Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery

by Sharon Canipe

  Luke didn’t say anything, but he quit crying and looked toward Lin. “Thanks for telling me about that,” he said. “Now I know I have to do something. I was telling the truth when I said I didn’t know where your friend Sue was, but I do think I know who has her, and I have some ideas about where to look for her. Do you think, if I find her, that’ll help my case?”

  “Luke, I can’t make any promises, but I do know that if you can help me find her. I’ll speak up for you. I don’t know how you got mixed up in whatever is going on here, but I don’t think you want to hurt anyone. Now let’s get out of here and try to find Sue.”

  Luke gave Lin a strange look, but he reached to start the engine. As he did so she reached for the shotgun and moved it over toward her side of the truck. “I’d feel a lot safer if this thing were put away somewhere,” she said—hoping she sounded braver than she felt.

  Luke smiled at her and said, “Let me have it. I’ll put it in the gun rack. I promise, but I need to have it where I can get it. We might need it later.” Lin relinquished the weapon to him and he did, as he promised, place it in the rack behind the seat before putting the truck in gear and heading out.

  They drove in silence for a few miles, heading out on Hwy. 421. Lin thought Luke might be heading for the Parkway, for the interchange at Deep Gap, but instead, he turned on Hwy. 221, heading toward West Jefferson. He drove in silence. Lin wanted to talk more—to learn more about what was going on here, but she was afraid of losing the rapport she seemed to be building with her captor so she remained quiet. As they progressed toward Ashe County the fog seemed to lift a bit making it easier to see the road. They passed a sign, indicating they were in the Fleetwood community and then Luke made a turn left onto a dirt road. The road was muddy and rutted. The truck bounced a lot, but Luke seemed to have good control. They didn’t slip or spin.

  Finally Lin got up the courage to ask about their destination. “Where are we going? What makes you think we’ll find Sue down this road?”

  “You don’t need to know,” Luke spoke gruffly now, “It’s better if you don’t know about all this—besides she might not be here.” He said nothing more.

  Finally, he pulled off the road and opened the truck door. He reached for the shotgun, removing it from the rack. “OK. We walk from here. Maybe you’d better stay here. You might fall with that boot and all.”

  “I’m going,” Lin insisted, “I can make it and besides. I’m scared to be left out here alone.” She reached down and tightened the boot around her still swollen and painful ankle, but she tried not to show that she was hurting. She opened the door and left the truck. It wasn’t raining and the fog wasn’t as thick here, but she felt a damp chill penetrating her body. She wished she had a jacket of some sort, but she didn’t.

  Luke came around and offered her his arm. Together, they left the clearing and headed for a path that led into the woods. The path was narrow and Luke was having a difficult time trying to balance the shotgun and walk beside Lin to assist her. Finally, she stopped; tugging on his sleeve she asked, “Do you see any small limbs around here, anything that would make a good walking stick? I could use that for balance, and you could go in front and keep a good grip on the gun.”

  Luke apparently agreed that was a good idea. He left her for a moment and ventured into the woods a short distance returning with a stout limb about two inches in diameter. “Try this,” he said.

  It helped a good bit. Luke was able to walk in front of Lin, moving bushes and vines that crowded their path. With the aid of the stick she was able to follow more easily. Her foot and ankle were still quite painful, but she managed. She didn’t want to think about the extra damage she might be doing by not following the doctor’s orders. She’d been on it a lot longer than the half-day she was allowed. Oh well, she thought. It’s too late to worry about that now, besides Sue is out here somewhere and who knows what sort of shape she’s in. She pressed on, working doggedly to stay close to Luke. The further they went, the harder it was for her to keep up. The woods became more dense and the path was barely a trace.

  “We’re almost there,” Luke had paused and waited for her to catch up.

  “Almost where?” Lin asked, “Where are we going?”

  “There’s an old mine area just ahead. That’s where I think they may be hiding your friend,” Luke replied.

  “Who’re they?” Lin still didn’t know whom they were pursuing.

