“Sister, I’m Sheriff Johnson and heading up the investigation out here today. I need to speak with Mother Superior right away. We need to continue our search in the building.”
He took the search warrant out of his coat pocket and handed it to her. Accepting the paper, she unfolded it as she put on her reading glasses and scanned it. A minute later, she gave it back to the sheriff.
“Wait right here,” she said as she turned around and left, leaving the door only slightly ajar.
After several minutes, Mother Superior Mary Ellen opened the door. Stepping outside in her black habit and blue shawl, she closed it behind her. “Yes, Sheriff. Did everyone enjoy their lunch?”
Sheriff Johnson replied, “Yes, Mother. Thank you for your hospitality.”
Mother Superior smiled and said, “So, are you done with your investigation here, Sheriff?”
The sheriff cleared his throat and held up the warrant as he said, “Mother, we’re also here to search the monastery. I have a warrant here.”
“Search the monastery? Sir, you have already searched the pond. Why is there a need to search the monastery?”
“With all due respect, Mother, we have signed search warrant, and we need your full cooperation, please.”
Mother reached out her hand and demanded, “Let me see the search warrant.”
Sheriff Johnson handed it to her. “You’ll find everything is in order, Mother Superior.”
She stood reading every word for what seemed like forever. After finishing, she handed it back to the sheriff. “I’ll have to show this to Bishop O’Connell. He is my superior and will need to be aware of anything significant that happens on campus. By the way, there’s no smoking on the grounds, and most definitely not in the buildings! You are disturbing the Lord’s house quite enough as it is.”
Sheriff Johnson snuffed his cigar out and opened his case to save it for later. The elderly nun looked at him with a disapproving scowl and pursed her lips together. Turning to the large wooden door, Mother Superior reached for the oversized handle and pushed it opened with an eerie squeak.
The sheriff, Deputy Williams, John and Katy followed her inside, and entered the spacious wood-paneled foyer. As a sign of respect, the sheriff and Williams took off their hats. At the end of the hallway, several other nuns stopped and whispered as they noticed the visitors in the foyer. The sheriff stared at them for a couple of seconds.
Turning his head back toward Mother Superior, the sheriff said, “Mother, I need everyone gathered together, please. We really can’t have anyone in the other areas while we’re conducting our search. Is there a room that’s like a parlor or somewhere similar that they can wait in?”
Mother Superior Mary Ellen folded her arms and sighed, “Very well.” Turning towards the sisters that were standing down the hall, she raised her voice. “Sisters, can you please gather everyone in the building to the bridal parlor? We need to assemble there right away.”
Smiling curtly at Sheriff Johnson, they bowed her heads dutifully at Mother Superior and then scurried off to obey her instructions.
* * * *
While searching the area behind the monastery, Peter glanced down and spotted something dark and stringy in his shoe tracks. Stopping suddenly, he leaned over and used his forensic tongs to scratch the snow away from his find. Several dark brown hairs popped up on the surface as he freed them from their snowy tomb.
Picking up his radio, he pushed the button. “This is Peter Balkan. Sheriff Johnson? Are you there?”
The sheriff’s voice came over the speaker. “Affirmative. Did you find something, Doc?”
“Yes, sir. Need to come find me behind the monastery when you get a minute, Sheriff. I found some human hairs.”
“That’s great news. I’ll be over after I get these sisters organized.”
Peter replied, “Copy that, Sheriff. Getting started without you then.”
“Copy that,” the sheriff responded.
Peter put the radio in his pocket. Pulling out a number stand from his evidence kit, he placed it near the revealed hairs. Lifting the camera up to his eyes, he snapped several pictures of the hairs in situ before collecting the hairs and putting them in a sample tube.” Looking around carefully, Peter continued his search for more evidence.
* * * *
From down the hallway, rhythmic footsteps grew louder and louder as a large group of sisters proceeded towards the front foyer. Motioning for them to gather in the parlor, Mother Superior Mary Ellen opened the door for them to enter. One by one, the sisters made their way into the sitting room, already warm and comfortable due to the blazing fireplace in the corner. Mother Superior followed the last nun in and closed the door behind her.
