by Sarah Biglow
Jimmy gave a nervous laugh and led her over to a vacant desk in the bull pen. The computer was already displaying a blank witness statement form, ready for her words to fill it. Without having to ask, he put in her contact information and then turned to face her. “So, tell me everything you can remember.”
Kalina was about to fill him in on her graveyard visit when the forensic technician from the cemetery burst through the front doors and barreled past them to Chris’s office. He didn’t even bother knocking. She couldn’t hear what was being said but she didn’t have to wait long to find out what had the man so agitated.
“What’s wrong, boss?” Jimmy asked as Chris approached them.
“The fingerprints came back. They belong to a Verona Maxwell.”
“Why is he so upset then?” Kalina pointed toward the technician.
“Because they also belong to a dead girl.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Both Kalina and Jimmy stared in silence at Chris, letting the revelation sink in. It wasn’t possible for two people to have the same fingerprints. Not even identical twins had the same prints. Kalina opened her mouth to ask the obvious question but Jimmy beat her to it.
“Who was the girl?”
“Paige Fischer.”
“Wait, I know that name,” Kalina said and looked between the two men. “She was a couple years younger than me. She died in an accident or something when she was ten or eleven if I remember right.”
Chris nodded. “She and her brother, Patrick, both drowned.”
“But how does the department even have their prints? Did they take them when they found the bodies?” Kalina asked.
Chris shook his head and held up a pair of files with pictures of a young boy and girl. “Their parents had them printed in case something ever happened. Or so the files say.”
“What, did they expect someone to kidnap them?” Jimmy scoffed.
“They might have,” Kalina answered. “They were one of the richest families in town. I just remember other kids whispering about them when they started at public school.”
“You’ve got a better memory of them than I do.”
“You wouldn’t have interacted with them much. My mom insisted I do a youth mentorship program the school year before they died. It was to help younger kids improve their literacy.”
“No offense but if they were rich kids, couldn’t their parents have afforded tutors or something?” Jimmy said.
Kalina’s face fell at the thought of the pair of them. So young and inseparable. “Looking back, I don’t think their parents really wanted to spend much time with them.”
“Can’t we just ask them if their daughter could still be alive?”
“No. Verona, if that’s her real name, was found between the Fischers’ graves. I didn’t notice when they’d died but they’re definitely both gone.”
Chris set the files on the desk in front of Jimmy and massaged his temple. “I’m going to have the lab run the prints again.”
“What about a DNA test?” Kalina suggested.
“If we can find something that belonged to Paige Fischer when she was ten then maybe.”
Something about the girl’s death was gnawing at Kalina’s memory. She needed to get to the shop to do some digging. “I’m going to finish giving Jimmy my statement and then head to the shop to check on Jill and AJ.”
“Good. I’m going to see what I can find about the deaths of Paige and Patrick Fischer,” Chris said and disappeared back to his office.
“This is going to be a weird one, isn’t it, Kal?” Jimmy said as soon as Chris was out of earshot.
“Yeah, I think it is.”
Twenty minutes later, she’d signed the statement and was back behind the wheel of her car. It was a short trip back to Main Street and the family-owned comic shop she’d inherited from her father. As she pulled up to the turn off for the lot behind the building, a sense of satisfaction warmed her. There was a steady stream of people coming and going. Business was booming. She made her way inside through the back door, which led into the game room. A group of teenagers sat huddled around one of the tables, snickering into whatever they’d drawn in Cards against Humanity. They didn’t react as she walked by and out to the front of the shop. Her sister, Jillian, stood behind the counter taking a five dollar bill from a boy who couldn’t have been older than seven or eight. Kalina watched as his eyes widened when Jillian handed over the package of comics safely sealed in protective covers.
“Hey,” Kalina said once the kid and his mother were gone.
Jillian jumped. “Kal, you scared me. What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to make sure everything was going OK.”
“Everything is fine. Although those kids back there have been very quiet.”
“Don’t worry about them. I actually needed to ask you something.”
Jillian pulled the stool over and Kalina settled atop it. “What’s on your mind, little sister?”
“Do you remember Paige and Patrick Fischer? They died in a drowning accident about fifteen years ago.”
Her sister rubbed at her chin in thought. “Sort of. I think Mom took us to a memorial service or a candlelight vigil.”
“What do you remember about what happened to them?”
“Just what the papers said. They were out at the beach and one of them got swept up in a wave and the other one went out to save them.”
“But they never found their bodies.”
“I don’t know, Kal. Why?”
“I was visiting Dad’s grave today and I found a dead woman.”
“It was a cemetery.”
“Not one who’d been buried. Chris ran her fingerprints and they matched Paige Fischer’s.”
“But that isn’t possible.”
“It wouldn’t be if she was actually dead. But what if she survived and someone found out?”
“Who would care all these years later?”
“I don’t know. But she was left between her parents’ graves. If this woman really is Paige, someone out there knew the truth and killed her for it.”
Jillian let out a groan. “You’re getting dragged into this. Don’t get dragged into this. Not now.”
