Secrets in the Shallows (Book 1: The Monastery Murders)

by Karen Vance Hammond

  Deputy Williams gave them wipes to clean off their hands and then lead them to an interrogation room nearby. “I’ll let Sheriff Johnson know you’re here. He’ll be right in.”

  “Thank you, Deputy,” Herbert replied as he and his wife sat down on the uncomfortable chairs.

  The deputy excused himself and walked out the door.

  * * * *

  Deputy Williams rapped on Sheriff Johnson’s office.

  “Come on in,” the sheriff’s voice sounded through the door.

  Cracking the door, Williams peeked in and said, “Sir, the Fields are here waiting for you in Interrogation Room 2. By the way, we’ve already run a comparison on the prints we found in Timmy’s room. We found a print that doesn’t belong to Herbert, Margie or Timmy.” Williams walked over and handed the paperwork to his boss.

  The sheriff looked at the folder and asked, “Do you know whose prints they belong to yet?”

  “Yes. It’s Carter Spurlock.”

  Sheriff shook his head, “That doesn’t surprise me in the least. Timmy and Carter were inseparable since kindergarten. He was at their house all the time. They were best friends, especially since Tom Green had committed suicide.” Sheriff Johnson stared out the window. After a long pause, he turned to the deputy and said, “Get him in here, today.”

  “Yes, sir.” Williams left immediately to obey his orders.

  * * * *

  Herbert and Margie Fields held hands as they waited impatiently in the interrogation room. Finally, the door cracked open after someone rapped on it. Sheriff Johnson walked in, followed by Deputy Shamberg.

  The sheriff reached his arm out and shook Herbert’s hand. “Hello, again. I apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience.”

  Margie replied, “We thought you had forgotten about us.”

  The sheriff furrowed his brow and said, “I would never do that.”

  Margie did her best to smile, and grabbed Herbert’s hand again as she said, “Sheriff, you said you wanted to ask us some questions?”

  Sheriff Johnson sat down across from the Fields as Deputy Shamberg stood quietly in the corner behind him. “Yes, Margie. Can either of you think of anyone who would want to harm your son?”

  Herbert looked the sheriff in the eyes and replied, “We cannot think of anyone that would want to hurt, and especially our boy.”

  The sheriff took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “Did he have any problems at school that I should be concerned about?”

  Margie shook her head and replied, “Timmy could be a bit mischievous, but he was a good boy at heart. He would be forgetful about simple things; however he was never mean-spirited, or did anything to harm anyone on purpose.”

  “How was his relationship with his girlfriend, Lisa?”

  Herbert said, “He and Lisa got along very well. They planned on going to college together, wherever they could both get in. After graduating, they wanted to get married and settle down. He really did not get in trouble other than stupid things like normal kids do.”

  The sheriff furrowed his brow and asked, “What kinds of things?”

  “Like getting a speeding ticket a few months ago, and not following the dress code at school. Just simple stuff, like I said. In fact, I think we already told you that on the day he went missing, he had to stay a couple of hours after school to help with some chores. Apparently, he had forgotten to shave like he’s supposed to ... rather, was supposed to.” Herbert’s voice trailed off as he realized that his son was gone and would not need to follow those rules anymore.

  “I see,” Sheriff Johnson replied. “We found a note in his room from Lisa. Seems that she was getting irritated at Carter Spurlock for trying to make advances towards her. Do you know anything about that at all?”

  Margie responded, “I never really cared much for Timmy having Carter as a friend. However, in a small town, there aren’t too many kids to choose from. As long as Carter behaved when he came over, I didn’t force the issue. So, I imagine that Timmy didn’t want to tell us of any issues with Carter. He knew we wouldn’t put up with that behavior.”

  “Did you ever hear Carter get upset about anything?” the sheriff asked.

  “I overheard him get upset about something that Mother Superior did at school, but I figured it was mostly kids just being kids.”

  “Can you think of anyone else I should check into?”

  Herbert and Margie both shook their heads and said, “No.”

  Sheriff Johnson stood up and said, “I may need to ask more questions as we find out more information.”

