The Sunset Witness (17 page)

Although I'd already planned to do a follow-up
pregnancy test, I was sure the first result was accurate.  I noticed kitchen
aromas had become more offensive.  I hoped no one noticed how often I excused
myself to use the restroom.  I was more tired.  I longed to go home.

I tried to bury the disturbing images of Michael on
the run from Ricky Russo.  After so much time, he must be in serious trouble. 
I could not imagine any other reason why I'd not have heard from him.  Joel had
not heard from him, either.  Something about Joel's attitude caused me to
wonder if he thought Michael was seeing someone else.

The restaurant was slow, and Twyla suggested I could
leave if I wasn't feeling well.  She guessed the locals were saving up to
celebrate Founders' Day.  She said the bakery had not done its usual brisk business,
even though people were attracted to Main Street by the fire truck and
deputies.

Harry had gone by the time I left the restaurant. 
Main Street was deserted.  I glanced in the direction of Frank's house and
began to cry.  He'd been my first friend and the only one I could count on in
Sunset.  Now, I felt like I didn't know where to turn.  Would Michael be angry
if I called Detective Gannon and reported him as missing?  Or was he in danger
and waiting for me to send help?

When I got to the parking lot, I saw the kitchen
light on in the beach house.  I knew the light was not on when I left that
afternoon.  As I approached the house, I heard Rachmaninov.  I thought it might
be Michael, but I didn't see the Lexus.

I kept my head low as I took the steps one at a
time.  Then I peeked into the window.  Sarah   had slashed the fabric on the
artist canvas in front of the mural.  The fabric dangled haphazardly from the
twisted frame.  It'd been thrown to one side of the kitchen.  The fake window
trim had been ripped from the wall and was scattered on the floor like pickup
sticks.  Sarah was nearly finished scraping the thickest areas of paint from
the mural.  I noticed a can of Kilz primer on the counter.

Sarah turned around to stir the Kilz and saw me.  She
still had the razor in her right hand and threatened me with it as she came
through the door.  I backed down the stairs and walked slowly backwards.

She was screaming.  "This is your fault!  You can't
be happy unless you're destroying my life!"

I tried to calm her, but she wouldn't listen to me.

"You got Dinah all worked up about this, didn't
you!"

"Sarah, I didn't.  I just thought you could
square things with Dinah if you painted over the mural.  I don't understand why
you're so angry.  I've lived with it for two weeks.  Please stop yelling.  We're
friends.  You're the one who got me to come here and then dumped me.  I haven't
known what to think," I said.

Sarah walked down the stairs and came toward me,
waving the razor to emphasize her words.

She was still screaming.  "So you felt
uncomfortable, did you?  Maybe that's because you're a two-faced bitch who
cheats on her friends.  I wish you would have drowned in the pool.  I hoped you
would."

I realized she'd seen me struggling in the water after
all.  Had she really hoped I'd drown?

"You
were the one who cheated, Sarah.  He
was in love with me until you threw yourself at him.  I wouldn't have let
you
drown so
I
could have him.  You're the cold, heartless bitch, Sarah. 
You didn't deserve him.  It was better that he died than to be miserable with
you."

"I knew he planned to leave me for you.  It was
your money he wanted.  Not you.  He was just like Nate.  I killed him so you
couldn't have him."

I realized Sarah was talking about someone else.  Was
it possible she'd killed Ryan?

"I found Ryan and got him to the hospital.  He
told me he never loved you.  You didn't kill him.  He's mine now."  I'd
pushed her over the edge.  She ran after me, waving the razor and sobbing.

"No.  It's not true.  I killed him.  I killed
him.  You'll never have him."

I turned and ran toward the entrance to the lot.  She
was right behind me.  I planned to run to Twyla's, but she got between me and
the street and forced me back toward the beach.  She was still screaming and
waving the razor at me.  Then I saw Harry come out of nowhere and grab her
arms.  He wrestled her to the ground and held her there.  I started toward the
beach house to call for help and saw Detective Gannon standing near the porch.