“I can’t help it. And this is the last one, I swear. After this I’m out.”
“”You better be. Or else we’ll be going to your funeral because Chris will have killed you himself.”
Kalina laughed. “Thanks for the support. Why don’t you go grab some lunch? I can man the counter for a little while. Besides, I miss being here. Sitting at home was getting really boring.”
“Only you could think getting ready for a baby was boring.”
Before Kalina could get out a retort, Jillian headed out into the sunshine. Kalina retrieved her tablet from below the counter and pulled up the town’s newspaper archives. Because she couldn’t remember the exact date of the drowning, she input “Fischer twins death” into the search bar at the top of the page and waited for it to populate results.
The first result was their joint obituary from August of 1995. It was a brief paragraph with a photo of the twins side by side with the ocean as a backdrop. The next result, dated July 31, 1995, appeared to be the first article about the circumstances surrounding their mysterious drowning.
Fischer Children Lost At Sea
By: Andrew Fisk, Staff Reporter
It is a sad day for the people of Ellesworth as two of its youngest citizens were lost at sea. Ten-year-old Paige Fischer and her twin brother, Patrick, were presumed dead today after the family’s boat, which went missing from the family’s slip off the beach three days ago, was found abandoned near the shore near Marblehead, Massachusetts. Authorities say the children were believed to be aboard the ship when it went missing. No bodies have yet been recovered.
Mr. and Mrs. Fischer refused comment as they grieve the loss of their children. Some in town are suspicious of the way the children died. One neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that the parent
s didn’t report the children missing until they received a call that the boat had been located. Others questioned how the children could have had access to the boat without adult supervision. It is unknown at this time whether the authorities will be investigating Abigail and Harrison Fischer for their role in the deaths.
Kalina’s pulse quickened as she reread the second paragraph. The Fischers hadn’t even reported their children missing. Her recollection that they hadn’t been very involved parents came back to her with full force. Surely they couldn’t have had anything to do with it. Even absent parents wouldn’t purposely send their children to their deaths. There was one final result on the list. A follow-up article dated August 21, 1995.
Fischers Cleared of Wrongdoing in Tragic Death of Twins
By: Andrew Fisk, Staff Reporter
Less than a month after the family’s boat was found off the shore of Marblehead, MA without the Fischer children aboard, the police have cleared Abigail and Harrison Fischer of any wrongdoing in the deaths of ten-year-old twins Patrick and Paige. A source close to the police shared that the parents were out of town on a business trip during the time the boat went missing.
The children had been in the care of their nanny, Lois Hendrix. According to a statement from Mr. and Mrs. Fischer, Ms. Hendrix has been fired and charges have been filed. A source in the prosecutor’s office declined to comment but it is expected Ms. Hendrix will take a plea deal if offered to avoid a trial.
Well, that was interesting. She didn’t remember a nanny being around when she spent her summer reading to both children. Then again, she’d been wrapped up in her own life and her own friends as soon as the reading time was over. At least now she had something to follow up on while Chris and Jimmy determined whether Verona Maxwell really was Paige Fischer. Perhaps Lois Hendrix would know what happened to the Fischers too. But first she needed to find the woman. She didn’t want to let Chris in on this lead until she had something concrete to tell him so she placed a call to the one person who might know the town’s older, sordid secrets, Mrs. Margaret Grant. She’d been one of former Captain Daniel Cahill’s targets for lying on the stand at his father’s murder trial. She and Kalina had kept in touch since the ordeal.
“Hello?” Margaret’s voice was weak thanks to the partial paralysis she’d suffered at Cahill’s hands.
“Hi Mrs. Grant, it’s Kalina Greystone. How are you doing?”
“Fine. And I told you to call me Margaret.”
“Right, sorry. I was hoping I could come by. I have something I need to ask you about.”
“Yes, dear. Please do come by.”
CHAPTER FIVE
After waiting for Jillian to get back to the shop, Kalina headed out to visit Mrs. Grant. She pulled up to the small front porch and found Mrs. Grant waiting outside. Kalina gave a wave as she climbed out of the car and made her way up to sit beside the older woman.
“My, look at you!” Margaret exclaimed.
“Due in a few weeks,” Kalina said and rubbed her belly as the baby kicked.
“I take it the little one isn’t what you wanted to talk about.”
“No. It’s not. Do you remember Patrick and Paige Fischer?”
Margaret nodded her head more vigorously than Kalina had seen her do in almost a year. “Such a tragedy. Poor dears, lost so young.”
“Do you remember what happened to their nanny, Lois Hendrix? She was charged with their deaths.”
“She did some time in prison but only a few years.”
“Do you know where she ended up when she got out?”
“Why the sudden interest?”
Kalina blew out a breath. “We found a body who we think might be Paige Fischer. But she wasn’t a child. She was an adult. I’m just trying to figure out if it’s possible she might have survived the boat accident. I thought Lois could tell me what she knew from when they went missing.”
“I heard she ended up settling down in Boston. Getting lost in the big city you know. No one there would know what she’d done.”
