Justice in Mystic Grove

by S F Bose

  I felt a twinge of regret that Sam hadn’t called me or come over to the coach house.

  Chapter 43

  After an enjoyable lunch at the Farmhouse Café, Sam, Neville, and I strolled back across the road to the Bowman Building. Temperatures were in the low eighties and we were all sweating by the time we returned to the office. We walked into a wall of heat.

  “Uh oh,” I said.

  “The air conditioning died,” Neville said.

  Sam played with the digital thermostat but the central air conditioning didn’t start up. After a call to building management, Sam announced, “There’s a mechanical problem of some sort with the central air. They’re working on it.”

  Sam and I opened up the windows in our offices. We had one large floor fan, which we set up to circulate air around Neville’s desk and down the hallway.

  We had just finished positioning the fan when Kerry and Mac Goodman walked in ahead of a tall man with short pepper and salt hair. Despite the hot day, he was wearing a stylish suit and tie. Kerry and Mac sported long-sleeve tee shirts and jeans. All three were smiling.

  After greeting Kerry and Mac, I turned to the man. “Mr. Goodman?” I asked.

  “Please call me Simon. It’s so good to meet you in person,” he replied shaking my hand. I recognized his deep, refined voice from our phone conversations.

  “Same here,” I said. I introduced Sam and Neville. Then Sam invited all of us into his office. Neville and I rolled in three office chairs. Then Mac, Kerry, Simon, Neville, and I formed a semicircle in front of Sam’s desk.

  “They’re having problems with the air conditioning so this is the coolest room in the office,” Sam explained.

  “It’s fine,” Simon replied with a wave of his hand. “I wanted to thank you both in person for solving Steven Meagher’s murder. It’s a relief he won’t be a threat to Kerry, Mac, or anyone else.”

  “You’re welcome. We were glad we had a good outcome,” Sam replied.

  “Is it true Meagher tried to kill his current wife?” Kerry asked.

  I nodded. “Yes, it is.” I quickly summarized Steven Meagher’s plan to kill Larissa. Then I explained how she, Dom Fontana, and Tommy Vann had joined forces to kill Meagher instead.

  “All three have been arrested?” Kerry asked.

  “Yes, they all conspired to murder Meagher,” I replied.

  “I’d give the three of them a medal if I could,” Mac said with a hard look. “Meagher was an evil man.”

  “You reap what you sow,” Simon Goodman commented. “He was a violent man and he met a violent end.”

  “Karma,” Mac agreed.

  “It does sound like self-defense on the part of the wife,” Kerry added.

  Startled, I looked at Simon and his children. Were they condoning the murder?

  Simon noticed my shock. “We believe in the rule of law, Liz, but sometimes…” He didn’t finish the sentence.

  “Meagher was a bad man, no doubt,” Sam said quietly. “But we can’t allow vigilantes to decide who lives and who dies.”

  Simon thought about that. “You’re right, of course. That’s why we have laws and due process,” he agreed. “In this particular case, Meagher threatened two of my children, so I can’t be impartial.”

  Sam nodded. “I understand.”

  “What Larissa should have done is gone to the police,” I said. Mac shook his head and Kerry made a face. Simon Goodman remained impassive.

  Kerry pushed the sleeves of her tee shirt above the crook of her elbows. I saw a colorful tattoo on the inside of her left arm. Then my eyes traveled to a pendant around her neck. When I looked at her face, I flashed on two dark-haired sisters standing in a garden. One had a big smile like her mother and the other had a shy smile like her father.

  “Oh my God, Kerry,” I gasped.

  Kerry looked alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

  “You’re related to the Meagher family, aren’t you?” I asked.

  Kerry’s face paled. “What?” she asked weakly, glancing at Simon. Sam’s dark eyes drilled into me.

  “You have the same multicolored butterfly tattoo that Sue Hill Barlow has,” I said. “The family got the tattoos to honor her sister, Sharon Hill Meagher, Steven Meagher’s first wife. I’d bet money ‘Sharon Hill’ is engraved on the back of your butterfly pendant. Am I right?”

  Without thinking, Kerry replied in a quiet voice, “Yes.”

