Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery (11 page)

“That would be
great,” Lin replied. She didn’t really think that such information would help
her search for information about Dorrie’s activities, but it might be an
interesting story, and she didn’t want to turn down the older man’s offer.
 
He seemed genuinely interested in
pursuing the task.

“I’ll give you
a call if I find anything,” Tom smiled as he walked with them to the door, “
and Neal, I won’t forget about our plans to visit some of the historic sites
soon.”

They thanked
their hostess for a perfect evening and headed across the lawn back to Kate’s
house.
 
As they climbed the stairs,
Neal put his arm around Lin’s shoulders, “May I ask what errands you plan to
run tomorrow?
 
I thought you might
want to come with me to Fort Raleigh.”

“I would like
to go back there and spend more time,” Lin responded, “but you will be busy
getting acquainted with the team and learning about their plans.
 
I think I ‘ll try to go by the place
where Dorrie stayed, and perhaps talk to some of the folks she might have had
contact with while she was here.
 
Maybe I can find some information that would help her parents figure out
what she was doing.” She didn’t add that she might learn why she was in Nags
Head Woods when she died.

As they reached
the kitchen, Neal pulled her close, “Please be careful,” he whispered. “Please
don’t forget what I said about a possible killer still on the loose.”

“I won’t,” Lin
responded. “I’m not asking questions about Liz Frazier or about Dorrie as a
suspect.
 
I promise I won’t mention
that case at all.
 
I’m simply trying
to learn something about Dorrie’s movements through the area—that’s all.”

Neal didn’t say
anything more about her plans, but his mood remained somber.

It had been a
wonderful evening, but it had also been a long day and it was rather late.
 
They were both ready to go to bed.
 
There was a bright moon in the clear sky
visible in the window above the bed.
 
It cast a silver glow about the room.

“That’s quite a
view,” Neal murmured sleepily as he slipped an arm around Lin and pulled her
toward him, fitting the curve of her back against his chest.
 
“Perfect,” Lin added. They were both
asleep within seconds.

Clouds had
rolled in overnight, but it wasn’t raining when they awoke.
 

“I hope we
don’t have a wet morning,” Neal said, shifting in bed to get a better view of
the sky from the window above, “rain will really limit any surveying the team
might be planning to do.”

Lin was more
positive, “According to a forecast I heard yesterday, there isn’t much moisture
in this front.
 
It’s supposed to be
mostly cloudy but dry during the day with, perhaps, some light showers tonight.
 
You should be fine.
 
Supposed to be chilly though so be sure
you dress warmly.”
 
She moved to sit
up but Neal pulled her back, wrapping his arms around her.

“I’ll do that,
for sure,” he grinned, “but I’m not quite ready to get up yet, are you?” he
glanced at the clock, “It’s only seven-thirty, I’m not expected in Manteo until
ten.
 
I thought we might have
breakfast at that retro diner we saw the other day, The Grits Grill…afterward,
that is.”

Smiling Lin
lifted her eyes to meet his, slipping deeper into his embrace.

***

Lin decided to
drive her own car, and Neal took Kate’s Jeep so they wouldn’t have to return to
the house following their breakfast.
 
Lin was surprised to find that she was quite hungry after having such a
feast the night before, but she had been awake for a while and quite well
occupied.
 
I guess making love gives
one an appetite she mused—but she didn’t say that aloud.
 
I’ll skip lunch, she thought, I don’t
want to start putting on extra holiday pounds.
 
Lin was quite happy that she’d been able
to shed a few pounds when she was having physical therapy and maintaining a
regular exercise routine.
 
She’d
definitely have to get back to that, and soon.

The Grits Grill
had a great breakfast menu, and they were soon devouring savory omelets and
enjoying warm buttered biscuits.
 
Neal was excited about meeting the archeological team.
 
It had been several months since he’d
been involved in any fieldwork, and he hoped the team would welcome him as a
volunteer for the time he was here.
 

After finishing
a second cup of coffee, they parted company. “I’ll see you at home sometime
this afternoon I guess,” Neal said. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be occupied at
the fort.
 
