“Um, Sheriff, you need to see this.”
Rex turned to look at him. “What is it?”
“The investigators found something. Come see for yourself.”
The deputy turned and started back toward Lyle’s house without waiting for Rex to follow. When they walked in, the lead investigator walked up to them.
“Sir, when we investigate a crime like this, we always do a thorough search of the home, as you know.”
The man speaking to Rex was about 30 years old, with dirty blond hair, brown eyes, and wore glasses. He was plain looking. The type of person that would never be noticed in a crowd.
“Yes, I know. What is this all about?” Rex asked him.
“We found the remains of two people wrapped up in blankets and plastic, up in the attic, sir. They appear to be an elderly man and woman.”
Rex’s eyebrows shot up. Then his shoulders slumped as realization hit him.
“We will be here quite a bit longer gathering evidence on those bodies as well. We will try to get an identification on them as soon as possible.”
“Oh, I know who they are,” Rex responded. “But go ahead and do what you need to do.”
“Well who are…”
Rex didn’t wait for the investigator to finish his question, as he headed directly to where Lyle was still sitting on the front porch. Rex was a big man, still in great shape, even for a man in his 60’s. He stood looming over Lyle. He couldn’t come across as anything but intimidating at that point, and Lyle leaned back several inches to look up at Rex.
“You got something you want to tell me, Lyle?” He used the deepest voice he could muster.
“What do you mean?” Lyle asked innocently.
“What’s up in your attic?”
“What? Why are people in my attic? That area of my house has nothing to do with that boy breaking into my house last night.” Lyle’s voice was getting higher and higher as he spoke.
He started to stand and Rex took a step toward him. Lyle sat back down.
“You killed George and Barbara, the old couple that lived here.” It wasn’t a question. “Why did you do that?”
Rex was upset. He had known George and Barbara for as long as he could remember. They had been a staple on the island since he was a kid. Rex had been surprised when he heard they had rented their house out and moved off the island. He thought they would be there forever. Turned out they would be.
“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just rent this place. I never go into the attic.” His voice was even higher than before and he was fidgeting on his porch swing. His dog must have sensed something was wrong. He walked over and laid his head in master’s lap, and let out a little whine.
“Get up. I’m taking you to the station.”
While they were waiting for Lyle’s background check and fingerprints to be returned, Rex sat him down in his office to ask Lyle some questions. He wasn't even interested in Dustin's death at that point. He wanted to find out exactly what had happened to the old couple that owned the house.
The sheriff didn’t have to interrogate Lyle for long. He cracked pretty quickly. Lyle admitted to breaking into the house and strangling the old couple in their own bed one night. He did admit that he should have removed the bodies from the house and buried them somewhere. Leaving them in the attic was a stupid thing to do, and he was bound to get caught sooner or later.
“Why didn’t you just rent another house? Why kill those nice people?”
Rex was genuinely interested in knowing why he felt the need to kill them. There were lots of houses for rent on the island.
“I wanted that house. There were no others that would work,” Lyle replied.
Rex scrunched up his face in confusion. “What does that mean? Work for what?”
The door to the interrogation room opened. In walked Deputy Stephanie Khan. Both Rex and Lyle turned toward the open door.
“Sir,” the deputy spoke to the sheriff, but her eyes never left Lyle, “we have received back the results of the background check and fingerprints.”
Rex took the papers from her hand and looked them over carefully. As he read, he felt a sudden coldness hit him right in the core, and he looked up at the detainee sitting in front of him.
“Thank you. You can go now, Khan.” Rex never called her anything else. She wasn’t even sure the sheriff remembered her first name.
“Your real name is Sam Evans?” Rex hadn’t intended it to be a question. It just came out that way.
Lyle’s body tensed. Rex saw it and didn’t need an answer to his question. He knew the answer.
“You are the man that was convicted of killing the Jamisons?” Also not intended as a question.
Sam nodded almost imperceptibly. He knew the jig was up.
“This just got a whole lot more complicated,” Rex said more to himself than to Sam.
Rex sat there thinking about everything. There were a few pieces of the puzzle that he had to connect.
“So, let me see if I got this straight. You spent something close to 20 years in prison for a crime you didn’t commit. Obviously. I just spoke with the Jamisons and they are alive and well.” Rex paused. “Then you kill George and Barbara so that you could move into their house. Why? To spy on the Jamisons? What else could it be? That would certainly explain why you had to have that particular house. There is an unobstructed view to Steve and Claire’s house.”
No response from Sam.
“Then, as luck would have it, Dustin Jamison breaks into your house and you kill him. Did you know who he was when you shot him? I don’t know how you couldn’t have known.”
Sam smiled.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Was that your way of getting revenge on his parents? It wasn’t their fault that you were convicted, you know. People have a right to take off, disappear if you will, and not speak to anyone. The rumor is, and I will have to verify it myself, that they had no idea that you were convicted of their murders.”
