Even though the cracked ribs were painful, Jim was feeling well enough to argue that he should be discharged. But the doctor was more insistent and eventually talked him into staying until morning. However, Jim asked that Claire be allowed to come to his room and visit with him for a few minutes.
He seemed especially anxious to tell her something and didn’t want to be given any pain medication that might make him too drowsy, but he promised to take the pills once he had talked with Claire.
The doctor had not been happy with that part of the bargain, but asked the nurse to let him know when Claire arrived so he could discuss Jim’s condition with her and they could start administering something for the pain.
Now Marvin and Claire were waiting for the nurse to tell them that Jim was in his room.
“Can you at least tell me why you’re working when you should be retired and bored out of your mind, like me?” Chief looked at her with an exasperating grin on his face.
Claire smiled, glanced down the hallway for a few minutes like she was trying to decide if she should tell him or not.
She gazed back at him and said, “Okay, but you have to promise me that you’ll listen to what I have to say before offering any opinions…and that you’ll not get involved yourself.”
Marvin sighed deeply and shrugged his shoulders, “My curiosity is getting the better of me,” he paused, “but I reserve the right to offer assistance if I think I could help in any way…especially if you’re involved.”
Claire saw that he was not going to give in on that last part.
Unfortunately Chief had never sacrificed his ‘big brother’ role as far as she was concerned. He would always think of himself as her protector
Before Claire could open her mouth to respond, the nurse came up behind them and announced that Jim was in his room and she could see him now.
“Why don’t you come with me, Chief? Between the two of us, Jim and I can fill you in on what has happened so far, and he can tell us both what he found out today.”
Captain Hennessey nodded and they both stood up to follow the nurse.
* * * * *
In the darkness of the garage, a thin beam emanated from a flashlight, bobbing, as if searching for something. The light trailed up and down the walls, slowly at first, but faster and faster as the searcher lost patience in a quest to find the secret.
“Hah!” A partially-stifled giggle followed with the realization that the hiding place had been located.
The light grew bigger as the figure approached a spot in the wall where the flashlight illuminated a small seam in the paneling. It resembled all the other seams except for a tiny notch that had been surreptitiously carved in the upper-right hand corner of the panel. Anyone else might not have taken notice. Or, if he or she had, it might have been blamed on a defect in the wood.
But the searcher knew it was there for a purpose. The searcher knew it had been placed there to make the hiding compartment easier to find.
Slipping a finger behind the notch, the board moved forward several inches effortlessly, giving access to what was hidden in the wall. A hand moved down the insulation until it should have come upon a thick bump.
Nothing.
Feeling more feverishly now, the hand grasped the panel and yanked it free from the wall.
Nothing.
Looking around the garage, flashlight desperately swinging back and forth across the walls lighting up the corners of all the panels, the figure felt the beginnings of panic creeping toward the outermost edges of awareness.
Where is it? It was here! I put it here so long ago…and now it’s gone?
Did someone find it?
If it was found and taken, why didn’t they come for me?
Where is it!!!
Alarm turned to something more urgent—fear. The mind started to process the meaning, and fear turned to dread when the realization hit that the secret was no longer hidden, and that someone else knew what happened to Libby Newman.
And who could that someone else be?
* * * * *
“So the blood is human.” Marvin said, “What does it mean? Do we have a crime on our hands? Or is it some kid’s idea of a prank?”
“Not so fast, Chief,” Jim replied, wincing from the pain that even a slight amount of talking caused in his chest. He had let Claire handle most of the summary of the events as they had unfolded the last few days.
Claire put her hand on Jim’s arm and took up from where he left off, “We are not assuming anything—yet.”
Chief Hennessey started to interrupt.
“Let me finish, Marvin. Maybe someone was injured. Maybe they were doing some illegal hunting in the Conservancy and didn’t want anyone to know so they dropped the knife and ran.”
“Yeah, but you saw blood first, and then the knife didn’t appear until the next day! That doesn’t make any sense,” Chief replied.
“Why only one set of shoe prints?”
He decided, “Sounds like a stupid prank to me”
“True…and the rose…” She seemed ready to say something else, but decided not to.
“Come on, Claire, I know you better than that,” Marvin chided her, “Out with it! What are you thinking?”
“Well,” she looked at him and then, Jim.
Jim nodded his head as if to give her reassurance.
“I’m not sure the person who is leaving these clues is…,” pausing.
“Claire, for the love of God, what is it!” Chief Hennessey interjected.
“I think Libby Newman is trying to send me a message about her killer! Okay, there you have it! Are you happy?”
Jim cracked a smile but tried hard not to laugh when he saw Marvin’s face.
Chief looked at her for the longest time and eventually spoke up, “Her killer! You don’t even know if she’s dead.”
He lowered his head and continued, “You’re talking about a dead person! Are you crazy, woman? Has retirement cost you your mind?”
