
“That’s right,” Lin affirmed his memory. “Actually, I was hoping you might remember something more about her visit. Do you recall, seeing her on that Friday, she should’ve still been here. I think she wasn’t planning to leave until Saturday.”
Dave Kerry had a doubtful look on his face. He seemed to be having trouble remembering. “Just a second,” he said, turning to his computer screen and entering some information. He scrolled through a couple of screens before responding. “I was just checking my memory, looking at our records of her stay. She was here on Friday, I remember seeing her now. She came by the desk and asked about extending her stay until Sunday, asked if her same room would be available for Saturday night. I reserved it for her right here,” he indicated the screen, “but then the cops came by on Saturday afternoon and told us she’d been found dead. They searched her room and took her things. Her parents came in the first of the week after and paid the bill—just through Friday night though,” he evidently wanted Lin to know they hadn’t been charged for the extra night.
“I’m sure you handled it properly,” Lin smiled. “Do you remember how she was acting when you spoke to her on Friday? Did she seem to feel well? Did she seem sick at all?”
Kerry seemed puzzled by her question; he thought about it before responding, “I’m pretty sure she was fine,” he said, “if I remember correctly, she told me she had met an old friend and had gone out with him the night before. Yeah, she said she was staying over hoping she might be able to see him again during the weekend. She was laughing and kidding around about having a good time. I’m sorry, I should’ve mentioned this to you earlier, but I guess I’d forgotten until you asked me about Friday just now.”
“That’s o
k,” Lin smiled, “let me ask you again about how she was acting, if you don’t mind. Did she seem at all groggy, hung over maybe?”
“No, I’ve seen lots of guests here that were, from time to time, but she was just fine. She spoke clearly and was talking about feeling good and making plans for the day.”
“What sort of plans, do you remember?” Lin pressed for more information.
“Sorry, I can’t recall that she mentioned anything in particular, but she was energetic, definitely not feeling bad at all.”
“Thanks a lot, Mr. Kerry,” Lin turned to leave, “you’ve been a great help.”
Lin felt a sense of renewed energy as she left the hotel and drove home. If Dorrie was as clear headed as Dave Kerry described then whatever drugs, other than the marijuana, that were in her system when she died couldn’t have come from her encounter with Billy on Thursday night. She must’ve met someone else on Friday. Some how she’d either acquired or been given the drugs that had left her so intoxicated that she had the accident in the woods. Now the question was where did she go on Friday and whom did she see?
Lin really wanted to share this new information with Ken Parker, but she knew he would be upset that she’d been asking questions again. How could she handle this? She was still thinking when she arrived back at Kate’s. She’d just have to figure something out, and she was more determined than ever to find out where Dorrie was on Friday.
Chapter 17
It was well after dark when Lin arrived. All the outside lights were on and the Christmas tree sparkled from the front window. The house looked ready for the holidays, and she was glad she’d gotten some cleaning done earlier. As she climbed the stairs toward the main level a delicious aroma of tomatoes, basil, and oregano greeted her. Neal stopped her at the kitchen door, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her energetically.
“Homemade spaghetti and meatballs with Caesar salad and garlic bread,” he murmured romantically in her ear. She couldn’t help laughing as she pulled back to gaze into his gorgeous baby blue eyes.
“And I suppose you think you can win all kinds of favors with your great cooking?” she teased.
“I should certainly hope so,” he replied expectantly, “but save that for later. Right now you smell delightfully of chlorine,” he shoved her away playfully, “you have just enough time for a shower before all this is ready.”
“Yes, sir,” Lin responded, “pecking him on the cheek as she headed upstairs.”
As she entered the shower she heard the ringing of a telephone downstairs and Neal’s voice as he greeted the caller. She couldn’t determine what he was saying but evidently the call was for him. She let the steaming water cover her from head to toe, rinsing away the chlorine as she shampooed her hair and scrubbed herself all over with sweet smelling shower gel. She was still excited about what she had learned and was eager to share with Neal. She was convinced that the key to understanding this whole story rested with finding out exactly what Dorrie did on Friday, but who should she contact, where should she begin? She realized that, in his current frame of mind, Ken Parker was not her best bet.
By the time she appeared downstairs, dressed in clean jeans and a soft sweater, Neal had poured each of them a glass of red wine and had filled a bowl with toasted pecans. “Everything’s ready except for the pasta, and the bread will stay warm in the oven so we can relax and enjoy this,” he took his wine and the nuts and headed for the porch.
Lin started to let Sparky out but Neal intervened, “I let him out when I got home, so he’s good to go until bedtime.” He lit the gas logs and settled himself on the sofa. “I had a great day at the fort,” he offered. “There are, at least, two sites that show great promise for excavation. The weather should hold until next week, so we’ll probably start digging in earnest tomorrow,” he reported. He continued to chat about transects and samples but it seemed to Lin that he had something else on his mind.
“Who called while I was in the shower?” from Neal’s expression she could tell she had hit on what he was thinking about. He took a long sip of wine and set his glass on the side table before answering.