“Is that right?” Sam finally spoke up. Rex could see in his eyes that Sam didn’t believe that last part.
“So you killed an innocent young man for nothing.”
“He broke into my house, didn’t he? It was dark in there. All I know was that an intruder was in my hallway in the middle of the night. I was just defending myself.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly how it happened.” Rex was done. He got up and walked out of the interrogation room.
Chapter 32
Steve and Claire spent the next few weeks completely devastated. They barely left the house. They didn’t care about their jobs or anything else. Their son had died. He had been killed violently. And they were in deep mourning over the loss. They had already missed out on most of his life and had just started getting to know him again, since their return, and his subsequent release from prison.
Rex and the investigators had no choice but to rule the death of Dustin Jamison as self defense. They hated it, but there was no evidence that it was anything else. Rex knew that Sam had shot an unarmed person on purpose. But Dustin was the one that broke into Sam’s house. He was certainly to blame for that part of it. However, Sam knew exactly who he was shooting. That was obvious after he spoke with Sam. But Rex couldn’t prove any of it.
Though they couldn’t get him on killing Dustin, Sam would still spend the rest of his life in prison for the murders of George and Barbara. That was a crime he had confessed to. That got him locked up for good. Rex at least had the satisfaction that Sam would never get out and could never hurt another person.
The sheriff decided not to tell Steve and Claire what he knew. What purpose would it serve to further upset them by telling them that their son had been murdered by the man that spent almost 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit?
As it turned out, it didn’t matter whether Rex told them or not. It was still a small island and rumors had a life of their own, twisting and squirming their way through the streets of Wildflower Island.
Once the Jamisons were aware that Lyle was actually Sam Evans, it didn’t take long for Steve and Claire to put everything together.
It was a good thing for Sam that he was in prison. Because if he hadn't been in prison, Steve would have killed him. Sure, their son broke into Sam's house, but he was also unarmed and didn't deserve to be killed. Though he was almost 30 years old, he was still their child and they hurt desperately over his death.
It had been weeks since the old couple had been removed from the house across the street, and Sam had been hauled away to prison. Even so, they hated that every day they could see the house where their son was murdered. The house from where Sam stalked them for months.
One breezy afternoon Claire found Steve sitting on the front porch, glaring at the house.
“Sweetheart, what are you doing?” she asked as she sat next to him, taking his hand in hers. She followed his gaze. “Oh.”
“I don’t think I want to live here anymore,” he said quietly.
“I know how you feel.” Claire patted his hand.
“I want all of this to just go away, you know?” He turned to look her in the eyes. His were glazed over with grief.
“Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. We have been dealt this life and it is what it is.”
“Is it though?” he asked her.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that I want to find out why all this happened. Don’t you want to know?”
“Well, yes,” Claire answered. “But I don’t think there is an actual answer. It is just one of those things. One of those really strange, inexplicable things, that happens. It was a fluke. How in the world do you think we can actually find out anything. No one has the answer.”
“Are you sure about that? Because we haven’t actually asked anyone.” Steve was grasping at anything, any explanation at all that he could find.
“Let’s go back to the Inn.” Steve’s face perked up as he thought about what he had just blurted out. “Yeah, let’s do that. Maybe we can find something out.”
“Oh, Steve, I don’t know. What can we possibly gain by going back? No one knows anything.” Claire did her best to calm Steve down.
“You don’t know that. Maybe someone does. What can it hurt to try? Please. Let’s go tomorrow,” he begged.
The truth was that Claire was terrified of going back to the Inn. She was sure that she never wanted to step foot in that place again. It had taken two decades from them. Of course they had not aged a minute during that time, but they lost so much more. They lost all those years with their children. They missed Hope’s pregnancy and the birth of their first grandchild. They had just missed so much.
And, almost worse, they had turned into outcasts on the island. People were openly afraid of them and would cross to the other side of the street when they saw the Jamisons headed their way. It was all quite ridiculous. However, it still hurt them.
“Please?” Steve pleaded with her. “There has to be a reason why we were not here to raise Dustin right and to prevent everything that happened to him. I just know that he would still be with us now if we had been here to raise him, and not Sissy.”
Claire turned quickly toward Steve when she heard that last comment. She didn’t respond, though.
“Oh, I don’t mean that your sister did a bad job raising our children. Just look at Hope. She is a wonderful person. I just mean that Dustin took our disappearance so personally. You know that he blamed us for running out on him, even though he thought we were dead all those years. That’s not Sissy’s fault. It’s not even our fault. I just want to know if there is a reason for all of this.”
His face was so full of hope. How could she say no? Steve was such an optimist about so many things in life. Even this. Claire was almost positive that nothing would come of it, but even with her fear of going to that place again, she relented. She didn’t have the heart to deny him the chance to at least try to find some answers.
