by B. T. Lord
Ellis barely managed to hide his shock at the mention of the shadow man with the red eyes.
“What does this shadow man do?” he asked as casually as he could.
“He just stares at her. It completely unnerves DeeDee.”
Ellis took his time formulating the next question. “I know how badly Mallory treated DeeDee. How badly she treated everyone. Is that why you’re not overly concerned that DeeDee will be targeted next?” The Reids shifted uncomfortably in their seats. “I also know about the belief of not speaking ill of the dead. But this is a murder investigation. Someone’s life was taken. I need everyone’s cooperation to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Frank sighed as he lifted his gaze to meet Ellis’s. “Mallory always acted as if she was better than everyone, which is ridiculous. Her grandfather fished with my father, for chrissakes. Her parents are good people, but they spoiled her too much. Jada had several miscarriages before Mallory was born, and they let her get away with too much. The result was a young woman who treated people like a disposable tissue.” He turned to his wife. “How many times did DeeDee come home in tears over something Mallory said? I tried my best to talk her into ending the friendship. We both did, but that girl has a mind of her own.”
Ellis looked to Aggie who slowly nodded in agreement.
“What is your opinion of Richard Huntson?” he asked Frank.
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s the one you should be looking for.” Ellis cocked an eyebrow. “I have no doubt he’s the father of that bit— of that girl’s baby. Everyone knows how much he pursued her. I’d say he finally caught her, realized what he was getting into and got out the only way he knew how.”
“Frank, how can you say that?” Aggie scolded him, aghast at his words.
“Who else would it be? I’m sure there were dozens of people who dreamed of ringing her neck. But with Richard’s record of getting into fights at the drop of a hat—” He looked at Ellis. “You do the math.”
“As of right now, he is a person of interest. In the meantime, in order to help ease your daughter’s mind, I’m willing to take you and DeeDee to Portland on my boat. I should be ready to leave around two pm.”
“We appreciate that, Deputy,” Aggie replied.
“Since I’m here, I’d like to talk to her again.”
“Of course. I’ll go get her. She hasn’t been sleeping well since all this happened, so she tends to get up late.”
After she left the living room, Ellis turned to Frank. “With the exception of Richard, can you think of anyone else who would have wanted to kill Mallory?”
“She upset a lot of people, but we’re not killers. She would have needed to push someone very far for them to do what they did to her, to her face.”
“Any thoughts on why her eyes and mouth were sewn shut?”
He turned his eyes towards the window and whispered, “See no evil, speak no evil.”
Before Ellis could respond to the strange comment, Aggie hurried back into the room, her face twisted in fear and worry. “DeeDee isn’t in her room. I’ve looked all over for her.” She turned a frantic eye towards Ellis. “She’s gone!”
CHAPTER TEN
“That’s impossible,” Frank said, jumping to his feet and crossing to his wife. “Brendon and Keith were patrolling last night. There’s no way she could have gotten past them.”
Ellis glanced out the back window into the backyard and spied the two men warming themselves around the roaring fire pit. He pointed towards it.
“There’s your answer to how DeeDee got out of the house.”
Frank and Aggie looked outside. “Damn it,” Frank muttered under his breath.
“When was the last time you saw DeeDee?” Ellis asked.
“It was just after eleven,” Aggie admitted. “I was falling asleep in my chair. She told me to go to bed.”
“I’d heard you were staying in her room with her until you left for Bethel.”
“I was. But she said she wasn’t ready to go to bed yet. She was going to stay up a bit longer, take one of my sleeping pills, then turn in. Now that I think about it, she was quite insistent I not wait up with her.” Tears stung Mrs. Reid’s eyes. “Why would she leave the house after telling us how frightened she was? Where could she have gone?”
“Being cooped up inside for a few days is enough to drive anyone a bit crazy,” Ellis admitted, having experienced that himself.
“Maybe she’s with Tim,” Aggie said. “I’ll call.”