  Simon Goodman took a deep breath and exhaled.

  “Mac?” I challenged.

  After getting a brief nod from Simon, Mac stood and rolled up the left sleeve of his tee shirt. He also had the butterfly tattoo. Then he pulled a chain from under his tee shirt. He showed us a round, gold disk with a butterfly cutout. He fell back into his chair and stared at me.

  I did the math in my head and most of the puzzle pieces tumbled into place. But could it be?

  I leaned forward. “Are you Steven Meagher’s children, Kiara and Michael?”

  Kerry’s eyes flashed in anger. “Steven Meagher was not our father. This is our father,” she said and laid her hand on Simon’s arm. She sniffled and I thought she might cry.

  He patted her hand and smiled. “It’s all right, Kerry. We don’t have to lie anymore

  “Is Sharon alive too?” I asked.

  Simon nodded. “She is. She’s at home. My compliments, Liz. I never thought anyone would figure out who Kerry and Mac really were. What tipped you off?”

  I dragged my eyes away from Kerry and looked at Simon. “After we took the case, I interviewed Sue Barlow in her home. I saw an old photo of Sue and Sharon in a garden. Sue was seventeen and Sharon was twenty-one. I remember thinking they both looked familiar but didn’t make the connection to Kerry until just now. The three of them share a strong family resemblance.”

  “Very astute,” Simon replied and smiled.

  ”Sorry, Dad,” Kerry said. Color had returned to her cheeks, but she looked miserable.

  “You have nothing to apologize for, Kerry. Nothing at all,” Simon replied and leaned over to give her a brief hug.

  “Steven Meagher’s children?” Sam asked, ignoring Kerry and Mac’s dark looks. “How did they survive the storm on the lake?”

  Simon sat back and crossed his legs. His hands rested on his top leg. Kerry and Mac watched him.

  “I’ll tell you the long version of the story, if you have time,” he said.

  “We have all the time you need,” Sam replied.

  “Sharon and I have been friends since kindergarten,” Simon said. “We graduated together, she went to my mom’s funeral, and I went to her wedding to Meagher. We stayed in contact over the years. After I returned to Mystic Grove, we spoke at least once a week.”

  “On the phone or in person?” I asked.

  “Both,” he replied. “Eventually, she told me about her fears of Meagher. He drank too much. He was verbally and emotionally abusive, and often scared her and the children. I begged her to tell her parents or the police, but she refused. Then I told her she had two small children to think of and needed to do something. I was relieved when she asked him for a divorce. Sharon told her parents about her plans to divorce Meagher. They said she and the kids could stay on the farm as long as they needed to.”

  “But she never pursued the divorce,” I said quietly.

  Simon looked at me and shook his head. “Not exactly. Meagher implored her to give him another chance and she agreed. She said that things had improved between them. He had stopped drinking and the abuse lessened substantially. Sometimes he’d still lose his temper, but it was nothing like before. However, Sharon did talk to a divorce lawyer I recommended, just in case.”

  “How did her parents react to the reconciliation?” Sam asked.

  “They were very upset, as you might expect,” Simon replied.

  “What happened next?” I asked.

  Simon looked at me. “Meagher started talking about going out on their boat as a family. Sharon was a good sailor but somethi
ng about the idea made her nervous. She also thought the children were too young to go sailing. However, Meagher bought the kids brand new life vests and they both wanted to go on the boat. In the end, Sharon agreed to go. By then, I was the one who was worried. I had a powerboat at the same marina and offered to follow them at a distance the day they went sailing. Sharon agreed and it seemed to relax her.”

  “Did you get storm warnings on your radio that day?” Neville asked.

  Simon glanced at Neville. “My marine radio died months earlier. I never got around to getting it fixed.”

  “What happened next?” asked Sam.

  Simon uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “Sharon called me the day before they planned to go sailing. She described their boat and where it was berthed.”

  “You never went out with them on their boat?” Sam asked.

  “No. Sharon said nobody but family ever went on that boat. It was one of Meagher’s rules,” Simon replied.

  “Okay, go ahead,” Sam said.

  “The next morning I went to the marina early and located their boat. Then I went to my boat and waited,” Simon replied.

