She heard Neal approaching from the stairs and stepped out to meet him. He was carrying the small shotgun Sue had used against an earlier intruder. He collapsed on the side of the bed, “I don’t really know much about how to shoot one of these, but it makes a pretty good club. Knocked our intruder out cold. I taped his hands and ankles with duck tape before I came up. Did you reach anyone?
Lin nodded, “I got the sheriff’s office and then I called Mark. He’s on his way and the dispatcher said she’d contact the officer on patrol who should be by any minute.”
“I think the patrol officer’s already here,” Neal replied, “Our intruder was none other than our good friend, Dave Winkler.”
Chapter 32
Mark Scott arrived about fifteen minutes later, about the same time as a county patrol car also pulled into the driveway. The deputy who appeared was one of the young men who had been out on an earlier call, but Lin couldn’t recall his name.
“Our intruder is out in the kitchen,” Neal said as he escorted the two men back to where Dave Winkler lay bound hand and foot. The temporary fix on the back door had been the point of entry and now the door had an open hole through which the rain and mist crawled into the house. Winkler stirred as they approached, he was regaining consciousness.
Lin sat down at the kitchen table, propping her crutches again the wall nearby. The young deputy simply stared down at the bound form of his superior, not sure what to say or do it appeared.
Mark approached Dave Winkler and lifted him up to a seated position, “Deputy Winkler, how do you explain your presence here?” he asked. Since the younger man was speechless he’d decided to take over.
Dave Winkler tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head. Finally, he looked around at the scene, “I think I’d ask the same thing of you,” he stammered, “I was on patrol out this way, simply doing my job when the call came in. I was here to investigate a report of an intruder. No one answered the door when I rang so I came in here through the back—er-er I found it open.” He moaned as he struggled to get up. Mark Scott bent to help him, more or less dragging him over to one of the chairs across from Lin.
“I should’ve waited for my backup here to arrive when I realized the source of the call; now I’ve been assaulted,” he raised a vicious, snarling face toward Lin, “ I guess you’ll be visiting your boyfriend there in jail soon. The sentence for assaulting a police officer is pretty steep I hear.”
The young officer who’d arrived when Mark did finally found his voice, “I-I-er, I didn’t get a call for backup—I’m the regular patrol officer in this district tonight. When the call came in, it was for a first response. My radio’s been on all night—that was the first call, I’m sure.”
Winkler simply ignored the young man, turning instead to Mark Scott, “I’d appreciate it if you would release me here. I need to place this gentleman under arrest,” he nodded toward Neal.
About that time Lin could see lights sweeping the driveway as someone else arrived.
“That would be Zach Taylor, probably,” Mark said. He turned to Dave Winkler, “I expect he’s going to want to question you further about the ginseng poaching, not to mention the kidnapping and assault charges related to Ms. Hanna, her friend, and Luke Taylor. Then there’re still some past crimes you may be able to help us clear up—Deputy Winkler.”
By this time Winkler had decided not to talk anymore. He sat there sullenly, not even bothering to look up when Zach Taylor entered the room. Mark suggested that the young deputy now make a call for back-up. “You’ll be taking Deputy Winkler back to the jail I presume, and you might need some help.”
Neal and Lin proceeded to bring Zach Taylor up to date on the evening’s events while the young lawman was busy arranging for assistance in transporting his prisoner. Throughout all of this, Dave Winkler refused to talk at all; his only words were a request that he be allowed to call his attorney.
“You can contact him when you get back to the jail,” Zach Taylor said curtly—not before.
At that moment, Lin’s cell phone rang. She picked it up and noticed that it was the hospital calling. She hoped it wasn’t bad news.
“Ms. Hanna, this is Liz Davis calling from the ICU at Watauga Medical. I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour, but you said to call, whatever time…Luke Taylor is awake and he’s asking to see you.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Lin responded, “While I’ve got you on the phone, how is Ms. Gray doing?”
