Silent Witness

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “It could mean she’s getting better.” Or, it could mean she’s faking. This second thought popped into her mind like a camera flash—too new and startling to reveal until it could be developed. It was definitely time to talk to Sarah Stanford.

  Just before dinner Scott invited Jennie to go into Fort Myers for pizza with him and a couple of the other staffers. Even though pizza sounded great, she decided to look for Sarah instead.

  When she arrived back at the cabin after her swim, Jennie learned that Maggie had gone into Fort Myers to pick up her brother at the airport and had asked Gram to look after Sarah while she was gone.

  After a dinner of lasagna florentine (which Jennie discovered meant a dish created to foist spinach on unsuspecting kids), Jennie asked Gram if she could take Sarah for a walk on the beach. “It might be fun for her, even if she doesn’t …” Jennie paused, unsure of what to say.

  “I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Gram replied. “I need to finish going over my notes and get them into the computer.”

  “Great, but how do I … I mean, how can I get her to come with me?”

  “Just take her hand. She’ll go along.”

  Like an obedient puppy, Jennie thought sadly. Sarah followed Jennie down the path behind the cabin to the beach. Wanting to assure their privacy, she led Sarah away from the compound and, after about five minutes of walking, dropped to the sand. Sarah had stopped a few feet away and stood staring into the sea. A light breeze ruffled the skirt of her pink sundress, reminding Jennie of a pastel painting.

  “You can sit down if you want,” Jennie said. When the girl didn’t move, Jennie shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever.” She glanced at Sarah, then fixed her gaze on a sailboat in the distance. Jennie wasn’t sure where to start and took a few minutes to gather her thoughts.

  “Your mom told us about your dad’s murder,” she blurted out finally. “And that you were there when it happened. It must have been awful for you.” Jennie picked up a pebble and tossed it in the water.

  “My dad’s gone too. He disappeared five years ago. He worked for the FBI, and they told us his plane had gone down and that he was dead. Afterwards I felt numb, like an empty shell. My body was there, but I wasn’t—you know what I mean?” Jennie drew circles in the sand with her fingers. What are you waiting for, McGrady? She’s not going to answer you. She looked up at Sarah and went on. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, except … well, I guess I’d like to help. And I wanted you to know I understand … I mean … I couldn’t even begin to understand what it would be like to see somebody murdered—especially if it was your father …” Oh shut up, McGrady, you’re making a mess of things.

  Sarah turned and walked toward her, then sat on the sand at her left. The vacant look had disappeared. A tear trickled down her cheek and dropped onto her sundress, turning the spot it touched into a deep rose.

  At that moment, Jennie heard a whisper so quiet it was barely audible above the lapping waves.

  “You know, don’t you?”

  Jennie’s heart caught in her throat. She closed her eyes, expecting that when she opened them the voice would have been a figment of her imagination. When her eyes opened and she saw that Sarah was waiting for a response, Jennie’s mouth gaped open and she nodded. “I wasn’t sure. At the airport, I thought I saw something in your eyes. Then, when you were swimming with Delilah this afternoon, I saw you smile.”

  “You won’t tell anyone.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

  “Who’d believe me? You really put on a good act. What I don’t understand is why.”

  A man’s shout interrupted them. “How could you leave her with strangers?” The voice came from the cabins. “Especially without adult supervision! This whole thing was a crazy idea. Sarah doesn’t need dolphin therapy. It’s expensive and risky.”

  Jennie looked in the direction of the angry voice. Maggie and the man she’d seen at the airport were running toward them. “Tim, be reasonable.”

  Jennie looked back at Sarah, who’d turned to stone. You won’t tell anyone. Sarah’s haunting words lingered in her mind. She’s afraid. And if Jennie’s suspicions were right, she had good reason to be. If the wrong person learned Sarah could talk, and could identify the person who really killed John Stanford, Sarah could be in serious danger. “Don’t worry,” Jennie murmured. “I won’t tell.” When Maggie and Tim approached, Jennie got to her feet. Tim squatted to the ground and picked Sarah up in his arms. “I don’t know what you’re up to, young lady,” he barked in Jennie’s direction, “but don’t you ever take Sarah out here again.” He gave Maggie an I’ll-talk-to-you­later look and strode back toward the cabins.

