Runs Deeper

by R. D. Brady

  Other than the blood and the body, the room was relatively undisturbed. The chairs had been pulled back from the table and stood upright around it. Miss Minnie hadn’t put up much of a fight. Of course, being she was only four foot eleven and maybe ninety pounds, she would’ve been easily overpowered.

  The dam of emotions cracked a little as he pictured the scene. Anger simmered along the crack. She never stood a chance. He knew better than to let his anger get in the way, but Miss Minnie deserved so much better than this. At least he felt better at the trickle of anger. He wasn’t an automaton after all.

  “What do you think?” Nevaeh asked, still in the doorway.

  Declan lowered the camera. “I think someone was waiting for her in here. They hid somewhere, maybe in the men’s bathroom, while she locked up, waiting for her to retrieve her boots and coat.”

  “You think it’s a man?”

  “Statistically, it’s much more likely, but I can’t say for sure. But I think they hid in the men’s room because Paula and Miss Minnie would be much less likely to check in there. At most, they would call in from the door.”

  “I asked Paula what the shutdown routine is. She normally starts on the second floor and walks the whole library. She said there was only one family here, Megan Schilling with her two boys. They walked out with her. So as far as Paula knew, it was only Miss Minnie after that. I’m going to stop by and speak with Megan after we finish processing the scene. And I’ll try to get a printout of everyone who was at the library for the last few days, but I’m not sure when Paula will be able to do that.”

  Declan knew that in cases like this, it would take days if not longer to get a list together. And even then, someone would be left out. Whoever killed Miss Minnie had probably taken pains to conceal themselves. Nevaeh needed to go through the motions, but he knew she was aware that it was highly unlikely the killer was on that list. But who knew? Maybe they’d get lucky, whoever it was.

  “You think she died last night?”

  “I’ll need to check her temperature, but I think rigor mortis has come and gone. The library closed at six last night. I’m betting she was dead before 6:30.”

  Declan walked carefully over to the body. A large knife was sticking out from the middle of Miss Minnie’s chest. Her eyes were open, as was her mouth. Declan knelt down, looking underneath the table, and could just make out the point of the knife. “Someone had a lot of anger. The knife goes all the way through the table.”

  “So you think it was someone who knew her?”

  “Most homicides are committed by people the victim knows, so chances are she knew her attacker.” Declan paused, studying the body. Miss Minnie’s neck had been sliced deep, at least an inch. Someone got up good and close to do that, which added to the idea that she knew them. The blood spray along the refrigerator looked arterial. It was a dark red, and there was a lot of it. He was pretty sure that was the cause of death. She was dead before she hit the table. The knife pinning her there was overkill. In fact, there were an additional dozen or so stab marks all over her.

  “Have you seen anything like this before?” Nevaeh asked.

  An image of Mel splayed out in the diner in Millners Kill flashed through Declan’s mind. “Yeah, I’ve seen scenes like this before.”

  Nevaeh took a stuttering breath. “I haven’t. I’ve seen murder scenes before, but there’s something about this one. I don’t know if it’s because I know Miss Minnie, but it seems crueler than most.”

  “I know what you mean. And I think it is crueler than most. Miss Minnie wasn’t a threat. She offered no physical barrier to the killer. If you wanted to kill her, there are a dozen easy ways to do it. You could probably just push her down really hard and you’d accomplish it. And it would have looked like an accident. No one would have known any better.”

  Nevaeh’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

  “Whoever did this wanted us to know it was murder. They’re sending a message for us to see.”

  “What?”

  “The rest of the library is undisturbed. Until you walk into this room, you wouldn’t know anything had happened. There’s no trail of blood. There’s no rushing out the door in a panic.” He nodded toward the sink in the back. “I bet if we pull that drain, we’ll find traces of blood from where the killer washed up. They locked up behind themselves. Have you seen her keys?”

  Nevaeh shook her head. “No. I didn’t want to disturb anything.”

  “Ten bucks says they’re missing. Whoever did this was organized, they were in control, despite what the scene looks like.”

  Nevaeh paled noticeably. “You don’t mean you think that… I mean, you’re not suggesting that this is the work of a serial killer, are you?”

  Declan shook his head. “Technically for someone to be considered a serial killer, there have to be at least three bodies. But what I am saying is whoever did this isn’t a novice. They’ve done this before. They’ll probably do it again.”

  “You can’t get all of that from a crime scene.”

  Declan shook his head, pulling himself out of the dark space he was occupying. “You’re right. I just have a feeling, but feelings aren’t evidence or proof. Now let’s get to work.”

  Declan headed to his bag to get the evidence collection bags, but the whole time he had this nagging sense of déjà vu. This is not Millners Kill. Jack’s locked up. Whatever happened here is not connected.

  His gaze strayed back to Miss Minnie, and a shudder ran through him. Are you sure? the little voice asked from the corner of his mind.

  He knelt down, rustling through his bag looking for what he needed. No, I’m not sure at all.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Steve pulled a pan of banana bread out of the oven and placed it on the counter. Bess had asked for it this morning, and when she’d mentioned it, Steve immediately thought it was a good idea. There was something about heavy snow days that made him want to have something warm from the oven.

