by B. T. Lord
“Nope.”
“What happened when the Angletons called you?”
“I put together a group and went out searching for her.” Before Ellis could ask the obvious question, Cade gave him a patient look. “It’s what we’ve always done.”
After calling Rob and informing him of the victim’s name, it was decided to transport the body to the offices of the island’s doctor in order for the parents to make an official identification. Once the ID was made, he’d take the remains to his lab in Portland to conduct the autopsy.
Ellis drove towards the Angletons’ small grey shingled house that sat on a wide dirt road with several other homes about a half a mile from Pleasant Point Beach. Along the way, he geared himself for what he considered the most unpleasant part of his job. It was always difficult to inform someone their loved one was dead, especially when it came at the hands of someone else. It was another thing entirely, however, when the someone he had to impart such horrific news to was a parent.
Murder always changed families. It became the giant, tragic elephant in the room they had to learn to live with. They awoke with it staring them in the face, they went about their day trying their best to skirt a pain that never went away, and they went to bed with it, exhausted by the struggle of avoiding the giant chasm that waited to swallow them up whole.
Despite the hundreds of cases where he’d had to walk in and destroy the hope that everything would be alright again, it never got easier for him. He’d hoped the Coffins would be different. He’d naively expected murder wouldn’t hound his steps on these islands. Yet here he was again, about to walk into the grey shingled house on the ocean and shatter forever their existence.
Passing the site where the bonfire had taken place, he parked along the side of the road and hopped out of his SUV where he was immediately hit by a cold blast of air coming up from the sea. Shivering, despite his heavy clothing, he made his way down a path that cut through a series of sand dunes. Once he was on the beach, he quickly spotted the remains of the fire. He poked around the ashes that had built up from several bonfires, walked up and down the shoreline, but found nothing that caught his attention.
He stood for a moment looking about him, trying to imagine what it was like for the group of friends that night. He had to admit, they’d picked a perfect place for their bonfires.
Pleasant Point Beach was divided by an inlet. The larger of the beaches lay to the east closest to Paradise Cove, and to the tourists who would be arriving in two months’ time.
The smaller, and rockier part of the beach was nearer the homes of the islanders. Here, the locals could party in relative privacy, separated from the more public part of Pleasant Point by the inlet and sand dunes.
With his face chapped by the cold, Ellis retraced his steps and gratefully jumped back into his still-warm vehicle. He pulled out and continued down the half mile towards the Angleton residence.
He immediately noted the lack of streetlights along the stretch of road. To his left lay marshes, while on the right the beach had fallen away, replaced by large boulders and rocks. If Mallory had been accosted here, her only chance of eluding her killer would have been to dash into the tall marsh grass where she could try to hide. If she’d panicked and run to the other side, she would have risked falling into the water and having her body battered against the rocks. Neither he nor Rob had seen any bruises or cuts to indicate she’d tumbled into the ocean, leaving the marsh as her only means of escape.
If she’d tried to escape.
Homes soon appeared on either side of the pot-marked road. Until Mallory reached this small neighborhood, she would have essentially been walking in the dark, with only a flashlight to light her way. Having taken that road countless times, she could probably do it blindfolded. Yet if she had been waylaid nearer to the homes, why hadn’t she run up to one of them? Unlike cities where cries for help were many times ignored, Mallory would have been quickly taken in and protected from whoever was trying to hurt her.
That was the way of the islands. Everyone knew everyone. Over the centuries, they’d learned the only way to survive living on the Coffins was to help each other. It was rare to find an islander who declined offering assistance to their neighbors in time of need.
There was always the possibility that Mallory’s attacker was a mainlander. Yet even as the thought occurred to him, Ellis quickly discarded the theory. Logically, it made no sense. He doubted someone would risk the two-hour crossing from the mainland in such high and unpredictable seas to secretly land on Eagla, happen upon Mallory, kill her, sew up her mouth and eyes, dump her in Watson Pond and return to the mainland without being seen.
Eagla did have the occasional artist and scientist stay throughout the winter months, but the islanders kept a wary eye on them. It was therefore clear to Ellis that whoever killed Mallory was someone she knew. What caused him concern was the likelihood that the perpetrator was someone Mallory would never have suspected capable of murder. Someone who kept their darkness so well hidden, no one could ever guess at the vileness that lay beneath the surface.
Was Mallory ambushed? Or had she willingly gone to meet her death?
Ellis pulled up to a house in the middle of the others on the ocean side and climbed out of the SUV. The house itself was neat, without the usual array of lobster traps and other seafaring equipment he usually found on lawns that belonged to fishermen. He rapped on the front door and waited.
The door was opened by a tall, thin ruddy faced woman dressed in a sweater and jeans who bore a passing resemblance to Mallory. As soon as she saw Ellis, she brought her hand up to her mouth before crumpling to the floor in a swoon. Mallory was their only child and finding the deputy on their doorstep could only mean one thing.
Ellis immediately knelt down beside her as the sound of her falling brought her husband running from the living room.
“Oh my God!” Derek Angleton exclaimed. “What happened?”
“She fainted.”
“What did you say to her?”
“Nothing yet.”
