The Greening: a novel of romantic suspense...with a touch of magic (The Green Man Series Book 1)

by Sharon Brubaker

  She checked her email again, but with no word from Owen, she emailed Carol regarding lunch at 12:30 and copied the message to Owen. If he had a chance, perhaps he could meet them there. For more than the first time that day, she wished she had brought her car so that she could escape somewhere for a few minutes. She knew it was only natural for everyone to bring up Anna, but she was still having difficulty pushing down the grisly sight of Anna’s hand sticking up through the soil and of her mutilated body being pulled from the muck. She kept wondering about the mutilation. All she could think were snails’ trails, but they wouldn’t and couldn’t eat away the flesh like that—or she didn’t think so. And she was so weary of the whole thing that she couldn’t even think of an appropriate search term to look it up on the Internet. Finally, she went to lunch. Carol had found a seat away from the trees, as the view from the cafeteria was only a few hundred yards from where the body was found. Sylvia didn’t make eye contact with those in line, and perhaps it was her imagination, but people seemed to be giving her a wide berth.

  She had taken a bite of her sandwich when Carol asked, “Well? Have they gotten to you yet?”

  “What are you talking about?” Sylvia asked when she had swallowed, “Who?”

  “The police, of course!” Carol exclaimed, “They’ve been going around questioning everyone about Anna. I wondered if they were going to question you again?”

  “I don’t know,” Sylvia answered honestly. “Owen and I gave statements Saturday and I talked again to the police yesterday. What more could they have to ask?”

  “Oh!” Carol squealed in frustration. “They always try to pin it on someone as quickly as possible after the murder!” she said. “Don’t you watch t.v.?”

  “I guess not enough,” Sylvia said. The thought chilled her with worry.

  It was then that she saw Owen coming into the cafeteria, and he was looking around. Carol waved to him and he nodded, went to get some lunch and came over to sit down.

  “Hi,” Carol and Sylvia said at the same time.

  “Hi,” he said wearily.

  Sylvia looked at him questioningly and he said, “The police are here. They’re combing Anna’s office and starting to question everyone. They wanted to question me, but I told them I had already made a statement and that they should contact my attorney. They didn’t look happy, but I haven’t seen them since. They’re taking folks one by one into Headley’s office.”

  “Oh, Gawd,” Carol said irreverently and affectedly. “He’s probably the one who knocked her off.”

  “Sorry,” she said quickly looking at their faces. “I hope they question me about her,” she said with fervor. “I could tell them a thing or two.”

  “Yes,” Sylvia said pointedly, “but is it truth or gossip around the company.”

  Carol looked a little hurt.

  “I didn’t mean to offend,” Sylvia began.

  “I know,” Carol interrupted, “but you need to realize you two have come in late on this picture,” she said. “Anna’s been playing games with the men of this company for years. I know that Headley has been her main squeeze for a long time, but he seems to also enjoy her playing her power trip games with a lot of the other men in the company. He seems to get pleasure out of it.”

  Owen winced at her words as they cut through to the truth. “I need to get back,” he said.

  “Stop by when you’re ready to go home, okay?” Sylvia asked.

  He flashed her a very brief smile, “Will do,” he said, “See you later, Carol.”

  “See you,” Carol answered, “and I need to get back too or Keely will have my ass.”

  Carol and Owen left Sylvia alone at the table. She sat and looked outside staring at everything and staring at nothing. The trees closest to the building were pulsing with auras. She stared lost in thought and taking her breaths along with the trees pulse of etheric light. She didn’t know how long she stared and was quite startled when she heard, “Ms. Ash?” She turned. Two gentlemen in suits stood behind her. One was Detective Rogers who had come to Marian’s house on Sunday. She felt her heart drop into her stomach.

  “Yes?” she answered.

  “We’d like you to come with us for questioning due to the events this weekend,” Officer Rogers said.