In the monastery foyer, Sheriff Johnson turned to Deputy Williams and John and said in a low voice, “Deputy Williams, I need you and the D.A. to briefly interview each of the nuns and see if you find anything about that missing evidence or Timmy Fields. I’ll ask for another room where you can have some privacy. I don’t want the others to overhear anything. Maybe we’ll get lucky and one of them will just tell us where the items are.”
He continued, “While you’re doing that, take DNA samples from anyone who will volunteer. I’ll provide you a list of all their names. Note those who did or did not let us take a sample, so I can get a warrant for anybody who might refuse. Hopefully, we will find a match to the hairs that Coke found in the rope that was recovered this morning.”
Williams nodded. “Yes, sir. Just tell me where we can set up.”
“Also, go ahead and ask Shamberg to arrange for the nuns to stay at the inn, at least for a night or two. That will prevent anymore contamination before we finish the entire search here. Do as many interviews as you can while he’s doing that. You may need to finish your questioning after they are transported there. You can help get them settled in, too. I will talk to Mother Superior myself at headquarters later; so don’t approach her. Any questions?”
Deputy Williams and John both nodded as the sheriff gestured to the bridal parlor.
Turning to Williams, the sheriff said, “I’ll be right back. Don’t let anyone to go past the foyer. Any sisters or visitors who enter the building need to be sent to the bridal parlor, at least until we figure out what to do with them. Once we have the nuns at the inn, we can search the entire building without them impeding our progress.”
Deputy Williams stood nearby, guarding the foyer and replied, “I understand, sir.”
The sheriff added, “John, you and Katy can follow me.” He opened the bridal parlor door and the three of them went inside. As they came in, they overheard the sisters excitedly talking amongst themselves.
“I wonder what they’re searching for?” asked a petite sister dressed in a grey habit.
“I’ve no idea,” replied another nun in a traditional black habit.
A sister with red wispy bangs peeking out from her headpiece turned to another and fretted, “What are they searching for? We haven’t done anything wrong. Are we in trouble, Mother?”
Mother Superior tenderly touched her on the cheek and smiled. “Heavens no, child.” She stood up and lifted her hands to calm the growing murmurs of chatter. “We all must remain calm. This is just another trial we must endure. God will see us through it as we remain faithful to Him. I believe the sheriff will let us know what is going on.”
The sheriff held his hat in his hands as he said, “I’m sorry, Sisters, we’re just doing our job. We are going to interview each one of you individually.” He turned to Mother Superior and asked her, “Do you have a small room like this one that can be used for the interviews? I don’t want it to be any of the personal quarters or offices.”
“Yes, Sheriff. You may use the groom’s parlor on the other side of the foyer. It is very quiet and should be a good place to conduct interviews.”
“Thank you, Mother Superior. I appreciate everyone’s cooperation. I will need to question each one of you individually. If any of you know an
y details about either Timothy Fields’ or Tom Green’s death, or anything that may be related, then please tell us what you know so we can look into them more. Any information may help us find Timmy’s murderer.”
He continued, “I need to get a list of everyone’s name.” Pulling out a small note pad and pen, he handed them to her. “You can use this, Mother.”
Mother Superior Mary Ellen accepted them and replied, “We will cooperate, Sheriff; however, we have nothing to hide. God knows our hearts. You will find nothing here.” She wrote her name at the top of the paper, and passed it to the sister beside her. “Everyone must write their names as the sheriff says. Pass it around until it is complete.”
Sheriff Johnson looked at Mother Superior and said, “While you’re doing that, I need to go check on how the investigation is going. I’ll be right back, Mother.” After putting on his hat, he exited the room and headed over to see what Peter had found.
CHAPTER 29
Laboring all afternoon on the investigation, Dr. Peter Balkan continued to do his best to piece everything together in his thoughts. What is the connection between the murders, other than the monastery? What are the motives? Where is that missing evidence? I really need to get this outside area wrapped up so I can get started inside.