However, it was quickly discovered she wasn’t with Tim. He told Aggie the last time he’d spoken with DeeDee was yesterday afternoon. At the time, she never mentioned anything about going out that evening.
“Tim is on his way over,” Aggie replied, wringing her hands in despair. “If we ignored her and that killer took her…”
Her husband threw his arm around her shoulders.
“I’ll call Cade and have him organize a search party,” Ellis replied as he took out his cell. “Did you notice if any of her clothes are missing? Is her cellphone gone?”
“I’ll go look,” she said.
As she went to look, Ellis phoned Cade and told him what was going on. He’d just hung up when she returned, her face plainly showed her fear. “Her dark blue jacket, red pocketbook and cell are missing. Her suitcase is still in her room though.”
“Then she probably did just go out for a breath of fresh air,” Ellis said. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Reid. If she’s on the island, we’ll find her.”
“I’m going with you,” Frank said. After grabbing his coat, he and Ellis drove to Cade’s house where a group of men were already gathering.
As soon as they arrived, Ellis stepped out of the car and immediately pulled aside the diminutive selectman. “I have reason to believe Richard Huntson is missing too.”
“Zack is here. Why didn’t he say anything?”
“I’m sure he has his reasons. Don’t make a big deal out of it. But I want everyone to keep an eye out for Richard as well.”
As more men arrived, Ellis noted the orderly assembly of various small groups, reminded once more of how the islanders always took care of their own. He turned at the sound of a truck pulling up and watched Tim climb out. He immediately called him over.
“Did DeeDee get along with Richard Huntson?”
Tim looked at him in surprise. “Why are you asking?”
“It appears Richard may be missing as well.”
The young man pursed his lips. “I can’t imagine them being together. They barely spoke.”
“I thought you all were part of the same group of friends.”
“We are. But they never really got along very well.”
“Why is that?”
“Richard has a very strong personality. He likes to boss people around. Dee hates being told what to do.”
“Did they ever clash?”
“It’s not Dee’s style to get in anyone’s face. She’d bitch about it to me, but all we ever did was avoid him for a few days so she could calm down. Then it was back to normal until he ticked her off again.” He looked at Ellis. “Do you think Richard hurt Dee? I know he has a temper, but I can’t imagine…” He let the sentence hang as comprehension spread over his face. As if he’d suddenly realized Richard was capable of many things.
Perhaps even murder.
The groups were finally assembled. Ellis stood aside as Cade gave the men their instructions. Many were surprised when he mentioned Richard’s name as someone to look out for as well. Ellis glanced at Zack, who treated the announcement with a glower. But he neither corrected Cade nor put up any kind of protest, which confirmed Ellis’s suspicions about his worries regarding the whereabouts of his son.
When Cade was done, he turned to Ellis. “Any particular group you want to ride along with, Deputy?”
He shook his head. “I’ll rotate between the groups throughout the day.”
Cade nodded and the men began to head out. Turning back to his vehicle,
Ellis was brought up abruptly when he saw the shadow man standing next to his SUV.
It was the same figure he’d seen in his dream.
Find the boat.
The voice was raspy, as if it were speaking through shards of broken glass. He froze when he realized the voice wasn’t coming from outside. It was coming from within his own head. But it wasn’t his voice. It wasn’t his thought.
He jerked his head back towards the groups, wondering if any of them saw the figure. But everyone was preoccupied with the task at hand.
Am I the only one seeing this thing?
When he turned back to his vehicle, the shadow was gone.
He stood still as the shock of what he’d seen washed over him. Had he imagined it? In the hustle and bustle of the men coming and going, had he mistaken one of the islanders for the shadow man?
There was no mistaking the words he’d heard, however. Find the boat. The problem was, there were hundreds of boats on Eagla. Which one was he referring to? Why even tell him in the first place?