  “Of course,” Sylvia said. She stood up and dumped her tray and turned to the officers, “I need to let my boss know where I am,” she told them.

  “He already knows,” the other officer said. “We stopped at your office before coming here.”

  “Oh,” was the only thing Sylvia could say.

  They didn’t march her, but she felt it was close to something like that as they flanked her going down the hallway. They went in the direction of the administrative offices and opened the door that led to Mr. Headley’s office. She politely thanked them. They led her directly into Mr. Headley’s office where he sat, leaning back in his chair with his leg openly crossed over his other and looking confidently like a cat that swallowed a canary, she thought. The detectives asked her to sit down. Sylvia sat at a small teak conference table in the room, swallowing hard and her palms sweating with nervousness. The detectives sat on either side, turning their chairs slightly so that they could see her while Headley sat across from her.

  “Ms. Ash,” Detective Rogers spoke formally. “We would like to record this interview, is that all right with you?” he asked.

  “I-I guess so,” Sylvia said hesitantly.

  Officer Rogers took the small tape recorder that was sitting on the table and pressed the record button stated the date, his name and his badge number. He asked Sylvia again if he could record their interview and to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Sylvia answered ‘yes’ and they stated that this was an unofficial interview. First they asked her to relive Saturday morning’s events and her finding the body. Then they began firing questions at Sylvia.

  “Ms. Ash,” Officer Rogers asked, “How well did you know Ms. Anna Hanson?”

  “Not very well at all,” Sylvia answered honestly. “We met a few times in the hallway and at lunch, but I really didn’t know her personally,” she stated.

  “Don’t you get to know someone when you have lunch with them?” asked the other officer superiorly.

  “I never really sat down to eat and talk with Anna,” Sylvia stated. “I usually saw her eating with Mr. Headley or met her when she needed to speak to Owen.”

  Officer Rogers looked up at her. “Mr. Anderson?” he asked. “Did she come to see him at lunch frequently?”

  “Yes,” Sylvia stated, hoping she wasn’t implicating Owen, “Apparently they were working on a project together and she needed him for something—I don’t know what,” she said.

  “Were you familiar with the project?” he asked.

  “No,” Sylvia said, “not really.”

  “What type of relationship do you have with Mr. Anderson?” the other officer asked leaning back in his chair and tapping a pencil on his fingers.

  Headley sat up and looked at her. She took a deep breath.

  “We’re friends, really,” she told the police. “We met through a mutual friend, Marian Duir,” she paused trying to think of what she wanted to say.

  The detective sat up immediately and interrupted her, asking her to state Marian’s name, address and phone number. Sylvia did so.

  “Owen and I have had occasions to see one another at her home as well as here at Thurmont. We’ve been working on the Stream Watch project together…” she trailed off.

  “Do you have a romantic relationship with Owen?” Officer Rogers asked.

  That was difficult to answer. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her dress hoping it wouldn’t leave marks on the linen. This is what Owen had worried about last night. She took a deep breath before she answered, “We’re friends,” she said firmly. “We’re friends who decided to go out on one date,” she answered them honestly. “We do not have a romantic relationship,” she stated leaving out the ‘yet’ that kept surfacing in her mind.
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  Headley leaned back in his chair and grinned as well as leered at her. She was too nervous to care about him. They asked her if she knew what Owen and Anna were working on and some details about the lab. She shook her head and they prompted her to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the questions. She felt fortunate she didn’t know a lot about the training and projects Anna and Owen were working on.

  She was feeling a little more comfortable until Officer Rogers asked, “Did you know that Ms. Hanson allegedly changed numbers on reports Mr. Anderson was working on?”

  She paused and answered carefully, “Owen shared with me some of his fears regarding that. He said he had just found out that was the case a few days ago, and had shared his findings with the people above him. I don’t know who they are,” she stated. “and what he was talking about didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I don’t have a science background.”

  “That’s all the questions we have, Ms. Ash,” Officer Rogers said, “for now,” he added. “Please be available if we have further questions.”

