Secrets in the Shallows (Book 1: The Monastery Murders) (36 page)

“We just need to follow procedure, Mother,” Sheriff Johnson answered.

Sheriff Johnson sat down across from Mother Superior and then put a computer bag beside him on the floor. Proceeding to get his note pad and pen out,” he asked, “Mother, I hope I don’t have to tell you to be completely frank and honest with me. Right? If we find out you are hiding anything, then it may look really bad for you.”

“Bad for me? How many times do I need to tell you that I haven’t done anything wrong? I have nothing to hide, and I will answer you truthfully.”

“So for the record, Mother, are you in charge of the St. Francis Monastery and Catholic School?”

Mother Superior glanced over at Sheriff Johnson. “Yes, of course I am. You know that, Sheriff.”

“Are you the one that gives the orders there?” Sheriff Johnson asked.

“Yes, I am. I just said that I am in charge. What is this about?”

“I just need you to answer a few questions, Mother. We’ll know what to do after that.”

“I’ll answer any questions I can, Sheriff.”

Pausing for a moment, Sheriff Johnson cocked his head as he asked, “Do you own a rope?”

Anxious, she shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t personally, Sheriff; but, there is probably one around the monastery grounds somewhere, but I don’t know for sure. What does a rope have to do with anything?”

“Timothy Fields was murdered on the monastery property. We found bruising from rope burns and strangulation were found around his neck. There were many sized bruises from other abusive hits all over his body. This morning, our team discovered a rope in the pond where the body was found.” Sheriff Johnson stared directly at her as she sat there still trying to comprehend her situation.

She stared back at Sheriff Johnson and replied, “Sheriff, I’m an old woman, and this entire mess is making me tired. I don’t own a rope. I’ve never seen a rope; however you can ask my custodian when he returns from vacation on Monday. He may know something about it. I don’t.”

“What is your custodian’s name?”

She took a deep breath and replied, “Howard Watkins.”

“Okay, I will get in touch with him when he gets back. Let’s change the subject for a moment. Do you remember where were you between the hours of 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. on the day that Timothy Fields went missing?”

“Sheriff, I’ve told you that I spoke with the boy about 4:00 in the afternoon just after he finished his detention for the day. He had been given chores as punishment to make up for not meeting dress code.”

“And, what happened when you saw him?”

“I asked him if he needed me to call his parent’s for a ride home, but he said it was just a short walk and refused. He’s walked that way to school for years, so I didn’t think it would be a problem even with the snow blowing in. I wish I’d just given him a ride now. It haunts me to know that could’ve saved his life.”

“So, you think you could’ve saved his life, Mother?”

She nodded and said, “I have prayed many times for forgiveness, but I can’t seem to forgive myself.”

The sheriff leaned in as he asked, “Forgive yourself from what exactly, Mother? Did you do something you haven’t told us about?”

Raising her voice, she said, “Absolutely not! Are you insinuating that I would harm that boy? I could
never
do such a thing!”

“Are you so sure? You did just punish him for something at school. Did he do something worse than you are letting on?”

“Sheriff, I did nothing wrong!” she shouted.

“All right, Mother. Then say you’re correct. After Timothy Fields left, where did you go and what were you doing?”

She answered, “I had to catch up on a lot of correspondence for the school later that afternoon, and well into the evening. I also had several applications from potential new students. I emailed them letters, which should have time stamps for the files on my computer. You can see exactly when I wrote and emailed them. I was in my office the entire time until about 8 p.m., except for when I went to make a sandwich at about 6 p.m. At 8:00, I went to our small prayer room and spent some private time in prayer and meditation.”

“How long were you there?”

She looked directly at him and answered, “I was there for an hour and praying the entire time.”

“Did anyone see you there that can corroborate your story?”

“A few nuns saw me there as they came in and out. You can ask my sisters and I’m sure they’ll tell you that I was there.”

“All right, so what did you do after 9:00 that night?”

“I went straight to my room and got ready for bed. I usually read my Bible for about thirty minutes before I pray again and then go to sleep about 9:30 to 10:00. I was in bed all night until 6 a.m., when I got up to get ready for my morning prayers and devotions.”

“So, then why did you have Timothy Fields’ missing clothes in your desk drawer, Mother?”

Surprised, her mouth fell wide open. “No, that can’t be true. That’s a lie, or something you made up. Are you trying to trick me?”

“I assure you that I would never do such a thing, Mother,” Sheriff Johnson replied. “I want to show you something that supports the missing items being found in your desk.”

Taking out a laptop from his computer bag, he turned it on and pulled up the video program with the surveillance footage on it. “This is one of the reasons we are going to search the monastery in the first place, ma’am. Now, watch closely after the door opens.” He played the video, showing a nun walk into the morgue locker room and taking the missing items.

“I swear that wasn’t me, Sheriff! How could something get in my desk that I never put there? I did not hurt that boy. I would
never
do such a thing! This has to be someone else!” Mother Superior’s eyes began to well up as she felt the weight of her circumstances overwhelm her. “I never have gone inside the morgue. I just stayed out in the waiting room with Herbert and Margie Fields. You can ask them!”

“Nevertheless, Mother, the surveillance video and the fact the missing evidence was found in your desk is pretty convincing. To top things off, we found some hairs tangled in the rope used in Timothy Fields’ murder; plus, we discovered some hairs in Tom Green’s backpack, that our divers found at the bottom of the pond. If those hair samples match yours, then I have enough evidence to arrest you for possibly both murders.”

Mother Superior looked completely dumbfounded as she asked, “But I thought that Tom Green committed suicide, Sheriff?”