  “I’m sorry, Maggie,” Jennie offered, still stunned by Tim’s reaction. “I didn’t know bringing Sarah out here would be a problem.”

  “No, I’m sorry. Tim’s so afraid something will happen to her he gets a little crazy … but he means well.” Maggie raked her fingers through her hair, pulling it away from her face. “I’m sure Sarah enjoyed her visit with you. And don’t worry about Tim. He’ll settle down.” Maggie shook her head and smiled. “Tim’s like an M&M, all crusty on the outside but soft and sweet in the center.”

  Obviously you’ve never heard of peanut M&Ms, Jennie felt like saying. Jennie did, however, intend to talk to Gram.

  She found Gram curled up on one end of the sofa reading. When Jennie stormed in, Gram set aside her book and reading glasses. “I take it you’ve had a pleasant chat with Sarah’s uncle.” Gram patted the empty space beside her.

  “Very funny. That guy is some piece of work. Did he talk to you?” Jennie kicked off her sandals, plopped down next to Gram, and stretched her legs over the coffee table.

  “Yelled,” Gram corrected. “His exact words were, ‘A woman your age should know better than to entrust a child like Sarah to a …’ what did he call you … oh yes, an ‘unpredictable teenager.’ How about you?”

  Jennie recounted the beach scene, being careful not to reveal Sarah’s secret. It was too soon for that. Besides, Sarah had confided in her, and there was so much more Jennie wanted to know.

  “What do you make of it, Gram? I mean, doesn’t it seem strange to you that an uncle would be that upset?”

  “He did overreact a bit, didn’t he?”

  “A bit? That’s like saying the nuclear bomb was a bit explosive.”

  Gram chuckled. “I wouldn’t go quite that far.”

  Jennie tucked her legs up under her, turning so she directly faced her grandmother. “Either the guy’s a certified nut case or …” Another possibility occurred to her. It was a frightening thought but one worth exploring.

  “Or …?” Gram prompted.

  Jennie got to her feet and began pacing from the couch to the kitchenette. “I know this sounds really wild, Gram, but suppose Tim wasn’t overreacting, but over-acting?”

  “I’m not sure I follow you.”

  “Okay.” Jennie stopped in front of Gram and dropped to the floor. “We know Tim is worried that the real murderer is still at large. We also know he doesn’t want Sarah out here working with the dolphins. He claims it’s dangerous. What if all that is an act to cover his real motive? What if he wants everyone to believe he’s concerned about Sarah, when he’s really concerned about himself?”

  “Are you suggesting Tim had something to do with the murder?”

  “It makes sense, doesn’t it? Why would Tim be so suspicious if he didn’t know something more than what the police turned up? Maybe he doesn’t want Sarah here because he’s afraid she’ll remember who really killed her dad.”

  “Hmmm. An interesting point.” Gram rose, reached for her empty teacup, and headed toward the kitchen. “Want some?” she asked.

  Jennie shook her head.

  Gram filled her cup and popped it into the microwave. “If Tim were the murderer, it might explain Sarah’s
emotional and mental reaction. If she really loved her uncle, it would be difficult, maybe even impossible, for her to believe he could have done it. I’ve heard of cases where people have been so shocked by their experience, they’ve completely repressed it and go on as though it never happened. Sort of a hysterical amnesia. With Sarah, the reality may have been so terrible, she shut the door to the outside world.”

  “So you think Tim is the murderer?”

  “It’s possible, but not likely. For one thing, what motive would Tim have? From what Maggie has told me, Tim and John Stanford were close friends, and Tim took his death quite hard.” The microwave beeped, and Gram stopped to pull out the cup and drop in a tea bag.

  “They could have had an argument.”

  “True, but according to Maggie, Carl saw the killer. If it had been Tim, Carl would have recognized him, mask or no. His description of the killer didn’t fit Tim at all.

