Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery

by Sharon Canipe

  An hour and several filled grocery bags later, they pulled into the driveway at Kate’s. Eloise was in her yard, apparently waiting for their arrival; she hurried over to introduce herself.

  Lin introduced Neal, explaining that he would be visiting through the holidays. She caught Eloise’s expression of approval as she gave the handsome professor a broad smile.

  Glancing at the grocery bags, Eloise spoke quickly, “I do hope you haven’t been buying fixin’s for Thanksgiving. I was hoping the two of you could join me. It won’t be a big party—just me and my friend, Tom Miller. He and I are both alone now, since he lost his wife a few years back, and we often share holidays when we aren’t with family. You’ll enjoy Tom; he’s a historian and has written several books about this area. He loves to talk about this place and he’ll welcome a new audience.”

  Lin caught Neal’s eye and he nodded his assent, “We’d love to come Eloise. It sounds like fun and we’d both enjoy hearing more about this place. Can I bring something?”

  “Just yourselves—Tom’s doing most of the cooking,” Eloise responded as she turned back toward home. “We’ll eat late. I’ll look for you about four and we’ll have drinks on the porch if it’s not too chilly. I’ll bring Sparky over in a few minutes.”

  Lin realized that she hadn’t mentioned the “dog sitting” part of her arrangement to Neal earlier. “Hope you like dogs,” she grinned as she grabbed a stuffed grocery bag, “we’ll have to take a walk as soon as these groceries are stashed.”

  “Love’em,” Neal grinned as he grabbed two of the bags himself.

  They made short work of putting their purchases away. As Lin reached for Sparky’s leash, Neal grabbed the keys to the Jeep from their hook beside the back door, “Let’s head to the beach. We still have a couple of hours of daylight.”

  Sparky barked his approval jumping into the Jeep as soon as the door was opened. Soon they were busy playing catch as Sparky romped in and out of the ebbing surf. The chill of the morning had given way to a warmer afternoon. Gulls were pecking in the damp sand while the ever-present pelicans skimmed the breaking surf in their hunt for fish. It was a perfect fall afternoon.

  ***

  After they’d returned from their outing and enjoyed a light supper, Lin made some coffee and they took their steaming mugs out to the porch that spanned the sound side of Kate’s house. It was a chilly evening so they sat at the end of the porch that was glassed in to form an outdoor room. Neal turned on the gas fireplace that had been installed along one wall and the area was soon nice and cozy.

  “This place reminds me a little of Arizona,” Neal said, “it was warm at the beach this afternoon, but when the sun goes down the temperature really drops.”

  “True,” replied Lin, “but there wasn’t much wind today either. It can be quite chilly on the beach this time of year when there’s a strong wind. Sometimes there are full-scale winter storms too. Usually, it’s fairly mild though. The ocean has a moderating effect on the overall climate.”

  Looking around at the comfortable, and now cozy, glassed porch area Lin smiled as she realized its usefulness, “This will be a perfect spot for the kids to sleep. Sam and Emma can ‘camp out’ here with sleeping bags. It’s plenty warm and they will love being able to see the stars and the moonlight on the sound. I’d been wondering where to put them. This will let their parents have some privacy. There are two guest bedrooms here on the main level but they aren’t huge…”

  “And where will I be,” Neal interrupted.

  “Come in and I’ll show you,” Lin gave him a wink, “WE will be happily ensconced upstairs in the master suite. Wait till you see the nice office up there also. It’s the perfect spot for you to get some work done.”

  Neal grabbed the suitcases that had been left in the entryway earlier. Lin directed him upstairs as she grabbed his carry on bag.

  “This is nice!” Neal exclaimed as they arrived on the second floor. Lin gave him the grand tour pointing out the spacious office area where Kate had already cleared the desk for their use.

  “This office doubles as a den, also,” Lin explained. “We can get away for a bit when we’ve had enough ‘kiddo’ time.”

  Neal had already crossed the hallway to the spacious master bedroom and its adjoining bath. “The whole arrangement is perfect,” he said turning to her with a somewhat sheepish grin, “but what will your kids say about their mother sharing her sleeping quarters. They might not approve.”

