Beneath the Surface

by Lynn H. Blackburn

  “I don’t think we should mess with anything until we get forensics to go over everything on the boat,” Ryan said.

  “Agreed,” Gabe said. “Let’s check out the house.”

  Ryan asked two officers to cordon off the dock with crime scene tape. Once he was comfortable the area was secure, they headed to the house. As they stepped off the dock, Ryan’s foot slipped into a rut in the grass.

  He stopped and studied the area. He wasn’t a skilled tracker, not by a long shot, but he didn’t need to be.

  “Gabe.”

  “Yo.”

  He pointed to the track that wound its way up the hill. He followed it, careful not to step on it again. The trail ended at the shed. Gabe produced a set of keys, but Ryan stopped him.

  “I don’t think our killer would have needed to jimmy the lock.”

  On the side of the shed, in plain sight, was a small key. Sure enough, it opened the door.

  And once inside, they found a wheelbarrow.

  “There’s no way Mr. or Mrs. Gordon has used the wheelbarrow lately,” Gabe said.

  “I agree. Could be one of their kids used it.”

  Not that he believed it. His Spidey-sense was tingling. This meant something. He wasn’t 100 percent sure what it was yet, but this could be the break they’d been looking for.

  “Ryan.”

  He turned and found Gabe pointing to a small row of hooks on the wall of the shed. Keys hung from every hook.

  Including the keys to the boat.

  Leigh had been hiding in her room for the past hour.

  Adam was nice enough. She’d always liked him. But he was working on a case and was on the phone a lot.

  Her phone rang. Rebecca Fowler? Why would she be calling? “Hello?” Leigh said, her throat still raw.

  “Leigh. How’s it going? I heard what happened at the hospital. I’m sure you aren’t supposed to be talking much, but I wanted to let you know I’m praying for you and if there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

  Leigh couldn’t believe it. As if Rebecca Fowler didn’t have enough to keep her hands full and her mind occupied. She didn’t need to be worried about her.

  “Did Ryan tell you?”

  “No. I haven’t talked to him today. Keri told me.”

  Leave it to Keri to share the good news. That girl could not keep a secret. Not that it was a secret. The whole hospital knew about it. “When did you see Keri?”

  “Ran into her at the store,” she said. “And she told me you aren’t supposed to talk a lot, so I’m not going to keep you. I realize this may seem strange, but I felt compelled to call you and remind you that you aren’t alone. And no matter how it feels, God hasn’t lost sight of you, Leigh Weston.”

  “You really believe that?”

  “Yes.”

  Rebecca didn’t need to elaborate. If she could hold on to her faith despite everything going on in her world . . .

  “Thanks,” Leigh said.

  “Tell that brother of mine to call me later, okay?”

  “I will.”

  The phone disconnected and Leigh tossed it on her dresser. She pulled out the legal pad she’d been scribbling on for the past hour. She’d listed every person she worked with in the emergency department, how often she worked with them, and how often their schedules coincided.

  She still couldn’t see a pattern.

  She was missing something. Someone.

  Who is it, Lord? Help me see it, before it’s too late. Before they kill me—or someone else.

  A flurry of activity downstairs drew her from her self-imposed isolation. She grabbed a scarf and wound it loosely around her neck. Maybe it would help keep everyone’s eyes off her bruises.

  The buzz of easy conversation greeted her before she turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs. Ryan, Gabe, Anissa, Adam, and Sabrina filled her kitchen. Stacked pizza boxes wobbled precariously on the counter. In front of the refrigerator, Sabrina busied herself by filling cups with ice and then handed them off to Anissa, who placed them on the island. She caught Ryan scavenging through her pantry, and while she stood watching, he pulled out paper plates and napkins. On the other side of the kitchen, Gabe filled a blender with ice cream, chocolate syrup, and milk.

  “Holler your preference one at a time. Supreme or pepperoni,” Adam said.

  “There she is,” Sabrina said with a cheery smile. “Did we wake you up?”