  When he was little and there was a bad storm outside, his grandmother had always baked something. Something about those smells wafting through the house made everything seem better, cozier, safer. It felt like home. He wanted Bess to have that same feeling.

  Strains of Mickey Mouse Club came from the living room. He and Julie rarely let Bess watch TV during the day, but he had a feeling that with this storm, if it was going to be as bad as everyone said, she was going to be watching a lot of TV over the next couple of days. He felt a little guilty at the idea, but he needed to get some work done. Plus, she was going to go a little bit batty at being stuck inside, and entertaining her was going to get more and more difficult as the hours went on.

  Besides, he’d been distracted ever since the conversation with the detectives. Nevaeh said not to worry, that he had an airtight alibi, but he couldn’t help it. Being innocent hadn’t helped him before.

  But he needed to shut it from his mind. Bess and Julie both deserved better than that. He smiled, thinking of the blanket fort he’d set up in the dining room. As soon as he finished up his paperwork for Reggie, he was definitely going to enjoy it with his little girl. He pulled off the oven mitts and placed them next to the banana bread, touched up his coffee, and headed to the kitchen table, where his computer was waiting for him.

  He’d just sat down when his phone rang. He smiled as he answered it. “Hey, Declan. Did you smell the banana bread? If you get over here fast, it’ll still be warm.”

  “I wish I could, but I’m not at the house.”

  Steve frowned at Declan’s tone. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m at the library. I wanted to give you a call before it gets to the media.”

  Steve tensed, gripping the phone a little harder. “Before what gets to the media?”

  “Miss Minnie was killed. It looks like it happened last night, just after the library closed.”

  “Oh my God. That’s awful. Did Nevaeh call you in?”

  “Yeah. I’m helping her process
the scene. I just didn’t want you hearing about it on the news. Being it’s so close to home, I wanted to give you a heads-up.”

  Steve frowned. He appreciated the call, but it seemed awfully early for Declan to be calling him. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

  Declan paused before he answered. “No, nothing concrete. Just a feeling, a sense of déjà vu.”

  The window in the kitchen rattled as snow blew against it. Another severe storm, another little town, another body.

  Steve lowered his voice, glancing toward the living room. “It’s not the same, Declan. Jack’s locked up. All that’s behind us now.”

  “I know, I know. It’s just… I don’t know. I guess I thought when we decided to move here that this kind of thing wouldn’t be part of our lives. I didn’t expect to be facing this head on. But you’re right. Jack’s locked up, so whoever’s responsible for this is someone else, someone who has nothing to do with either of us.”

  Steve didn’t like Declan’s tone. It had him worried. After everything had happened in Millners Kill, Declan had closed himself off. He’d blamed himself for not realizing what Jack was sooner. He’d raked himself over the coals for shooting Steve. Russ had helped him come back to the land of the living. But Steve knew from personal experience that it was very easy to slip back into that dark space.

  “Look, I know you’re probably going to be out for a while, but come by when you’re done. We’ll have something warm waiting for you, and you should bunk in the guestroom. I don’t like the idea of you being alone.”

  Declan paused before answering. “Actually, that sounds pretty good. I’ll give you a call when I’m heading over. It probably won’t be until this afternoon.”

  Steve said a silent thank-you. “Good. But be careful, the roads are a mess right now.”

  “I will. See you later.”

  “See you later.” Steve disconnected the call, laying the phone facedown on the table. He stared at the blowing snow, remembering the pelting rain seven years ago. The storm had been so bad it knocked out the bridge connecting Millners Kill to the mainland. They had been cut off.

  Then the bodies had started to pile up.

  This storm was going to cut everyone off as well, even though they were no longer on an island. But it wasn’t the same. This was just a storm. And Miss Minnie? Steve didn’t know who had killed her, but it wasn’t Jack, he knew that much. Just because a murder happened near him didn’t mean he had anything to do with it.

  Still, Steve gathered all of his papers and his laptop and his coffee and made his way into the living room. He’d work from the couch. As he stepped into the room, Bess grinned up at him from where she lay flopped down on the teddy bear Russ and Declan had given her and then immediately turned her attention back to the TV. Steve settled onto the couch and told himself he hadn’t moved in here to keep an eye on her.

  It wasn’t the same. Lightning didn’t strike twice. The hurt of Millners Kill was behind them. But that didn’t stop the chill from spreading over him as he turned his attention back to his work and tried to focus.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The air was cold. Death pulled the afghan from behind the couch and draped it over his shoulders. In the process, he knocked over half a dozen small glass animals on the side table. He ignored the mess.

  He walked over to the thermostat and flicked it a few times. Was the thing even working? He could practically see his breath, it was so cold. Of course the old bat kept the place at freezing temperatures. He’d been surprised to find she had that much blood in her. He expected her to have very little, or at least for it to move sluggishly.

  But it had left a beautiful spray across the refrigerator. Who knew in her last moments Miss Minnie could be so beautiful?

