Convictions: Kelly and Stephen (13 page)

“Yea, that’s why I’m calling you.  Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think it was a suicide.  I hope you don’t mind but I needed someone to bounce this off of, someone on the outside. ”

“Ok Kyle, go ahead.  What makes you think it wasn’t a suicide.”

“The medical examiner’s report; he found small traces of a glue like substance on her wrists, and some fibers, both consistent with components of duct tape.  It wasn’t much but it was enough to get me thinking that maybe she had help in her death. ”

“Really?  Well that’s unfortunate.  If your theory is correct then that would indicate that there might be a killer on the loose in Hanlon.  That’s unsettling information.”

“Yep, the way I got it figured someone might have bound her, hung her, and then removed the duct tape hoping it would be closed quickly as a suicide.  The girl didn’t way ninety pounds so a strong young man could have overcome her easily.  Does that seem like a good theory to you?”

“I don’t see any flaws in your theory.  At the very least it looks like you have a pretty good reason to not closing the case as a suicide. 

“That’s what I thought too; just wanted to get another opinion.”

“Keep digging Kyle, you’ll find the key.  Don’t forget to consider a drifter.  If your theory is right then let’s hope that whoever killed her isn’t a resident of Hanlon, but instead was someone just passing through.”

“That certainly would be better for the people of Hanlon, but then we might never find whoever did this.  I’ll keep at it though.  Thanks for listening Ms. Sherman.  Good luck getting home.”

“Thank you Kyle.  I’m going to need it.  Hopefully I’ll be back in a day or two.  I’ll stop by to see how you made out.”

They disconnected the call and she sat thinking about this news.  What possible motive could someone have for murdering such a shy and tormented young girl? 

Kelly didn’t know Jackie at all, but what she saw of her pointed to a severely sheltered young girl, without a friend in the world, whose whole life existed in the lobby of the Snow Shoe Inn.  Was it possible that a traveler through Hanlon had stayed at the Inn, somehow formed a connection with her and then for whatever reason felt the need to kill Jackie because of it?  Or was it a family issue, maybe a case of domestic violence gone wrong? 

Well, one thing was for sure, whatever happened Kyle would get to the bottom of it.  He had an incredibly keen sense for being such a small town deputy.  They were lucky to have him.  She’d be surprised if a much larger town didn’t come along one day and steal him away from Hanlon.  And if that day did come, he would be deserving of the promotion.

Now it was time to get back to her predicament.  Thinking about her next move she glanced up at the arrival/departure monitors, which had been conveniently placed in front of her.  There was nothing she wanted more in the world right now that to be home in the cabin with Stephen.  But that was not going to happen, at least not today.  She studied the departure monitor.  One flight jumped out at her no matter how many times she tried to ignore it; a forty five minute flight from Seattle to Springfield, Oregon.

Even giving consideration to that flight felt quite a bit like a betrayal to her.  After all, as far as Stephen was concerned, Kelly didn’t know that he was even from Oregon, much less his history with Amanda, or the unsolved case that still sat in some detective’s file drawer.  She had no business there.  But if she did take the flight she might be able to get in and out of Springfield with no one the wiser, and still catch the first flight home tomorrow after the weather cleared. 

No one in Springfield could know that she had a personal relationship with Stephen Long.  She would have to leave that bit out.  She would instead use her reputation as a published author to get what information could be obtained, and maybe it could help her to understand him better. 

If she could just eliminate these nagging doubts that she had for once and for all, then maybe she could get back to writing her books, and be the kind of lover that Stephen deserved, one without reservations; a woman as committed to her man as he was to her.  She might not be able to help Kyle with his questions from here, but maybe she could get some of her own answered. 

Without further thought she returned to the ticket counter.  She booked a seat on the next flight to Springfield.  She then booked another flight for tomorrow from Springfield back to Anchorage.  It was done.  There was no turning back now.

Kelly was shown to a small office near the back of the building and offered a chair to wait.  She rose when the man she was here to see came in.  She held out her hand “Detective O’Brien, thank your for seeing me on such short notice.  My name is Kelly Sherman”

“I know very well who you are.”  Detective Timothy O’Brien shook Kelly’s hand as he passed by her, taking a seat behind his incredibly cluttered desk.  “My wife is one of your biggest fans; she’s read every one of your books.  In fact she would kill me if she knew that you were here and I didn’t call her but your message said this was business.”

“Yes, that’s right.  I am doing research for a new book and I’d like to loosely base the plot on an unsolved death you had here many years back, the Amanda Bascom case?”

“Really?  May I ask why you chose that case?”

“I’m not sure really.  I was looking through several unsolved murder cases and something about the victim, Amanda, just stuck a cord with me.”

“Technically, Amanda Bascom’s case is not an unsolved murder.  We actually don’t know enough to classify it as a homicide, or even foul play, but we have suspicions based on some unusual aspects her death.”

“Were you the lead investigator on this case when it happened, sixteen years ago?”

