“The police report,” she tapped the file for emphasis, “says that this woman was stabbed to death in 1963 and her body was found in a ditch off the side of a road near the old White Horse Plantation.”
“Yes, I remember. She was a young woman, probably about twenty. We never learned her name.”
“You remember it?” Elizabeth was afraid that time might have compromised his memory.
“Yes. As a detective, there are certain cases that stick with you. I was a new detective. That was my first homicide case. She was so young, but it was the fact that we didn’t know who she was that really got to me. She was clean-cut, well dressed, someone that you think people would notice if she went missing, yet no one came forward to identify her.”
“So, you saw her, her body that is?”
“Well, no.” Jack rubbed his chin. “That’s what I remember from the initial report. My partner Stalworth and I were assigned to the case about two weeks later. The autopsy was already done. The body was buried.”
“Was that normal?”
“No.” He paused and looked as though he was going to say something else, but changed his mind. Elizabeth stared at him and waited to see if he had anything more to add, and when Jack didn’t say anymore, she said, “I read the investigation report, but there is so little there. It looks like the case was closed only a few weeks after the murder. Why?”
“Wasn’t my call. I was the low man on the totem pole. My captain wanted us to move on to other cases. There were no leads. Hell, we didn’t even know who she was. The case was stale and new cases came in. This one got shelved.”
“Is there anything you can tell me about the case?”
He opened the file and began reading the report. Elizabeth looked up to George, who had been silently sitting across from them during the conversation, and gave him a smile.
“How is Grace?” she asked.
He looked concerned. “Why are you asking me? I thought you two…you know.”
“We’re not on speaking terms. Your daughter is the detective on my case.”
“Oh my, that can make things complicated.”
“I’ll say.”
“This is all of it?” Jack asked, oblivious to their conversation.
“Yes,” Elizabeth answered.
“I knew I was green, but I didn’t realize I was that green. This case wasn’t meant to be solved.” Jack rubbed his chin again, a trait that she was beginning to associate with him.
“What do you mean?”
“Stalworth, he was the senior detective and I was new to the unit, so I followed his lead. It was his plan that we split up. He sent me out to the scene where the body was found to look around for anything that was overlooked, and he interviewed the people that lived in the nearby home and the teenagers that found the body.”
“There is no indication in the report that anyone was interviewed.”
“I see that.” A look of hurt washed across Jack’s face. “When no new evidence came in, I wanted to go the morgue to see her myself, but Stalworth told me that she was already buried. I asked about the family, what if they came, how would they identify her? He said if they were coming, they would have been there by now, and we had her prints for identification if it came to that.”
Elizabeth surmised that the fingerprints were meant to be a substitution for the nonexistent body in case the family did show up.
Jack trailed his finger over John Stalworth’s signature on the bottom of the report. “He was a legend in our unit. I didn’t think to question him.” He released a deep sigh. “Then, it wasn’t long before a new case came in and then another.” He closed the file and returned it to her. “I’m sorry.”
His apology seemed deeper than not being able to provide more information to Elizabeth, but for letting the woman down.
“Thank you for taking the time to talk to me,” Elizabeth said as she packed the file in her bag, but he didn’t seem to hear her. He was staring off scratching his chin.
“You said that your client is accused of murdering this woman a month ago?”
“Yes. The 1963 case was in the cold case unit, and somehow Grace, Detective Donovan, matched the prints of the current victim to the old case. She had the body exhumed, and well, there was no body. The casket was empty.”
“Has anyone looked at the mortuary records to see who buried the body?” George asked. Elizabeth hadn’t thought of that.
“Let’s go check this out,” Jack said as he slapped his knee and pushed himself up.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I mean, let’s go back to where she was supposedly buried and get to the bottom of this.”
“But I think we will need a court order to see the mortuary records, assuming they still exist.”
“Order smorder. We don’t need no stinkin’ order.”
Elizabeth really liked this guy.
Jack rose and donned a brown fedora, and George followed behind. Elizabeth shook her head. This should be interesting.
When they stepped out of the elevator, a group of women were huddled around a small table in the lobby, and Jack tipped his hat to them as they passed, and the women giggled.
Jack stopped by the reception desk and advised the perky woman that they were going for a drive. He clearly wasn’t looking for her permission, and she seemed to know better than to argue with him.
As they walked to the parking lot, it dawned on Elizabeth that her car was a two-seater and there were three of them. It was unlikely she was going to cram one of them in behind her seat, and one of them was sure as hell not driving her Roadster, so she could squeeze in the back. “Um, gentlemen, it seems we may have an issue.”
“What is that, young lady?” Jack asked.
“My car only seats two.”
“Oh, no need to worry. I have my car.”
“Really? You drive?”
Jack pulled the keys from his front pocket. “Of course I do. It’s a big hit with the ladies.”