“ That call was from my department chair at NAU,” he sighed, “it seems he’s going to be traveling the week after Christmas so he is pressing me to decide what I’m going to do right away.”
“And, have you made up your mind?” Lin was direct.
“Not entirely, I’m still thinking about my options. One of the team members today seemed to think I could possibly find a short-term position, maybe for a year, at Chapel Hill. He knows someone going on sabbatical and thinks they’ll try to find a replacement but,” he hesitated, “I have to think about it. I told Chris, he’s my chair, I’d call him Monday at the latest. Now, you tell me about your day.”
It was clear that he didn’t want to talk any further about his decision just now, so Lin launched into a full account of her afternoon—the information Ken Parker had shared about how clean Dorrie’s car was, his reaction to their finding the bee cage, and finally, what she had learned at the hotel about Dorrie.
“I don’t know where to turn next,” she confessed. “I’m pretty sure Ken Parker doesn’t want to talk to me again anytime soon, but I really think this is important information and someone should follow up.”
Neal was thoughtful but he really had no suggestions. “Perhaps you just need to do as Ken says, let him handle the investigation, and trust that he will find out all of this on his own.”
Lin nodded in agreement, but her heart wasn’t in it. She still felt uncertain about all this. Ken Parker seemed satisfied that Billy Thornton was the only person who was guilty of any wrongdoing. Lin wasn’t at all sure that was the case.
“Time to boil some pasta,” Neal headed for the kitchen. “Why don’t you set the table out here and we’ll dine by moonlight,” he smiled. The moon had indeed risen high enough to light the sky above the reflective sound. It wasn’t quite full so the stars were brilliant.
“Great idea,” Lin said, deciding there was no point in pressing the discussion of Dorrie’s activities further at this point.
***
“That was a great meal, you outdid yourself,” Lin said as they headed upstairs after taking care of Sparky’s needs and setting the new alarm system.
“Just wait till you see what I’ve in store for dessert,” Neal grinned as he grabbed the half-finished bottle of wine. “Here, take our glasses.”
They sat in the office area finishing the wine and snuggling on the sofa. Lin felt so relaxed and peaceful, her questions about the case receding into the background, at least for now.
“What would you say to a weekend get away? At least overnight on Saturday?” Neal asked.
“What do you have in mind?” Lin smiled.
“Well, I was thinking—the weather’s supposed to be fine, actually a bit warmer than average, and that might not be the case next week. Your family will be here the weekend after that, and Christmas will be upon us. This might be our best chance to explore these islands before all that happens. I was thinking we might head down to Ocracoke—take our time, explore along the way, spend the night down there, and come back Sunday.”
“That sound’s great, but what about Sparky, are we taking him along?” Lin smiled.
“I thought about it, but I couldn’t find a pet friendly place to stay. Some of the inns are closed for the season, but Eloise said she’d be happy to take care of him. It’s all arranged,” Neal confessed. “I’ve already made reservations. Of course, I can cancel….”
“Not a chance,” Lin responded, “it sound’s like a great idea. I’d love it.”
Neal leaned over and kissed her, “I do love you,” he gently stroked her hair. “I think it’s time we had that serious conversation you promised we’d get around to having. I told you I’d let you know.”
“And I promised we’d have it,” Lin added. “This weekend will be a good time.”
“But now,” Neal announced, “ getting up and pull
ing her toward him, “it’s time for that dessert.”
***
I must have been really tired, Lin thought when she realized she’d overslept. It was almost nine when she awoke, and Neal had already left for the fort. He’d left a note on the dresser indicating he expected today would be a short one, and he would most likely be back early in the afternoon. He added that he had started the laundry thinking they might need clean clothes for their trip the next day.
Lin smiled at his domesticity. Maybe Lucy was right about Neal being a “keeper.” He certainly was an excellent cook and really seemed to enjoy doing that. She went downstairs to let Sparky out, although Neal had probably done that also. He’d left a fresh pot of coffee and a package of English muffins on the counter. She popped a muffin in the toaster and went downstairs to put the wet clothes in the dryer.
Settling herself on the porch with her breakfast, she picked up her cell phone and punched Neal’s number, realizing he might have turned his phone off if he were in the field. She was pleased when he answered.
“Thought you might be working and have your phone off, thanks for the coffee and for starting the laundry,” she said.
“You were sleeping so soundly this morning; I decided to sneak out and let you catch up on your rest. I knew I’d dirtied a lot of clothes this week myself, so I figured we needed to wash before we left tomorrow. You caught me just before we left the shed. I’ll be out of touch for the next two or three hours, but we plan to finish up early today,” Neal replied.
“That’s great, I think I might try to finish up my Christmas shopping, but I won’t be late either,” Lin realized she still had a few items on her list. “I’ll see you later.”
By the time she finished her breakfast the dryer was buzzing, so she gathered the clothes and took them upstairs to fold. As she put the folded clothes in the dresser, she noticed that Neal had left his good watch and pocketknife along with some other stuff. I guess he didn’t want to risk losing these things; she smiled as she recalled he’d fallen into the water earlier.
Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 18