Once the deputies had taken Sarah into custody, the
detective explained she'd suspected Sarah was not telling the truth about
having seen the man who murdered Ryan Nichols.  She said it would have been
impossible for her to see the detail she described in the dark parking lot.  Sarah
planted the notes and the doll in her car.  She wanted the sheriff to believe
she disappeared because she was so frightened.  After my tip about the murderer
knowing something about art, they started looking at the case again.

They were interested in Harry because he was a
transient and an artist.  Until then, he'd kept quiet about what he saw the
night Ryan was murdered.  He was afraid he'd be a suspect.  When he was a
suspect anyway, he told the detective he actually saw Sarah and Ryan quarrel.  Ryan
walked to his car.  Sarah followed with a knife and threatened him.  He laughed
at her and she killed him.  Harry tried to help Ryan.  There was nothing he
could do.  He saw Sarah watching him as he tried to stop Ryan from bleeding to
death.

Detective Gannon had asked Dinah to lure Sarah back
to the house.  Returning to the scene had exactly the effect they hoped it
would.  She asked if I was all right.  She said Harry wanted to be involved. 
He was worried about my safety and thought it would be easier for him to blend
into the background as a witness.  She asked me how I picked up on the fact
Sarah was talking about Ryan instead of Nate.  I told her I'd thought the
resemblance between the two was uncanny.  I remembered reading about a psychological
state where a person might feel threatened if someone in the present resembles
someone with negative associations from the past.  It was obvious Sarah had
come unhinged.  Maybe she'd been on the brink all those years, and it took Ryan
to push her over the edge.

I wanted to thank him, but Harry had disappeared as
quickly as he appeared.

Detective Gannon would tell Ryan Nichols' parents I
deserved their $25,000 reward.

She was about to leave when I told her I needed her
help, but I couldn't give her any details yet.  I explained I'd met someone
recently, and he left to visit his father.  I hadn't heard from him in about
twenty-four hours.  At that time, he thought he might be in danger.  I asked
her to check whether a Lexus with Nevada plates might have been in an accident
between Seattle and Sunset.  I had the feeling she thought Michael had dumped
me and used his father as an excuse to leave.  She would do what she could, but
it could take a little time.  Then I told her I was sure I was pregnant.  I
said I might have to leave Sunset, and it might look like I disappeared.  I told
her as soon as I was safe I'd send her a postcard so she could stop looking for
me.  She was concerned about me, but she didn't ask any questions.  She was
walking to her car when I thought of something else I needed to ask.

"My friend received a bouquet of black roses. 
He's young, and he wasn't celebrating anything.  Who would send black roses to
a man and not sign the card?" I asked.

"I've never seen anyone get more than one black
rose.  If he isn't over the hill, I'd guess it was the Mafia.  I worked a crime
scene once where the hitman left a black rose as his calling card.  Maybe they
were sending him a message that he owed them or the end was near.  I'll let you
know what I find out on the Lexus."

I went back into the beach house and cleaned up the
mess in the kitchen.  The fabric art was a total loss.  I took it and the
hemlock trim to the dumpster.  Then I put the lid back on the Kilz and swept
the floor.  It seemed ironic I could finally relax and not worry about coming
face to face with a murderer on my way to the dumpster, and I was planning to
leave.

Michael still had not left a message or called.  It
had been two days since I saw him and at least twenty-four hours since I
expected him back in Sunset.  After all that happened, I was numb and prepared
for the worst.  Either he was dead like Frank, or he was alive and hiding.  I
didn't believe he'd dumped me.  Whatever happened, I'd have to figure out the
future by myself.  Even if there was a chance he was alive and hiding, I wouldn't
tell him about the baby.  I didn't want to spend my life hiding and end up like
Frank.  If Michael had made different choices, I wouldn't have kept his child
from him.  I realized I was more like my father than I'd imagined.  I had a
brand new life to think about now.  I'd do whatever it took to give my baby the
life it deserved.  ~Rachel Douglas

*    *    *

Twyla Taylor identified a mug shot of Walter Kellner
as the customer who was served at her Tea Room on the evening of 13 June 2011. 
The coroner's estimated time of death for Frank (Christopher) Case and Dennis
(Wojohowitz) Wagner was sometime that same evening.  Mr. Kellner was well known
in the underworld of crime for dining on a gourmet meal before a contracted
hit.  He also had a habit of hiking to and from his contracts in order to
maintain anonymity.