“Yes, it was one of my first cases which is probably why the fact that it’s still open sticks in my claw.  I certainly would like to get it closed before I’m retired” he laughed slightly at the last part.

“What makes you think that it was something more than just a tragic accident?”

“Not much actually.  There were two other people on the trail nearby who are both very sure that they heard Amanda yell out ‘no, stop, don’t do this’ before they heard her scream and then presumably fall to her death.  If these two people are correct, then we can conclude that it’s quite possible she was forced off the ledge.  By all accounts she was a highly skilled hiker, very familiar with the trail that she was on.  For her to just suddenly fall doesn’t make sense to me.”

“There were no other witnesses?” 

“Unfortunately no, not at that point.  Earlier, a witness reported seeing her walking in the direction of the trail with a tall, dark haired man but this witness only saw the man from the back and couldn’t really say if they were together or just exchanging pleasantries.  Amanda hiked this area often so she knew most of the regular visitors.”

“Tall, dark hair, wouldn’t that loosely match the description of Amanda’s fiancée?”

“Hard to say; we have labeled her fiancée as a person of interest, someone we would at least like to talk to if he is willing, but he disappeared many years back and no one has been able to locate him.”

“Can you tell me more about him, the fiancé?  Do you consider him a possible suspect if Amanda was indeed pushed?”

“Possibly, but Ms. Sherman, this is still an open case and I am not at liberty to share of our investigative theories, especially with someone not connected to the case.  I’m sure you’ll understand?” 

Kelly replied “I understand.  Can you tell me more about Amanda then?”

It was Detective O’Brien’s time to question her “just out of curiosity, why do you choose unsolved cases for your book instead of a completed closed case?”

“Well, actually I choose people, victims if you will, to base my characters on, loosely of course.  I don’t really care if the case is open or closed because I create my own solutions” Kelly explained.  “It’s where the story takes me by its own accord, and in the end it gets closed in a way that suits the book.  Closed cases often subconsciously steer me in one direction when left to its own conclusions the book might take me elsewhere.”

“Well, in that case, there really isn’t much to say about Amanda.  She was by all accounts a genuinely nice young woman, deeply in love and planning her wedding.  She didn’t appear to have any enemies.  Her relatives described her life as one out of a fairy tale.  She and her fiancée had grown up together and everyone in both families just assumed that they would one day marry.  She wanted nothing more in the world than to be Mrs. Stephen Long and looked forward to starting a family right away.”

Kelly felt a stab of pain through her heart at the mention of his name.  Was it jealousy, that he had once been so in love and planning to marry another, or was it fear?  Fear that Stephen might have somehow been connected to her death in a way that Kelly couldn’t, or wouldn’t fathom.  Whatever the case, she just hoped she had been able to hide her reaction from the detective.

“No one can tell me why an experienced hiker, with all of the proper safety equipment, would just suddenly fall and the only people who may have actually witnessed her death have vanished.” He continued “but something happened out there, something out of the ordinary, and we will figure it out eventually.   I’m truly sorry that I can’t help you more.”

“No, thank you Detective, you have helped.  And thanks again for seeing me.”  Kelly stood to go and offered her hand.

“Ms. Sherman, I’d like to maybe get your take on one more piece that may or may not be connected to this puzzle.”

“Of course.”

“Less than a week later there was another suspicious accident, involving the father of Amanda’s fiancée.  Apparently this gentleman, Stephen Long, Sr., was traveling along a country road at night when lost control of his car, flipped a couple of times, and landed against a telephone pole, killing him instantly.  We have classified this as an accident because there is not a single shred of evidence to conclude otherwise.  It looked to us like a front tire may have blown starting the chain of events.”

“Oh no, that’s horrible.  I feel so bad for the groom.  Two tragedies in one week; that’s more than anyone should ever have to bear.”

“Yes, you are right of course.  But if you were to put on your creative writing hat can you tell me if would find any reason to believe that these two accidents might be related, and that neither were accidents?”

“I suppose that they could be related but there is so little detail, I don’t know how.  Unless of course you are insinuating that the groom is somehow involved with both?”

“I know, it’s a long shot.  Besides, we have no strong motive for him in either case.  And we have no physical evidence linking him to either scene.  There were rumblings that he had changed his mind about the marriage, but that was just gossip, mainly from jealous friends.  Many men change their minds every day and don’t commit murder because of it.  And by all accounts he had a rock solid relationship with his father.”

O’Brien stood “Thanks anyway for letting me bounce that idea off of you.  Enjoy the rest of your stay in Springfield and have a safe trip home, Seattle is it?”

“Many years ago, yes; I’m originally from Seattle but I have been in Alaska now for five years.”

“Alaska?  Wow, that’s quite a change of pace.  What part of Alaska if I may ask?  I have always wanted to someday vacation there.”

“South-eastern, Hanlon, it’s a very peaceful and friendly little town.  Thanks again for your help Detective.”

