Secrets in the Shallows (Book 1: The Monastery Murders)

by Karen Vance Hammond

“Is there someone you can talk to?” Mother asked as tears swelled in her eyes.

  “No, you have to wear this. Those are the rules,” Deputy Baker said as she held up the uniform again. “Now, stop wasting my time.” She put on latex gloves, snapping them at the wrist. “I need to search you. Sorry, those are the rules, Sister.”

  “Before you take your clothes off, do you have any needles or any sharp objects in your pockets?”

  “No ... But I am a diabetic, and I must have my insulin.”

  Mother Superior raised her hands while the deputy frisked her.

  Baker looked at her. “Well, we can arrange for a doctor to see you.”

  Mother Superior felt humiliated undressing in front of another person, something she had never done before. One-by-one, she shoved her feet through the orange pants legs. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pulled the scrub-like shirt over her head. Finally, she slipped on some plain socks followed by some basic shoes they provided.

  “Okay, time to put these on.”

  Deputy Baker held up handcuffs and put them around her wrists.

  “Don’t I get to make a phone call? My lawyer’s business card is in that right pocket.”

  Baker replied, “You get your phone call once we finish this up, lady.” Reaching in to the habit pocket, she pulled out a business card and handed it to Mother. “You can keep this. I don’t see it creating any problems.”

  Guiding Mother Superior down the hallway, Deputy Baker led her to a sparse office with only a few chairs and a desk with a phone on it. Unlocking the cuff to Mother’s right hand, the deputy said, “I’m going to lock you to the chair so you can make your call.”

  Mother looked at the plain, white business card with thick, black letters and picked up the phone. Dialing the number for Charles Posey’s office, she only got his voicemail.

  After hearing the beep, she began to cry as she said, “Mr. Posey, this is Mother Superior Mary Ellen. The sheriff is arresting me for the murder of Timmy Fields. He said they have enough evidence to charge me for his death, and maybe even Tom Green’s. I need to meet with you right away. Please, come and help me get out of this horrible place. I can’t stand it here. I hope to see you soon. God bless you. Good-bye.” Hanging up the phone, Mother wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

  Deputy Baker unlocked the handcuff from the chair and replaced it on Mother’s wrist. Mother Superior stood up as the deputy guided her out the doorway. They continued through several corridors until they arrived at the central guard hub to the jail.

  A bored female guard with short, sandy blonde hair stood up and asked, “What you got for me?”

  Gesturing to Mother Superior Deputy Baker replied, “Here’s our newest addition to your group, Janice.”

  “That old lady? You’ve got to be kidding me?”

  “I know. Hard to believe it myself, but I’ve got the orders right here. The sheriff signed them himself,” Baker replied.

  “I’d never have guessed that one. Isn’t she a nun or something?”

  “She’s the Mother Superior herself. Not sure that her praying is doing any good these days.”

  “Doesn’t look like it. Well, sign her in,” Janice said, handing the guard a clipboard.

  Deputy Baker scribbled on the clipboard, then handed it back as she said, “I imagine her lawyer should be coming to see her soon. She just left him a message.”

  “All right, I’ll take care of it if he comes,” Janice replied, pushing the button to release the gate.

  A loud buzzing noise resounded throughout the hub, indicating the gate was unlocked. Nodding at Janice, the guard grabbed Mother’s arm and opened the ominous doors. Continuing on their way, she led Mother Superior to the cell block.

  Several mirrors stuck out between the bars to allow the prisoners to see the new arrival. Arriving at Mother Superior’s new cell, the guard gestured for her to enter and then closed the barred door behind the frightened nun.

  A large, stocky female covered in tattoos stood up in her cell and yelled, “We got us some jerky meat now. Look how old the hag is!”

  “Stick your hands through the bars,” Baker ordered.

  Mother Superior did as she was told, and the deputy removed the handcuffs.

  “Is there anything you need before I go back upstairs, Sister?”

  Mother Superior Mary Ellen raised her head and looked despondently at Deputy Baker. “Can I have a Bible for my personal studies, ma’am?”