  “We’ll try to remember anything else that could be of help. Just let us know if you need us.”

  “Well, you’re free to go. Again, thank you for coming in and for being so patient. We’ll let you know if we find out anything new,” the sheriff said as he opened the door.

  Turning to Deputy Shamberg, he said, “Please, walk Mr. and Mrs. Fields out to the lobby, Deputy.”

  Deputy Shamberg nodded and said, “Yes, sir.”

  Herbert and Margie stood up, as Herbert said, “Good-bye, Sheriff. And please try to find Timmy’s killer as soon as possible.”

  “That is our top priority; I assure you both. If you think of anything that may be helpful, please call us right away, even if it’s the middle of the night,” Sheriff Johnson said as he walked out the door.

  Deputy Shamberg held the door open politely and said, “Please, follow me, Mr. and Mrs. Fields.”

  The Fields couple forced a smile as they followed the deputy to the main lobby, and then headed to their car arm-in-arm.

  CHAPTER 18

  Sheriff Johnson walked down the hallway towards the interrogation room. His steady and slow gate was easily recognized by everyone at the station. Deputy Williams followed closely behind him, carrying a folder.

  “Earlier, we went to check out the vandalism at the monastery,” Deputy Williams commented.

  “Good. What did you find?” the sheriff asked.

  Williams grimaced and replied, “It was pretty disgusting. Someone took a deer head and set it in the hands of Mother Mary’s statue.”

  The sheriff nodded as Williams continued, “Then they poured blood over her head. It was a freakin’ mess. I have given the samples to the lab to test, but my guess is that it’s just more deer blood. Based on the stride length left in the snow, we gauged the culprit’s height at about 5’9” to maybe 5’11” tall. It was a bit hard to tell more precisely with the depth of the snow.”

  “Good work, Deputy. Let me know what you find out,” Sheriff Johnson said as he opened the door to find Carter Spurlock sitting at the table with a scowl on his face. Smiling, the sheriff entered the room and approached the table where the young man sat.

  Grinning, the sheriff addressed the seated young man with dark tousled hair. “Hello, Carter. How are you doing?”

  Deputy Williams nodded politely as he walked over to the corner and stood silently behind the sheriff.

  Carter could feel the sweat beads on his upper lip as he nervously looked at Sheriff Johnson. His eyes bugged out slightly 6as he waited and wondered, Why did they bring me to the station? He pursed his lips together tightly as he looked up at the sheriff and replied, “I’m fine. What am I doing here, Sheriff?”

  Sheriff Johnson walked over to a table and poured a small paper cup of water for himself. “Would you like some water?”

  “No. Why I am here? What do you want?”

  “Let’s talk about Timmy Fields.”

  “Am I under arrest for something?” Carter shifted his eyes up at him.

  “Not yet. I just need to clarify a few things. You’re not cooperating, so you’re not helping your case. I already have enough to hold you for forty-eight hours if I want.”

  “Hold me for what?!” Carter shouted.

  Sheriff Johnson’s face turned beet red as he placed both hands on the table, and then leaned in towards Carter’s face. Looking directly into Carter’s eyes, he replied, �
�Do you want me to arrest you for the murder of Timmy Fields right now?”

  “I didn’t kill Timmy!” Carter yelled.

  Deputy Williams rested his palm on his handcuffs, ready to respond to any orders given by the sheriff. The sheriff shook his head slightly at Williams, who remained alert and waiting.

  Sheriff Johnson shouted back, “Then answer my damn questions!”

  Carter sat down in his chair, as he rolled his eyes and asked, “Okay! What about Timmy?”

  The sheriff asked, “When’s the last time you saw Timmy Fields?”

  Pausing for several seconds, Carter leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. “I saw him at school earlier on the day of the storm, but we didn’t talk. We were focused on passing our midterms before the winter break.” Timmy swallowed hard as he looked directly at the sheriff.

  “Did you ever go see Timmy at his house? Did you hang out?”

  “We would study sometimes, and I saw him at school all the time. We had chemistry together. Also, we always had lacrosse practice on Tuesdays, and then there was mass on Sundays. That was about it.”