The last word in the short sentence brought the fisherman up. He stared hard at Ellis for a moment before swiftly stepping in. “Call Dr. Rhys while I get her into bed.”
With a strength that belied his short stature, Derek swept his wife into his beefy arms and hurried down the corridor while Ellis placed the call to the local doctor. By the time he hung up, the grizzled fisherman had returned to the living room.
“It’s about Mallory, isn’t it?” he asked stoically as both men sat down on the couch.
“I’m afraid so,” Ellis responded as he took out his small notebook and pen in order to take notes.
“Is she--?” The deputy nodded. “How did it happen?”
“We’re not sure yet as to cause of death, but she was found in Watson Pond this morning.”
A look of incomprehension spread over the weather ravaged face. “You mean she drowned?”
“Or she was placed there.” As the man struggled to take it in, Ellis added, “There’s something else you need to know and I’d rather you hear it from me.” He reached out and placed his hand on Derek’s arm. “Her mouth and eyes were sewn shut with what appears to be fishing line.”
Derek’s hand flew to his chest. “What kind of monster –” He couldn’t finish as his eyes filled with unshed tears.
“I know this is very difficult for you, but I was hoping you could answer some questions. Any help you give me will bring me that much closer to catching your daughter’s killer.”
“It’s my wife you should be asking these questions of. I – I’m out fishing most days, you know. Providing a roof over my family’s head and food on the table.”
He said it defiantly, as if daring Ellis to criticize him for not being more involved in his daughter’s life. The deputy gently overlooked it.
“Why don’t we give it a shot anyway?” Derek gave a gruff nod. “Did Mallory have any enemies?”
The man shook his head. “She was a good gir
l,” he answered, his face pale and his eyes taking on the glaze of shock and despair. “Everyone liked her.”
“Did Mallory make it a habit of walking home alone from the bonfires?”
“I know some nights I heard a car pull up outside and she and her friends saying good-bye to each other.” Once again, he threw Ellis a defiant look. “I’m usually out on the water by 4 am. Best fishing is before the sun rises. So I’m in bed by 7:30.”
Ellis nodded. “Did she use a flashlight? I noticed there are no streetlights between here and Pleasant Point Beach.”
Derek’s face brightened as he realized this was one question he could answer. “She used one of those – what do you call ‘em – apps on her phone. Was as bright as a regular flashlight.”
“So Mallory had her phone with her the night she disappeared?”
“It was practically attached to her hip. She never went anywhere without it.”
Yet, as far as Ellis knew, she hadn’t been found with her phone. He’d need to call Ana to see if they’d found it at the pond.
“Did you or Mrs. Angleton notice any change in her behavior recently?”
“I wouldn’t rightly know. By the time she got up in the morning, I was already gone.”
“What about at night? Did you share dinner together?”
Derek gave Ellis a sad smile. “It’s obvious you don’t have kids. These days you’re lucky to get them to sit long enough in the same room. What with computers, cell phones, iPads, iPods, she’s always shut up in her room when I get home. I usually have enough energy to grab a bite to eat before I hit the sack to start it all over again the next day.”
“I’ll need a list of her friends, particularly those she was at the bonfire with.”
Derek rattled off at least eight names that Ellis wrote down in his notebook. They were evenly divided between male and female. “They all grew up together,” he said as if expecting Ellis to question how he knew who his daughter spent her time with.
The deputy glanced down at the list. “Was she seeing anyone?”
“You mean like a boyfriend?” Ellis nodded. “Don’t think so. Jada would have mentioned it.”
“Would she have told your wife if she was dating?”
Derek opened his mouth, then quickly shut it. Which spoke volumes to Ellis. Either Jada and Mallory were close, and she kept her daughter’s secrets, or Jada too was not deeply involved in Mallory’s life.
“Does your wife work?” he asked.
“She’s an artist. Those paintings over there on the wall are hers.”
Ellis turned and was pleasantly surprised to find two canvases that depicted the harbor at Paradise Cove. They were painted in luminous colors, one depicting the harbor at sunset and the other at sunrise.
“Those are very good,” he remarked.
“It helps with the bills.”
Perhaps that explained his reluctance or inability to answer Ellis’s question regarding Mallory’s love life. Jada may have been too involved in her paintings to keep tabs on her daughter. The only way to clear it up was to speak to Jada, though it was obvious that wouldn’t be happening tonight.
“Did Mallory have a close girlfriend? You know, a best friend?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s DeeDee Reid. They’ve been inseparable since they were kids.”
Surmising he’d run out of questions Derek could answer, Ellis stood up. “Do you mind if I check out Mallory’s room?”
He wearily nodded and pointed down the hallway. “Last door on the left.”
Just as Ellis was making his way down the corridor, he heard the slam of a car door outside. A moment later, Dr. Greg Rhys was shown into the house.
A man of average height, he had thick blonde hair, brown eyes and an unmistakable air of intelligence and compassion. Having once worked as a county coroner in New Hampshire, he’d relocated his family to Eagla in hopes of finding a saner, quieter life.
An impossibility he soon came to realize. No matter where in the world one lived, dark souls existed. It was the nature of the human beast.