“Oh, she’s doing quite well, I think. Resting comfortably tonight. I’m sure she’ll be moved to a regular room later today.”
Lin thanked the nurse for calling. “You don’t need to call Mark Scott or Zach Taylor,” she added. “I’m with them now and will give them the information about Luke. They’ll want to talk to him too.”
“Just remember, he’s still in ICU and he’s still quite sick,” Nurse Davis said, “Still only one visitor at a time and it’s you he asked for.”
Lin ended the call and turned to Mark and Zach, “You heard, I’m sure. Luke’s awake now, and we can talk to him—one at a time though.”
Zach Taylor smiled, “I’ll be eager to ask him what he knows about Deputy Winkler’s involvement in all this mess, but first I’m going to follow these guys back to the jail and talk to Winkler here.” He turned to Mark. You go to the hospital and try to talk to Luke. I’ll call you later.”
“I need to go to the hospital myself,” this was the first thing Winkler had said since the federal officers had arrived. “I was assaulted, I was unconscious, I probably have a concussion.”
Having found his voice earlier, the young deputy spoke up, “We’ll have you looked at by Dr. Parker at the jail, he’s on call tonight. He can decide if you need to go to the hospital.” He reached out and stripped the duck tape from Dave Winkler’s wrists, replacing it with handcuffs. Then he removed the tape from his ankles and led the sullen, pouting Winkler out to his waiting patrol car.
Mark turned to Neal, “Let’s get over to the hospital as soon as we can. You can go into the sheriff’s office later this morning and give a full statement regarding what happened to the local authorities. Luke Taylor’s asking for Lin and I want her to have the chance to talk to him—even if I can’t right now.”
***
The ICU was eerily quiet when the three of them arrived. Lin was tired of manipulating herself on the crutches and had gladly accepted a wheel chair for the ride up in the elevator. “I’ll be glad when Monday comes,” she sighed, “The doc said I could put the boot back on then. I’ll be able to get around better.”
Nurse Davis met them when they got off the elevator. There was no one about except for the medical staff and a couple of family members keeping vigil in the waiting room. Neal and Mark were ushered in there to sit while the nurse took Lin down to see Luke.
“Just a few minutes,” the nurse said as she wheeled Lin into the room, “he just woke up, and he may be disoriented.” She quietly placed Lin’s chair near the head of the bed and left the room.
Luke seemed pale and drawn, almost melting into the white of the bed he lay on. The monitors flashed and beeped softly—measuring his vital signs. His eyes were closed, and Lin thought for a moment that this conversation might have to be postponed. She decided to try though.
“Luke, it’s Lin Hanna, I’ve come to see you. The nurse said you were asking for me.”
The transparent eyelids seemed to flutter, and then Luke opened his eyes and turned his head toward her. A slight smile seemed to trace his drawn lips. “Thanks,” Luke murmured, “you’ve been here before and talked to me. I remember you came. I wanted to talk to you then, but I couldn’t wake up. I’m so sorry about what I did that night—about taking you. That was wrong and I deserve to go to jail for that—I’m so sorry, but I was so frightened I didn’t know what to do.”
“What were you afraid of Luke?” Lin asked. “You can tell me now. You’re safe here, and no one is going to hurt you. Tell me whom you were
afraid of.”
Luke took a deep breath and fingered his blanket, “I was afraid of my uncles, Herman and Hiram, afraid of what they might do. I knew they took Ms. Gray. They wanted her out of the way. She kept poking into those old killings—all those people. They were afraid of what she might uncover. They wanted you too, but I got to you first. I’m so sorry. I was going to use you to bargain with them. I was going to take you to them and give you to them if they’d leave grandpa and me alone—leave us out of all this ginseng business—but that was wrong. I realized that when I finally got you. I couldn’t do it. I wanted to help you and Ms. Gray, but it was too late…” the young man turned his head away, ashamed for her to see his tears.