  “I’ll see what I can do. They’ll let you know when your lawyer shows up. I’m sure he can tell you more about your arraignment and bond hearing. I think it’s supposed to be on Monday morning.”

  “Thank you,” Mother replied softly. Resigned to cause as few problems as possible, she went over to her cot and sat down to quietly pray. Dropping her gaze to the floor, Mother Superior Mary Ellen felt the most frightened she had in her entire life. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the circumstances overwhelmed her. She laid down with her face in the pillow and began to weep quietly.

  Deputy Baker replaced the handcuffs on her belt and walked away, unconcerned for her prisoner’s frightened state.

  CHAPTER 40

  Exhausted, Sheriff Johnson sat at his desk and rubbed his weary eyes. It was obvious that the overtime he had put in, while working on the monastery murder cases, had begun to take their toll. Leaning back in his chair, he took in a deep breath in an attempt to clear his mind of all the clutter. No matter what he did though, images of Timothy Fields and Tom Green took over his every thought.

  Standing up to stretch his aching legs, Sheriff Johnson walked around his desk. Looking at the evidence photographs taped to the white dry erase board he placed his index finger over Timothy Fields’ photographs. A wave of sadness engulfed him as he thought about his own children, who were safe at home with his wife.

  Whispering, he asked himself, “Why did Mother do this to you? What motive did she have? She is a nun for Christ’s sake. What did you do that was so bad? What is the connection with Tom? I just don’t see Mother Superior doing this to anyone. It just doesn’t make any sense, but I just can’t deny the overwhelming evidence.”

  Feeling a lump in his throat, he shook his head and said out loud, “Two lives wasted. Absolutely, wasted. Those boys hadn’t even begun to live yet. Why would she do this? For what purpose?” His cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.

  “Sheriff Johnson.”

  A young woman’s voice came through the phone. “Sheriff Johnson, this is Lisa Tucker. I hate to bother you, but I thought of something that maybe can help with the investigation.”

  “Oh no, Lisa, you’re not bothering me at all. What is it that you wanted to tell me?”

  “Tom used to come and study with us, especially when there was a test coming up. The last time Tom came over, he was acting stranger than usual. You know? Trying to impress me and all. He kept on bragging about going to some hide-a-way in the woods near the monastery and vandalizing the tombstones. He said that he did it to get back at the nuns, who were supposedly being mean to him.”

  Sheriff Johnson raised his eyebrows.“Oh, really?”

  “Yes, sir,” Lisa replied emphatically. “He told us that he wanted to get back at Mother Superior Mary Ellen, because she was so strict with him. She would keep him extra hours to do chores, and they were some of the worst she could assign him. Scrubbing the bathrooms. Mopping the floor.”

  She continued, “One of worst things he told me that he did was go in the choir room with a permanent marker and scribbled crude pictures on a bunch of the choir hymnals. A few weeks before that, he even showed us where he had gone to the sanctuary and drew a bunch of nasty pictures about Mother Superior Mary Ellen in the prayer books for all the people at mass to see. I’m not sure all that he did, but he told us about those things.”

  Sheriff Johnson sat down in his chair and rested his elbows on the table. “Did you ever see these images, Lisa?”

  “Yes, sir. I did.”

 
“Can you tell me what was written?”

  “Sheriff Johnson this is really embarrassing.”

  “I understand, Lisa, but I do need to know.”

  “Mother Superior Mary Ellen is a witch, but spelled with the B.”

  He nodded his head, “All right, anything else?”

  “In some of the choir hymnals and in prayer books he drew pictures of, let’s say, body parts.”

  “So female and male genitals?”

  Embarrassed, she replied, “Yes, mostly females; and then put her name over them. It was just sick, and I told him I thought so too!”

  Lisa continued, “Mother Superior Mary Ellen was furious when she found out that it was Tom. In fact, he had to go to private counseling sessions with Mother Superior at least two times a week. I remember Tom telling me that he had to go to the sessions, or else he was going to be in big trouble with the law.”

  She added, “Mother was going to report him if he didn’t change his ways too and clean up all his mess. His family was being held responsible for replacing the hymnals and prayer books too. He already had enough trouble with his dad being hard on him, so I can’t imagine what his dad did to punish him. I think that may be why he was so angry with so many people all of the time.”