  “Shut up,” Luke whispered, “I hope no one else is here, but if anyone is they can hear us now. You wait here for a moment. I’ll go check this place out.”

  Lin waited, hunched down behind some thick bushes while Luke forged ahead. She could hear his steps as he moved forward. Then all was quiet. Suddenly two blasts rang out in quick succession. Someone cried out. Shotguns, Lin thought. She was now all too familiar with that sound. Her first instinct was to scream. To call for Luke, but she was afraid of discovery. She remained where she was—staying quiet but trembling from cold and fear.

  She heard the unmistakable sound of someone trampling about in the woods just ahead of her, but she couldn’t see what was happening. She could hear at least two persons with deep voices talking, but couldn’t understand exactly what they were saying. Then the voices were quiet and the sounds were of someone moving through the forest toward her. She looked around, trying to find a place to hide but found only small brushy trees and thick shrubs. Finally, she chose a medium sized rhododendron and attempted to squat down behind it. No sooner had she tried to conceal herself than a tall, angular form burst through from the path.

  “Here she is,” a deep voice called, and a strong arm jerked her up on her feet. She struggled, but she was no match for this man. She tried to get a good look at his face, but he had a large hat pulled down to his eyes and his coat collar was turned up. All she could really tell was he had a long beard. There was something familiar about him though. Where had she seen him before? Just as she was trying to gather her thoughts, another arm reached out and grabbed her from behind. She screamed out for help, but there was no one to hear her.

  Her first assailant drew back his hand and slapped her hard across the face. She felt a warm trickle of blood oozing from her nose. “Shut up, bitch. We’ve had enough of you—and your friend. You need to learn to mind your own business.”

  Something hard struck her from behind, hitting her squarely on the back of the head. She heard nothing but the ringing in her ears. She felt her knees collapsing and the world went totally dark.

  Chapter 26

  Neal slammed his cell phone down on the king-sized bed in frustration. What was going on back in North Carolina? He’d told Lin to call him back after she notified the authorities about the intruder, but she hadn’t. He’d tried to call her numerous times but got no answer. The last time he’d gotten some strange recording that the number was no longer in service. He didn’t know what was going on back there, but he knew it was nothing good.

  He had called the Watauga County Sheriff’s department but had only been able to reach the dispatcher. Even though he’d been assured that someone would investigate his report, he felt uneasy. He’d personally observed how Deputy Dave Winkler had reacted to earlier problems reported by Lin and Sue. He didn’t feel at all confident that anyone would follow through this time. Lin had said Sue was already missing, and now he felt sure Lin was missing also—at least from his perspective.

  I need to reach that park ranger somehow—Mark Scott, he thought. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a cell phone number for him and it was still early morning on Tuesday back east. No one would be at park headquarters for another four or five hours at least. He didn’t know where to turn. Finally, he decided to try the only other agency he could think of—he would try the FBI.

  He called the local Flagstaff listing for the Bureau but only reached a recording asking that he call back during regular office hours, or if he had an emergency, contact local law enforcement. Then he thought of Deputy Billy Taylor of the Co
conino County sheriff’s department. Billy had been involved with Lin and with him in solving a case more than a year ago when Lin had been volunteering at Wupatki National Monument. He’d seen Billy several times since then. In fact, he thought he was still dating the law enforcement ranger at the park. He’d bumped into them together at a local restaurant recently. Danielle was her name he recalled. Neal felt sure he must still have Billy’s personal number somewhere in his contact list. He grabbed the phone off the bed and did a quick search. There it was. It was after midnight, but he had nowhere else to turn. He quickly punched in the numbers, hoping the deputy hadn’t turned off his cell phone for the night.

  A sleepy Billy Taylor answered after several rings.

  “Sorry to wake you up Billy. This is Neal Smith, and I couldn’t think of anyone else who might be able to help me.” Neal quickly tried to bring Billy up to date, telling him all that he knew about what might be going on back in North Carolina.