  Lin hoped that she wasn’t blushing as she replied, “I think…er, I’m sure that they both understand that we are…” she struggled to find the right words.

  Neal came to her rescue, “That we are more than simply friends, we are lovers.” He drew her to him in a warm embrace. “ I hope that doesn’t bother or embarrass you,” he murmured in her ear as he stroked her hair.

  She pulled back and gave him big smile. “Not at all,” she said, “but I do appreciate the privacy this suite gives us—especially with so many coming for Christmas.”

  “Me too,” he responded. “Now, I’m going to unpack my things and get settled. Then I think I’ll be ready to call it a day.”

  “I’m going down to finish cleaning up in the kitchen,” Lin answered, “Then I’ll be up. We have a busy day tomorrow.”

  “Oh, yes.” Neal turned to her, “I’d almost forgotten about our date with the local sheriff tomorrow morning.”

  “And I have a few other things to show you, when we go to Manteo.” Lin smiled as she headed downstairs.

  ***

  Later, as she lay in Neal’s arms drifting somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, Lin thought about her conversation with the Johnsons and her promise to talk to them about what she learned when she talked to Sheriff Midgett. She had not yet mentioned this promise to Neal and she wasn’t sure how he’d react to her agreeing to do this. From their earlier conversation she had picked up on the fact that he didn’t relish the thought of her becoming more deeply involved in this incident.

  Well, she had no intention of becoming deeply involved in anything. After all, Dorrie’s death had already been determined to be an unfortunate accident, and the murder of Liz Frazier happened more than ten years ago. Maybe Dorrie had been involved in some way. In any event it was probably too late to learn much new information about what happened. She did understand how Matt and Sara Johnson felt. They couldn’t reconcile themselves to what they’d been told about the earlier crime. Perhaps when they learned more, they could better accept what might have happened. I’ll simply give Matt Johnson a call and tell him what the Sheriff says—then it will be over. I can put the entire episode behind me and get on with planning for a wonderful holiday. We can discuss all this over breakfast, Lin thought as she drifted off to a pleasant sleep snuggled next to Neal.

  Chapter 5

  Sheriff Midgett was waiting when Lin and Neal arrived at the coffee shop the next morning. It was sunny but a bit cool for sitting outside so they chose a table by the windows that overlooked the harbor area. The water was a deep blue, and the sky was clear. A variety of watercraft bobbed lazily at the adjacent pier. There were only a few customers in the shop as it was already mid-morning.

  “I hope that I’m able to answer some of your questions and concerns Ms. Hanna,” the Sheriff pointed to a fairly thick folder he had placed on the table. “This is the information we have on the Frazier killing. I’m sure that finding Dorrie Johnson’s body was a shocking experience for you, and I hope learning more about this story will help you to find some sense of closure.” Midgett turned to Neal, “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.” He extended his hand.

  “Neal Smith, I’m a close friend of Lin, I’m here for the holidays and thought I would come along this morning. This is a beautiful spot,” Neal shook hands with the Sheriff and they seated themselves.

  “Indeed, it is,” Sheriff Midgett agreed. He was a big man, more than six feet tall and likely close to 300 pounds. He probably played football in high school,
Lin thought. He began to arrange the papers from the folder on the table as the waiter brought steaming mugs of coffee. “How ‘bout some of those good pastries, Jerry? Breakfast was early for me today,” the Sheriff turned to Lin and Neal, “They’re home made here—delicious,” he offered, “Will you join me?”

  “Not me,” Lin replied, “I just finished a huge omelet. We had breakfast before leaving the beach.”

  Neal declined more food also. Lin felt that his mood was a bit cool and standoffish. At breakfast she’d told him of her promise to share information with Matt Johnson. While Neal didn’t say anything about that, didn’t try to talk her out of it, she sensed that he wasn’t fully convinced it was a good idea. Now he sat back, sipping his coffee and listening intently as Pete Midgett began to fill them in on the story of Liz Frazier.