Hearing two car doors close in the distance, Peter looked toward the drive and saw his team get out of their cars and head his way. Carrying several large evidence cases, they labored through the thick snow, attempting to walk inside previously made tracks.
Chuckling to himself, Peter thought, Here comes the comic relief.
The first to reach Peter was Tristan Winn, a technician with short brown hair peeking out from his wool cap that flickered with every sudden burst of cold wind. Extending his arm out to Peter, Tristan grasped and shook his hand. With a heavy British accent, he greeted his boss, “Good afternoon, sir.”
Immediately behind Tristan, an African-American colleague slowly walked up the steps wearing earmuffs and a trench coat. Joe Baker reached his arm out to Peter and shook his hand. With his breath instantly freezing in the air, he said, “Hello, Doc. Wow! This place is massive. Do we have to search the entire building?”
“Yes, we do, Joe. That’s why I needed everyone to work on this investigation. Too much to handle for just the ones that are here.”
The three of them stared at the driveway, waiting patiently as they watched Harry Wells struggling with his equipment. At a height of only five-foot, five-inches tall, the snow swallowed his legs up to his knees. To add to his teammates’ amusement, he looked like an Asian pack mule. On his shoulder, he carried a big black bag filled with cameras, while he toted another large metal case in his right hand.
“I’m comin’,” he said with a thick southern drawl.
Upon reaching the group, Harry carefully trudged through the snow and said, “Well, we finally made it.”
Peter laughed. “I bet you’re not used to this type of weather yet, are you, Harry?”
Harry chuckled and replied, “We’re lucky to see a big snow once a year where I come from.”
“Now, I need everyone to start working on this area. I found some hair samples over there,” Peter said, pointing to a cluster of markers.
Just then, Sheriff Johnson turned the corner of the monastery building where he located Peter and his team.
“Just in time, Sheriff,” Peter exclaimed. Turning back to the group, he continued, “I found the hairs right here by the concrete bench.” Pointing to where the number markers had been placed, he explained, “It seems the boy was dragged out the back door and down that path.” Lifting up the evidence bag with the hair sample safely stored away in it, he handed it to the sheriff. “With all of the heavy snow fall the past few days, I think it was a stroke of luck that I stepped in the right place.”
Sheriff smiled and replied, “I see you finally got your forensics team out here so they can help with the search. No telling what else is under this snow.”
“I’m sure we will find more,” Peter said. Turning back to the group, he added, “Everyone, this is Sheriff Johnson, and he’s the head honcho. If I’m not around, ask him any questions you have. Let’s get started.”
The team quickly organized their kits and began their search.
Peter looked at Sheriff Johnson and said, “I also am waiting on another update from Coke on his lab results. Once we have everyone’s hair samples for comparison, we could quickly figure out who our suspect may be. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and give him a call now to get another update.”
Peter and Sheriff Johnson walked away from the area. Dialing his cell phone, Peter waited for Coke to answer.
Ray had just finished some samples when his cell phone vibrated. He recognized Peter’s phone number. “Hey, Boss.”
“Hi, Coke. Any word on the evidence yet?”
“I found some more hair samples on the bricks that were in the backpack. They are a match for the ones found on the rope, too. Have you gotten the comparison hair samples from the nuns yet?”
“I’m working on it. I did find some more hair samples at the site, too. They are probably the VIC’s, since I found them close to where the other investigators had found his shoe. The VIC was dragged from the monastery’s back door and down a path, where he was strangled with the rope and dumped in the pond. The boy definitely fought for his life, but obviously, without success. Did you finish examining the body, Coke?”
Ray replied, “Yes, I did, and as we already knew, the boy was strangled with a rope, but the actual cause of death was drowning. The rope burns reveal that they were pulling from below him as he tried to get to the surface. I guess the poor boy was pulled down into the freezing water and weighed down with the rock to drown. There’s also signs of trauma, where he was hit on the head with something. Of course, there are defensive wounds too. Once he was thrown in that cold water, it was only a matter of secondss before hypothermia set in as he drowned. What a horrible way to go.”
