Is This Suitcase Taken?

by Wendy Meadows

  Christopher said, “My client is innocent. Mr. Swift knows who killed Patrick Anderson.”

  “We already have that information, as it turns out. There’s an APB out to bring that suspect in.”

  Daniel slumped back in his chair, a little shocked, and realized his chance to make a deal had passed. He wished he had never agreed to help Rick at the thrift store that day and regretted being a witness to Patrick taking his last breath. He gritted his teeth visualizing Alexandra’s face around every corner, smiling placidly with revenge.

  The attorney glanced at his client. The distress on Daniel’s face was one he sometimes recognized in others he represented. This man looked as if ready to explode. Christopher assured him he would be found innocent and cautioned him not to say anything hasty. However, Daniel had endured too much.

  “That woman is out of her mind,” Daniel exploded. “Don’t you see? Alexandra is trying to frame me. That’s what she told you, right? If she told you I killed Patrick, she lied to you.”

  “What does Alexandra have to do with it?” Brenda said.

  “Alexandra Cornell has stalked me for years, ever since our breakup. I was lucky to get away from her the first time, but she has plagued my life ever since. I bet she told you stories about me that aren’t true. Whatever she saw, or says she saw, you shouldn’t believe it.” They waited and watched the suspect, whose knee shook under the table with impatience.

  The police officers had not yet contradicted him, and this was a sign to Daniel that perhaps he had hope. “She’s like a vampire, she leeches drama and attention when something doesn’t go her way. She’s playing you! Her mother was mentally ill – she murdered Alexandra’s brother and then committed suicide. It runs in her family.”

  “What makes you think Alexandra told us she saw something?” Mac said.

  “My client has nothing more to say,” Christopher interrupted.

  Daniel held up his hand. “I have plenty to say. She’s no innocent witness. I’m done waiting around for someone else to do the right thing, so I’ll tell you what really happened.” He leaned into the table, closer to the detectives. “She helped drown Patrick. I saw it happen.”

  Even Brenda gasped.

  “She looks weak, but she is almost as strong as Patrick was. Those fingers of hers can hold on tight as death. Ask me how I know,” he said bitterly, rubbing one arm as if remembering something from long ago. “She and Rick planned it well. They even got me involved in a stupid way – Rick strong-armed me into helping him carry that big footlocker around that he found at the thrift store. I’m sure he was just trying to get my fingerprints on something.”

  Brenda felt light-headed and excused herself, leaving Mac to finish up with the story Daniel related. It was true they had found nothing to pin the murder directly on Daniel. Alexandra was the only link placing him at the crime scene. Rick and Carrie, long gone, were even more important to find now, but first Brenda told Officer Sims and Officer Thompson to find and arrest Alexandra Cornell.

  Brenda went into Mac’s office and called Allie. “Can you text me a list of the areas you told Carrie Porter about? We’re trying to locate them, and the APB hasn’t turned up anything yet. We’re going to need all the help we can get right now.” Mac appeared in the doorway and mouthed more instructions to her just then. “Mac said if they come back to the bed and breakfast, call us right away. Keep your winsome personality going in front of them, Allie. Just don’t let them think anything is wrong.”

  Allie Williams hung up, puzzled. She had no idea what was wrong, but then recalled Alexandra’s remark during dinner about the couple’s picnic excursion being an attempt to run away. Allie was ready to play any part necessary.

  “That’s strange,” Phyllis said, coming downstairs just then. Allie asked what she meant. “I just went into clean with my staff and Rick’s and Carrie’s room is empty. Did they check out early?”

  Allie told her about the conversation just then with Brenda, and about what Alexandra had said the night before during dinner. “I guess Alexandra knew what she was talking about.” The young reservationist scattered a few notes aside on her desk until she found the list of the four secluded spots she had suggested to Carrie. She quickly texted the list to Brenda.

  Brenda checked the list of locations and started to mentally map them out. Back in Mac’s office, she told him most of the suggestions were within a ten-mile radius of Sweetfern Harbor. “Do we add these locations to the APB? What if they didn’t even go to any of these places?”

