“Still a bit stiff,” Sue responded, “I still need some assistance walking, but I’m seeing improvement almost every day now. Should be able to ditch the crutches altogether soon and maybe the cane will go in a couple of months.”
They made their way to the patio where Ted and Neal were pouring glasses of wine for everyone. Lin could hardly wait to pepper Mark and Zach with questions but decided to try to practice some self-control and socialize a bit first. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long.
Ted broke the ice by proposing a toast to the success of the group in solving these crimes and to the upcoming publication of his series about them. “Which I plan to complete as soon as these gentlemen fill us in on where things stand at this point,” he concluded.
Lin jumped in eagerly, “Yes, we’re all eager to know how the prosecution of these cases is coming together.”
“I’d have to say things are coming together rather nicely at this point,” Zach began. “George Reagan struck a deal to be a witness against Dave Winkler and the Hinson brothers in exchange for not being tried as an accessory to the more serious crimes. We’re sure he knew about them, but he didn’t actually participate. He’ll face charges for the ginseng poaching. It’s true that he’ll probably only get a few months of jail time, but he’ll also face some stiff fines—serious enough to wipe out most of the profits he made from those illegal sales. Besides, we needed his testimony to strengthen our cases against the other men. George will go on trial first—in just a couple of weeks.”
“What about the others?” Lin queried. “ Will his testimony be sufficient to convict them of murder?”
“I think so,” Mark offered, “especially when combined with Luke Taylor’s testimony. Luke has been able to tell us that his uncles definitely killed Sandy Hill and Bryan Lee. He heard them discussing both events after the fact. He is not certain about the death of Peter Dunne and the shooting of Ellie Clark. He knows that his grandfather didn’t do it though. He thinks maybe his uncles talked Eustace into that confession, taking advantage of the old man’s confusion.”
Zach joined the conversation, “Ellie is coming back to testify also. We did a voice test for her with both Herman and Hiram and she feels certain the voice she heard was like theirs. Her memory is also clear as to the strength of the person who pushed her over that ledge. On its own, her testimony wouldn’t be enough for a conviction, since she can’t make a visual identification, but we still plan to use it to strengthen our overall case against the two of them.”
“Let’s see…” Lin pondered, “that leaves the man whose dismembered body was found and Luke’s girl friend, Sara Fletcher—what about them?”
“We have no real evidence in either of those cases, but we think they are also related somehow…if we can make the charges in the Hill and Lee cases stick, I think we’ll feel satisfied that we have solved the others as well. The evidence may be circumstantial, but those deaths fit the pattern of the others, and there is absolutely no evidence pointing to anyone else,” Mark explained.
“I’m impressed,” Neal said. “You guys have done a wonderful job with all this.”
Mark smiled and nodded toward Lin and Sue, “Without these ladies and their persistence in trying to get to the bottom of all this, we wouldn’t have gotten very far. Ted too. His research was very valuable.”
Lin had one more burning question. “What about Dave Winkler? He’s not going to get off scott free here is he?”
“Definitely not,” Zach said. “While there is no evidence that he actually participated in any of the killings, we have Luke’s testimony, as well as that of his uncles and George Reagan, that Dave was the mastermind behind the poaching operation. He enlisted the Hinson’s to collect the ginseng and connected them with Reagan for the marketing—for his own healthy cut of the proceeds, of course. I seriously doubt that Winkler was behind any of the killings. I think things got out of hand with the Hinson’s in that department; however, there is strong evidence that he knew about the crimes and failed to do anything about them. He’s facing a substantial sentence for all his involvement.”
“I have one additional question,” Sue spoke for the first time, “Did Sandy Hill’s camera ever turn up in any of this investigation? Her friend felt sure that would prove what she saw and maybe who killed her.”
“No, I’m afraid it was never found,” Zach replied, “Luke told us that he saw it at the home of one of his uncles, shortly after the girl was found dead, but apparently it later disappeared. They probably got rid of it somewhere. Fortunately, with Luke’s testimony we should have a good case without it.”