Twyla Taylor recalled seeing a black Lexus from the
window of her apartment above the Tea Room before she retired on the night
Frank Case was shot.  The driver of the Lexus parked near the Case home.  She
recognized the driver as one of Joel's friends who was sharing his apartment
for the summer.  The man knocked on the front door of the Case home and then
went quickly in and out of the cabin where the bodies were found, returned to
the Lexus, and drove in the direction of the lighthouse.

Michael Archer frequented casinos in Las Vegas and had
met with members of the mob, so it is possible he recognized Walter Kellner
walking along the highway.  The department has concluded Michael Archer was the
driver of the Lexus, he discovered the bodies of Dennis Walter and Frank Case,
and he pursued Mr. Kellner for revenge.

Michael Archer's Lexus was found not far from Sunset
and at the bottom of a ravine.  It appeared Mr. Archer had not been able to
negotiate a curve and went over the embankment.  However, a badly burned body
was found behind the wheel.  It was identified from dental records as Walter
Kellner.  Kellner did not die in the fire.  The cause of death was a bullet to
the head.

It is very likely Mr. Kellner was picked up, shot,
and placed behind the steering wheel before the car was pushed into the ravine.
Mr. Kellner's cell phone and eBook reader were found on the seat beside the
body.  The undamaged items were most likely placed with the body after the fire
had burned itself out.  The eBook reader was open to the Bible, specifically
Exodus 21:12-14.  That passage can be interpreted as God's command to avenge a
death caused by premeditation.  God gives refuge to the one who carries out his
sentence.

The department issued the following press release: 
A
2011 Lexus registered to Michael Archer was found at the bottom of a ravine about
one mile from the lighthouse at Sunset, Oregon on the morning of 15 June 2011. 
The car caught fire after impact.  A body in the vehicle burned beyond
recognition.  Michael Archer was reported missing by his roommate 15 June 2011 and
has not been seen since 13 June 2011.

The florist in Hoquarten identified a photo of Sarah
Duncan as the person who ordered the black roses for Michael Archer.

Harry Martin finished the pictorial history on the
windows at Twyla's Tea Room on the evening of 15 June 2011.  He was last seen
in the parking lot of the Sunset Beach Access early that same evening.

The department is in receipt of a postcard from
Canberra, Australia dated 21 June 2011 with the following message: ALL OK RD+
H.M.

As a result of the foregoing investigation and the
message on the postcard, the department concludes (1) Rachel, Harry, and
Michael are safe; (2) Rachel is pregnant; (3) Rachel might be in Australia; (4)
Rachel might be with Harry Martin; (5) Rachel might be with Michael Archer; (6)
Michael Archer is missing.

END OF REPORT

ABOUT GAYLE HAYES, AUTHOR

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The Sunset
Witness
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Please consider purchasing
The Scrimshaw Set: Books
1 & 2
by Gayle Hayes at Amazon also.  Book 1 of the novel follows Emma
Favager to Montana after her grandmother stipulates Emma must spend time there
to claim her inheritance.  Emma was raised without knowing her grandmother,
Frances.  Emma's parents did not allow Frances to see Emma and broke all ties
with her.  Book 2 was written after two readers requested a sequel.  It follows
Emma after she leaves Montana and returns to Denver.  While Book 1 introduces
Frances' friends as Emma does her best to satisfy Frances' demands, Book 2
deals with the dilemma facing Emma.  Should she stay in Denver, forget Eric
Knudsen, and teach law or should she move to Montana, forget Jack Hennessey,
and take over Harold Lowe's law practice?