  “I know that Sue Gray is missing, and, at this point, I have to assume that Lin may be missing also. I need to find a way to get in touch with the FBI and the Park Service back there. He explained that Mark Scott and FBI agent Zach Taylor were involved in the current investigation.

  “The problem is that I don’t have their contact information, and the local FBI office is closed. Do you know any of the agents here who might be willing and able to get in touch with someone in North Carolina? I really think that time is of the essence,” Neal was pleading for help.

  “I do have numbers for the local folks,” Billy was wide awake now, “but they’re at my office. Could you meet me there in about half an hour? We’ll see what we can come up with.”

  “Thanks, Billy,” Neal was relieved, at least for the moment. “I’ll be there.”

  When he ended the call, Neal suddenly realized that he was sitting on the bed stark naked. He’d just gotten out of the shower when Lin had called, and he’d been so frantic trying to reach her and then trying to do something to help that he’d not taken the time to dress. He donned a pair of jeans and a tee shirt and slipped his feet into a pair of casual canvas boat shoes. He hastily ran a comb through his hair and grabbed a light jacket before heading out to meet Billy.

  As he was driving out Butler Avenue toward the county law enforcement facility on Sawmill Road, he thought about his situation. Today was Tuesday. He still had some furniture at his home yet to be picked up by purchasers. All that stuff was supposed to be gone by Thursday morning, and the movers were supposed to get the remaining stuff into storage by Thursday afternoon. The closing for the sale of his house was scheduled for Friday and he was supposed to fly to North Carolina on Saturday. He wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to manage, but he knew that he couldn’t wait that long to go back. He resolved that, as soon as all the businesses involved were opened, he was going to make other arrangements. He’d have to act today; tomorrow was the 4th and everyone would be off for the holiday. He had to get back. He had to find Lin.

  When he arrived at the law enforcement center, he saw Billy still seated in his dark blue SUV apparently waiting for him. Someone was with him. Neal was a little surprised to see Danielle exit the car along with Billy; apparently she’d been spending the night at his place.

  “Hello, Neal,” Danielle seemed a little embarrassed that her relationship had been revealed. Evidently though, she’d not been concerned enough to remain behind. “When Billy told me this was about Lin and Sue I had to come along. I want to help if I can, and I might be able to get in touch with that ranger you mentioned was involved. I’ve already tried a couple of district folks back east but so far no luck in getting a number for Mark Scott. I’ll keep trying though.”

  “Thanks, Danielle,” Neal replied as they walked toward the building, “I’m sorry, I ‘er intruded on your evening like this.”

  Danielle smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry. Like I said, I want to help.” She stretched out her hand to reveal a lovely diamond engagement ring. “Billy and I got engaged last month, and we’re talking about getting married this fall.”

  “Congratulations,” Neal smiled. “Lin and I have our wedding plans set for September back in North Carolina—at least they are mostly set. I’ll have to tell her about you and Billy—she’ll be happy to hear that news.” He found himself feeling a bit choked up when he thought about his own wedding—the fact that his bride-to-be was probably missing right now…

  By this time Billy had the door unlocked and the three of them were heading down the hall to his office. Danielle was continuing to try numbers of park service folks she knew back east. Finally, she hit pay dirt—a colleague currently working in Asheville whom she had known in training also knew Mark Scott and had his personal number. Danielle went into the next room to make the call because Billy was on the phone trying to reach a contact in the local FBI office who might be able to locate a number for Zach Taylor. Neal felt helpless, but all he could do was wait.

  A few minutes later, Danielle poked her head into Billy’s office and asked Neal to come talk to Mark Scott. A wave of relief swept through Neal; finally contact had been made with someone back in North Carolina.

  Mark, of course, already knew about Sue’s likely abduction and he told Neal about that search. “We’re just waiting right now, but we’ll resume looking as soon as the sun is up—now you say Lin is missing also?”