  Lin took out a pen and a small note pad and began to jot down some of the basic facts of the case. She realized that Pete Midgett had paused and was watching her.

  “It helps me to focus on what you are telling us,” Lin explained. “I just want to be sure that I understand what happened. I find that sometimes I can easily forget details if I don’t take notes. That isn’t a problem is it?”

  “Not at all, I’m a note taker myself,” Midgett replied. He continued to review the story. Lin had read much of it in the newspaper account of Dorrie’s death, but she did note some interesting items of information, and she had some questions.

  “It seems that robbery was the motive for Liz’s murder. What is this jewelry that you keep mentioning?”

  “That is not entirely clear,” the Sheriff replied. “Apparently, Liz claimed to have found a diamond ring, pendant, and earrings while searching a wreck uncovered near Hatteras Point during a heavy gale. I realize you folks are relative strangers to this area, but shipwrecks of all sorts have happened here for centuries. The shipping lanes are better protected now, but in earlier days ships often went aground on reefs just offshore. Even smaller boats could be caught when trying to navigate the inlets and sounds. The sands here are always drifting. A boat grounding during a storm can be pounded to destruction quickly. Nowadays storms come through and the sands shift; wrecks are uncovered on or near the shore only to be re-covered by a later storm.

  “Liz was a treasure-hunter in her spare time. Lots of folks do that as a hobby. They search the sands for lost items. They especially like to hunt for things around the remains of old wrecks that are uncovered. It is rare to find anything much of actual monetary value, but it does happen. Unfortunately, Liz was also a partier and a heavy drinker. Apparently she bragged to her friends about the find. Some folks believed her and some didn’t. Most had not actually seen the stuff but…”

  Lin interrupted, “So, the motive for Liz’s murder was robbery; someone wanted that jewelry?”

  “That’s the most likely scenario,” Midgett replied. “Dorrie was Liz’s housemate at the time. Liz usually rented out a room to help meet expenses. It’s likely that Dorrie had the opportunity to see the jewelry and realize it was valuable. Of course, she also disappeared about the time Liz was killed. We never located her, and we never found the jewelry either.”

  “Who else might have known about the jewelry, might have seen it? You must’ve had other suspects, at least at first.” Lin probed for more information.

  Pete Midgett bristled a bit at the implication and sat back in his chair, “We most certainly did a thorough investigation. Liz had bragged at Tim’s Bar and Grill. We talked to Tim and to as many of his customers as we could locate. None of them claimed to know anything about the jewelry except what they heard from Liz. Most of them probably didn’t even believe her.”

  “Billy Thornton runs the local pawn shop in Nags Head. We checked him out too. He said Liz showed him some fancy stuff, said it looked pretty valuable to him and he wouldn’t handle it for her. Billy said it was ‘too rich for his blood.’ He told her to talk to folks here in Manteo, some of the dealers who knew about jewelry and such. He thought it might have been antique just from looking. We checked with everyone we could think of but none of them had seen Liz, or her jewelry.”

  “So, any of the guys at Tim’s bar or even Billy Thornton could have committed the crime?” Lin supposed.

  “ Well, you can say that, but we checked everyone out, alibi’s and all. There was no supporting evidence for anyone. That left us with Dorrie. She had knowledge, opportunity, and she ran off and hid somewhere. Everything we had pointed right at her. I just regret we never found her, but I guess that doesn’t matter now—we can close this case, finally,” Pete Midgett placed the papers in his folder and sat back. He picked up a large cinnamon roll and took a bite.

  “I have one more question,” Lin looked up from her note taking, “well, two really. Did Liz Frazier have any family who might have known about the jewelry? Why do you think Dorrie Johnson came back here, back to the scene of this crime she had escaped from all these years?”