They would head out in the morning.
Chapter 33
“I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Mary told the girls once again.
“Just relax, I’ll do all the talking.” Lola knocked on the front door.
“Hi girls,” Steve greeted them, when he recognized Piper and Mary.
The twins were with another girl that Steve didn’t know, but had seen working at the Wildflower Inn. She was hard not to notice. She was much too young to have the tattoos and piercings that she had. And her tattered clothing was very dark and ominous. The girl was clearly screaming for attention.
“Hi,” Piper replied. “This is Lola. I don’t know if you have met.”
“No, not officially. Hello Lola,” Steve said to her.
“Hey,” she replied, with a quick tilt of her head.
“So, what can I do for the three of you today?” Steve asked them.
Frankie, who usually rounded out the group of four, had to work. Tim was shorthanded and wouldn’t let her leave. The other three slipped out before he had a chance to catch up with them. They knew they would catch hell for it later.
“Well, we were hoping to talk to you about your disappearance,” Lola told him.
Steve’s eyebrows raised, involuntarily. “And what would you know about that?”
“We went to the Miranda Inn and talked to some of the employees,” Mary added. “We think you might be interested in what we learned.”
“Hmm, okay.” Steve stood back and opened the door wider. The girls walked in without hesitation. “Hon, we have visitors,” he called into the kitchen.
Claire walked out and stopped mid-step when she saw the three teens standing in her living room.
“Hi girls. Were we expecting you?” Claire looked over at Steve, who shrugged his shoulders slightly.
“No. I’m sorry. We should have called first,” Piper told her. “But, we went to the Miranda Inn and want to talk to you about it. Is that okay?” She looked back and forth to Steve and Claire.
“I don’t see why not,” Claire told her. “What were you doing at the Miranda Inn?”
“We were investigating your disappearance,” Lola explained.
“Really? Why?”
“Because we are nosey,” Lola blurted out.
Claire laughed at her honesty. “Well that’s as good as any answer I would expect. Did you find anything out?”
“Yes, we found out that the current owner, Heath, is Sam’s brother. You know, the guy that they convicted of killing you?” Mary told them.
“Yes, we know who Sam is,” Steve told her. “And we know that Heath is his brother. It’s been all over the news.”
“I guess it has.” Mary looked down at her hands. Bringing up the death of their son was the last thing she wanted to do.
Claire could see the uncomfortable expressions on the girls’ faces. “Why don’t you all come in here and sit at the kitchen table, so we can talk?” She walked toward the kitchen with everyone in tow.
“Would you all like a soda?”
All the girls nodded and Claire sat down as she handed each girl a can from the refrigerator. The kitchen smelled heavenly of hot buttered biscuits and Mary found herself looking around for a basket of them. She was disappointed when none were in sight of where she was sitting.
“Is there more that you found out?” Steve asked the girls as each popped open a can and took a drink.
Lola began. “We found out what room you were in and got someone to let us in, so we could look around.”
“Did you find anything?” Steve leaned forward in his chair.
“No, we didn’t. Not in the room anyway. But we did talk to someone that said he saw the two of you during that
weekend, and again when you checked out 20 years later.” Piper looked at Steve and Claire for their reactions.
“What? Who?” Steve asked with wide eyes.
“Well, he’s kind of an old bum that hangs around the Miranda Inn. I guess he’s been around forever,” Lola told them.
Steve searched his memory. “Wait, you don’t mean that pirate guy, do you?”
“Yeah, you remember him?” Mary asked.
“Oh yes, we definitely remember him. He even talked to us when we were waiting that day for our rental car from the valet.” Steve turned to Claire. “What did he say to us?”
Claire wracked her brain, searching for the memory. “Something about the storm, I think….yes, that’s it. He said we should have listened to him. And then something about the years flying by, and to go to him if we want answers.” Claire smiled at her ability to remember the conversation. Or most of it anyway.
“Oh my god, Steve.” Claire turned to him. “Do you think he knows something? We didn’t take him seriously, but maybe we should have.”
Steve didn’t answer Claire, but turned to Lola. She seemed to be the ring leader of the trio that day.
“So what did the pirate say to you?” Steve asked her.
“He said he was there that weekend and remembered the two of you. He saw you several times over the weekend. Then he said there was that huge storm and you were gone. He knew you never left the building because he was outside under the awning the whole time.”
“He said Sam was looking everywhere. Had everyone looking for you. He was frantic. Then the sheriff showed up,” Mary chimed in.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Lola agreed. “You were missing and there was blood in the room.”
“We heard about that,” Steve replied. “I had cut myself on a broken glass. It was pretty bad.”
“Then he saw you a few weeks ago when you checked out. No one noticed, but him. And he mentioned how you looked exactly like you did back then,” Lola added.
“Is that it?” Claire asked the girls.
Storm on Wildflower Island Page 15