“Well, that seems to cover the situation with the murder cases,” Lin commented. “I’m still curious about our intruders here. We caught Dave Winkler the last time, but was he responsible for the earlier instances?”
Zach shook his head, “Probably not, though he may have had a hand in planning them. I’m sure he had knowledge of them. We really don’t have positive evidence to prove this, but I feel that the Hinson brothers were responsible for those incidents. They aren’t talking much though, and we can’t be certain which one it was. Luke thinks they did that to discourage you folks, but he swears he had nothing to do with any of those incidents—just your abduction Lin.”
“And we know why he did that; he was terrified of his uncles and especially Dave Winkler. He was sure that something bad would happen to him if he went to the county jail. I think initially he planned to hold me hostage and try to negotiate something for himself, but he simply couldn’t do it. When we went to the ore pits, I think he was planning to try to free Sue. I’m so glad that he’s recovering, and that he can help convict those who were responsible for all this,” Lin still had no intention of pressing charges against the young man.
“It’s getting dark fast now,” Sue commented, “We’ll need to get some light out here if we’re going to eat dinner, and I’m sure everything is ready and waiting for us.”
Everyone pitched in to set the table, light some candles and serve the food. As the group gathered to enjoy their meal, Mark Scott rose to propose a toast. “To the best team of amateur detectives I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Without these ladies I’m not sure we could’ve done this.”
Lin and Sue smiled and thanked everyone. “It was a joint effort,” Sue said. “After all, we wound up at the bottom of a hole in the ground and had to be rescued.”
“And nothing would’ve happened without the efforts of all of you to solve these cases,” Lin added.
“OK. Enough patting each other on the back,” Neal chimed in, “Let’s eat before this delicious food gets cold.”
***
It was growing late by the time everyone left. Ted remained to help with the clean up which was accomplished in short order by the four of them working together.
Knowing that she and Neal had to get up quite early to make their flight to Arizona, Lin announced that she was heading up to bed. “I’m right behind you,” Neal said, “ and we’d better set an alarm to make sure we don’t oversleep.” He turned to Ted and extended his hand. “It’s been great getting to know you Ted. I’ll look forward to seeing you in a few weeks at our wedding.”
“ I’m looking forward to the occasion,” Ted smiled. “ I understand there are several social events planned for that weekend so I think I should try to bring a date, don’t you?” He winked knowingly, nodding at Sue who was putting up the last of the dishes.
“You already have a date, Mr. Whitley,” Sue grinned and winked at him, “and you’d better not forget it!”
Afterword
Our National Parks are places of great peace and beauty that we can all enjoy; however, the parks are not immune to the problems that we encounter in other places as well. We owe much to the men and women who serve as rangers and who protect our parks and their visitors daily.
While this is a work of fiction and the incidents related herein are the product of the author’s imagination, the Blue Rid
ge Parkway and its environs have been the scene of true crimes, some of which do remain unsolved. If the reader has further interest in learning more about such incidents, there are numerous resources available in print and online.
Two publications that might be of interest are:
A Park Ranger’s Life: Thirty-two Years of Protecting Our National Parks by Bruce Bytnar.
Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks by Andrea Lankford.
There are numerous other publications and resources that can be found through researching the Internet. Ginseng poaching is a real threat to this endangered plant species and cases continue to appear in the news on a regular basis.
About the Author
Sharon Canipe is a retired educator. During her working career she served as a teacher and school administrator. Since her retirement she has worked part-time as an educational consultant, volunteer, and online university instructor and mentor to graduate students.
Her volunteer experiences and love of travel led to her interest in sharing her “journey” through writing. Her books are set in areas she has come to know and love.
Sharon and her husband Steve live in Tucson, Arizona. They love to travel worldwide and enjoy spending time with their two adult children and their “boys” Lucky and Snoopy—two lively “chowbradors.”
Check out my website: canipe.net
Check out my page: facebook.com/linhannamysteries
Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 43
