by J A Whiting
“Maybe that’s what happened.” Violet forced a smile, but Nell knew her sister was placating her, trying to make her feel less worried about what had happened.
“You’re a good sister.” Nell reached across the table and squeezed Violet’s arm when an idea popped into her head. “What was the woman’s name? Did she pay with a check or a credit card that had her name on it?”
“She paid with a credit card. Why do you want to know her name?”
“I’d like to know more about her,” Nell said with a shrug.
The sisters went out to the front room and Violet took out the receipt of sale from the cash register. “Pepper Forrest.”
Nell nodded. “Pepper is an unusual name.”
“Maybe it was a nickname,” Violet suggested. “But she used it on her credit card so maybe it was her real name.”
“Let’s look her up.” Nell hurried into the studio room and sat in the desk chair in front of her laptop, and after a minute of looking at articles, she read aloud some information that had come up in the internet search. “Pepper Forrest was a professor of chemistry at Fuller University in Boston. She received a bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a Ph.D. from MIT. She was originally from a small town in New Hampshire. She was the only child of a carpenter and a weaver. Dr. Forrest was thirty-four years old. She taught high school chemistry in California for several years before pursuing her doctorate.”
Violet said, “Can you imagine someone hitting a person crossing the street and then fleeing from the accident scene?”
“The driver must have panicked. Maybe he or she will come to their senses and turn themselves in,” Nell said.
“After driving a few blocks, wouldn’t you realize what you were doing and stop?”
“I hope I would. I guess you never know how you’ll react until you’re actually in the situation.”
“You’re being far too easy on this driver,” Violet told her sister. “The repercussions will be far worse for the driver because he attempted to get away from what he did instead of staying at the scene and trying to help.”
“I’m not being easy. The person should be punished for the hit and run,” Nell said. “But I’m saying I understand how you could panic after an unexpected incident.”
“I wonder if it was someone from town who hit the woman?” Violet asked. “Did you recognize the car as it sped down the street?”
“No.” Nell shook her head. “It was all so fast. I barely noticed the color.”
“It’s more likely it was a tourist who did it,” Violet speculated. “People who live in town know how crowded the streets can be. They know the rules and the speed limits. They’d be careful driving on Main Street. Even though it’s only early June, there are still a lot of visitors in town. Residents all know these things.”
Picking up the remote from the table, Nell said, “Let’s put on the television. The local news station must be covering the story. Let’s see what’s being reported.”
The television mounted on the far wall flicked on and the screen showed a news reporter standing in front of the Bluewater Police Station just beginning her report on the known details of the afternoon accident. “The victim’s name is Pepper Forrest, a thirty-four-year-old chemistry professor at Fuller University in Boston.”
A photo of Pepper Forrest displayed in the upper, right corner of the screen.
The reporter continued, “Dr. Forrest was visiting Bluewater and was shopping on Main Street when a speeding vehicle struck her as she crossed the road. Witnesses told authorities that the small, white sedan pulled away from its parking spot at high speed and sped towards the woman. There was no indication that the driver saw Dr. Forrest in the street and the car showed no signs of attempting to slow down.”
“The driver must have been staring at his phone,” Violet huffed.
Something about the on-air report picked at Nell.
“The vehicle fled the scene without stopping,” the newscaster said.
“Maybe the witnesses were able to get the license plate number,” Violet said as she looked to her sister for confirmation. “What do you think?”
Suddenly, Nell’s green eyes widened. “The reporter said witnesses told the police the car was white.”
“So?”
“The car I saw speeding past was black.”
3
The sun was climbing into the bright blue sky promising an unusually hot day for so early in June when Violet and Nell walked into the busy coffee shop near the center of town. About twenty minutes north of Boston, Bluewater Cove, part of the city of Bluewater, was a popular tourist destination. With several pretty white sand beaches, the cozy, small village was full of restaurants, coffee and dessert shops, boutiques, a cliff walk along the sea, and a state park with hiking and biking paths winding for miles among the pines and deciduous trees.
The coffee shop was hopping with tourists and townsfolk who regularly congregated in the mornings to swap town news before heading off to work. The sisters waved at some acquaintances and when they took two seats at a small recently vacated table, their friend, Dani, the owner, carried over mugs of coffee for them.
Tall, slim, and athletic, Dani was in her late twenties, had dark brown eyes and long, straight, blond hair that she wore up in a loose bun when she was working. She’d owned the coffee shop for five years and had built a reputation for serving delicious pastries and the best coffee for miles around.
“You must have heard the latest news,” Dani said. “The place has been buzzing all morning about it.”
“We know about the accident.” Violet nodded and took a sip of the hot coffee.
“What’s the latest?” Nell didn’t want to tell Dani right away that Pepper Forrest had been in their store moments before getting hit by the car.
Dani said, “It was a hit and run. The victim died at the scene.”