  “Liz’s mother and sister were here and they still are. Her sister claimed to have seen the jewelry once, but she didn’t know what Liz was planning to do with it. As far as Dorrie coming back goes, who knows—maybe she wanted to ‘test the waters’ see if folks were still talking about the case. Maybe she hid the jewelry somewhere and came back to get it. We never found it. Maybe because it wasn’t in circulation—wasn’t sold anywhere. Maybe she thought it was safe now to cash in—I really cannot say. There are a lotta ‘maybes’ here.” The Sheriff shifted in his chair, pushing to his feet as he grabbed another cinnamon roll to take with him. He tucked his papers under one arm.

  “I’ve spent enough time out of my office; I hope I’ve answered your questions and you can now feel some peace about all of this, Ms. Hanna. Mr. Smith, pleased to meet you too. Hope you enjoy your stay.” He extended a beefy hand and Neal rose to shake it.

  “Thanks Sheriff, for taking the time to talk to us. Mind if I ask you a question too? Have you learned anything about what Dorrie was doing while she was here? Where she went and so forth? I’m sure her family would be interested in any information they could get,” Neal asked. Lin tried not to show her surprise at Neal’s speaking up. He had remained quiet throughout the conversation up to this point.

  “Sure, we’re looking into it, but there really isn’t much to go on so far,” Midgett was obviously ready to end the conversation. “We’ll certainly contact the family if we come across anything of interest. That’s our job,” he replied abruptly.

  “Well, thanks again, Sheriff,” Neal placed his chair under the table. He turned to Lin as he watched Pete Midgett walk toward the door, his expression somber. “I can certainly see why you’d have questions about his case against Dorrie Johnson,” he spoke in a low voice so as not to be overheard, “ The investigation of this crime seems pretty thin to me—at least he didn’t share much in the way of concrete evidence with us.”

  By this time they had reached the boardwalk area outside the shop and were heading toward the parking area. Pete Midgett was nowhere in sight.

  “ I certainly agree,” Lin responded, “and am I correct in thinking that you agree that Matt and Sara Johnson need to know what Sheriff Midgett did have to say to us?”

  Neal paused before opening the car door, “I’ll have to admit that I can’t object to your sharing this. They’ve lost their daughter; they don’t need to live with the idea that she was a cold blooded killer.”

  “But she could be involved in this crime,” Lin insisted. “ We can’t really know what happened more than ten years ago.”

  “That’s certainly true enough,” Neal said, “but the case hasn’t been proven and I doubt it could be, given what the sheriff shared. Dorrie’s parents could, at least, take comfort in that.”

  “ I told Matt Johnson that I ‘d call today and I will, but first I want you to see something here,” Lin changed the subject as she got into the car.

  ***

  As they pulled into the parking lot at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
, Lin turned to Neal, “You’re going to love this place. It marks the location of the first attempt by the English to colonize…”

  “The Lost Colony,” Neal interjected, “I’m familiar with that story. Still a mystery.”

  “Yes, it’s both an interesting and beautiful place. Grab your jacket, we’ll want to walk through the grounds and it’s a bit nippy.”

  They walked through the trails surrounding the visitor center. Giant hollies—true trees, not shrubs—dotted the area. Loaded with red berries they made the grounds appear as if they were decorated for the upcoming holiday. They explored the outdoor theater, where the story of the colony was performed in a drama each summer, taking the stage and pretending to be actors, enjoying each other’s company. They ended by visiting the reconstructed earthworks of the fort before returning to the visitor center.

  “I almost wish it were summer so we could see the play,” Neal said.

  “I saw it once years ago,” Lin replied. “You’ll just have to come back to visit again,” she responded a bit flirtatiously.

  Neal put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her toward him. “You won’t have to beg me,” he smiled, kissing her gently on the forehead.

  The warmth of the visitor center felt good after their walk outside.

  “I want to talk to the ranger on duty,” Lin said, “Kate volunteers here sometimes and suggested that I might fill in for her if they need extra help.” She headed for the desk while Neal decided to browse the exhibits.

  Fortunately the lead interpretive ranger was on duty. Lin introduced herself and filled him in on her previous training and experience as a park volunteer. She explained that she was house sitting for Kate Jarman who had suggested they might need extra help.

  “How do you feel about school groups?” the ranger asked. “We get very busy with field trips during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”