  Besides, if Tim killed John and was afraid Sarah would reveal his identity, wouldn’t he have killed her too?”

  Jennie’s bubble of pride at solving the case began to deflate as Gram poked holes in her theory. “So you don’t think he did it?”

  “I didn’t say that. Everyone connected could be a suspect—Tim, certainly, and even Maggie.” Gram brought her tea into the living room and eased herself onto the couch. “Don’t look so disappointed. You brought up a valid argument. And I agree, this overreacting, or over-acting uncle of Sarah’s bears watching.”

  The next morning Jennie and Gram joined Scott, Debbie, and Ken on the docks to help feed the dolphins. Debbie gave each of them a different colored bucket filled with fish, on which a dolphin’s name was painted.

  “Watch this.” Scott held up Delilah’s red pail and banged it a couple of times with a spoon. “They can tell which pail is theirs by the color.” Before he’d finished his sentence, Delilah appeared at the dock, raised herself halfway out of the water, and made some clicking sounds. “You hungry this morning, baby?” Scott asked. He tossed her a fish, which she caught in her mouth, swallowed whole, and nodded for more.

  Jennie and Gram followed his example with Samson and Splash, while Debbie and Ken fed the others. After feeding the dolphins what seemed like a hundred pounds of fish, they rinsed the buckets and headed for the large warehouse, which housed a laboratory and giant walk-in refrigerator filled with frozen fish. There, as Ken had explained the day before, they received new fish shipments every couple of days and prepared fish for each dolphin by adding vitamins and minerals and medications they might need.

  When the buckets had been properly cleaned and stored away, Gram and Jennie returned to the dock to observe another of Sarah’s sessions with Debbie and Delilah. While they waited for Sarah and Maggie to arrive, Debbie showed them several new hand signals to which Samson responded beautifully. Delilah, however, ignored them. “Looks like she doesn’t feel like showing off for you today,” Debbie said, signaling the dolphin to approach the dock. She reached out to pet Delilah and cooed. “You having an off day? Well, let’s make it easy for you. Why don’t you wave to them?” Debbie signaled her, and Delilah backed up, lifted her tail out of the water, and waved it back and forth.

  “Isn’t it amazing what they seem to understand?” Gram said.

  Maggie, Tim, and Sarah had come up behind them.

  They all agreed, except for Tim, who leaned against the post and scowled. “I don’t know what you’re so excited about. You can get the same response from a dog.”

  Maggie patted his arm. “Ease up, Tim. You promised you’d come and watch with an open mind.”

  After lowering Sarah into the water, Debbie signaled Delilah, who raced toward them, then abruptly turned. Jennie heard Maggie’s scream as the dolphin’s tail came within about an inch of Sarah’s face. “What’s she doing?” Jennie gasped.

  Tim pushed past them and leaned out over the dock. “That’s it. I’ve seen enough. Get Sarah out of there this instant.”

  “Of course,” Debbie said, guiding Sarah toward the ladder. “Delilah’s never done anything like this before. I don’t understand …”

  Delilah came at them again, dove under Sarah, and carried her out to the far end of the lagoon. Jennie watched, horrified, as Delilah leapt over the low fence and headed for the open sea with Sarah clutching desperately to her fin.

  12

  Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, yet it wasn’t. Debbie had already swum halfway across the lagoon. Tim discarded his shoes and suit jacket and dove in. Jennie started to dive in after him, but Gram stopped her. “Wait. There’s no point in your going out there too.”

  Jennie held back. Gram was right; Debbie would call for backup if she needed it. Scott and Ken had apparently heard their shouts and screams and hurried toward them, firing off questions no one could answer. “What’s going on?”

  “What happened?”

  “Where’s Sarah?”

  Jennie started to explain when Maggie screamed again. “Where is she?”

  Delilah had disappeared. Just outside the fence, Sarah’s empty orange life jacket bobbed in the water like a fishing float. Debbie held it up, tossed it aside, and signaled the others.