“Has the car been found? Has the driver been identified?” Nell asked. Waves of anxiety traveled through her body as they discussed the death of the tourist with Dani. Nell had tossed and turned all night trying to make sense of the experience of seeing the woman washed in red, but instead of better understanding what had happened, she only came up with more and more questions.
Dani lowered her voice and leaned in closer to her friends. “The police think the incident may have been deliberate.”
Nell nearly tumbled off her seat. “Deliberate?” She was horrified that an unfortunate accident may have just become a murder.
“Why do they think that?” Violet questioned with wide eyes.
“There were no signs that the driver tried to brake before hitting the woman.”
“But the person could have been texting on his or her phone,” Nell suggested. “The driver may not have realized someone was in the road until he hit her.”
Dani shook her head. “The police talked to a couple of witnesses. They claim the car pulled away from the curb just as Dr. Forrest stepped into the street. The driver floored it and drove right at the woman.”
“Really?” Violet was so shocked by the turn of events that she didn’t know what to say. “This is unbelievable. An intentional hit and run here in our little village of Bluewater Cove?”
“Gosh.” Nell’s stomach clenched and her head spun with the new information. “Someone was watching and waiting for the woman?”
“So it seems.” Dani moved away for several minutes to wait on some customers who wanted to order takeout beverages. When she returned, she said, “The police aren’t releasing this information yet. They need to question more witnesses and a couple of accident specialists are coming to town to review the information to help make a determination. But really? They’re leaning towards treating this as a murder.”
Nell asked softly, “Did Peter tell you this?” Peter Bigelow was a Bluewater police officer and he and Dani had been dating for nearly ten years.
Dani made eye contact with her friend. “No comment.”
“We’ll take that as a
yes,” Violet said.
“You didn’t hear it from me,” Dani told them. “The department is trying to find out more about Dr. Forrest to determine if she had any enemies.”
“Enemies?” Violet pondered the idea. “What could the woman have done to gain an enemy? She was a chemistry professor, not a lawyer or a probation officer or a doctor who made some mistakes.”
“It could have been an old boyfriend or an ex-husband,” Nell said. “Or someone she dated and broke off with. It could be a student in one of her classes who was unhappy about a grade.”
“Angry over a grade?” Violet looked shocked. “Someone gets a bad grade and decides to kill the professor? What’s the world coming to?”
“The world is full of nuts,” Dani said. “There’s no shortage of crazy people.”
Nell said to their friend, “The woman was in our shop. Violet helped her pick out a necklace.”
“The victim? Dr. Forrest?” Dani’s eyebrows raised at the news. “She was in your store yesterday?”
With a nod, Nell said, “She was in the shop right before she crossed the street.”
A little gasp escaped from Dani’s throat. “She left your store, crossed the street, and got killed?”
Violet gave a sad nod. “She bought a necklace. She told me she was going to come back to buy one of Nell’s paintings.”
The sisters had thought the death was a terrible incident of misfortune, even talking about how the woman would still be alive if she’d stayed in the shop just a little longer. Now they realized that timing had nothing to do with it. Someone had been waiting for Dr. Forrest. Someone had planned to kill her. Someone had waited outside like a venomous spider for their victim to pass in front of them. The thought chilled Nell and Violet to the bone.
“Do the police know she was in the shop right before she was struck by that car?” Dani asked.
Nell almost winced from hearing the word, killed. “We gave statements when the police arrived. We were outside in the street. We ran out to see if we could help, but it was too late. Dr. Forrest was already dead. We told Officer Michaels that the woman had been shopping in our store right before she crossed the street.”
“Wow,” Dani muttered. “Peter didn’t tell me that. How did Dr. Forrest seem when she was with you? Did she seem nervous?”
“I was working in the studio in the backroom,” Nell said. “Violet waited on her.”
“I didn’t notice any odd behavior. The woman didn’t seem nervous to me. Although….” Violet let her voice trail off.
“Although what?” Nell asked turning to her sister.
“I remember she kept glancing out of the window. I thought she was looking out at the shops on the street around ours. It was a really nice day. I thought she was admiring the town on a sunny day. I didn’t think she seemed nervous though, but … maybe she was.”
“I wonder if she was suspicious of something,” Nell said, her mind racing over the details of the incident. “Maybe she thought she recognized someone or maybe, she noticed a car that drove by. Maybe she was alerted by something she saw and got a little worried so she kept looking out the windows.”
“That could be,” Dani agreed. “You should tell Peter how she was acting.”
“It might have been nothing though,” Violet said.
“There’s probably nothing about this situation that is meaningless,” Dani said. “Let the police decide what’s important and what isn’t. You know Peter says that one little thing we all ignore can be the key to blowing a case wide open.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Violet promised.
With a nod, Dani started away from the table. “I need to get back to work or Lucy and Liz will quit on me. We’ll talk later.”
Violet’s face looked pale when she turned her attention to Nell. “I can’t believe this. Someone hit that woman on purpose. The whole thing was planned. The driver intended to kill Dr. Forrest.”
