Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery (26 page)

“Well, he did
try to hold my hand overly long when he was measuring my finger, actually I’d
have to say it was more of a caress.
 
He is a handsome man, but he has that certain manner…just too sure that
women are going to be attracted to him, I guess.
 
I must confess I was glad to get out of
there, but I’m forewarned now.
 
He
won’t get under my skin next time,” she smiled and leaned closer to Neal.

“I just had a
thought,” Lin sat up suddenly, almost upsetting her wine, “Maybe he did
remember Dorrie coming in, maybe he tried to flirt with her and got nowhere; that
might explain why he seemed so tense, almost angry when I asked about her.
 
He didn’t like it when I asked about Liz
either.
 
He might’ve tried to come
on to her years ago.
 
Supposedly Liz
Frazier had a married boyfriend from Manteo.
 
I think Dorrie might’ve been trying to
remember who it was and find him. I’d be willing to bet it wasn’t Mark Simon.
 
I think he considers himself quite a ladies’
man and doesn’t like it when his overtures are rejected.”

“Could be,”
Neal agreed, “ guys like Mark Simon don’t like to be turned down.”

They sat for
only a few more minutes.
 
It was
growing colder, and Lin found herself shivering as she finished her wine.

“I’m going in,”
she announced, “that cold front they promised is beginning to come through and
I’m freezing.”

“I’m right
behind you,” Neal teased, “as soon as I put our glasses in the dishwasher.
 
I’ll be up to keep you warm.”

At three
o’clock the following afternoon Lin entered the law offices of Thomas
Pickett.
 
Her morning with the
students had gone well and she’d even had time to go back home and change
before her appointment.
 
The day was
still sunny and clear but much cooler than the previous few days
;
she had chosen to wear soft gray woolen slacks and a warm
sweater under her black wool jacket.
 
She felt comfortable with her appearance, knowing that the bright blue
of her sweater set off her blue eyes.
 
Better than a brown volunteer uniform, she thought.
 

One look around
the beautifully appointed reception area made her glad that her appearance was
professional.
 
Thomas Pickett was
obviously very successful.

An attractive
gray-haired woman greeted her and said she’d let Mr. Pickett know that she had
arrived.
 
Lin took a moment to
review the list of facts she wished to share with Billy Thornton’s attorney,
hopeful that she would find an interested audience.

“Ms. Hanna, how
nice to see you,” an attractive gray-haired gentleman greeted her, extending
his hand in welcome. “I’m Tom Pickett, would you care for coffee?”

Lin followed
him into a lovely conference room and accepted a cup of rich-smelling dark
roast.
 
“Thank you for making time
in your busy schedule for me,” she smiled.

“I expect I’m
the one who should be thanking you,” Pickett replied, “This is a difficult
case.
 
The evidence against Billy is
largely circumstantial, but it’s going to be difficult to refute, I’m
afraid.
 
Thus far, I’ve found little
in his favor.”

“I’m afraid I don’t
have much that would help with the charges related to Connie Frazier; however,
I think the information I’ve learned in my inquiries would indicate he didn’t
drug or rape Dorrie Johnson,” Lin replied.

“At this point,
I’ll take anything I can get,”
Pickett
said. “Things
don’t look good right now, but tell me, how did you come by your information?”

Lin explained
that she was the person who discovered Dorrie Johnson body and that she’d met
her parents.
 
“ They were seeking to
learn more about what Dorrie was doing here, why she had come.
 
I think they were just having a hard
time accepting that she would’ve gone walking in the woods without her allergy
medication.
  
They were most
upset that she was considered the prime suspect in the unsolved case of Liz Frazier’s
death. They were seeking closure and understanding, I guess.
 
I agreed to make some inquiries for
them.”

Pickett nodded,
 
“I’m fearful that my client might be
charged in the Liz Frazier murder also, given the fact that he’s accused of
killing Connie.
 
I understand that
Sheriff Midgett is going to reopen that investigation, and he’s no longer
thinking that Dorrie killed Liz.”

Lin understood
his concern.
 
After all, Connie had
insisted that she still believed Billy had killed her sister.

“Well, the good
news is that the clerk on duty at the Holiday Inn where Dorrie was staying told
me he talked with her on Friday morning.
 
That would’ve been the morning following her date with Billy.
 