  He paused and looked at Kerry and Mac. “This brings back bad memories,” he said.

  Kerry leaned toward him. “We can just leave, Dad.”

  “Yeah, let’s get out of here,” Mac agreed.

  “No. We owe these people an explanation,” Simon replied firmly.

  “The Meagher family arrived and went out on the lake?” I asked.

  Simon nodded. “They did. I left the marina after them and followed at a distance. The lake was choppy but manageable. We were pretty far out when the storm rolled in. It was one of the worst storms I’d seen and came in fast. I cruised closer to their boat and saw Meagher and Sharon at the rail near the stern. It looked like they were arguing. Suddenly, he pitched her overboard. It felt like time stopped as I watched her fall into the lake. I kept my eyes on her orange life jacket and opened the throttle until I reached where she had entered the water. I lost her for a minute, but then I spotted the life jacket. After circling her, I got close enough to throw a life buoy attached to a line. Sharon swam to it, grabbed it, and I pulled her to the boarding ladder. She was so weak I had to haul her on board. It sounds easy but we had high winds and large swells. Sharon collapsed on deck, hysterical.”

  “Did Sharon confirm Meagher threw her overboard?” I asked. “It wasn’t the storm?”

  “She did. She said he was in a drunken rage, they scuffled, and he flipped her over the rail,” Simon replied.

  “How did you get the kids?” Sam asked.

  “I chased after Meagher’s boat. When I got closer, I slowed down. There was no one at the wheel and his boat turned to the starboard parallel to the waves. We watched large waves wash over the port side of the boat. I thought it was going to turn turtle.”

  “Turn turtle?” asked Neville.

  “Completely flip over where the hull is on top of the water and the mast and everything else is underwater. The waves pushed the boat almost to the water on its starboard side and I saw two flashes of orange as the kids washed overboard. Sharon was using my binoculars and saw them too. She screamed and started scanning with the binoculars. Large waves hit my boat. I went full throttle toward where I thought the kids were, but I couldn’t see them. It was a miracle that Sharon finally saw them. I slowed down and circled them. Thank God for the orange life jackets. Also, Kerry had somehow managed to stay close to Mac, which helped a lot.

  Sharon put on a rescue harness attached to a long line. When I came up close to the kids, she jumped in. She grabbed both of them and I pulled them all back to the boarding ladder. I lifted each one of them onto the deck. The kids were scared but not injured. Sharon was sobbing.”

  “It does sound like it was a miracle,” I said and Simon nodded.

  “What happened on Meagher’s boat to get him so angry?” I asked.

  Simon took a deep breath. “Sharon told me that Meagher started drinking beer and whisky on the boat from the moment they left the marina. Then he started yelling about the divorce. Sharon put the children in the salon below deck. She said she avoided arguing with him and tried to calm him down. But when the storm rolled in, she panicked. She screamed that they needed to go back to shore. When she kept screaming, Meagher lost it. He came back to the stern where she was holding onto the railing. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. Meagher was shouting, but with the storm, she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Then he turned her back toward the railing, lifted her up, and heaved her overboard. She said there was nothing to grab onto.”

  “How awful,” I said, looking at Kerry and Mac.

  “He wanted to kill her,” Mac replied angrily. “But he failed.”

  Sam looked at Kerry and Mac. “Do you remember any of this?”

  Kerry took a deep breath and nodded. “Mac and I went up the stairs to the deck because we were getting sick below. As soon as we were up top, the boat tipped and a wave washed us into the lake. I remember feeling like we were flying. When we hit the water, Mac was right there and I grabbed his life jacket. After that, I don’t remember anything until we were with Mom on Simon’s boat,” Kerry said. “Mac was younger and doesn’t remember anything about that day.” Her younger brother nodded.

  “The mystery to me is how Meagher stayed on the boat. The storm was tossing it around like it was a toy,” Simon said.

  “But not your boat?” Neville asked.

  Simon shrugged. “It was a powerboat and I was experienced on the water. But the storm tossed us around too. The difference was that I was steering the boat through the waves. I didn’t see any sign that Meagher was actively sailing his boat. The waves clobbered it.”