Lin reached out and took his hand. “No, Luke. It wasn’t too late. Sue’s here now, she’s right down the hall here, and she’s getting better, she’s going to be fine and so are you. They’re all in jail now—your uncles and Dave. What did Dave have to do with all this?”
“Dave Winkler started the whole thing,” Luke said. “He brought this man—George somebody—to see my uncles. This was a long time ago. They were business partners, he said. They were going to make a lot of money, and he’d make sure that nobody from the law bothered them.” Luke’s voice was trembling now. He was clearly growing tired; Lin thought she knew enough for now. Zach and Mark could talk with him later and get more information. The important thing was that he recover fully—so he could fulfill his role as a prime witness.
“You need to rest now, Luke,” she said. “Some federal officers will want to talk to you later, and I’ll be back to see you soon. Thanks for talking to me. Just remember, we all want to help you, and I won’t be pressing any charges against you. The other officers need your help and they’ll help you too. It’s all going to work out now. You just rest and get well.”
Luke nodded sleepily as Lin left, wheeling herself back toward the waiting room. “He’s asleep again right now,” she told Mark and Neal, “but he has a lot of information to share. He told me that Dave Winkler was behind this whole mess and all of it relates somehow to the ginseng poaching. He wasn’t able to talk long, but he did say that much. I think these old murder cases are linked into the whole situation too, although he didn’t get into the details of all that.”
Mark Scott shook his head, “You did well, Lin. We don’t want to wear him out while he’s still so sick, but thanks to you, we have a place to start with Dave Winkler. I think I’ll go meet Zach at the jail. We need to hit Winkler before he has time to lawyer up, if possible. Maybe, he’ll want to talk when he knows Luke is telling what he knows.”
“First, you need to get some security over here to watch over Luke. Now that he’s awake and talking, the guilty parties will be after him—wanting to shut him up,” Lin knew that word would travel fast about Luke’s waking up.
“You’re right,” Mark said, reaching for his phone and punching numbers. “I’ll stay here until someone comes to provide security.”
The first officers to appear were a couple of local Boone policemen. They set up to guard Luke’s door. “The county will send some folks over to relieve us later. We’ll share this duty for the time being,” they said.
By this time it was beginning to get light. Once again, they’d been up most of the night, but Lin was too worked up to want to sleep. She decided to look in on Sue before she left the hospital, as soon as the nurses would let her visit.
“OK, you stay here,” Neal said. “I’ll have Mark drop me off at the house and come back with your car. Then, maybe, we can go get some breakfast. That bowl of soup we ate yesterday afternoon is long gone. I’ll board up the back door again before I leave,” he added.
Lin watched him follow Mark down the hallway. For the first time since Sue had been taken, she finally felt like all this was coming to an end. She believed that soon everything would come out, and the families and friends of those who had died would finally have some answers. She headed back toward the nurses’s station to see if they would let her visit with Sue. It might still be early but she knew her friend would want to know about everything that had happened.
Epilogue
August 2012
Lin closed her suitcase and placed it against the wall near the bedroom door. She checked her watch, noting that she still had plenty of time to shower and dress before their dinner guests arrived. Fortunately, Boone was enjoying a taste of perfect summer weather having endured more than its share of rainy, foggy days earlier. This evening would be perfect for dinner on the patio.
She heard Sue and Neal stirring downstairs in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on some of their culinary specialties. It was great to have Sue back on her feet again, even though she had to use crutches still for walking any distance. Most of the time around the house she could manage with a cane. After surgery her broken leg had healed well. She had begun physical therapy just the week before. Sue had to take leave from her volunteer position on the Parkway but, maybe, in a few weeks, she might be able to resume light duties. With her continued therapy she would definitely be staying on here for a couple more months.
Lin sat on the edge of the bed and removed the bandage from her ankle. She was still wrapping it when she was going to be on her feet for an extended period, but she was about ready to give that up.