  “They could be anywhere, but they still have to come back to pick up their belongings at the bed and breakfast,” Mac said.

  Brenda’s mobile rang and she answered the call from Phyllis. When she hung up, she told Mac that Rick Dawson and Carrie Porter would not be returning to Sheffield Bed and Breakfast any time soon. “There goes that hope,” she said. Mac suggested they check in with the chief of police on the status of the larger search.

  Chief Ingram filled them in on what he had so far. “Patrick’s parents are in Europe and on their way back to the states. His father is a well-known physician and oddly, he didn’t seem all that shaken up over his son’s death. Maybe he’s just a quiet person, though. I didn’t speak with the mother. The doctor was hard to figure out, but he could be in shock.” Bob worried about Carrie Porter too, and they resolved that finding Carrie and Rick needed to be the top priority. It wasn’t only a murderer they had to track down; it could be they needed to prevent him from taking another victim.

  Carrie basked in the sunshine bathing the canoe while Rick paddled along. They were near the edge of the water and Rick was quiet, deep in thought.

  “This is so lovely. We should have come straight here, not to Sweetfern Harbor,” Carrie mused, trailing her fingers in the water. “That man’s murder was such a downer…”

  He looked at her sharply. “Why do you have to be so negative, Carrie? You know what…it’s sad how often this happens. It’s worse because it just reminds me of the first time you doubted me.”

  Carrie sat up straighter, her romantic mood turned sour. “Rick, that is all in the past. How was I to know such devastating lies were being told about you? It was so long ago. We hadn’t known each other very long. I know it was a horrible time for you, and I’m sorry, but is it truly worth getting so upset over? Honestly, I didn’t mean to bring it up, I just meant—”

  “I almost lost my license over it,” Rick said vehemently, the paddle forgotten in his lap for the moment. “How can you just dismiss it like that? It took a long time and more money than I care to remember to fight those court cases.” He gave a short, bitter laugh. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw him at Sheffield Bed and Breakfast. He had the nerve to act at first as if he didn’t recognize me.” The bitter laugh escaped his throat again. “He hurt plenty of people, even that young woman Alexandra. I talked to her about it just the other day.”

  Carrie worried about Rick’s change in mood and his mention of the woman at the bed and breakfast, but didn’t ask what he was talking about. That would have to come later. She sat quiet and tense in her canoe seat. Rick’s morose expression startled her into remembrance of the ugly past. Rick had been accused of intentionally causing the deaths of patients on the operating table, at a time when the couple had known one another for less than a year.

  As a young nurse, Carrie had fallen deeply in love with the handsome young anesthesiologist, who took her on dates hiking and to historic sites around the state. She felt like they were a perfect match. His thick dark hair curled when he let it grow long and all the nurses secretly swooned over his good looks, but for Carrie, it was Rick’s deep brown eyes that reached to her very soul.

  She recalled how shaken she had been when rumor swirled around Rick about the malpractice lawsuits and investigations about the two deaths during surgeries. Eventually he had been cleared in the matter, but it remained a bitter stain that he carried with him and it seemed to dog him like a curse, popping up at unex
pected times, tainting their time together when he reproached her for not believing him at first.

  She decided the best course of action was to focus on the present time. “Think about this place – it’s got to be the most beautiful wildlife refuge I’ve ever seen. You always pick the perfect places to bring me. And even though you love being on vacation, don’t pretend you don’t like being every surgeon’s favorite anesthesiologist. You have a gift, Rick.”

  Rick’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. He looked at Carrie and held his gaze on her, seeming to contemplate more than he could put into words. Yet she was not certain that all of the thoughts he held back were good ones.

  She was grateful when he focused again on the canoe. Rick paddled them back toward land and even reached over to hold Carrie’s hand as they coasted a little through a pretty stretch of shady trees overhanging the edge of the water. “You can now say you have gone canoeing, Carrie. How was it?”