  “He also said, that he was going to kill her, but you know how so many kids use that phrase. About everyone says that, so we just thought he was just venting and being angry like usual. After all, he was a senior at the Catholic school. I really didn’t think he was going to do it.”

  Recalling that Mother Superior taped her sessions with each student, Sheriff Johnson shot out of his chair and exclaimed, “Oh, really?! Are you absolutely sure about this, Lisa?”

  “Yes, sir. I hated to bother you with this, but I thought it might help you a little at least.”

  Glancing over at the photographs of Timmy Fields’ horrific remains, he replied, “Lisa, you have confirmed something I had been thinking about. If there’s anything else that you can think of, I want you to call me right away. I don’t care if It’s at 3:00 in the morning; I want you to call me.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, Sheriff Johnson.”

  “Thank you, Lisa. You have a great night.”

  After Sheriff Johnson hung up his cell phone, he leaned his head back slowly exhaling. The wheels in his mind began to spin as he thought, I need to speak with Deputy Williams immediately about this. Putting the phone back up to his ear, the sheriff dialed Williams’ office.

  Within seconds, Deputy Williams responded, “Williams here.”

  Sheriff Johnson began, “Deputy, I need you to go back out to the monastery right away.”

  “Sir?”

  “I got a very interesting phone call just a few minutes ago. Timothy Field’s girlfriend. Lisa Tucker told me that Tom Green bragged about going to the monastery to get back at Mother Superior Mary Ellen and the other nuns because they were too strict on him and made him do a bunch of crappy chores. Apparently, he took a permanent marker and wrote filthy messages, along with other things, in choir hymnals and prayer books. You were working in the department by that time. Do you remember if it was ever reported?”

  “Yes, sir. I actually was the one who went to the monastery when she called in the vandalism instances. I can look up the reports for more specifics, but I remember that she decided not to press charges if the family paid for the damages and Tom fixed all of the damage he had done. He even had to go repair some fences he had torn down.”

  “Wow! That lines up with many of the things Lisa told me. Please make a copy all of the relevant reports for those instances. This information is exactly what I needed to break this case. I’m so glad you recalled all of that.”

  “I’ll take care of that right away, sir. I’m in my office, so do you want me to copy those reports before I head out to the monastery or after I get back?”

  “Go ahead and copy the files first so I can be looking over them while you’re at the monastery. I need you to go back to Mother Superior’s office and look through every stinking file on Tom Green for some more cassette tapes. In fact, just bring anything you find on him. No telling what’s in it. There may be useful information in her notes, if she kept them.”

  The sheriff continued, “Lisa told me that Tom Green was required to attend counseling sessions two times a week, and you just confirmed her story. Since Mother recorded the sessions, there’s a good chance you’ll find them in her file cabinet too. Hopefully, we can find the sessions we’re looking for.”

  “I’ll get started as soon as I get off of the phone, sir,” Deputy Williams responded.

  Chuckling, Sheriff Johnson replied, “What are you waiting for, Deputy? Get started!”

  “Right away, sir. Uhh … Good-bye, sir,” Deputy Williams replied and immediately hung up. Smiling like a Cheshire cat, he stood up from his desk as he thought, Yes! I’m going to move up quickly with those brownie points. Now to get started on those copies! The diligent deputy got up and hurried out the door to obey his orders.

  * * * *

  Just as the sun was starting to go down, Deputy Williams drove his squad car into a parking space at the monastery. Getting out of his cruiser, he carried his evidence case up to the monastery. With his heavy footsteps he startled a cottontail rabbit hiding in a bush nearby. It scurried across the snow-covered lawn trying to hide in the forest.

  Without warning, a large black hawk flew directly over him. The hawk screeched; flapping his wings as it swooped down right beside Williams, startling the unprepared deputy. The hawk reached out with his sharp talons and grabbed the gray rabbit feverishly scurrying across the snowy lawn.

  As Deputy Williams saw the hawk fly away with its captured meal, he thought, I wonder if you were one of the birds on top the Timothy Fields’ back.