He guided them to a light brown Cadillac that Elizabeth guessed was about as old as she was. He opened the passenger door for her, which squeaked in protest, and she hesitated before she stepped in. It took effort to pull the seat belt across her body and additional effort to locate the buckle shoved below the seat cushion. Clearly, seat belt use was optional in Jack’s car.
The engine knocked and sputtered as they pulled out of the parking lot, and Jack asked, “Where to?”
She pointed out the directions to the cemetery and hung on to the door handle. Jack seemed to pay little attention to speed limits or stop signs. Now she knew how the passengers felt in her car. As they approached a light, she tried to calmly advise, “There’s a red light.”
He didn’t seem to hear her, or if he did, he chose to ignore her.
“Red light,” she said with more force.
“What’s that?” he asked as they sailed through the intersection, and she could hear a few screeches behind them.
“Never mind.”
Elizabeth tried to steady her breathing as they pulled into the cemetery lot. She really had to reconsider her own driving habits. She tried to push open the door, but it stuck.
“Oh, allow me.” Jack came to her side and yanked open the door. “Madame.” He offered his hand to help her step out, and she could see why he was so popular with the ladies.
She walked between Jack and George up a bricked walkway, and she felt like linking their arms and singing lyrics from “We’re Off to See the Wizard.” She couldn’t decide who was the Tin Man and who was the Scarecrow. She realized that Toto was also missing when a squirrel scampered by. That will have to do.
When they reached the office for the cemetery, she turned to them. “It might be better if you let me do the talking.”
“As you wish.” Jack held the door open for her, and she entered a small room. An elderly woman sat behind a desk, and Elizabeth approached her while Jack and George held back. She explained her need to look at the records
for the burial of the unidentified woman.
“You mean the grave that they just dug up,” the woman said, annoyed.
“Yes.”
“I can’t show you that. That’s confidential.”
“Well, the woman is dead. I don’t think she’ll mind.”
The woman was clearly not amused.
“Excuse me, ma’am.” Jack stepped forward and removed his hat and held it to his chest. “I’m Jack Rourke.” He extended his hand to the woman, and she reached out to accept it. When he had her hand in his, he bent to kiss it. “It is a true pleasure to meet you.”
Elizabeth stepped back and watched, certain Jack wouldn’t be able to melt the woman.
“I’m sorry that we disturbed you,” Jack said, charm dripping from him.
“Oh no, you’re no bother,” the woman responded, practically batting her eyes.
Okay, I’m wrong. Jack is the master.
“You see, I was the detective that worked on the poor woman’s case. It never felt right that she was buried without a name. My friends and I are trying to make this right, and we had this thought that if we could possibly see the burial records, we might be able to learn something about this woman that could help us put a name on her grave. It only seems right. No one should die alone and without a name.”
He was good.
“Of course.” The woman’s demeanor completely softened. “Let me see what we have. The records are in the other room. I had to pull them from storage when the grave was exhumed.”
The woman disappeared behind a side door, and Jack turned to George. “And that is how it is done.”
Before George could respond, the woman returned with a file in hand. “Here it is.”
Jack stepped forward. “Please allow me.” He pulled out the woman’s chair as she sat, and she giggled, reminding Elizabeth of the women in the lobby.
She opened the file and handed over the documents to Jack. He remained quiet for several moments as he reviewed the pages, and Elizabeth resisted the urge to step forward and read them with him, in case it offended the woman.
When he finally looked up, Elizabeth asked, “Well?”
“I’m not sure what to make of it. Everything is signed off by Captain Norm Caldwell.”
“Who’s Norm Caldwell?”
“He was in charge of the homicide unit.”
“So you think he knew the grave was empty?”
“Looking at these papers, I don’t see how he couldn’t have known. Before the casket was sealed, he signed off verifying the identity of the woman.”
“Yes, that is procedure,” the woman said. “The mortuary must have someone identify the remains before the casket is closed to ensure that there is no mix-up with the bodies.”
Jack returned the papers to the woman. “Thank you for allowing me to look at these. I appreciate your time.”
The look on the woman’s face indicated that she was hoping to spend more time with him, and Jack didn’t disappoint. “I don’t suppose that you would do me the honor of having dinner with me one evening?”
“Of course,” the woman nearly spit out. “I would love that.”
Jack took down the woman’s number and kissed her hand once again before returning his hat to his head. “Until then.”
If Elizabeth had never witnessed swooning before, she had now.
Once they returned to the car, Elizabeth turned to Jack. “So what do you think?”
He rubbed at his chin. “Not sure. Let’s think this through.” He started the car, and Elizabeth’s heart accelerated before he put the car in gear.
She kept her eyes trained on the floor and used the conversation to distract her. It seemed to make the car ride easier.
“So we know that at minimum Stalworth, Captain Caldwell, and probably someone at the mortuary knew the woman was alive and helped cover it up. Why?” Elizabeth asked.
“Very good question. Why would they want people to think she was dead?”