  The sheriff smirked as he walked back and forth slapping his ballpoint pen in his palm.

  Carter asked, “Excuse me, but have I done something wrong, Sheriff?”

  Sheriff leaned over the desk and eyeballed Carter. “Well, I think you would know if you did something wrong. Don’t you? When was the last time you were in Timmy’s room?”

  Carter tilted his head as his arrogance began to surface on his face. “It was at least couple of days before the big storm when he went missing that I spent any real time with him at his place. We were studying for the chemistry midterm exam, but that was it. What did I do wrong?”

  “Tell me everything about that study session.”

  Carter rubbed the inside of his palm with his other thumb. “It was just me, Timmy and Lisa studying for our chem test. How harmful is that, sir?”

  Sheriff sat down in the chair across from Carter, and placed an evidence bag containing a car racing magazine in front of him on the table. Taking out a pair of latex gloves from his pocket, he took it out of the bag, opening it to the inside cover. Carter’s name was clearly written in the corner; underneath it was the heart and arrow with Lisa’s name written in it.

  Deputy Williams studied Carter’s body language as the sheriff continued to flaunt the evidence in front of the young suspect. He could see Carter’s Adam’s apple move up and down as the boy swallowed.

  Slightly panting, Carter rubbed his forehead. “Where did you find that?”

  “We found it at that old fort in the woods where Timmy and other kids would hang out. I think you hung out there a lot too, if I remember correctly.”

  “Sir, I go to that fort all the time with friends. Timmy would come by occasionally, but I go there all the time.”

  “Oh well, then explain to me why this is written here under your name?” Looking at the open page in the magazine, he pointed where Lisa’s name was directly below Carter’s. “Wasn’t Lisa Timmy’s girlfriend? Did you have the hots for her or something?”

  “Sir, I like Lisa, but I never did anything wrong.” Blinking back tears, he said, “You think I killed my friend?”

  Sheriff stood up and leaned in close to Carter. “At this point, anything is possible. I bet you’d like to know what Lisa told me about you, eh?”

  Fidgeting, Carter sat in his seat twisting his class ring on his finger. Sheriff Johnson studied Carter for a few moments before asking, “You know, you seem real nervous, son?”

  Carter licked his lips nervously. “Okay! I did go over to Timmy’s house a few days before they found him. We played the latest star fighter game and then left. I didn’t do anything to my friend.”

  Sheriff Johnson took out a small bag containing Lisa’s note to Timmy. Shaking it, he said, “Son, you did have the hots for Lisa.”

  Carter’s face turned crimson. “No, I didn’t!”

  Sheriff Johnson proceeded to open the bag and said, “According to this note, and even Lisa’s own statements, you were coming on to her very strongly. You kept hitting on her, and you were there at Timmy’s house every time she was. You even told her she would be better off with you than him.”

  Carter exclaimed, “That’s just her take on things. I didn’t do anything wrong, and it’s just her word against mine.”

  “Did you ever make advances toward her?”

  Carter’s eyes wondered, “What do you mean?”

  “Did you touch her? Let’s say put your arm around her?”

  Shocked, Carter sat straight up. “No!”

  “Did you tell, Lisa, that you could show her a better time, than Timmy could?”

  “I did not!” Carter punctuated his statement with a slap at the table.

  Let me ask you something very important, and I want the truth. Think very carefully before you respond, because I’ve got a lot of experience with liars. I’ll know if you’re not telling me the truth. Did Timmy show up at your house a couple of days before he was found in the pond?”

  “No.”

  “No? Is that what you said?”

  Carter’s temper began to flair, “I said no, you asshole! Can’t you hear?”

  Deputy Williams rested a hand on his handcuffs as Sheriff Johnson leaned in nose-to-nose with Carter and said, “If I were you, I would watch your mouth real close. I could arrest you for just saying that.” The sheriff continued, “I’m gonna’ ask you one more time, and this time, you better tell me the truth. Did Timmy show up at your home a couple of days before he was found in that pond?”