  Sylvia nodded and he snapped off the tape recorder. She had to admit that the officers were gentlemen. They stood up when she did to exit the room. Headley stayed in his seat just staring at her, challenging her almost.

  Sylvia heard him say, “Who’s next on your list?” as she left the room. She stepped out into the bright hallway and breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn’t been too bad. The administrative offices were near personnel so she dropped by to see Carol on the way back.

  Carol took one look at her pale face and knew something had happened.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I just came from being questioned. I shouldn’t be nervous, but…” she said faintly. “Look, I’m shaking.” Sylvia held out her hands.

  “Come on,” Carol said, “Let’s go get a soda and sit outside for a minute.” She stood up and went to Mr. Keely’s office and said, “I’ll be back in a flash,” and walked over and put her arm around Sylvia. Carol walked with Sylvia to the break room with vending machines, paid for two sodas, and led her out of the building into the warm sunshine. They sat at the same table that Sylvia had used with the police officer after finding Anna’s body. Sylvia shivered.

  “What?” Carol asked.

  Sylvia told her.

  “Was it awful?” Carol asked. “The questioning?”

  “No, not really,” Sylvia answered. “I mean, I really didn’t know Anna. They fished for stuff about Owen. That’s what worried me,” she stressed. “Headley was there too,” she told Carol, “and the way he stares is…is just horrible! You feel as though he’s undressing you! His expression looks like he’s going to make it seem like torture and enjoy it.” She stopped and looked at Carol. “That sounds pretty weird, doesn’t it?”

  “Not at all,” Carol said quietly. “He’s an ass.”

  They sipped their sodas. Even with the cool sodas, it took only a minute for them to feel perspiration on their faces. Sylvia’s back faced the sun and she could feel it getting damp.

  “I should get back,” she said. “Mr. Carter will wonder what’s happened to me.”

  They walked back inside and the hallways seemed dark compared to the bright summer sunlight. The air was much cooler inside and they both said ‘talk to you later’ as they went towards their respective offices. Mr. Carter looked up when she knocked on his door and told him she was back. He asked if she was okay and she nodded, not trusting her voice.

  “Do you want to go home?” he asked.

  Sylvia shook her head, “It would be nice,” she said, “but, Owen and I came in the same car because of the media stuff,” she told him.

  “Let me know if there is anything I can do,” he said, “but I’ve found the best cure is to jump in and get busy on something,” he told her for the second time that day.

  Sylvia nodded and went back out to her desk. She checked her messages and her email. Owen said he would be by promptly at 4:30. Her Mom sent her a funny e-card and she smiled at the cute animation on the screen with the line “Hang in there,” and some funny birds hanging on for dear life upside down on a branch. It reminded her of one of her favorite picture books as she was growing up –Stellaluna where little baby birds tried to copy their bat friend by hanging upside down out of their nest. She was still smiling when a shadow crossed her desk and she looked up. It was Mr. Headley. Her smiled faded.

  “How are you doing, Sylvia?” he asked, his voice filled with concern that she thought was fake.

  “I’m all right,” she said. “Thank you,” she forced those words out.

  He cleared his throat before he started talking and he said, “Um, I was under the impression that you and Mr. Anderson were on friendlier terms.”

  She looked up at him sharply but, didn’t say anything.

  “You said this afternoon with the detectives that you had only been on one date with him,” he said, “and I was assuming you would tell the truth to the police,” he baited her.

  Still she sat silently, waiting for what he had to say.

  “I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner some evening?” he asked smoothly.

  Sylvia didn’t know what to say. Mr. Headley asking her out on a date was the last thing that would have crossed her mind. She opened her mouth to say something and nothing came out.

  “Thank you,” she eventually said, “that’s very flattering but, I’m not sure that would be a good idea, right now,” she said carefully.

  “You’re right,” he said, not missing a beat. “Sometime later, then? I would treat a lovely woman like you very well,” he said with emphasis on the ‘very.’