Whichever one of us gets
home first should take Sparky for a walk.”

“That’s a good
idea,” Lin responded. “I don’t expect to be late, but I’m not sure where my
inquiries might lead.
 
I’ll make
sure I’m home no later than four.”

She was
surprised that Neal didn’t admonish her to be careful once more.
 
She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze
as she opened her car door.
 
He
leaned over and kissed her lightly on her cheek, “See you whenever,” he smiled
as he turned to go.

Neal watched
Lin drive away as he started the Jeep.
 
I do want her to be careful, he thought.
 
She’s so persistent and curious,
especially when she’s trying to help someone else.
 
He cared so much for her, and he worried
that she might put herself in harm’s way getting hurt as she did last
spring.
 
In spite of his concerns,
he realized that he had to let her go to pursue the things she felt were
important.
 
He didn’t want to seem
too over-protective.
 
He realized
that he shouldn’t try to stop her from doing what she felt she needed to
do.
 
He had to let go.
 
In fact, if he were being honest with
himself, this independent streak was part of what attracted him to her.
 
Breathing a deep sigh, Neal started the
Jeep and headed for his appointment at Fort Raleigh.

***

Lin decided to
begin her search at the Holiday Inn in Southern Shores where Dorrie had been
staying.
 
Eloise had also mentioned
they had an indoor pool and fitness center that they allowed local folks to use
for a modest membership fee.
 
Maybe
that would be her exercise solution, provided they had short-term
memberships.
 
In any case, it would
give her a reason to visit and an excuse to talk to someone on the staff.
 
It was several miles north to the hotel.
The islands were narrow and the towns stretched out along a north-south route.
Mileposts on the main highway, as well as on the beach road, served as guides
to locating various places.

Lin pulled into
the hotel parking lot.
 
It was a
newer property and appeared to be very well appointed.
 
Evidently, Dorrie could afford better accommodations
at this point in her life.
 

It was
mid-morning and the lobby was empty.
 
Lin approached the main desk and spoke to the young man on duty.
 
She introduced herself and indicated
that she was interested in a possible membership to use the pool and exercise
facilities.

“Do you offer,
short term memberships?” she queried, “I’ll only be here a few weeks. “

“I think so,”
the young man responded, “but I’ve only just started working here a couple of
weeks ago so I should probably let you talk to our manager.”
 
He disappeared into an office and
returned shortly with a man who looked to be in his early thirties.
 
He was dressed in a coat and tie.

“How may I help
you?” he smiled politely.
 
Lin
explained her interest in using the exercise facilities on a short-term basis
if possible.
 

“Certainly, we
have long term plans, but lots of folks come on a weekly basis,” he responded,
“Would you care to see our facilities?”

“Thanks,” Lin
responded, following the manager down a hallway.
 
The pool was fairly large, as was the
fitness center.
 
Lin was happy that
she’d decided to come here.
 
Dorrie’s activities were her main interest, but she had promised herself
she would get back into an exercise routine and this might work out well.
 
On a whim, she decided that she would
join for two—Neal might enjoy working out also.
 
As they returned to the office so Lin
could complete the applications, she decided to ask her questions.

“I understand
that the young woman found dead last weekend was a guest of your hotel,” she
inquired.
 
The manager didn’t say
anything at first.

“I’m afraid
so,” he finally responded, “of course she died elsewhere—an allergic
reaction, I believe.
 
The police
were here and took all her things.
 
Was she a friend of yours?”

 
Lin followed his train of thought, “No,
but her parents are.
 
They’re
certainly distraught about all of this.”
 
That seemed reasonable enough to say although “friends” was a bit of a
stretch.
 
She had spent time with
Dorrie’s parents, and they were definitely upset.

“As a matter of
fact, they’ve asked me to try to find out something about her activities
here.
 
They’re trying to figure out
what might have happened.
 
Why she
went hiking, and so on.
 
You can
imagine what a shock this has been for them.”

“I’m sure,” the
manager replied.
 
They’d arrived at
the front desk and he gave Lin two forms to complete, “You don’t have to do
this today,” he seemed ready for her to leave, “you can bring them back when
you come in.”