“See, Jim, I told you. He doesn’t believe me. Oh no, he doesn’t believe one of his best investigators. He thinks I’m a crazy old woman.”
Annoyed, Claire folded her arms and sat down hard on the chair next to the window.
“Now that’s not fair!” He paused, “Besides, I didn’t call you ‘old’,” Captain Hennessey replied with a grin.
She didn’t reply, but only stared at him with disdain.
He attempted to apologize by adding, “I’m sorry, Claire. I didn’t mean to dismiss your suspicions but you’ll have to admit they’re pretty far-fetched for a seasoned state trooper like me to believe.”
“Oh, and I’m not!” Claire huffed and folded her arms even tighter, adding, “I didn’t even tell you two what happened today.”
“What happened?” Jim asked, eyeing her uncertainly.
Reluctantly she responded, “Well…Myra and Kay, my neighbors, were out for a walk and they noticed water bubbling up in my yard, right in the same place where the blood and other things were found.”
“Water?”
“Yes, Jim, water…and it was warm…not cold. They thought it might be a water leak, but I don’t think so. It’s just too strange that warm water would be springing up in the yard, in the same place,” she added.
“What do you think it means, Claire?” Chief asked her.
“I don’t know, Marvin! That’s what I’m trying to decide. I just don’t know!”
Jim put his hand in the air and said weakly, “Can I suggest a truce for tonight.”
He grimaced and painfully continued, “Could you ask the nurse for some pain pills for me on your way out?”
He put his hand down and added, “But, I’d like to give you some advice, Marvin…listen to her. She makes sense.”
Claire motioned with a jerk of her head that Chief should go out and find the nurse.
When he left, she bent down and placed a kiss on Jim’s cheek.
Whispering, “Thank you. Get some rest and I’ll see yo
u tomorrow.”
Jim took her hand and said, “Just be careful. I believe you, but I think you have more than the supernatural to be afraid of.”
Claire nodded and backed out of the room. She blew him a kiss, turned around, and ran straight into Marvin Hennessey.
Grinning, he said, “You like him, don’t you?”
Claire grabbed his arm and said, “Come on. Let’s get out of here before I put you in a hospital bed too!”
“Oooh, that sounds sexy.”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” she punched him in the arm as they walked down the corridor to the parking garage.
Chapter Fifteen
Grabbing a beer out of the refrigerator, the person took a swig and felt the beginnings of relaxation. He looked around the small but comfortable confines of the apartment and thought about the house. Sure beats the hell out of this place.
He frowned when he remembered the judge declaring it her property in the divorce decree. I wanted to keep the house! It held memories for me too.
He gulped the last of the beer and threw the can in the wastebasket. I didn’t get all my belongings out either, he remembered. That always bothered me, but especially now when I think about everything I left there.
Startled, he recalled something else. Wonder if Claire Dungarven knows about my stuff? I wouldn’t mind contacting her, but it’s been a long time.
He smiled as he reminisced about that part of his past. I read something about her in the newspaper recently. She’s retired! That’s right. She retired from the state police and moved to Brown County. Article said she bought a home at Sweetwater Lakes.
The man thought about this piece of information, Wonder if I should pay her a visit and see if she can help me?
His smile turned sinister. And, maybe I should find out what she knows.
* * * * *
After saying goodnight to Marvin and, as she stated, ‘agreeing to patronize him in allowing him to check her house before he left’, Claire turned on the front porch light and headed for her bedroom.
She glanced in the tiny office and thought fleetingly about writing, but decided she needed the sleep more.
I’ll put off until tomorrow what I could do tonight.
She went into the hall bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror while grabbing for her toothbrush.
I look tired but my mind is racing a mile a minute!
As she brushed her teeth, she thought about what Jim had told her…human blood. Whose blood could it be?
And, more to the point, why is it in my yard?
She considered the possibilities.
Is it just a coincidence or did someone actually have an accident and then walk through my yard dripping blood?
No, that doesn’t account for the one set of shoe prints…and the blood showing up before the knife appeared…and the rose.
She finished brushing and wiped her mouth on the towel.
As she washed her face, another thought came to mind.
It has to be deliberate! It’s too much like someone is staging a whole collection of clues to build up a scenario for me.
She asked herself, So, if that’s true, what is the person trying to tell me?
And who is this person who is trying to tell me something?
Then, the recollection of how many similarities there were between the signs found in the yard and the clues in the disappearance of Libby Newman hit her full force again.
The revelation stunned Claire.
It has to be connected to her case! There’s no other possible answer.
She remembered, and then, she came to me in the dream.
If she’s alive, did she attempt to communicate with me telepathically?
“If so, that would be very…bizarre,” she answered her own question.
Claire gazed in the mirror for a long time and then her eyes took on a very determined set with the abrupt realization… She is dead…and she’s trying to lead me to her killer!