He recalled the deep sense of malevolence he’d felt from the shadow man in his dream. An evil so overpowering, it had paralyzed him. Yet here he was, appearing to give him a clue to the whereabouts of DeeDee and Richard. Why? What was its motives?
Just what the hell was going on?
He looked up as the last group of men prepared to leave. Zack Huntson strode to his truck and opened the door. Just before climbing inside, he turned and gave Ellis a look of rage, tinged with despair. He was furious the deputy had disclosed his son was missing, a matter he considered private. Yet at the same time he couldn’t hide his apprehension over Richard’s whereabouts and, more importantly, what that could mean. Their eyes met and Ellis suddenly felt a shiver go through him.
In a moment of complete clarity, he knew exactly what boat the shadow man had been referring to.
As he watched Huntson drive away, he grappled with the implications. None of this made any sense. Nor was there any way to explain it. But the certainty of which boat he needed to go to would not loosen its grip. He tried to ignore it, but the feeling grew that he had to follow this through. If he didn’t, he would regret it. And compromise his investigation.
Fifteen minutes later, he arrived back at the grey shingled saltbox. Parking his car in the driveway, he set out towards the back of the house and the steps that led down to the dock.
“Deputy Martin, what are you doing back here?” June Huntson called out from the back patio that looked out over the ocean.
“I need to see your husband’s boat,” he called back.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t. He doesn’t like anyone boarding his vessel when he’s not around.”
“This won’t take more than a few minutes.”
He deliberately shut out the rest of her protests as he hurried down the dock. He heard her scurrying behind him, her protests becoming more strident, but the pull within him was too strong. He needed to look at Zack’s boat.
Drawing nearer, he saw the name Junie Bug painted on the side of the white fishing trawler as it gently bobbed up and down against the dock guard.
An unmistakable feeling that something was wrong suddenly hit him. A sense that something was off. A knowing that everything was about to change, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He heard June’s step behind him and quickly spun around.
“Don’t come any closer,” he warned.
She slowed her step and stared at him in bewilderment. “What are you talking about?” she asked. “This is my husband’s boat. I have every right –”
He put up his hand. “June, please. Listen to me. Do not come any closer.”
She gasped when he slowly withdrew his pistol. Cautiously making his way down the dock, he passed the cabin and the tall outriggers. He continued towards the back of the trawler, his eyes darting back and forth. Just as he was beginning to think he’d been a fool to ever believe a shadow man would appear to him and tell him where to look, he peered down near the stern.
“Shit,” he whispered.
Sprawled out on the deck was DeeDee Reid. She was lying on her back, her lifeless eyes staring up at the sky. His stomach lurched when he saw an ice pick protruding from each of her ears.
Attempting to take it all in, his concentration was shattered when he heard piercing screams erupt behind him. He turned to see June holding her hands to her mouth, babbling hysterically as she stared at him in wild disbelief. He swiftly stepped over to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
“Let me get you inside,” he said as he gently led her back towards her house.
“How did she – oh my God, her ears—,” She sobbed. “And Richard? Where is Richard?”
He didn’t respond. Where indeed was Richard?
Ellis managed to get her into the living room where he sat her down on the couch. Looking about, he spied a glass paneled hutch with various bottles of liquor in its cabinets. He grabbed a glass, poured her a scotch and handed it to her. She gulped it down in one swallow.
“June, where do you think your son is?” he asked quietly.
She shook her head from side to side. “He and Zack were supposed to go out today, but when Zack went to get him, his bedroom was empty. His bed hadn’t been slept in.” She buried her face in her hands. “Dear God, please don’t let anything happen to my son. Let him be alright.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
She grabbed a tissue from her pocket and began to wipe her nose. “It was after dinner last night. He said he was going out for a drive. He’d just gotten his truck back from the shop and we just thought he wanted to get some air. We assumed he’d gone over to see John, but when we called him this morning, he said he hadn’t seen him.”