We’re all on the mend, Lin thought. Ted Whitley had returned to his own apartment after spending a couple of weeks with them earlier, and was making great strides with his therapy, growing stronger by the day.
I’m going to miss this place and these people, Lin thought. Fortunately, she’d been able to get in a few more weeks of volunteering after recovering from the “ordeal of the ore pits”, as she’d labeled the abductions. Now she was leaving the area to accompany Neal to Arizona where he would begin working on the archeological dig near Tucson. They would stay there until they returned to North Carolina for their wedding in September.
Fortunately, they’d been able to conclude most of their wedding plans by phone, and Lin’s daughter Lucy had promised to follow up on the few remaining details now that she was back from her vacation. The only thing Lin had to do was find a dress, but she’d have plenty of shopping time in Tucson while Neal was working.
She laid out a pair of linen slacks and a bright print shirt to wear that evening and headed for the shower. Lin was looking forward to this evening. It was to be sort of a combination farewell dinner for Neal and her and celebration of their success in solving at least some of the Parkway Murders, as the press now called them. Mark Scott and Zach Turner were coming tonight to join them.
Unfortunately, Luke Taylor couldn’t be there. Luke was still at a rehabilitation facility, but he was also making good progress toward what would eventually be a full recovery. He had promised Lin that he would be present at her wedding next month.
When she finished dressing Lin went downstairs to relieve Sue in the kitchen so that she could change. It did her good to hear Sue laughing and joking with Neal; she was obviously feeling much stronger these days.
“Everything is really ready for dinner,” Sue smiled. “If you’ll get the appetizers and wine ready we’ll be all done.” She turned to Neal, “If I can borrow the services of your fiancé to help me with the stairs…”
“My pleasure,” Neal responded enthusiastically. He was happy that Sue had made so much progress also. He offered his arm for support as she made her way carefully upstairs using her cane.
Lin put ice in the bucket to keep the wine chilled and prepared a tray of appetizers. “Did you finish packing?” Neal asked as her returned to assist her. “We’re going to have to leave early tomorrow to make our flight.”
“All ready to go,” Lin smiled. “How ‘bout you?”
“My bag is already sitting in the hallway down here,” Neal nodded toward the foyer. “I’ll bring yours down after dinner.”
The doorbell rang and Neal left to admit Ted Whitley, the first of their guests to arrive. He carried a notebook and pen alo
ng with the dessert he’d promised to bring. “I can’t wait until Mark and Zach arrive,” Ted smiled. “I expect I’ll be able to finally finish preparing my series on the murders after I hear what they have to tell us. I’ve written all the background material, and I think it’s going to be a smashing series if I do say so myself.”
Ted walked with a firm stride, but his slightly hunched shoulders revealed that he had yet to regain his full upper body strength. Nothing could stop his enthusiasm, however. He was moving full steam ahead with his series on the Parkway Murders and was looking forward to helping Sue with her fictional account of these events.
Sue was planning to stay through the fall to work on this project. She needed the time for her own further recovery, and Frank Leonard was not planning to return home before the end of the year, anyway. Her injury and subsequent surgery had given Sue the excuse she needed to turn down Frank’s invitation to visit him in Italy; Lin, however, was pretty sure Sue’s blossoming relationship with Ted Whitley had more to do with that decision than did her health.
Ted and Neal took the drinks and appetizers out to the patio while Lin put the finishing touches on a salad to accompany their Lasagna dinner. Soon, Sue joined her in the kitchen.
Mark and Zach arrived together shortly thereafter. They had invited Zach to bring his wife; however, she’d not made the trip up to the mountains this time. Zach was here to work with Mark as they prepared for the first of the upcoming trials.
The actual trials would take place in federal court in Charlotte, but it was more convenient to prepare up here, near the place where the crimes had occurred.
Sue went to the door to greet their guests.
“Hey, look at you,” Mark grinned as he entered, “You look like you’re doing great. How’s the leg?”
Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 42
