Secrets in the Shallows (Book 1: The Monastery Murders) (21 page)

“SIT DOWN!”
Sheriff Johnson yelled back at him. “I am going to find out the truth one way or another, and I can keep you here up to 48 hours without charging you. You’d better start talking and save everyone a bunch of unnecessary trouble.”

Exasperated, Carter banged his fists on the table shouting, “You can’t hold me here for nothing! I have rights too!”

Sheriff Johnson leaned over and firmly stated, “Then you better start telling me the truth!” Removing a pair of handcuffs from his utility belt, he ordered, “Stand up.”

“
NO!
” Carter screamed.

Sheriff Johnson walked over to Carter and placed his hand on his arm, “Want to plan on spending even more time here? I said, stand up, or I will stand you up!”

Carter moved his arm away from the sheriff’s grip. “Are you charging me? My lawyer will have a field day with you! I didn’t do it!”

“I’m not going to charge you, Carter, at least not yet. However, if you don’t comply with my order, I will continue to detain you. And I will find a reason to stretch your stay here as long as I can. I will make it as uncomfortable as possible. Ever heard of suicide watch?
NOW STAND!
” he commanded.

The sheriff nodded towards Deputy Williams and instructed him, “Deputy, can you take Mr. Spurlock to an unoccupied holding cell. I want to see if some time in there will jog his memory.”

Carter fixated his eyes on Sheriff Johnson and slowly stood. “I didn’t do anything to that boy.”

Deputy Williams turned towards Carter and said, “Hands against the wall, please. I need to frisk you. Do you have anything in your pockets that will stick, jab or otherwise harm me?”

“No,” Carter replied.

“Is there anything else on you that we need to know about? Prescription meds? Inhalers? Health concerns or anything of that nature?”

“No, do you think I’m that stupid to bring something illegal into the police station?” Carter smirked.

Deputy Williams chuckled as he replied, “I don’t know, son. How stupid are you? Have you been treated by a doctor or a hospital in the past 24 hours?”

The deputy began patting the boy down and found only a wallet and car keys in his pockets.

“No,” Carter retorted.

Unlocking a storage drawer in the table, Sheriff Johnson grabbed an evidence bag and opened it for the deputy to drop them inside. He then wrote the contents’ information on the bag before sealing it. He returned the bag to the drawer and relocked it.

“Do you feel like doing yourself or anyone else harm?”

“Yeah, I feel like kicking your ass,” Carter sneered viciously.

Williams grabbed the boy’s left wrist and pulled it sharply up between the young man’s shoulder blades, as to resemble a chicken wing. With a sharp movement forward, Williams slammed Carter against the wall and sarcastically asked, “Do you still want to hurt me, boy?”

Grasping Carter’s wrist, Deputy Williams shifted the young man’s other arm behind him, and handcuffed him. “You’ll get your stuff back once you’re released, if it’s not needed as evidence for the case.”

Holding Carter by one arm, the deputy opened the door and guided the young man out into the threshold. They headed towards the reinforced steel door that lead to a more secure area of the building. Sheriff Johnson followed close behind and reiterated, “Like I said, you may want to talk after you get some quiet time to think.”

Carter replied, “Sheriff, I didn’t do anything.”

The sheriff took out his key card and swiped it in the reader by the doorway. Immediately, a loud buzzer sounded as he opened the door. “We’ve got 48 hours to find that out. Don’t we, Carter?”

C
HAPTER
19

Early that evening, Katy stood in front of her full-length mirror in a black cocktail dress with matching high heels. She ran her hands down her waist as the dress hugged her hourglass figure and cascaded down her thigh. The dress flared out when she turned around, allowing a racey glimpse of her leg.

Katy walked over to her dresser and opened the lid to her jewelry box, retrieving a pair of dangling diamond earrings. John had given these to her for their third year of dating anniversary. She fastened each one to either earlobe and then added a dainty diamond necklace around her neck. She stood back and admired herself in the dresser mirror. This jewelry set really looked stunning and accentuated her lovely facial features as well as her slender, long neck.

Patting her blonde hair gently, Katy replaced a strayed strand of hair back into her beautiful French twist. Picking up her favorite perfume, she sprayed a mist into the air near her neck. She loved the light floral scent as it drifted by her nose.

Katy grabbed her full-length faux fur coat as she pulled it on and walked to the landing at the top of the stairs. She glided down each step as she made her grand entrance into the living room.

Julie’s face lit up with pride as she saw her daughter. “Is
that
my Katherine? Oh, Katy, you look gorgeous!”

Her father, George, folded up a local newspaper and grinned. With a long, drawn out whistle, he asked, “Where are you going, Miss Warsaw?”

Katy twirled around like a model and said, “Well, John is taking me out to
The Lighthouse
for dinner.”

Julie put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and asked, “Do you think he’ll finally pop the question tonight?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Mom. Probably not.”

Taking his eyes off the television, her brother, Jason, wiggled his way to the edge of the couch and wiped his mouth. With a slight grin, he laughed and said, “Maybe he’s starting to see how annoying you can be, sis.”

Katy rolled her eyes at Jason and replied, “Not as annoying as little brothers are.”

Bored with all of the wedding talk, Jason shifted back on his side and looked at the TV. Almost immediately, he had completely tuned out the rest of his family as he immersed himself in a show.