“Will you be alright? I need to call the Medical Examiner and the Forensics team.”
“Why would someone want to kill DeeDee? And why in Zack’s boat? It doesn’t make any sense!”
“I’m sure we’ll be able to unravel all of this.”
Ellis stepped away from June and made the necessary phone calls. “I’m going to need to go back to the boat until the teams arrive. Would you like me to call someone who can sit with you?” She shook her head. “In that case, I ask that you not contact anyone yet. The Junie Bug is now, unfortunately, a crime scene and I can’t have people tramping over it and destroying potential evidence.”
“I need to tell Zack,” she sniffled. “The Junie Bug is his baby.”
“I’ll let him know.”
After she reluctantly agreed, Ellis let himself out of the house. Out of earshot of June, he phoned Cade and told him what he’d found. “Richard is still missing. Give me at least an hour before you tell your men about DeeDee. That will give the ME and the Forensics team time to fly out here.”
He next dialed Dr. Rhys and asked him to come out to the Huntson house. He needed the doctor’s previous experience as a county coroner to perform a preliminary exam on the victim. All that was left now was for Ellis to put on a pair of latex gloves and booties and return to the boat and to poor DeeDee.
The wind was picking up when he let himself down onto the deck. He knew DeeDee was dead, but he nevertheless checked her vitals. Then, slowly and methodically, he went through the boat looking for anything that might explain what happened.
He wasn’t surprised when he didn’t find anything. No blood smears, nothing to indicate that anyone had come aboard the Junie Bug. It was as if DeeDee had been lowered down onto the deck, which was impossible. Someone had brought her aboard. The same someone who had murdered Mallory Angleton.
Remembering what Chloe had told him that morning about the lack of evidence Ana and her team had found, he wondered how the killer was carrying out the murders without leaving DNA or any trace of their presence. It was obvious both Mallory and DeeDee were killed elsewhere before their bodies were deposited in areas where they would certainly be found.
A sudden thought occurred to him that left hi
m pensive.
Was it possible the killer had a law enforcement background? Or perhaps in forensics? Someone with that kind of knowledge would definitely know how to remove any trace of themselves.
While he waited for Dr. Rhys to arrive, Ellis went through several scenarios in his mind. In the midst of mentally juggling various possibilities, he suddenly remembered Dara’s phone call of the night before. Although she’d gotten the location wrong, yet again she’d seen the next murder – a young woman sprawled out on the deck of a boat with objects she couldn’t identify protruding from the victim’s ears.
He also reluctantly thought back to the shadow he’d seen by his vehicle, and the voice he’d heard telling him to find the boat. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t figure that part out. Mulling it over, a chilling possibility occurred to him.
Was the shadow man showing off his handiwork? Was he somehow responsible for all of this?
If that was so, Ellis was in deep shit.
How do you arrest a shadow?
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps hurrying down the dock. Looking up, he saw Rhys appear and stop short at the sight of DeeDee.
“Dear God,” the doctor exclaimed before starting to clamber onto the deck.
“This is a crime scene, Greg,” Ellis called out. “Put these on before you climb aboard.” He tossed up the extra pair of booties and latex gloves. Rhys put them on and stepped down next to the deputy. “The ME won’t be here for at least another hour. I was hoping you could do a prelim and tell me what I’m dealing with.”
The doctor bent over the dead girl and began his examination. “There’s no blood on the girl,” Rhys recited. “That indicates the ice picks were placed in her ears post mortem.” He gently worked his way down her inert body. “It’s hard to pinpoint a time with the cold temperatures, but I’m guessing she’s been dead for at least four hours. Rigor mortis has begun to set in, though there are parts of her body that are still relaxed. I’m not finding any broken bones, contusions or bruising that would indicate she’d been knocked out or manhandled in any way either. Nor are there are defensive wounds on her hands or arms.” He shook his head. “DeeDee was a feisty young woman. None of this makes sense.”