He reported that she seemed fine, not
drugged or hung over at all.
 
She
planned to extend her stay.”

Tom Pickett was
taking notes rapidly.
 
“Does Ken
Parker know about this?”

“He does
now.
 
I talked with him yesterday
and shared all of this information,” Lin indicated the sheet on the table
before her. “He was pretty closed mouthed about the progress of his own
investigation, but he did mention needing to talk to that clerk so I think this
information might’ve been new to him.”

“Well, it’s
certainly good news for me,” Pickett picked up the sheet Lin had offered and
began to peruse it. “You may already know this, but Billy admits to having sex
with Dorrie Johnson—at his apartment on Thursday night—but he
insists that it was entirely consensual and there were no heavy drugs
involved.
 
I suspect they might’ve
smoked a little pot, but that’s minor compared to what the police are trying to
say.”

“Billy didn’t
tell me all that exactly, but I gathered that their date was more than just
‘talking’,” Lin added, “In fact, I think he rather liked her, and the clerk at
the motel implied that Dorrie planned to stay over to see more of an old
friend.
 
Maybe she hoped to see
Billy again.”

Pickett placed
the list on the table and turned to Lin. “What do you know about this fellow
Mike Clark?
 
Billy told me he was
present at Tim’s the night Connie was beaten.”

“Everything I
know is in that list,” Lin said, “My fiancé Neal and I think he might’ve been
trying to break into the house where we’re staying.
 
He was probably also our threatening caller,
and we’re sure he was following us last weekend when we went to Ocracoke.
 
He never actually approached us or
threatened us then; we can’t really make a case.
 
I know he works here in Manteo at the Simon
gallery, and he’s a regular at Tim’s Bar.”

“I know, so is
Billy Thornton, in fact Ken Parker is sure that Billy hired Mike to shadow you,
maybe threaten you to keep you from inquiring about Dorrie,” the attorney
placed the list on the table and sat back thoughtfully.

“Perhaps I’m
going outside the bounds here, but I’d welcome the opportunity to bounce some
ideas off you, if you don’t mind.
 
I’d like to outline the case Ken Parker is trying to build against my
client and see where you think the holes might be, that is if you have time and
don’t mind,” Pickett inquired.

“I’m happy to
help in any way I can,” Lin offered.

Tom Pickett
poured each of them a second cup of coffee and pulled a file from a stack at
the end of the table.

“Parker says that
Billy was disturbed when Dorrie Johnson came to the Banks and started poking
around asking questions of the Frazier’s and others about Liz Frazier’s
murder.
 
He appears to have lured
Dorrie to his apartment where he gave her strong drugs and, subsequently, raped
her.
 
The fact that she was
suffering the after effects of being drugged led to her losing her epipen and thus
being in the woods walking—maybe trying to walk off her hangover, without
it.
 
She was stung, had a fatal
reaction, and died there—as an indirect result of Billy’s actions, even
though he didn’t intend her death.”

“Connie’s
accusations at the bar set him off, exacerbating his anger and scaring
him.
 
The result of that was his
beating Connie to death—again, he probably didn’t intend to kill her, but
he did so in a blind rage.
 
Parker
thinks he was fearful of Connie’s accusations that he was guilty of killing
Liz.
 
After all, if he did kill her,
he’s gotten away with it for more than ten years.
 
In addition, Parker believes that Billy
hired Mike Clark to frighten you and keep you from asking too many questions
about Dorrie.
 
He thinks the entire
thing just grew out of control.”

 
“Billy, of course, says he is innocent,
not only of date rape but also of killing Connie and Liz,” Pickett continued.
“He admits to the sex with Dorrie, and the pot-smoking, and he acknowledges
that he was very angry with Connie who was drunk and shouting all kinds of
accusations at him that night at Tim’s.
 
He admits to waiting outside to talk to her again.
 
Apparently she was still angry, and he
lost his temper.
 
He told me he
slapped her around some and even shoved her to the ground.
 
Apparently, he picked up a piece of two
by four that was lying on the ground and was so angry he almost hit her with it,
but then, he realized what he was doing, threw the wood aside, and left.
 
Connie was sitting on the curb in the
parking lot, bruised but not seriously injured—or so he claims.”