“Well, if I get the ring tonight, you guys will probably see it in the morning. Can you imagine
me
being officially
engaged
?” Katy looked at her hand and imagined a large diamond on her finger.

“Sweetheart, are you sure you want to get married in June and not late summer?”

“Mother, we have been over this a hundred times. I want to get married in June at the Wattsville lighthouse, and then honeymoon at
The Island
.” Katy leaned forward, “In June ... You know? It comes after May and before July, Mother.”

“Well, it may be windy and cooler, and it’ll still be in the
mud
season,” she stated as she made her way towards the kitchen.

“I don’t care, Mom. We can all wear rain boots and slickers for all I care. That’s where we first kissed, and that’s where I want to marry John.”

Julie replied, “All right, once you’re ready to, we’ll talk to the wedding coordinator and see where we can put everyone in rain boots and slickers.”

“It will work out, Mom. Don’t worry. Besides, he hasn’t even asked me yet.”

Julie crossed her arms and laughed, “It’s amazing what we can argue over. You’re right. We’ll worry about it after he asks you.”

* * * *

Sheriff Johnson sat at his office desk studying photos of Timmy Fields’ body. Taking a deep breath, he ran a hand over his face and sat up in his chair. Picking up his phone, he pushed his assistant’s extension.

“Hello, Barbara. I need you to try your best to get a hold of Dr. Peter Balkan with the State’s forensic team.”

In the adjacent office, Barbara searched through a stack of messages and pulled out one. “Sheriff, I do have a message here from a Peter Balkan from with the Office of Chief Medical Examiner. Do you want his number?”

The sheriff leaned back, breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, “Oh, yes! That is great! Thank you very much.”

Barbara repeated the number to the sheriff, and he dialed the number on his cell phone.

“Peter Balkan, speaking,” a self-assured voice said.

Apprehensively, Sheriff Johnson stammered, “Doctor Balkan?”

The man replied, “Yes, how can I help you?”

“This is Sheriff Johnson over in Wattsville. I imagine you’ve heard about the Timothy Fields’ case?”

“Yes, Sheriff. I heard that you may need me to help your team out?”

“Yes, Dr. Balkan, it would be very appreciated. We don’t deal with murders very often. It is going to be important for the case to have someone who is experienced in homicide forensics.”

Peter asked, “When would you like me to come?”

Surprised to get such a fast response, Sheriff Johnson couldn’t speak for a moment. He knew that Peter Balkan was recognized as a seasoned examiner with the state’s Chief Medical Examiner staff in Augusta. Dr. Balkan had been interviewed for many newspaper articles, as well as had several articles featuring high-profile cases that were published in medical journals.

“As soon as possible, Doctor. We could use your expertise tomorrow if you can make it. We still are processing the body and where it was found. When are you available?”

Dr. Balkan chuckled and replied, “I can be there in the morning if that would work? I just finished a major case.”

“Thank you so much. That would be great!”

“Send me an address where to meet you, and I can be there by mid-morning. Does that work for you?”

“Absolutely. I’ll see you then,” Sheriff Johnson replied smiling. “Have a nice night.”

“You too.” With those words, they both hung up the phone.

After looking at his watch, Sheriff Johnson stood up and began gathering his things. As he put on his hat and picked up his coat, his cell phone rang. Quickly, he answered it, “Hello?”

“Sheriff, I found out something we need to check out further,” Deputy Shamberg replied on the other end of the phone.

Setting his coat back down, the sheriff replied, “Oh? Then enlighten me, Deputy.”

“Did you know that Herbert had purchased some life insurance for Timmy six months ago?”

Sheriff Johnson set his travel mug on the desk and smiled slightly. Leaning on the edge of the desk, he said, “Oh, really? I’ll have to ask him about that. Could be nothing, but you never know.”

“Yes, sir. I figured we’d need to check it out at least. I’ll bring you the paperwork I found in the morning. Are you heading out now?”

“Yes, I was just about to leave for the day.” The sheriff wiped his brow and stood back up. “Oh, Dr. Balkan with the Chief Medical Examiner office is coming from Augusta tomorrow to help us with the Fields’ case.”

“That’s great news, sir. I hope he can help us catch the guy who did this.”

“That’s the whole point of bringing him in. Everyone I’ve spoken with about him says that he’s one of the best in forensics.”

“I imagine tomorrow will be a busy day so you should get some rest while you can, sir,” the deputy said.

Picking up his mug, the sheriff replied, “I’ll do my best, Deputy. Thanks. Have a good night.”

With that, Sheriff Johnson hung up his phone and tucked it away in his pocket. He whispered to himself,
“I really hope we catch that sick killer soon. It’s heartbreaking to deal with such a young victim’s family. I am so glad Dr. Balkan is going to help us. It will make a big difference.”
He put his coat on again and flipped off the light as he headed out the door.

* * * *

John parked in the driveway at the Warsaw home. Nervously, he checked the left inside pocket of his jacket and drew a deep breath. He got out of his car and adjusted his tie. Then he sauntered up the sidewalk to the porch. Without knocking, John cracked opened up the front door and said, “Knock, knock.”

George looked up from his newspaper and got up out of his chair. “Come on in, Counselor.” He held out his hand and winked at John and whispered,
“Got the ring?”

John patted his chest and leaned in close to his future father-in-law. In a whisper, he replied, “It’s right here in my left pocket. You want to see it, George?”

Nodding, George said, “Hey, we’ll be right back, girls.”