  She flushed under his gaze. As if psychic, Mr. Carter came out of his office.

  “Headley!” he said heartily, “What brings you here?” He stretched out his hand and pumped Headley’s hard.

  “I had a few questions for Ms. Ash,” he said, rubbing his hand when Mr. Carter had finished shaking it so firmly.

  “Yes, she’s a wonderful girl,” Mr. Carter said. “Good ideas and a hard worker.”

  Sylvia usually hated it when people talked about you as if you weren’t in the room, but she didn’t mind at the moment. She was grateful Mr. Carter had emerged from his office. She glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was nearly 4:30 and for some reason she hoped Owen wouldn’t walk in on this. Mr. Carter again seemed to read her mind.

  “Headley,” he stated, “Why don’t I walk back down the hall with you. I’m on my way to get a last jolt of caffeine before I hit the road this evening.” He turned to Sylvia and said, “Have a good night, Sylvia.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Carter. You too,” she said.

  Mr. Headley turned to her and said with a meaningful wink, “I’ll be in touch.”

  When they were safely away from the office she dialed Carol.

  “You will never believe what just happened,” she stage whispered into the phone.

  “What?” Carol asked, eager for news.

  “Headley asked me out,” she said.

  “What?” Carol gasped in surprise. “You’re kidding?”

  “No!” Sylvia replied. “Can you believe it?”

  “Be careful, Syl!” Carol advised, “He’s a snake.”

  “I know,” she answered. “He gives me the willies. Ugh!”

  Owen came up to the door. He looked tired.

  “I’ve got to go,” she said to Carol, “Owen’s here to take me home. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” Carol said. “Have a good night.”

  She hung up from Carol and looked up at Owen.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Sylvia said, “Just let me get my things together.”

  Sylvia logged off her computer, quickly straightened her desk and got her purse. They walked out to the car. It was so hot it was hard to sit on the seat. Owen let the air conditioning cool down the steering wheel before they left the parking lot.

  “It’s hard to believe it’s the end
of June,” she commented. “Time seems to have gone so fast.”

  “I know what you mean,” he said. “It’s been great staying at Marian’s but I should get back to looking for my own place,” he commented.

  “I think Marian really appreciates having you around,” Sylvia said.

  Owen didn’t comment, but nodded in response. The commuter traffic was building and Owen was focusing on pulling out onto the main highway from Thurmont.

  The car cooled and they were at Marian’s in a few minutes. They called to her when they went into the house and she answered them from down the hallway. She was sitting in the study, reading, keeping out of the heat.

  “Hello, you two!” she greeted them with a smile. “How are you? You look done in. Is it just from the heat?”

  “We’re okay,” Owen told her. “The police were at Thurmont today,” he told her wearily. “They wanted to question me again and I told them to contact Jon.”

  “Good,” Marian said. “What happened then?”

  Owen shrugged. “They left me alone,” he said, “I was trying to get caught up on my work.”

  “They came to question me,” Sylvia said. She looked at Owen guiltily. “It was after lunch, in Headley’s office. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you on the way home, I had some other things on my mind,” she said thinking of Mr. Headley and his lecherous presence.

  “What did they ask you?” Marian asked evenly.

  “They wanted to know how I knew Anna and how well I knew her,” she told them. “They also wanted to know the extent of my relationship with Owen,” she said quietly.

  Marian raised her eyebrows and Owen looked at her as if to say, ‘I told you so.’

  “It was pretty straight forward,” she continued, “but still it made me nervous.”

  “I can imagine,” Marian said.

  “Why don’t you two get comfortable in cooler clothes and then we’ll have dinner,” Marian suggested.

  “Shorts and a t-shirt sound wonderful,” Owen said.

  Before he left, Sylvia cocked her head. “What’s that sound?” she asked. “Did you get air conditioning?” she asked feeling a soft whoosh of air around her.