  “It’s great, especially since I have a big strong boyfriend to do all the paddling,” she teased, trying to get him to smile. “Maybe next time we can take a sailboat and both work the ropes, or a motor boat so we can go fast and you can rest those biceps.” She patted the bunched muscles of his upper arm where he held the paddle in the water and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his face relax.

  “Maybe we should rent a cabin tonight? The one we passed looked vacant.” She wanted to prolong the time with Rick and see if she could coax any more smiles out of him. Carrie planned to use that night to their advantage, and in the solitude and peaceful wilderness, she knew she would feel closer to Rick than ever before.

  The next morning, Carrie awakened to birds singing in the wooded area behind the cabin. She ran her hand over the side where she expected to touch Rick. The sheets were cool. The small kitchen in the corner featured a coffee maker, and when she sat up in bed, she saw Rick had brewed some for them both. She got up to pour a cup. She looked out the windows and glimpsed no sign of him. She wished he had waited for her to go hiking with him. She curled up against the generous pillows and drank the hot beverage. Fifteen minutes passed. She rinsed the cup and headed for the shower. She knew Rick would want a turn in the shower after his hike.

  Refreshed, Carrie emerged clean and dressed from the steamy little bathroom, excited to talk to Rick about the day ahead. Yet Rick was nowhere in the cabin. She walked onto the small front porch and shielded her eyes from the morning sun and searched for him. The woods and marshy places around were quiet except for birdsong and the scurrying small animals who hunted for their breakfasts. She knew he was out walking somewhere because their car was still parked where it had been the day before. With a sudden flash of insight, she grabbed her car keys and drove down the road to the tiny store, certain she would find Rick in friendly conversation with the clerk or perhaps some fellow hikers and explorers.

  The little store itself was small and empty of people, save for the clerk. “Have you seen a man in his forties come in here this morning?” The older man behind the counter adjusted his glasses and smiled at her. “He has dark hair and brown eyes,” she said.

  “A young family came in for a few things when I opened at seven. Two young hikers replenished their supplies…let’s see…the only other person has been the park ranger. He stops in for coffee and the latest news. Maybe you can ask him if he’s seen your husband.”

  “Oh, he’s not my…he’s just my boyfriend.” She didn’t like explaining this to strangers and a blush spread on her cheeks beneath the worry wrinkling her forehead.

  He noted the look on Carrie’s face. “He probably just went out hiking in the lowlands. Those hiking loops go out some eight or ten miles. I’m sure he’ll be back by lunch.”

  “Are there wild animals out there?”

  The man chuckled good-naturedly. “Only the cute little fuzzy kind, I can assure you. We’re too far away from the mountains to get little black bears and bobcats and whatnot. Don’t worry about him. He probably lost track of time. I’ll keep a lookout and send him your way.” Carrie told him their cabin number and gave him her cell number.

  Carrie purchased a few snacks and took them with her to the car. She loaded the grocery bag in the trunk and gasped when she looked inside. When had Rick loaded all their things from the bed and breakfast into the car? She recalled he had been upstairs while she talked with Allie. Perhaps he took the luggage down the back stairs. As much as she wanted to believe this was a sign that he planned to make further romantic gestures at their cozy little cabin in the woods, a bad feeling rushed through her stomach and made her knees go weak with dread.

  She drove back to the cabin and rushed into the small bedroom. When she opened the closet, she was relieved to see that Rick’s small suitcase remained on the floor. Then, for the first time, she noticed an envelope on the nightstand on Rick’s side of the bed. Carrie tore it open.