“Ellis,” he said as the two men shook hands. In a lower voice, he added, “Dr. Crozier is still at my clinic. Have you gotten any more details about Mallory’s death?”
“Too early to tell yet. How’s Dean?”
“He sat up and asked for a glass of whisky.”
Ellis chuckled. “He’s on the road to recovery then, isn’t he?”
“He will be once I get him to calm down about not being able to go out fishing for a while. His wife is happy about that. He isn’t. Well, I’d better go check in on Jada. Don’t leave until I get a chance to speak with you.”
Rhys turned into the master bedroom, leaving behind a perplexed Ellis. Wondering what information the doctor could have to share, he continued towards the young woman’s room. He opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was done up in yellows and golds. There was a stack of fashion magazines neatly piled up on the corner of her dresser, while her iPad sat on her night stand.
Slipping on a pair of latex gloves and withdrawing an evidence bag from his coat, Ellis picked up the iPad and opened the bright purple cover. Looking back at him was a photograph of Mallory with another girl, this one shorter and plainer-looking who he assumed was DeeDee. They had their arms around each other and were laughing into what had obviously been a selfie. Seeing the device was password protected, he slipped it into the evidence bag and continued searching.
On the walls were framed photographs of Mallory with her parents, as well as with her friends. In all she appeared happy and carefree, her smile lighting up her entire face.
“What did you do to deserve what was done to you? To your face?” Ellis asked aloud as he went from framed photo to framed photo. She’d certainly been a vivacious young woman and, he quickly noticed, the best dressed in whatever group she was with. He went back to the magazines and flipped through them, noting the titles – Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar. Just as he wondered where she was getting the money to buy these magazines, or why she wasn’t downloading them onto her iPad, he noticed the stamp of Eagla’s Public Library on the covers.
He crossed to her closet where he slowly and methodically went through her clothes. He wasn’t a fashion expert by any stretch of the imagination, but he was surprised to find several expensive pieces made of the highest quality silks and wools.
Returning to the photos, it was obvious Mallory had an excellent eye for accessorizing with a panache that was hard to miss. In each picture, she was the dominant figure – the person your eye automatically went to. All the others appeared diminished standing next to her.
Sliding open the drawer to her nightstand, he found a small laptop computer. Flipping it open, he wasn’t surprised to find that it too was password protected. He withdrew another evidence bag and dropped it inside. Taking out his cellphone, he dialed Ana.
“I can’t believe you miss me already,” she laughed when she answered.
“The victim’s name was Mallory Angleton,” he said, sidestepping her statement. “I’m at her parents’ home, where I’ve just done a prelim in her bedroom.”
“Did you find anything interesting?”
“She appeared to be very style-conscious. There’s a stack of the latest fashion magazines on her dresser and some of her clothes are from Paris and New York.”
“Really? Is her family wealthy?”
“On the contrary. Her father is a fisherman, and her mother is a local artist.”
“Makes you wonder how she could afford such clothes.”
“Have you found her phone yet?”
“Still looking.”
“When do you think you’ll get over here?”
“I’ll send two of my men over there now. What’s the address?”
Ellis rattled off the street address. “I bagged her laptop and iPad. I’ll keep those with me until your men arrive. I’ll also let the Angletons know they’re coming.” He paused, then added, “Mrs. A
ngleton collapsed at the news of her daughter’s death. Dr. Rhys is with her now.”
“I’ll make sure to tell the guys to be as non-intrusive as possible.”
He hung up, grabbed the computer and iPad and left the room. He found Derek seated in the living room, looking off into space, his face contorted in anguish and emotional pain.
“Two technicians from the Forensics Team should be here in about fifteen minutes to examine Mallory’s room. I suggest neither you or your wife enter her room until they’re done.”
He glared at Ellis. “What are you saying? You think my daughter was in her room with her killer?” He suddenly sat up angrily. “You think either my wife or I killed our daughter?”
“I didn’t say that. It’s routine in cases like this.” He calmly met Derek’s eye. “I’ll be honest with you. I’m fairly certain Mallory knew her killer. I haven’t heard talk of any strangers seen on Eagla within the last few days. Since we don’t know who it could be yet, it’s important Forensics examine her room to see if they can find anything that could point us in the right direction. In the meantime, I’ll be taking Mallory’s computer and iPad. It’s always possible she was unwittingly communicating with her killer.”
“Christ in Heaven,” Derek numbly whispered.
Ellis sat down opposite him.
“I just have a few more questions. Did Mallory have a job?”
“Yeah. She worked down at The Elegant Swan on Harbor Street.”
Ellis quickly went through the shops in his mind and wasn’t surprised when he recalled The Elegant Swan. It was a boutique of stylish apparel brought in from New York, Paris and Los Angeles that catered to the wealthier summer visitors. At least that explained the pricey clothes in Mallory’s closet. As an employee, she may have been offered discounts, a perk she seemed to have taken full advantage of.
He suddenly felt a pang of unexpected sadness. In New York or Los Angeles, Mallory could have capitalized on her natural chic, style and beauty. But here on this island in the middle of nowhere, what were her prospects? Marry a fisherman? Play at being refined in a shop that catered to the truly refined and sophisticated?