  “No,” she said. “Not that anyone could sleep with all this going on.” She tried to infuse her words with humor and the overflow of gratitude she felt toward all of them. They didn’t have to be here. They could be doing all this work in their office. It would probably be a lot easier for them to do it there.

  But instead they were here, making a party out of it. The warmth and affection in their laughter and chatter soothed her knotted nerves.

  She probably should have gone to help Sabrina and Anissa, but as if some sort of tractor beam were pulling her toward him, she found herself drawn to Ryan’s side. “Hey,” he said in a whisper. “You okay?”

  She nodded. He squeezed her elbow. Something about the way his eyes lingered on her lips did funny things to her insides.

  They settled in the den. Plastic cups and napkins and pizza—it almost made her feel like a teenager again. Her mom would have loved this scene.

  “Who’s gonna bless this food?” Sabrina asked.

  “Anissa,” Ryan, Gabe, and Adam said in unison. Everyone laughed.

  She rolled her eyes at them. But then she said, “Let’s pray,” and bowed her head. Everyone followed suit.

  “Abba, it’s been a crazy day. One filled with insights and leads and possible answers to some of our questions. But there are still some big ones lingering. We ask that you guide our thoughts. Direct us to the answers only you have. Protect us as we seek justice. Father, we especially ask that you comfort the families of the victims. Those who are finding out even tonight that their father, husband, and friend has passed away. And we also ask that you comfort Leigh. Help her to know you are with her and for her. That none of this has caught you off guard and you are working things for her good. We confess that in this moment, we can’t see the good, but we trust you and ask you to give us eyes to see what you’re up to.”

  Anissa paused as if she expected God to answer her on the spot.

  “We thank you for the food, the friendship, and the faith we share around this table, and we ask that our conversation be pleasing to you. We love you. You’re the best. Amen.”

  A chorus of amens filled the room. When Leigh opened her eyes, she caught the look on Sabrina’s face. Did hers look the same? A mixture of confusion and awe? No one else seemed surprised by the intimacy and sincerity of Anissa’s prayer. That must be why they’d all voted for her to ask the blessing.

  The words Anissa had spoken had been lifted to God, but they’d also been soothing to Leigh’s tender soul. What she said, Lord. That’s what I want.

  Leigh alternated between sips of the chocolate milk shake Gabe had made her and tiny bites of a slice of supreme pizza. Each swallow hurt, but not as much as she’d expected it to. And it was worth it. She was starving. She had nibbled her way through half a slice when Adam—who had inhaled four slices and at least half a bag of chips—stood.

  “As fun as this is, it’s already nine-thirty. Some of us have been up for a very long time”—his gaze flickered to her—“and some of us have to get up super early for court.” His eyes lingered on Sabrina.

  “And some of us,” Gabe said as he picked up plates and napkins and carried them to the trash can, “want to know what everybody found.”

  Ryan gave Leigh a quick wink. “I agree. We have a lot of moving parts and things are only going to pick up speed from here. At least I hope that’s where we are in these investigations. We need to coordinate and share all the info we have.”

  “Agreed,” Anissa said.

  Leigh slid her legs to the floor. “Whoa.” Sabrina held an arm out in he
r direction. “What do you need? I can get it for you.”

  What was with this girl? She didn’t know her. Why did she even care?

  “I appreciate the gesture, but it’s not necessary. My legs work fine.” Leigh hoped her smile would make it clear to Sabrina that she wasn’t trying to be a jerk about it.

  “Of course they do, but you’ve had a tough time over the past week, and it makes the rest of us feel better if we can make things easier on you. We haven’t been able to solve your case yet, so getting you a refill eases our consciences. Not much, but a little.”

  Adam choked on his tea.

  Anissa froze with a stack of plates in one hand and a wad of dirty napkins in the other.

  Gabe stared at Sabrina like she had said the sky was tangerine.

  Ryan’s brows were drawn so tightly together that a deep crease formed between his eyes.

  “What?” Sabrina asked. “It’s true, is it not?”