Leaving his office Kelly said “please give my best to your wife and tell her there will be another Kelly Sherman novel out soon!”  She made her way out of the building as fast as she could without looking suspicious, and back to her rental car. 

As soon as she was seated behind the wheel her emotions took over.  She sat in the car for twenty minutes, head on the steering wheel, hands shaking.   Coming to Springfield had been a very bad idea.

***

After Kelly left his office, Detective O’Brien sat staring at the wall for a few moments, thinking about this turn of events.  He stood and went to the window, watching as Kelly climbed into her rental car.  But she didn’t immediately start the engine and drive off.  He wasn’t buying her story; that she was just doing research for a book, something about it just didn’t work for him and she had seemed too vested in the case, personally. 

It had been some time since he had actively worked the Bascom case and was having trouble recalling all of the finer details.  He walked over to his filing cabinets and pulled open a drawer which held his cold cases.  Locating the Bascom file he pulled it and carried it back to his desk.  Reviewing the folders contents, he was reminded of the details that had not added up. 

Amanda had been an expert hiker, yet she had fallen off of a ledge in an area of the trail where any expert would have known better than to be without safety ropes.  By all accounts she knew that inside and out.  Something had to have distracted her and they had found other foot prints near the ledge besides just hers, a much larger set. 

Witnesses had said that she was not alone when she started down the trail that day.  A man loosely matching the description of her fiancée had been with her.  But they had no motive for him.  Why would he want to kill the woman he was about to marry.  Jealousy maybe? 

Detective O’Brien shuffled through the folder until he found the Medical Examiner’s report.  That’s right, Amanda Bascom had been pregnant.   One would presume that her fiancé was the baby’s father, but they didn’t have proof that he was.  What if he weren’t?  Unfortunately, sixteen years ago the ME’s office did not do DNA studies as a matter of routine. 

In order for him to obtain the DNA evidence now he would have to convince a judge to issue an order to exhume the bodies; an act that would be easier said than done.  It would mean more pain for her family, so many years after they had laid their daughter and grandchild to rest.  It would mean dragging that family through a tortuous process all over again, and judges hated to do it without a really good case.  If only there was a way to know if Stephen Long were really the baby’s father.

And then there was the case of the missing groom himself.  He had disappeared without a trace, no credit card trail, no public records, no paper trail.  Even if they had new evidence, it wouldn’t mean much if they still couldn’t track down their only suspect.

He got up and walked over to the window again, while replaying the meeting with Kelly Sherman over and over.  Her rental car still sat in the parking lot.  Perhaps there was a way to find Stephen Long after all.  Perhaps Ms. Sherman had just given him the break in this case he had been waiting for.  It might just be a hunch but it was worth following up on.

His intercom buzzed out “Tim, they’re waiting for you in the conference room”.

“Ok, I’ll be right there.”  He stood to leave but first he took out his pen and wrote Hanlon, AK, on a piece of scratch paper.  It might be a longshot but he’d closed cases before on less.

***

After a sleepless night in an local motel, her flight took off the next day without delay.  It was a five hour trip from Springfield to Anchorage so she had plenty of time to absorb the information that Detective O’Brien had been able to share.  Although he didn’t specifically name Stephen as a suspect, being a person of interest was the next worse thing.

How could they suspect that Stephen had anything to do with either of the deaths?  What would his motives have been?  No one knew for sure that he’d changed his mind about getting married.  That part sounded like gossip.

There was the witness account describing the man that Amanda was with in the park.  But there are plenty of tall men with dark hair, and Amanda was a beautiful woman.  Engaged or not she would have attracted attention from plenty of men. 

It was more likely that both deaths were just tragic accidents.  The Stephen that she knew, and was very much in love with, was not capable of hurting anyone, much less two people that he had so obviously loved.  The fact that Amanda and Stephen’s father had died so close together must have been heartbreaking for Stephen. 

If Stephen had somehow been involved in an accident that claimed the lives of either his father or Amanda, there’s no way he would have run.  Stephen is an honorable man who would have dealt with any problem head on.  If he were to blame he would have confessed and taken his punishment, whatever it was to be, like the man of integrity that he is.  He wouldn’t have run and hidden in Alaska like a coward.  And besides, it was six years before he showed up in Alaska.  Where did he go and what did he do for those six missing years, before he got to Hanlon?

She wondered if he even knew that both investigations were still ongoing.  If so, why hadn’t he gone back, if only to clear his good name?  Stephen didn’t seem the type that would want such a serious accusation or doubt hanging over his head for the rest of his life. 

What if Stephen was guilty; what if he wasn’t the sweet loving man she believed him to be, but some kind of monster who would murder his fiancée just because he had changed his mind about getting married. 

This was crazy.  She had gone to Springfield to clear up the doubts and questions rolling around her head but had instead ended up with more.  What she really needed to do was to compose herself before she got home.  Going to Springfield had been a terrible mistake.  She needed to put that trip and Detective O’Brien behind her.  There was no way that anyone would convince her that Stephen had been involved.