  Breathing heavily, Carter stared right into the sheriff eyes, “Maybe ... Maybe not. What the hell are you gonna’ do? Timmy is dead; I didn’t kill him. You have no proof otherwise.”

  “It’s either a yes or a no! If you don’t answer me, then I with have to detain you in a cozy little room for as long as I legally can. Then I can finish getting together everything I need to get an indictment on you for first degree murder. Do you know what that means, buddy? It’s life without parole. So, I’d start talking right now, or you might as well plan on staying the night.”

  Carter closed his eyes and shifted his head away from the sheriff. Nervously, he rubbed the tops of his thighs and looked down toward the floor. “Okay, he did show up.”

  The sheriff smiled slightly as he sat back down and asked, “Why did he come by?”

  “Okay, I admit it! I did have the hots for Lisa, but that doesn’t mean I killed Timmy!”

  “According to witness statements, Timmy went over to your house to tell you to leave his girl alone.”

  “So? She’s hot!”

  “And then, you pushed him to the ground and called him a piece of shit.”

  Carter smirked, “You can’t prove that!”

  Sheriff Johnson taunted him, “You pushed him, and you threatened him. You wanted his girlfriend for your own. You had motive, and it won’t take much for me to tie you to his murder. You’d better start talking. Come hell or high water, I will find the truth!”

  Carter took in in a long deep breath and clinched his fists together. “No, I did not threaten him. I don’t have to threaten! I get what I want!”

  Sheriff Johnson leaned on his elbows resting on the table and continued, “You told him that you were going to make sure he paid.”

  Carter looked up and silently mocked the sheriff who was squinting at him.

  Seeing contempt in the young man’s eyes, the sheriff firmly asserted, “You killed him; didn’t you?!”

  “No, I’ll even take a polygraph. I did not kill Timmy Fields!”

  Sheriff Johnson yelled back, “You murdered him; didn’t you? Admit it!”

  Carter stood up as his chair toppled over. With his fists clenched, he yelled, “Get the hell out of my face! I didn’t kill anyone! And if you accuse me of this, I will ... I will ...”

  “What?! You gonna’ kill me too?” the sheriff bellowed.

  With his fis
ts at eye level, Carter yelled, “I didn’t kill anyone!”

  “SIT DOWN!” Sheriff Johnson yelled back at him. “I am going to find out the truth one way or another, and I can keep you here up to 48 hours without charging you. You’d better start talking and save everyone a bunch of unnecessary trouble.”

  Exasperated, Carter banged his fists on the table shouting, “You can’t hold me here for nothing! I have rights too!”

  Sheriff Johnson leaned over and firmly stated, “Then you better start telling me the truth!” Removing a pair of handcuffs from his utility belt, he ordered, “Stand up.”

  “NO!” Carter screamed.

  Sheriff Johnson walked over to Carter and placed his hand on his arm, “Want to plan on spending even more time here? I said, stand up, or I will stand you up!”

  Carter moved his arm away from the sheriff’s grip. “Are you charging me? My lawyer will have a field day with you! I didn’t do it!”

  “I’m not going to charge you, Carter, at least not yet. However, if you don’t comply with my order, I will continue to detain you. And I will find a reason to stretch your stay here as long as I can. I will make it as uncomfortable as possible. Ever heard of suicide watch? NOW STAND!” he commanded.

  The sheriff nodded towards Deputy Williams and instructed him, “Deputy, can you take Mr. Spurlock to an unoccupied holding cell. I want to see if some time in there will jog his memory.”

  Carter fixated his eyes on Sheriff Johnson and slowly stood. “I didn’t do anything to that boy.”

  Deputy Williams turned towards Carter and said, “Hands against the wall, please. I need to frisk you. Do you have anything in your pockets that will stick, jab or otherwise harm me?”

  “No,” Carter replied.

  “Is there anything else on you that we need to know about? Prescription meds? Inhalers? Health concerns or anything of that nature?”

  “No, do you think I’m that stupid to bring something illegal into the police station?” Carter smirked.

  Deputy Williams chuckled as he replied, “I don’t know, son. How stupid are you? Have you been treated by a doctor or a hospital in the past 24 hours?”