“I agree. I wouldn’t want to die like that. Anything else for me?”
“You can let the sheriff know that I’m finished with the body, if the family wants to start making their arrangements. I can’t imagine what they’re going through. Maybe the funeral will help them get a little peace. I’m still working on the book bag, though.”
“All right, Coke. I’ll let him know. Thanks.”
“No problem, Doc. Talk to you soon.”
“Sounds good. Keep up the great job. Bye.” Peter hung up the phone and turned to the sheriff. “Well, the boy went through a lot. He must have been hit on the head when he was struggling. The suspect put the rope around his neck, and weighed it down with the large rock. The boy actually died from drowning, though it was obvious he was strangled with the rope as he did. With the cold water, hypothermia would’ve slowed any efforts to get free. It would’ve been a matter of a minute or so before he lost the fight. Poor boy.”
Sheriff Johnson shook his head back and forth. “I wonder who would do something like that to him?”
Peter took a deep breath and replied, “They’d have to be pretty messed up for sure. I hope we catch his killer soon. I should get back to work, Sheriff. Please get those samples as soon as you can?”
“If you have a tech come up to the foyer, I’ll start getting him started right away. I’ve been busy organizing all of the nuns so they can be interrogated. Talk about a handful. Well, I need to get back to my task, too,” the sheriff said, waving as he walked back towards the front.
“Okay, I’ll send someone in to work inside,” Peter replied. Looking at Harry, he said, “Can you take care of that for me?”
Harry nodded and smiled. After gathering his things, he followed the sheriff towards the monastery’s front entrance.
* * * *
In the monastery foyer, Sheriff Johnson approached Deputy Williams, who was still standing at his designated post. Leaning towards him, the sheriff asked, “Did you talk to Shamberg about getting the nuns se
ttled in at the Mariner’s Inn near the bay?”
“Yes, sir. He’s working on organizing transportation to get them there now. Hopefully, he’ll be done soon.”
“Sounds good. Anyone try to get past you?”
“Well, a couple of nuns wanted to go to their rooms to get something, but I asked them to stay in the parlor. Everyone is still inside.”
“Good.”
Loud knocking on the door resounded through the foyer. Sheriff Johnson opened the door to find Harry standing there with his equipment.
“Come on in and get out of the cold. I’m Sheriff Johnson, and this is Deputy Williams.” The sheriff stretched out his arm as he shook the man’s hand.
“I’m Harry Wells, sir.” He stood awkwardly glancing around the room as his large cases hung from his shoulders.
“I’ll have you set up in the parlor for now so you can collect those samples.” Sheriff Johnson opened the parlor door, and led Harry inside.
“Sisters, this is Harry Wells. We will need hair and DNA samples from each one of you so we can rule out anyone that we can.” Turning to John, he asked, “Has everyone signed their permission forms?”
John nodded and said, “It’s all done, Sheriff.” Handing the small note pad to him, he added, “Here is the list of sisters’ names.”
Accepting the note pad, Sheriff Johnson replied, “Good! That makes things easier. Now, our new friend, Harry, can get started.” Looking at Harry, he added, “I think you can handle it from here. I have a few phone calls to make while you’re doing that.”
Harry nodded as he set one of his cases gently on a side table and began to organize his things. The sheriff gestured for John and Katy to come along, so they followed him.
Entering the foyer, Sheriff Johnson approached Deputy Williams and pointed to a door across the room. Leaning over towards the deputy and John, he said in a low voice, “Mother Superior said you can go into the groom’s parlor over there to do the interrogations. I’m going to help Peter get started on the search inside the building, after I make a few calls. It’s getting late, but there’s still a lot of work to do before we leave for the day.” Turning to Deputy Williams, he asked, “What time is that transport supposed to be here to pick up the nuns?”
Secrets in the Shallows (Book 1: The Monastery Murders) Page 21