As she walked to her bedroom, Claire spoke aloud, “Okay, Libby. Tell me what you need me to know. I’m ready to help.”
* * * * *
Later, startled awake in the middle of the night, Claire sat up and tried to remember all that she could about her just-completed dream. Libby had come to her; she signed ‘help’, but also used pictures to relay a sequence of events.
It’s like she’s reenacting what happened. Libby saw the door alarm light up; she went to the door and opened it; she frowned slightly; it changed momentarily to a timid smile.
She knew the person!
A hand motioned to come out on the front porch…
“Wait a minute,” Claire said, “I’d better get a notebook and write this down. I’ll never remember all the details if I don’t.”
She went into the kitchen and grabbed a tablet off the countertop and reached for a pen in the small jar she kept next to the phone. She sat down at the table and began to write furiously. Flashing light of the door alarm, hand motioning to come outside…
After writing everything down, Claire sat back and looked at what she had written.
Knowing that she was not going to sleep the rest of the night, she stood up and grabbed the coffee container out of the cabinet, with intentions to make some strong coffee that would help her be as sharp as she would need to be.
Glancing at the clock, she groaned when she realized how early it was, “4:30 in the morning! It’s going to be a long day.”
* * * * *
A car crept slowly by the house. The person behind the wheel strained in the darkness to take in the house numbers.
Too dark to see anything…
Agitated at seeing a light flick on in the house, she’s awake!
Don’t want her to notice my lights. I’d better go by, turn around down the street, and hope she doesn’t look out the window.
But, if she does, maybe she’ll think it’s the newspaper carrier.
At least I know where she lives now, the observer added chillingly.
The individual grasped the wheel tighter. I can keep an eye on her…and, maybe she’ll lead me to what I want!
* * * * *
Tossing, turning, Marvin Hennessey finally gave up the ghost and got out of bed, carefully, quietly, hoping not to disturb Mary. He couldn’t get his mind off the information that Claire and Jim had shared with him at the hospital.
It’s not that I don’t believe her, but I’m trying hard not to ignore the facts…there was blood, one set of shoeprints, and a knife in Claire’s front yard…I don’t know what that rose and the pool of water mean, but for now I’ll try to concentrate on the other evidence…
Walking into the living room, he glanced out the window, attempting to ‘set the scene’ in his own mind: Blood, shoeprints and more blood, a knife…and a rose.
He kept coming back to the flower. It was what didn’t make sense. Why would someone leave a rose? And, it’s still fresh, according to Claire. It is strange that a rose would show up in her front yard in the dead of winter. And, what does it mean?
Marvin sat down in his easy chair and pondered the whole scenario.
Maybe she’s right. It sounds like someone is leaving clues to a crime. Like Claire said, Libby did have a rose tattoo on her ankle.
He thought back to all the teasing he gave her and felt a stab of guilt. I didn’t mean to give Claire the impression I don’t believe her, but it flies in the face of the common wisdom a police officer usually employs to solve a mystery.
Then, he sat up straight and thought about the other possibility. What if it is something supernatural?
What if Libby Newman is the one leaving the signs in the snow?
If so, where is she and what happened?
“Maybe I need to read the details of that case again,” he whispered to himself.
That’s what I’ll do. I need to go to the office today anyway…clean out my desk, pick up some possessions. I’ll just pull it up on the computer and read it again. May
be something will pop up. Sure can’t hurt, Marvin thought as he made his way back to bed.
Chapter Sixteen
At the first sign of dawn’s light, Claire stood at the sliding doors, leading to the deck in the back of her house, admiring the sunrise.
What beautiful colors!
Sunrise and sunset had always been two of her favorite times of the day. Until recently she had always had plenty of opportunities to enjoy both since she often worked from early in the morning until late at night. Even on bad days, she tried to stop and enjoy the two stunning natural events even if she was in the middle of a particularly tragic investigation. Now, with retirement, she could enjoy both without having to make time for them. They were just there for her pleasure.
Sipping her coffee, Claire organized her thoughts and made plans for the day ahead.
First, I’ll call Jim and see how he’s feeling, and if the doctor has released him, I’ll see if he wants me to come and bring him home.
Then, if he’s up to it, I’ll share what I’ve pieced together from my dream and see if he can help me find this place where Libby might be.
But first, I want to check and see if there are any more clues out front.
Claire turned and walked toward the living room window.
Pushing the curtain aside, she looked out in the yard and thought she saw something else in the snow in the exact same spot where all the other clues had been.
I knew it! I think she’s left me another sign, but I need to get a closer look.
She walked to the front door, opened it, and a blast of cold air hit her immediately.
Shivering, she thought, it’s a lot colder today. That new snow last night really brought the temperature down. I’d better get dressed and put on my coat before I go outside.
She went down the hallway, but paused at the door of the office.
I can get a better view from here, she thought as she went into the room.
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