  He walked through the narrow hall and down the steep steps. Another curio filled with little figurines stood there. The little figurines and tchotchkes were all over the house.

  Along with doilies. Lots and lots of doilies.

  It was like living in a museum. Even the furniture was ancient and incredibly uncomfortable. This place was not going to work.

  He went to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea, because apparently Miss Minnie didn’t drink coffee. He wandered back to the front windows and glanced outside at the library parking lot. Declan was still there, but Nevaeh had left. A different deputy was in her place. He’d watched Nevaeh arrive this morning, followed by Declan.

  Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

  But that would have been risky. And he had too much to do. He headed up the stairs to grab a shower to try and warm himself up. Today was going to be a busy day.

  He’d start with a visit to an old friend.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The red Honda in front of Julie slammed on its brakes as a large SUV pulled onto the road without looking. Sucking in a breath, Julie tapped her brakes and steered to the right. The car in front of her skidded but managed to regain control. The pickup kept going, blithely unaware of the panic it had just caused.

  Julie shook her head, thinking that there were going to be more and more of these situations in the days to come. The weather predictions were calling for anywhere between two to four feet. Normally they’d get two to four feet over the course of a month, maybe two. But to have that much within forty-eight hours was going to be tough for all of them.

  This morning, Julie had stopped by the Northern Light Inland Hospital in Ellsworth to stock up on supplies. Julie worked in the hospital a few days a month to maintain her credentials, but the bulk of her time was spent in the Dover Medical Clinic, right on Main Street. The hospital was ninety minutes away, and if there was a critical case, Julie needed to get them stabilized before they could even think of making the trek.

  If the weather turned out to be as bad as people were saying, the trip would take double the time, increasing the need for the clinic. And if there was a major emergency, they wouldn’t be able to reach the hospital at all, so she needed to be as prepared as she could manage.

  She’d done a few rotations in trauma surgery and even sometimes took calls over at Northern. But there was a big difference between doing trauma surgery in a trauma hospital set up for exactly that and making do with what you could at a clinic. But she and Laura, the clinic’s only full-time nurse, had created a mini OR at the clinic, fully stocked, which she hoped she never had to use.

  She also hoped people stayed home and off the roads. She wasn’t sure what it was with a snowstorm that sent people up to the roof to try and remove the snow, but it was one of the most common accidents she’d seen these last few winters. Other acts of stupidity included jumping into a frozen hot tub and racing an ATV on ice-covered streets. Snowstorms sure brought out the weird. Maybe it was just people reacting to being stir crazy.

  She pulled onto Main Street and headed toward the clinic. It was nearing lunchtime. Debating for just a second, she turned on her indicator before she reached the turn for the clinic. Steve was home with Bess today because of the weather, and Julie would rather eat with them than get a sandwich from the coffee shop. Besides, she was worried about Steve. The detectives’ visit had really spooked him. It had spooked her too. But it was him she was really worried about.

  She quickly called the clinic.

  “Dover Medical Clinic.”

  “Hey, Laura, it’s me.”

  Julie could hear the smile in fifty-four-year-old Laura’s voice. “Hey, hon. You headed back yet?”

  “I’m already in Dover. But I was thinking of stopping at home to have lunch with Steve and Bess. Unless, of course, you need me?”

  “Haven’t seen a soul all morning, so take your time. I’ll call if I need help.”

  Julie laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a situation where you needed help.”

  Laura had a PhD in nursing. She’d been in the Navy as a medic and had spent another decade working as the head nurse of the emergency room at Northern. Overqualifie
d did not begin to describe her in her current position.

  “Well, there’s a first time for everything.” Laura paused. “Um, any chance Steve’s baked something today?”

  Julie smiled. Laura was like her—hopeless in the kitchen. “I heard rumors about banana bread. I’ll bring you some.”

  “Then I definitely insist you stop at home first. Give Steve and Bess hugs for me. “

  “Will do.” She disconnected the call.

  Her windshield wipers were working furiously, and she was driving slow. And even though she knew how dangerous the storm was going to be, she couldn’t help but think of how pretty it made the whole town of Dover look. There was something almost whimsical when snow lay pristine over all of the houses and yards.

  Three turns later, and she was on her street. She passed by Declan and Russ’s house, an old 1930s Victorian. She knew that they would make it gorgeous, but man it was a mess right now after having been abandoned for years.

  Two doors later, she was pulling into the driveway of her and Steve’s already renovated Cape Cod. They had bought it five and a half years ago, just before Bess was born. She sat in the driveway now, staring up at it. She loved this house. It was white with black shutters. Last summer, she and Steve had stained the front porch dark black and refinished the porch poles. Then they’d put up a porch swing.

  Her best memories of that summer were her, Steve, and Bess curled up on that swing, looking up at the stars. She pulled into the garage and a few minutes later was in the mudroom, stomping her boots to remove the snow.

  “Mommy!” Bess came tearing through the kitchen, throwing her arms around Julie, nearly knocking her over.

  Julie laughed as she wrapped her arms around her. “Hey there, snuggle bug. What have you been up to?”