“Witness protection,” George blurted out.
It seemed the only reasonable explanation to Elizabeth. “That would explain why you were pressured to shelve the case. Your captain knew she was really alive and didn’t want anyone else to know.”
Jack stared straight ahead. “It’s just hard to believe. Stalworth and Caldwell, they were good men.”
“They probably had a good reason,” Elizabeth said. “What do you think that she knew? I assume that she had information they wanted, and they were protecting her. If someone had already tried to kill her, then what better way to protect her than to let the world think she was dead.”
“And why did she come back?” Jack added.
Elizabeth knew that whatever the information, it would lead back to the White Horse Plantation. She was going to have to do some serious research into Josiah Webb. When the car engine stopped, Elizabeth was surprised to find that they were already at Crestview Assisted Living.
As she came to expect, Jack was at her door assisting her out. “Why don’t you come inside? Maybe if we put our heads together, we can figure this out.” He offered her his arm and she accepted, and they strolled to the front door. She was the envy of all the ladies at Crestview.
As they passed through the lobby, they were stopped. “Where have you been? I was worried sick.”
Elizabeth turned to find Grace approaching them.
“Oh hi, Gracie. I didn’t know you were coming by today,” George said.
She doubted that Grace heard her father because her eyes continued to bore through Elizabeth.
“Where did you take my father?”
“Technically, I didn’t take him anywhere. He drove.” She pointed to Jack.
Grace wasn’t buying it, as her stare never wavered.
“Grace, relax. I’m fine. We just went for a little outing,” George said.
Grace turned to her father. “I didn’t know where you were.” Her voice sounded weak, and Elizabeth felt remorse. She knew how important her father was to her, and she should have never taken him along.
“Grace, I’m sorry.” Elizabeth’s apology went unacknowledged as Grace turned and walked away. Elizabeth debated whether she should follow her, but stayed put. When Grace was no longer in sight, she turned to George. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ll go talk to her. She’ll be fine.”
She watched George walk down the hall after Grace, then turned to Jack, who remained quiet through the entire exchange. “Thank you. I really appreciate all your help.”
He tipped his hat at her. “It was my pleasure, young lady. I forgot how much I loved my work. Retirement has its perks, but I must say that it felt good to get out there and do something useful.”
* * *
Grace walked into her father’s room and sat in her usual seat next to his recliner. She was staring at the television, which would have seemed normal had it been turned on.
She didn’t hear her father come in until he spoke. “Gracie, I’m sorry that I upset you. I just went for a little adventure with Jack and Elizabeth.”
“Adventure. I know all about Elizabeth’s adventures. Where did you go?”
“The cemetery where you dug up the grave. Jack was a detective on the case. When she told him about this case, it was his suggestion to go. I tagged along.” She sensed that he was trying to offer a defense for Elizabeth. Part of her was angry, but another part was happy to see that her father seemed fond of her. How her world with her father had changed in such a short time. It was not long ago she was avoiding conversations about her personal life, and now her father was going on adventures with—my what? What was Elizabeth?
She realized that she allowed herself to go off track and pulled her thoughts back to the case. “What did you learn?” She knew why Elizabeth came to Crestview. It was the same reason she came—Jack Rourke. Grace recognized the name of the detective on the 1963 investigation report. She had talked with Jack several times during her visits with her father. He was very interested in her wo
rk, and she knew that he missed it and relived his days through Grace.
“The lady at the front office let Jack look at the burial records.”
Grace looked at him, momentarily forgetting the question she asked, but her mind quickly caught up. “Anything interesting?” She had asked to see the records the day the grave was dug up, but was told that she would need a court order, something ADA Wilcox was reluctant to do, claiming it was a waste of time, and chastised her for not staying focused on the current case. However, thanks to Jack and Elizabeth, a court order wasn’t needed because her father told her all that they learned, as well as their witness protection theory, which Grace had to acknowledge seemed plausible. This concerned her. She was happy that pieces of what once seemed an impossible puzzle were coming together, but she was afraid where they might lead or, more specifically, where they might lead Elizabeth. How could she protect her?
* * *
“Hold up there. I can’t walk as fast as I used to.”
Elizabeth turned to see Jack speed walking to catch up to her in the parking lot.
“I got to thinking,” he said once he reached her. “Why did she come back? If she went into hiding, why come back now?”
Elizabeth had been thinking the same thing, but her mind felt a little muddled after her encounter with Grace, so she was happy to talk it out. It helped focus her. “Before she died, she wrote a note in lipstick on her purse. It was hastily written and most of it was smeared by the police handling of the purse.” He looked aghast at the comment, but said nothing and allowed her to continue. “I finally figured out that she wrote the phone number to an abandoned plantation, the White Horse Plantation, at least it used to be the phone number. It was near this property that her body was found in 1963.”
“She lived there,” Jack said.
Secrets of the Last Castle Page 13