  Dear Carrie, I love you with all my heart, but I must release you. You do not understand what I struggle with right now, so I must write it down before I go. I suppose you did not even recognize the man who almost ruined me all those years ago…after all, he had longer hair back then and looked more like a hippie than someone in the position of CEO. Only Patrick Anderson’s father could have pulled that off, putting his unqualified party-boy son in a position of power. Patrick picked me, for some reason known only to him, all to discredit me and he almost won. He almost destroyed my professional life. You saw that up close and yet I always sensed you never quite understood what I went through. Yesterday showed me just how far apart we truly are on the matter. As for me, I never forgot that ordeal and vowed one day to get my revenge. I’ve managed to do that…I’ve managed to free myself from that terrible past, but revenge comes at a great cost. I cannot go through years of courtrooms and trials again. I am leaving you our bank cards, plus cash and our credit cards. I can’t tell you where I am going. Please don’t look for me. All my love is for you and for the life we could have shared if only my past and my present had not been so ruined by Patrick. Love, Rick.

  8

  Final Resolution

  Carrie Porter no longer heard the sounds of nature. Her peace and tranquility shattered into dull shock when she read the last handwritten note she would ever receive from the love of her life.

  How could she have been so clueless? She knew there was something familiar about Patrick Anderson, but he didn’t look the same. Even back then she glimpsed him only on rare occasions. She had forgotten his name as well. She kicked herself for not realizing his last name was so familiar from the upper circles in the medical world at the hospital where they had all worked for so long. She simply hadn’t made the connection.

  Then there was Rick’s ordeal. At the time, Carrie had distanced herself from him, uncertain about the outcome but most of all scared for her own professional future. Would she lose her job at the hospital if she sat in a courtroom to support her boyfriend against her own employer? It was an impossible choice, but it was still one she wished she could repair.

  She threw her remaining belongings in her suitcase and dumped everything in the back seat. She swerved around and headed for the front gate and the main roads. She had to find Rick and make sure he was all right. He said he got his revenge at a terrible cost. Did that mean he had committed a crime? The unthinkable swirled in her gut like nausea, but she couldn’t imagine him murdering Patrick. Carrie convinced herself he meant Patrick’s death felt like revenge, even though Rick himself had nothing to do with it. Surely that was the truth of the matter.

  Carrie steered onto the road leading to the highway when she saw the conservation ranger’s sedan pull up, blocking her lane. She reluctantly came to a stop. He stepped out and waved her over.

  “You’ll have to stay here until the authorities arrive, Ms. Porter.” He directed her to park near the ranger station. “Where is your husband?”

  “He’s not my husband. We’ve been together for many years but we’ve never...” she trailed off,
tears beginning to gather at the corners of her eyes. “I don’t know where he is. I’ve been looking for him all over the refuge. I’m on my way to search along the highways. He’s on foot. What if he’s been in an accident?” The ranger’s face didn’t budge. “I have to keep looking, please.”

  Carrie pushed the letter from Rick to the back of her mind. If she could just find him and confirm that he was innocent, then his ridiculous talk about escaping to an unknown location would be something she could worry about later. She had to find him first.

  The park ranger was speaking into a walkie talkie and then she heard the sirens approaching. The ranger signaled her to stay in place and moments later her car was flanked by two patrol cars from Sweetfern Harbor. An officer asked her to get out of the car. When she reached for her purse, he told her to leave everything.

  Carrie shook with fear, realizing the car was being searched for evidence. She didn’t want to think Rick did anything wrong. Hadn’t he said he didn’t wish to go through the courts and a trial again? There was no way he would risk that again.

  A female officer stood with her while the car was being searched. “Ma’am, are you all right? Have you been harmed by your boyfriend in any way? Threatened or intimidated?”

  Carrie felt deeply confused, looking from the vehicle search to the kindly, concerned female officer next to her. “What? No, he hasn’t harmed me. He’s missing, I’m looking for him—”

  “It looks like you’re planning to flee. Why did you pack everything?” The male officer called out, having paused at the open trunk of the car while he directed his question at Carrie.

  Carrie shook her head and gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. “I didn’t do that. I’m not fleeing anything. I didn’t even know everything was packed out of our room until a few minutes ago. We were going for a short getaway out here and then, I thought, back to Sheffield House. What’s going on? Is he under suspicion of something? Why won’t anyone tell me anything?”