Nell’s lower lip trembled slightly. “I wish I could have warned her. The red color that washed over her must have been from the anxiety she was feeling about someone she noticed outside. She must have been giving off worry or nervousness and I picked up on it by seeing color all around her.”
“It must have been very strong for you to be able to see it,” Violet said staring down at her coffee mug trying to make sense of what was going on.
“If I had warned her….” Nell said with a shaky voice.
Violet lifted her eyes. “There’s no way you could have given her a warning. Do you really think she would have heeded it? She would have run away from you and your nutty suggestion.”
Nell sighed and rubbed at her forehead. “I’ve always kind of felt like an outsider because of my ability to see so many more colors than the average person. I love all the colors and I’m grateful to be able to see the exceptional beauty in the world, but it does sometimes make me feel separated from everyone else. If this new thing I’ve developed can help people avoid danger or tragedy or loss, I have to find a way to give them that message. I need to figure out a way to tell them so they’ll believe me. Then I can help keep people safe and nothing like this will happen again.”
Thinking of Nell’s headaches and how hard it sometimes was for her to be in places with lots of visual stimuli like markets, restaurants, amusement parks, schools, sports stadiums, or museums, Violet gave her sister a loving look. “I’m sorry that seeing colors can be hard on you. You’re the best person I know. You always want to help. You always want things to be better for people. Talk to Dr. Rob. We’ll figure out this new thing you have … and we’ll do it together.”
4
Thirty-five-year-old, Dr. Rob Jennette taught at an optometry school located in Bluewater and conducted research there and at a prominent Cambridge university and hospital. Nell and Dr. Rob had become friends when, ten years ago, he assisted with her month’s-long evaluation into the qualities of her vision. The two met up a few times each week to go running together.
When Nell arrived at Rob’s office, he was sitting at his desk wearing a t-shirt and running shorts typing furiously at his laptop. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t hear Nell come in, and when she spoke, he nearly flew out of his chair.
“You scared me.” Rob shook his head and took in a deep breath. “Sorry. I lost track of the time.” The doctor, just under six feet tall, had dark brown hair, warm brown eyes, and was slim and fit.
“At least you didn’t forget about our run.” Nell smiled and sat down in the chair next to the desk. Rob could be forgetful at times and more than once, he wasn’t in the office when Nell came to meet him.
“That only happened once,” Rob said in his own defense.
“Hmm. Way more than once, but I know who I’m dealing with so I let it go.”
A tall man with a medium-build, short brown hair and blue eyes stood at the door to Rob’s office and seemed taken aback by Nell and Rob dressed in running clothes.
“Am I interrupting?” The man’s face was serious.
“Not at all. We’re just about to go out for some exercise,” Rob said. “Atkins, this is Ellen Finley. Nell, this is our new ophthalmologist, Dr. Atkins Murray.”
Nell stood to shake hands. “Nice to meet you. Call me Nell.”
The new doctor shook with her and then quickly turned back to Rob. “I wanted to discuss a few things with you. Another time.” He whirled on his heel and left the room without saying another word leaving Nell staring after him with a look of surprise.
“Don’t mind him. Let’s go for our run.” Rob took his keys from the desk and he and Nell left the five-story brick building and began to jog through the campus past tall trees, lush, manicured lawns, and beds blooming with late spring flowers. They crossed the street and headed into the north end of the state park to run along the trails.
“What’s up with that new doctor?” Nell asked between breaths.
“Atkins is brilliant, a highly regarded researcher and teacher,” Rob said. “H
e can be awkward and abrupt.”
“He certainly can,” Nell chuckled.
“He also has a very high opinion of himself.”
“From our two-second interaction, I’m not surprised.” As they ran through the woods, Nell admired the pastel colors running over the trunks of the trees and the silver, gold, and pinks in the sunlight filtering down through the leaves.
After the first mile, Nell’s muscles warmed, her breathing evened out, and her movement fell into a natural, comfortable rhythm.
“What an awful thing about that professor who got killed in the hit and run accident,” Rob said. “The reports made it sound like it happened right outside of your shop. Where you there when it happened?”
Nell said, “I want to talk to you about that.”
“You do?” Rob sounded surprised. “What about it?”
Nell told him what had happened when the woman came into the store. “I was working in the studio backroom and Violet was out front in the store. I heard the little bell over the door chime when someone came in. I glanced up from the painting I was working on just as the woman approached one of the jewelry counters to browse.” Nell paused for a few moments before continuing. “I’d never seen anything like what I saw that day.”
Rob looked at Nell out of the corner of his eye.
“The woman was washed all over in red, from the tip of her head all the way down to her shoes. Her hair, her skin, her clothing, everything. It was as if someone held a red film over her, or like a television malfunctioned and the character on the screen was tinted completely red,” Nell said.
Rob slowed his pace to a walk and stopped. Nell followed his lead. “Has this ever happened before? Even a little bit?” The doctor stared into his friend’s face.