  “I was afraid of that,” Ken said. “Sarah’s so thin, the life jacket must have slipped off her. C’mon, Scott, we’ve got to find her. She may be hung up on the fence.”

  It took a moment or two for the realization to sink in.

  Sarah may have drowned. “I’m coming too.” Jennie raced after them.

  Gram shouted. “Look! They’re coming back.”

  Jennie turned her gaze in the direction Gram was pointing. She could barely make out the dorsal fin and the hand that clutched it.

  “Hang on, Sarah,” Maggie yelled. She dropped to her knees and gripped the edge of the dock. “Oh, baby, please hold on.”

  Moments later, the dolphin brought Sarah within reach of the ladder. Scott jumped into the water and handed her up to Ken. While Ken guided Sarah and Maggie to a bench, Jennie grabbed a couple of towels, which she wrapped snugly around Sarah’s shoulders and legs. Sarah’s face had gone completely white with fear, and she was shivering so hard the entire dock seemed to shake.

  “Is she all right?” Debbie asked, having just arrived back at the dock. “I thought we’d lost her.”

  Ken hunkered down in front of Maggie. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Layton. We’ve never had anything like this happen before. I don’t know what to say.”

  “It’s not your fault. I’m just glad Sarah’s safe …”

  “Don’t say another word, Maggie.” Tim bent to retrieve his shoes and jacket and approached them. “We’re taking Sarah to the hospital and then I’m going to talk to a lawyer. I tried to tell you how dangerous this dolphin therapy business was, but you had to try it.” He turned from Maggie and addressed the others. “I hope you people are satisfied. Sarah could have been killed out there. What is it going to take to get you to realize that these animals can’t be trusted? I intend to close you down, Cole. Bet on it.”

  Sarah pulled the towel over her head like a turtle escaping into its shell. Tim hustled Sarah and Maggie off to the cabins, and within half an hour they’d changed and were heading into town. As they drove away, Jennie couldn’t help wondering why Tim would react so violently over an accident. If it was an accident. Could Tim be over-acting again? Could he have been responsible for what happened to Delilah? What better way to stop therapy and keep Sarah silent than to make the dolphin therapy seem unsafe? You’re stretching things, McGrady, she told herself. Forget it.

  Ken told them he needed to talk to each of them so he could write up a report and suggested they all get into dry clothes and have lunch. Over soup, sandwiches, and fruit, they continued their discussion about Delilah’s strange behavior. “From what you told me, it’s like Delilah had a complete personality change,” Ken said.

  “What
would cause something like that to happen?”

  Gram asked. “If I were dealing with a human, I’d suspect drugs. Is that possible?”

  Jennie perked up at the suggestion. Maybe her idea about Tim wasn’t so farfetched after all. She tucked the possibilities away, fully intending to pull them out when she had more information.

  “Yes, but Delilah’s not on medication. Still, it’s worth checking out. I think I’ll try to get her into the stretcher and examine her this afternoon.”

  “Delilah’s gone,” Debbie said. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Samson was the one who brought Sarah back. Now he’s gone too. I think he went out to find Delilah.” To Ken she said, “I should have told you earlier, sweetheart, but I was so worried about Sarah.”

  Debbie crumpled her napkin and tossed it onto the table. “This is all my fault. I should have been paying more attention to Delilah this morning. She tried to tell me something was wrong. I didn’t pay enough attention.”

  “Nonsense.” Ken took his wife’s hand. “Delilah started acting strange after she was fed, right?”

  Debbie nodded.

  “Then, I’ll run some lab tests on the feeding pails and the prep tables and see if I can find anything. We might have some bad fish …”

  “Oh, man …” Scott scraped his chair back and ran out looking like he was about to lose his lunch.

  When they’d finished eating, Gram announced she was going to do some writing, and Jennie decided to check on Scott. When he wasn’t in his room, she wandered through the compound, but no one had seen him. Worried, Jennie headed for the office to check with Debbie.

  As she approached the building, she heard Scott’s voice. At first she thought it was coming from inside, then realized he was using the pay phone around the back of the building. Jennie was about to step around the corner when Scott’s angry words stopped her.