“Has the two by
four been identified as the murder weapon?” Lin asked.

“Apparently so,
and my client’s prints are on it,” Tom shook his head in frustration, “if Billy
is telling me the truth he is, at worst, guilty of assault—the problem is
proving it.”

“Well, he’s
apparently telling the truth about Dorrie,” Lin replied.

“It seems so,
and that might give some weight to the truthfulness of his other statements, at
least in my book,” Pickett smiled for the first time, “I’ll definitely be
contacting this clerk at the motel.
 
He might make a good defense witness—at least if charges are
brought related to Dorrie.”

“ Maybe there
were some other witnesses at the bar that night?” Lin said hopefully.

“So far, I’ve
found no one who can say that Connie was alive when Billy left the scene.
 
I’m still looking though.”

“Were there
other prints on the piece of wood?” Lin asked.

“Only some
smudged ones, of course the killer could’ve been wearing gloves,” Pickett shook
his head, “I’ve tried to interview this Mike Clark, but he’s refused to talk to
me so far.
 
I’ll keep trying
though.”
 
Pickett rose and picked up
Lin’s sheet of facts, “May I make a copy of this?”

“Certainly,”
Lin said, “and if I think of anything else or learn anything that might help
your client, I’ll certainly call.”

Lin’s head was
filled with questions as she left the office and headed for her car.
 
What was the role of Mike Clark in all
of this?
 
If Billy
Thornton hired him, then why?
 
If not, then who did?
 
If
Thornton killed Connie then did he also kill Liz?
 
If he didn’t
was
Connie killed by Liz’s murderer or by someone else
?
 
Who besides Billy would have a motive to
kill Connie?
 
This story was growing
more complex by the minute.

She tried to
push these questions to the back of her mind.
 
At least, her information was now in the
hands of someone who could investigate further and use it on behalf of his
client.
 
She felt Ken Parker would
also look into these things, at least where Dorrie was concerned.
 
The fact that there were none of
Dorrie’s prints found in her car raised some additional serious questions.
 
Perhaps the sheriff’s department had
cleaned the car before Mr. Johnson picked it up, that was a possible
explanation; somehow Lin didn’t feel completely satisfied with that answer.

There was
another possibility, she realized.
 
Maybe someone else had driven Dorrie’s car to the lot at Nags Head Woods
and wiped it clean of prints before leaving it there.
 

***

By the time Lin
arrived back at the house, Neal had returned from his day at the fort.
 
She found him upstairs having just
finished showering.

“Wow! Don’t you
look
great.
 
Should I be jealous of that lawyer fellow you dressed up for?” Neal
teased.

Lin smiled, “If
you’d seen his office you’d think I didn’t dress up enough.
 
I was glad I’d had time to come back and
change before my appointment.
 
I
wanted to make sure he took me seriously.” She started to change into something
more casual but Neal stopped her.

“Let’s not
waste your outfit, why don’t we go out someplace special for dinner?
 
I’ve heard Owen’s is just such a spot
and we haven’t been there yet.
 
I’ll
be ready shortly.”
 

Lin left Neal
to dress and went down to let Sparky out for a turn in the yard.
 
The sun was beginning to set, and the
sound appeared to be a sheet of pure gold.
 
She took it all in, allowing herself to relax and feel satisfied with
her day.
 
I’ve done all that I can
to now, she thought.
 
The police and
Billy’s attorney know everything I’ve learned.
 
It’s up to them now.
 
They’ll know what to do from this point
on.
 
Lin felt confident that Thomas
Pickett would pursue every angle to prove Billy was innocent of rape and murder,
and in truth, she didn’t think Ken Parker would neglect to pursue further
information either.
 
It was time for
her to let well enough alone and get on with her holiday plans. She decided to
pick up the phone and call Eloise.
 
They made plans to spend the following day cooking together for the
planned party, and the next afternoon, if need be.

She’d just hung
up when she heard Neal come downstairs.
 
He slipped his arms around her waist and turned her to face him.
 
Smiling, he looked deep into her eyes,
“You’re beautiful,
that
sweater is the same color as
your eyes.
 
I love you so much,” his
warm lips found hers and he kissed her eagerly.

“I love you
too,” she answered. “You’re looking rather fine yourself.” She approved of his
cream-colored sweater and brown slacks.