  “Okay, why didn’t you go to the police when you got back to the marina?” Sam asked.

  “Because Meagher was a deputy sheriff and Sharon was afraid anyone in law enforcement would take his side. She said she just wanted to disappear with the kids. She threw the life jackets overboard because she thought it would make Meagher and everyone else think they had drowned,” Simon replied.

  “So you helped Sharon Meagher and the kids disappear?” I asked.

  Simon nodded. “I did. I drove them to my house in Mystic Grove. After we got the kids dry and settled, Sharon gave me a list and the key to her house. I went over and picked up a few clothes, money she’d hidden, some toys, birth certificates, and other paperwork. I didn’t take a lot because we didn’t want Meagher to realize someone had been in the house. Then I went back to my place and got Sharon and the kids. We drove up to a cabin I owned in Fish Creek.”

  I was shocked. “You didn’t tell her parents that she and the kids were alive?”

  Simon shook his head. “Sharon wanted to wait until we were up north. When we arrived, she and the kids were exhausted and went to bed. They slept until Sunday afternoon. After she woke up, I encouraged her to call her parents but she waited until Monday.”

  “Did she say why she wanted to wait?” I asked.

  “I think she was in shock. She finally called her parents on Monday and told them what had happened. She said she wanted to disappear. Sharon didn’t think she’d get a fair shake from the police. When I spoke to Harley and Edith, I warned them that they had to act as if they’d really lost Sharon and the kids or the police would catch on. Even worse, Meagher might catch on. Harley said the police were already involved and that Meagher had survived. He and Edith had told the police about the divorce and that they suspected Meagher of hurting his family. I was afraid Harley would go after Meagher so I warned him that the lives of Sharon and the kids were at stake. After that, both Harley and Edith said they’d continue to act like they had lost Sharon and the kids.”

  “Did Harley and Edith tell Sue that her sister was still alive?” Sam asked.

  “They did,” Simon replied. “All three of them committed to acting like Sharon and the children were gone. Harley and Edith also continued to point the sheriff’s de
puties and police toward Meagher.”

  “Did you tell Harley and Edith that Meagher had been drinking on the boat that day?” I asked.

  Simon nodded. “Yes. We told them Meagher brought beer and whisky on board and was sailing drunk.”

  “So that was the source of the rumor about alcohol on board,” I said.

  “But the Coast Guard didn’t find any alcohol,” Sam pointed out.

  Simon laughed. “Meagher was evil but he wasn’t stupid. I’m sure if any alcohol survived the storm, that he threw it overboard. If law enforcement had done their jobs, they would have tested his blood alcohol content. They didn’t. To this day, I believe it’s because Meagher was a deputy sheriff.”

  “Can we back up for a minute?” I asked. “You said that you’ve known Sharon since kindergarten and you went to her wedding. Did you know Steven Meagher socially?”

  Simon nodded. “Yes I did. After I returned to Mystic Grove and opened my practice, Sharon invited me to cookouts at their home. That’s when I got to know Meagher.”

  “What were your impressions?” Sam asked.

  Simon narrowed his eyes. “He didn’t reveal a lot about himself. Our conversations were very superficial. We usually talked about sports,” Simon replied. “I did notice that Meagher drank a lot.”

  “He wasn’t threatened by your friendship with his wife?” I asked.

  “Oh no. Back then, I was dating different women. I would sometimes bring the latest woman in my life with me. I’m sure Meagher never saw me as a threat,” Simon replied.

  “Did you know Sharon’s parents and sister?” I asked.

  Simon nodded. “Yes, I’d been out to their farm many times. I knew them all. They’re fine people.”

  I nodded. “Okay, so after the storm you brought Sharon and the kids to your cabin. Did you stay with them? How did they live?” I asked.

  “I stayed with them for a few days. I made sure they had enough food and money. Then I returned to Mystic Grove. After talking to Harley and Edith, we decided to keep Sharon at the cabin until after the memorial service. We didn’t want to make any rash decisions. So my life fell into a routine after that. I’d handle legal cases during the week and then drive up on weekends and stay with Sharon and the kids. I always brought food, money, and whatever else they needed. Harley and Edith sent money to Sharon too.”