  Leigh couldn’t decide what was funnier. The horrified expressions on the faces of all four law enforcement officers or the innocent bewilderment on Sabrina’s. A chuckle bubbled up and there was no stopping it. Once it popped out, she couldn’t keep from laughing. Soon tears prickled her eyes.

  Ryan’s laughter joined hers, then Gabe’s. Anissa followed. Adam never lost it completely, but even he had a grin on his face.

  Sabrina threw her hands in the air. “What did I say? I’m not wrong.”

  Adam schooled his features. “You aren’t,” he said. “It’s just not something we would have said out loud.”

  “Why not?”

  Leigh tried to swallow her laughter. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “You busted all of them. It was fabulous.”

  Sabrina frowned and Leigh adored her for it. This girl—well, woman—didn’t seem to feel the need to try to impress anyone. She didn’t care if she said the “right” thing. Her honesty was refreshing.

  Leigh grabbed her cup and stretched it toward Sabrina. “I would love a refill, if you’re headed to the kitchen.”

  The relief on her face was priceless. “Yes. Coke, right?” Adam followed Sabrina into the kitchen.

  Leigh turned to the others. “You shouldn’t laugh at her.”

  “You started it,” Ryan said, still chuckling.

  “I wasn’t laughing at her. I was laughing at all of you. Your faces.” She had to bite down on her lip to keep from losing it again. “I’m not a fragile flower. I don’t need to be babied. And I don’t hold any one of you responsible for what has happened or is happening or will happen. You’re amazing. You’re doing the best you can with the information you have. You’re going to figure this out. And hopefully I’ll live long enough for us to all tell our children about that time there was a serial killer in Carrington. Quit tiptoeing around me and let’s get to the bottom of this.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Gabe gave her a quick salute.

  “Hear, hear.” Anissa tipped her cup in her direction.

  “What did we miss?” Adam asked as he and Sabrina reentered the den.

  “Oh, nothing much,” Ryan said. “Just Leigh putting us all in our place.”

  “Excellent,” Adam said. “Now, where we?”

  “We were comparing notes on what we’ve learned today.” Sabrina handed Leigh her now full cup and then grabbed her laptop. “And I want to go first, because I have news I think may impact all three cases.”

  She pointed to Leigh, then Ryan, then Anissa in turn.

  “I say all three, but to be honest, I’m pretty sure it’s really all one.”

  18

  Ryan sat straighter on the sofa and put his arm around Leigh’s shoulders. “One? That’s an interesting theory, Dr. Fleming,” he said.

  Anissa caught his eye and shook her head. She hadn’t said anything to Adam. Gabe widened his eyes at him in a look that clearly said “It wasn’t me.”

  “I think you should hear her out,” Adam said. There was no mistaking the protectiveness in Adam’s tone.

  Gabe raised his eyes to the ceiling. Anissa dropped her gaze to her hands. Leigh choked back a giggle. Adam and Sabrina must have been the only two people left on the planet who didn’t realize there was something going on between them.

  But Dr. Sabrina Fleming didn’t need Adam to defend her. “Thank you, Adam. But I understand their skepticism. They haven’t heard the facts presented the way you have.”

  “By all means,” Ryan said. “Please share.”

  Sabrina turned on Leigh’s television. “Hope you don’t mind. I thought it would be easier for us all to see it this way.”

  After a few taps on her keyboard, the screen of Sabrina’s laptop was mirrored on the sixty-inch flat screen in front of them.

  “Let’s start with the timeline.”

  Gabe started. “We found the first John Doe a week ago Saturday—”

  “Excuse me, Gabe, but not that timeline.”

  The TV screen filled with a few words.

  Calvin Staton murdered—eleven months ago.

  Body buried on Mr. Cook’s property while he was hospitalized.

  Then the screen filled with a wide-open space before another set of facts appeared.

  John Doe murdered—ten days to two weeks ago.

  Body dumped in Lake Porter.

  Possibility the Gordons’ boat was used to transport the body–92%.

  Mr. Gordon was in the hospital at the time.

  Sabrina glanced around the room. “Everyone good with this so far?”

  Nods all around.

  John Doe found in Lake Porter. News reports show Leigh Weston’s property and image—ten days ago.