“Thank you,” Kalina said with a smile.
“Don’t give it up, dear.”
“Sorry?”
‘This knack you’ve got for digging until you get the truth.”
“My priorities are changing.”
“Maybe but there will come a time when it will be right to pick it back up. Don’t let it die completely. Promise me.” The woman’s tone was firm and her voice was as clear as the first time they’d talked.
“I promise.” Kalina gripped the woman’s partially paralyzed hand and gave a firm squeeze.
They sat in silence for a short time, both enjoying the sun on their faces. Inevitably the baby moved, landing a solid thump to her bladder and the spell broke. She knew she needed to talk to Lois Hendrix but she had no real reason to seek her out. Showing up on her doorstep unannounced asking about the Fischer children would likely close the woman off to answering questions. But she wasn’t ready to share what she’d found with Chris yet.
“I should get going. Thanks again for letting me stop by,” she said and bent as best she could to give the woman a hug. “Do you want me to help you back in?”
“Oh, no. I’ll be fine here a while.”
With a final wave, Kalina headed back to her car. As soon as she’d buckled up, she put her phone on speaker and placed a call to the station.
“Ellesworth PD,” Jimmy answered.
“Jimmy, it’s Kalina. I need you to do me a favor.”
“I’m listening.”
“I need you to find the last known address for Lois Hendrix. I think she lives in Boston. Would have moved there maybe fifteen years ago.”
“That name came up in some of the files I was reviewing.”
“I know. She was the Fischers’ nanny. She went to jail for a while over their deaths.”
“And you think I should talk to her.”
“I think I should go with you to talk to her.”
“I’m not sure the captain would like that.”
“I can make her feel at ease. Besides, you’d be surprised what a belly full of baby can get you,” she said and patted just above her belly button.
“I’ll see what I can find and text you.”
“You’re the best.”
“Bye.”
The connection died after Jimmy hung up and she focused on her short drive home. Even if she wasn’t ready to tell Chris what she’d found, she did need to let him know where she was going and that it wouldn’t be alone. She found him already at home on the couch staring at files. An untouched—and likely cold—cup of coffee sat on the side table next to him.
“Hi honey,” she said.
He jumped at the sound of her voice, clearly oblivious to her presence. “Sorry. I thought you’d already be home.”
“I stopped by the shop to check on Jill and then I paid Margaret Grant a visit. I hadn’t seen her in a while.”
“How is she doing?”
“Well, she’s not entering anything into the Solstice Fair this year but she is in pretty good spirits.”
He looked up from the folder in front of him and patted the vacant spot on the couch. “There’s something else. What is it?”
“I may have found someone who can help figure out if Paige survived that boat accident. I didn’t want to get your hopes up so I asked Jimmy to look into it.”
“Who’d you find?”
“Lois Hendrix.”
“Their nanny.”
“That’s part of the reason I went to go see Margaret. She told me that after Lois got out of prison, she moved away, to Boston. I want to talk to her. She must remember something. And maybe she knows what happened to Abigail and Harrison.”
“It’s worth a try. But don’t be surprised if she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“I know. But we have to try.”
She looked at the myriad casefiles spread over the table. “What’s all this?”
“I pulled the files on the twins’ disap
pearance and supposed deaths. I also got the results back from the second fingerprint test.”
“Let me guess, they still say Verona Maxwell and Paige Fischer are the same person.”
“Yes. I’m even more convinced that she’s the same person because before 1996 Verona Maxwell didn’t exist. No birth certificate, no social security number. Nothing.”
Kalina cocked her head in thought. “And then all of a sudden she’s got all those things.”
“Yeah. I managed to reach out to her parents. They’re from out of town but I’m having them come in tomorrow. Either way, I need to notify them of their daughter’s murder.”
Kalina sighed and settled back on the couch. “Did Clint ever get you more useable footage of the killer?”
Chris let out a sigh of his own and shook his head. “He sent some more over but the techs are having a hell of a time cleaning it up. Whoever this guy is, he was careful not to let his face get caught on any of the cameras. He must have scoped out the cemetery before he took her there.”
“He couldn’t have been that smart. He left her somewhere that had a really good angle of her body. If I hadn’t found her, someone else would have.”
“I’m starting to think he wanted her to be found.”
Kalina’s phone beeped with a new text message, interrupting the conversation. She glanced at it. Jimmy had been successful in tracking down Lois Hendrix and he would pick her up the following morning at 7.
“That’s early,” Chris said and gave her a sympathetic smile.
“We need to beat the traffic. Besides, I’m guessing she has a job and us showing up unannounced is going to throw a big wrench in her day.” She pushed herself to her feet and headed towards the kitchen. “Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
She left him in the living room and listened as he made a call. She rummaged in the fridge, gathering ingredients to make chicken salad, suddenly craving a nice, thick sandwich.
“Jimmy, it’s Chris. Yes, I know about tomorrow. Call ahead and set up a time. Leave earlier if you have to.” A pause. “No I’ll make sure she’s ready. Thanks.”