“We are going to exhume the body and determine if the original findings were incorrect. If Tom was murdered, and those hairs match, you will be arrested for both murders,” Sheriff Johnson closed his programs and turned off his computer. “I suggest that you get a lawyer. It looks like you will need one. If you need some suggestions, I can give you several cards that we have on file for references.”

“A lawyer? I didn’t do anything!” Tears began flowing down Mother Superior’s cheeks.

“That’s what everyone says, Mother. Everyone is
always
innocent.” Closing his laptop, Sheriff Johnson put it away in his bag and stood up. Looking at her, he added, “Just so you know, the sisters are safe at the
Mariner’s Inn.
Deputy Williams is interrogating them as we speak. Until I know if those hairs that were found match yours, I am going to put you in a holding cell. We should know something by late morning what they find out.”

Turning to Deputy Clark, still standing in the corner, the sheriff asked, “Deputy, can you help me take her to a holding cell?”

Obediently, Deputy Clark approached Mother Superior and said, “Mother, I must ask you to please stand.”

Mother Superior grabbed a tissue from the box and wiped her eyes before standing. “I did not do this, Sheriff. I swear on the Holy Bible.”

“If the hairs do not match, then you may have some argument, but as it stands now, I don’t have a choice, Mother. I’m sorry.”

Gently grasping her by the arm, Deputy Clark walked Mother Superior over towards the door and then opened it. Together, the sheriff and deputy escorted her out the door and down the hallway and swipe his key card. The familiar buzz blared out and released the lock. Resigned to see where fate took her, Mother Superior obeyed them, as they opened the door and took her back to the secured area.

* * * *

Deputy Williams sat back in his chair at the small conference table in the
Mariner Inn
’s office. After crossing out another name on a notepad in front of him, he scanned through the names of the nuns he had previously interviewed. Only one name remained on the list before he could have that chat with Nancy Jones.
I hope she’ll go out with me. She has the prettiest smile. Only one nun left, and I’ll be able to relax. It’s been a long, hard day. I think I deserve a nice diversion.

Williams removed his reading glasses and rubbed his weary eyes. Looking up toward the ceiling, he exhaled slowly before standing up. Putting his glasses back on the rim of his nose, he walked out of the room and headed to the main lobby. His footsteps echoed from the ceramic floor as he walked down the hallway. Still sitting together in the front parlor, the sisters stopped talking and turned around to look at Deputy Williams.

Staring down at his table, he asked, “Who is Sister Mary Margaret?” Sister Mary Margaret stood up from the couch and walked timidly toward Deputy Williams.

Her voice quivered as she responded, “Yes, sir?”

Deputy Williams smiled faintly as he instructed her, “Come with me, please.” Turning towards the other sisters, he added, “I want to make you aware that our forensics team is going to search the monastery over the next day or two. We will also have someone onsite to keep watch over the property in order to deter any additional vandalism or break-ins while you are here.”

He continued, “While that is taking place, you will be staying here. All of you are free to go back to your rooms, if you like. I just ask that you do not leave the inn for now without discussing it with either me, or the deputy on duty. I’ll let you know when I know more.”

A few of the nuns stood up and walked down the hallway towards their rooms as Deputy Williams led Sister Mary Margaret back towards the office. Williams closed the door behind them, he held out his hand toward an empty chair.

“Please, have a seat, Sister. This shouldn’t take very long.”

The sister sat down nervously; looking up at Deputy Williams as he took his own seat.
What would he need to ask me? What is going on?

Leaning his elbows on the table he asked, “Sister Mary Margaret, I have a few things I need to clarify about the day Timothy Fields went missing. Can you please tell me where you were that afternoon and evening?”

“Well, let’s see, Deputy. During the day, the last class I taught that afternoon was U.S. History. I finished that at 3 p.m. After that, I was tutoring one of the students until their parents came and got them at 3:30 that afternoon.”

“All right, so did you happen to see Timothy Fields before he disappeared?”

“I passed him in the hallway after the tutoring session. Timmy was mopping some floors. He was being punished for not adhering to the dress code.”

“So I’ve heard. Did you see him at all after that?” the deputy asked.

Pondering, she replied, “No, that was the last time I saw him. I noticed he was gone when I went to meditate in the prayer room after my student left.”

“What time was that and how long were you there?”

“It was a little before 4 p.m., I believe. I stayed in the room for almost an hour.”

“Do you know where Mother Superior was at that time, Sister?”

“Mother Superior was in the prayer room when I went in.”

Deputy Williams furrowed his brow and asked, “Was she there the entire time you were there?”

“She was there about fifteen minutes, and then said she was going to let Timmy go home before the storm got too bad.”

Deputy Williams set back in his chair tapping his ballpoint pen against the palm of his hand. “When was the next time you saw her?”

The sister replied, “I don’t recall seeing her until we had dinner together with everyone just about 6 p.m.”

“I see. Did you notice anything strange about how she was acting?”

Sister Mary Margaret shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t think so. The only thing I remember was that she was very concerned about the weather, and wanted to make sure all of the students got home safely.”

“So you didn’t see her for about two hours then?”

With direct eye contact, Sister Mary Margaret replied, “Yes, sir. That is about right.”

“When you saw her at dinner, did you notice if she seemed upset or anything?”

“She acted like her normal self.”

“Hmmm ... Did you notice if she had any stains on her clothing?”

“Stains? What kind of stains?”

“Oh, nothing in particular. Just wanted to see if you had noticed anything different about her clothing?” he asked.

“Not that I noticed, sir.”

“How long did you see her at dinner?”

“We ate and talked with everyone for about an hour, I would say. After that, we cleaned up the dishes for about fifteen minutes; and then had a devotional time for about thirty minutes. Everyone was given the rest of the night off at about 8 p.m., and most of us went to our rooms.”