  Leigh Weston’s brake line cut—nine days ago.

  Officer Peter Stanfield drugged with gelatin meant for Leigh—nine days ago.

  Balloons blow up in Leigh’s home—three days ago.

  Possible coffee tampering—two days ago.

  Patient tries to strangle Leigh—earlier today.

  Sabrina turned her gaze to Leigh. “I’m very sorry about this, Leigh. But this timeline, this level of escalation, it doesn’t speak to a stalker who has been silent prior to this point. I’m not a profiler, but I chatted with a friend at the FBI who is and she agrees that this points to a significant event happening sometime in the days prior to your brake line being cut that precipitated action.”

  She turned to the group. “Leigh lives a relatively quiet life. She works nights, sleeps days. She’s quick to take overtime or fill in for coworkers. That, combined with her fantastic medical skills, has endeared her to them.”

  Leigh gave Ryan a look he interpreted to mean that she didn’t understand where Sabrina was going with this. He squeezed her shoulder. He wanted to let Sabrina get through her explanation. If they had reached the same conclusion from different angles, that would be quite significant.

  Sabrina continued. “She has a handful of close friends. She doesn’t have any bad habits.”

  “That you know about,” Leigh said.

  Everyone laughed, even Sabrina, but she didn’t break her stride. “She doesn’t party. She doesn’t drink or do any sort of drugs. She doesn’t even do a lot of shopping. She reads a lot. Does yoga. Studies for her PhD.”

  Her PhD? All the eyes in the room turned to Leigh, whose skin flushed scarlet. “How did you find out about that?” she asked.

  Sabrina had the decency to look chagrined. “I’m sorry, Leigh. I do this all the time and I forget how many things people think are private are really quite easily accessible if you know where to look. I wasn’t trying to be intrusive. I’m just trying to figure out why someone would target you.”

  Leigh blew out a breath. “It’s okay.”

  Sabrina’s smile for Leigh was full of hopefulness. For a split second, Ryan wondered how many friends the nerdy professor had. Probably not too many. Maybe she saw potential with Leigh?

  “You’re freakishly intelligent,” she said to Leigh. “And kind in a way few people think to be. Your patients in Durham
raved about you. Your coworkers at Carrington adore you. I’ve been unable to find anyone who doesn’t think you are a wonderful person. I had to ask myself how you could have someone this determined to come after you. Based on this timeline, only one major event makes sense.”

  She touched a button on the laptop. A Venn diagram with its overlapping circles appeared. Circles with church and friends appeared, but the only two that had any space in common were the circles that said “hospital” and “John Doe.”

  “I’ve been reviewing the security footage of the night your brakes were cut. I ran it through some experimental software some of my colleagues are testing. The algorithms are pretty complex, but it returned a very interesting statistic. If, and admittedly this is a big if, but if the shadow we’ve found on the security footage is the person who cut Leigh’s brake lines, then there’s a seventy-two percent chance our killer is a woman.”

  A woman?

  “Serial killers are almost always men,” Sabrina continued. “And it would take some strength to mutilate the bodies and bury them or dump them. But it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that a woman could do it. And, if we are dealing with a serial for our two bodies, which is increasingly possible, then the targeting of Leigh also makes sense.”

  Anissa raised her hand. Ryan didn’t blame her. Sabrina’s presentation had the feel of a classroom lecture. “How does it make sense? Both victims are males. Estimated age for our John Doe found in Lake Porter is late fifties. And our other victim was confirmed to be fifty-nine. He was from Cleveland, and there’s a good chance our John Doe wasn’t from around here either. So why would a serial killer, male or female, who targets men from out of town decide to kill Leigh? And in ways that bear no resemblance to his or her preferred methods?”

  “Excellent question. The answer is, I cannot say conclusively.”

  “That’s not an answer,” Gabe said under his breath.

  “I operate in a world of facts and statistics and verifiable analysis,” Sabrina said. There was no rancor in her voice. “I cannot say for certain. However, I can hazard an educated guess, and I would think each and every one of you could do the same.”