  Visions of Timothy Fields attacked his thoughts. He could still vividly remember every detail of the waterlogged body pulled from the pond. The fish had feasted on the boy’s corpse while it resided in the water, leaving it ravaged and desecrated.

  Trying to shake off the visuals in his mind, Deputy Williams looked up at the window. Slowly, his lips parted as his mouth began to drop open. In the second-story window, the ghostly image of a woman with long blonde hair stared down at him.

  “What in the...?”

  Before Deputy Williams could finish his sentence, the woman looked him directly in the eyes and then vanished. Deputy Williams pulled out his cell phone and pushed the direct communication button.

  “Sheriff Johnson, you copy?”

  “I read you, Deputy. Are you at the monastery?”

  “Yes, sir. I just got here. Is the monastery completely empty of all staff still?”

  “Yes, it is. Why do you ask?”

  Not wanting Sheriff Johnson to think that he was crazy, he replied softly, “Nothing. It’s nothing. Thought I saw something, but I think my eyes must be playing tricks on me.”

  Deputy Williams walked up to the front door and inserted the key to unlock it. The door opened with a loud squeak as the deputy entered the foyer. Wasting no time, he closed the door behind him and headed straight to Mother Superior’s office and opened the office door.

  A large black fly buzzed around the office as the muted light came through the window. An eerie feeling came over him as he looked around. It was the same feeling he had when he was searching the sanctuary the day before.

  Deputy Williams carefully set his evidence case on Mother Superior’s cherry wood table. Opening up the metal cabinet, a myriad of manila folders stared back at him as he began his search.

  “C ... D ... E ... F ...”

  Thumbing through dozens of files, Deputy Williams finally came to the G section.

  “G ... GE ... GL ... Green? Where are you, Tom Green?”

  About halfway through the G’s, the deputy finally found Tom Green’s file. Retrieving it, Deputy Williams immediately walked over to the desk and laid it open. His heart raced as he stared back at two cassette tapes and sever
al pages of notes and incident reports. Taking out an evidence bag from his case, he quickly inserted the cassette tapes and the complete folder and sealed it closed. Labeling it correctly, he replaced the bag in his kit.

  Pushing the button on his radio, he asked, “Sheriff, you there?”

  “Right here, Deputy. What’s your twenty?”

  “I’m still at the monastery and I found the file!” he said excitedly. “It’s right here. Two cassette tapes and some other paperwork, Sheriff. It even includes some incident reports from when we were out here about the vandalism instances.”

  Relieved to hear the news, Sheriff Johnson exclaimed, “Copy that.Well done, Deputy! I’m going over the copies you left earlier, and I’m looking forward to hearing what’s on those other tapes. Head back as soon as you’re done. Bring that folder directly to me, please.”

  After hearing some strange noises on the phone, Sheriff Johnson listened intently. “Deputy, is there someone there with you? I thought I heard a woman’s voice.”

  “No, sir. I’m here alone.”

  Suddenly, a rush of cold air hit the back of Deputy Williams’ neck. It almost felt as if someone was blowing icy breath on him. Fear crept over him slowly as he said loudly, “I’m ready to go, Sheriff. I’m done here and heading back. I’ll be right there.”

  “See you in a bit,” the sheriff replied before the line went dead.

  Deputy Williams scurried across the room and closed the door. Darting down the stairs, he reached in his coat pocket, retrieving the keys to the monastery. Opening the door, he walked outside and closed it behind him. Inserting his key in the door, he quickly locked it and headed directly to his car. Wasting no time, he started the engine and sped out of the driveway to go to headquarters.

  Muttering to himself out loud, he asked, “Did I really see that woman? Or, was it my imagination? What about the Sheriff hearing that woman’s voice, and the cold chill I felt? What’s going on at that creepy place?”

  CHAPTER 41

  After an incredibly long day, and filling up his belly at supper with Katy and her family, John could hardly wait to get into bed that night. Although he fell asleep quickly, the events of the day would not let him rest. Tossing between the sheets throughout the night, John’s mind was filled with a whirlwind of disturbing thoughts and nightmares.