  Neal told Mark everything he knew, everything Lin had managed to tell him before the intruder interrupted her. He told Mark that evidently Lin and Ted Whitley had gone to Luke Taylor’s home thinking that Sue might be there… “ I know that they didn’t find her, but the intruder interrupted Lin before she could tell me all that had happened, so I don’t know if they learned anything of significance or not…I just can’t say. I’m just pretty sure she’s missing now because I cannot reach her—her cell phone seems to be out of service.”

  Mark was concerned, “I see what you’re saying…she didn’t mention Whitley when you talked? Was he with her still?”

  “She didn’t mention him, but I’m pretty sure she was alone because she said she’d have to check on the noise at the back door. If Ted had been there he could’ve done that,” Neal added.

  “Well, OK. Sounds like I’d better get back to work right away. I’ll call Zach Taylor and check with the locals too. Thanks for calling Neal.”

  “Mark, let me give you my own cell phone number. This one belongs to Danielle. I’ll get yours from her. Please call me the minute you find them—the minute you have any information at all, please…”

  “I will, Neal. I’ll do that, I promise.” He ended the call.

  Neal felt somewhat better. At least someone back in North Carolina knew that Lin was missing also—someone who would start working to find both of the missing women. He went back into Billy’s office and made a note of Mark’s number for his own contact list before returning the phone to Danielle. Billy was obviously talking with someone. In a few moments he ended that conversation and turned back to Neal.

  “I did finally reach Zach Taylor and gave him the information. He was already aware that Sue was missing, and he ended our conversation when Mark Scott was trying to reach him,” Billy reported.

  “Then I guess that’s all that we can do from here,” Neal sat down with a sigh, “Thanks so much Billy, you too Danielle. I was spinning my wheels searching for a way to help earlier.”

  “I’m glad you thought of me,” Billy extended his hand as they rose to leave, “I’m glad that Danielle and I were able to get in touch with the folks you needed to update on the situation—I just hope they find Lin and Sue right away.”

  “Me, too,” Neal said. “I feel so helpless being way out here. I’m going to try to get back there as soon as possible. I just need to contact some folks about trying to wind up my business here quickly.” He looked at his watch. “Nobody will be open for several hours yet, though.”

  “Maybe, you can get some sleep now,” Danielle reached for his arm. “I kn
ow it’s hard when you’re worried, but you really need some rest—if you’re going to be trying to conclude your business and travel soon.”

  Neal nodded in agreement as the three of them exited the building. It was now almost two-thirty. He couldn’t possibly reach anyone before eight. There was nothing to do but go back to his hotel.

  When Neal arrived back in his room, he still felt wide-awake. He felt so helpless. He fumbled around in his luggage and extracted a bottle of award-winning Malbec he had purchased as a gift for Lin. He’d been planning to take it back for a celebration when he returned. Now he decided to open it and see if a couple of glasses would help him to relax and rest. I’ll get some more for Lin, he thought as he poured himself a generous amount in the plastic cup provided by the hotel.

  He laid back against the pillows fully clothed, sipping the rich, dark red wine. It felt warm and somewhat soothing going down, but he still was far from relaxed. His emotions were swinging back and forth—he was worried about Lin, about her safety, and at the same time, he felt almost angry at her—why did she always seem to be getting into these messes? What was it about her that seemed to attract trouble? Was this what their life was going to be like, always?

  Then he felt angry with himself for thinking along those lines. Lin didn’t ask for trouble—all this started when she tried to help a former student, then tried to help her friend Sue, who had certainly helped her in the past—why did it make him feel so angry, so upset that she did these things? Neal’s emotions were in a jumble he didn’t know what he felt anymore. He lay there alone, sipping the wine and tried to blank everything out. Finally, he felt the edges of his frayed nerves begin to relax, felt sleep trying to overtake him. He set the wine aside and turned out the light.

  ***

  When Neal awoke, he saw that light was streaming into the room through a crack in the curtains. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost seven. A quick glance at his cell revealed that he hadn’t missed any calls during the few hours he’d slept. He resisted the urge to call Mark Scott. Mark would call if he had any news, otherwise Neal would just be wasting his time—at least at this point.