“Thanks,” Lin
replied, “may I ask if you had any opportunity to talk to Dorrie Johnson while
she was a guest here?
 
Did she
mention anything she was doing or anyone she was seeing, perhaps?” She was
determined not to leave without, at least, asking.

“No, my only
contact with Ms. Johnson was checking her in.
 
I didn’t speak with her otherwise.
 
Listen, my district manager is quite
concerned that we might get negative publicity about this, even though the
death occurred elsewhere—because of, you know, the criminal connection to
that old case,” the manager spoke in a low voice.

Lin sought to
reassure him. “Please don’t be concerned.
 
I ‘ve no interest at all in that connection, and I won’t be talking to
anyone about any of this beyond Dorrie’s parents.
 
They’re simply trying to find some
closure for themselves.
 
The entire
experience has been a shock to them.”

The manager
seemed to relax a bit.
 
He thanked
Lin for her interest in the fitness center saying he hoped she’d be back soon.

As she exited
the building, Lin felt someone touch her arm.
 
It was the young man she’d seen at the
desk when she first arrived.

“I heard you
talking to the manager about that girl, Dorrie,” he said. “I don’t really know
much about her, but I did talk to her one time.
 
I was on desk duty late one night when
she came in.
 
Her key card wouldn’t
work, and I had to reprogram it.
 
She mentioned that she’d been out to see some old friends, people she’d
known when she lived here years ago, I think she said.”

“Did she
mention any names?” Lin asked.

“No, but she
said she’d been at Tim’s Bar and Grill, that’s a local place further down the
beach toward the south.”

The young man
gave her directions. “It’s after eleven,” he said. “They’ll be open for lunch
by now.”

Lin thanked him
and left, mentally reciting the milepost number on Hwy.158 to commit it to
memory.
 
She was excited, her first
stop and she was already on track to learning something about Dorrie’s
activities.
 
She’d planned to go to
Tim’s Bar anyway as the Sheriff had described it as a local hangout, a place
Liz had frequented and maybe Dorrie had too.
 
Now she had something more concrete to
go on.
 
She looked at the clock, so
much for skipping lunch; she needed some excuse to show up at the local restaurant.
 
It was still early; maybe she could get
by with coffee.

Tim’s place was
located in an area populated by small individual businesses all of which seemed
to be older than some of the surrounding commercial establishments.
 
The parking lot was almost empty.
 

Lin was
surprised when she entered the place.
 
She’d expected it to be rather seedy and run down; the exterior was neat
but very plain.
 
Inside she found a
comfortable dining room with red checked tablecloths and rustic paneling.
 
The bar was in a separate room.
 
Everything looked shiny and new.
 
There were attractive hanging light
fixtures with red shades over each booth.
 
The furniture was a rustic style but appeared to be fairly new.
 
There weren’t many customers as yet, an
older couple in a corner booth and a couple of workers seated at the bar.
 
A waitress signaled to Lin to sit
anywhere she liked and headed toward her with a menu.

Lin glanced at
the list briefly as the waitress poured a glass of water and set her place with
silverware.
 
She really wasn’t
hungry, but she needed an excuse to stay for a while and make
conversation.
 
She decided on a chef
salad and coffee.

She noticed a
tall, heavy-set guy with a friendly demeanor talking with the fellows at the
bar.
 
That must be Tim, she thought,
hoping she could find a way to talk to him.

When the
waitress returned with her food, she decided to ask her if she knew anything
about Dorrie.
 
Perhaps she had been
working at night last week.

“I’m wondering
if you might have been working last week when Dorrie Johnson came in,” she
asked, “she’s the girl who died from an allergic reaction last weekend, you may
have heard about it.
 
Her parents
are friends of mine.
 
I’m trying to
help them find out more about what she was doing here, maybe get some sense of
closure—it’s been very tough on them.”

“I can
imagine,” the waitress was sympathetic, “I read about all that in the paper,
but I’ve never met her.
 
I only work
days.
 
Tim was probably here.”
 
She called the proprietor over.

“Just a
minute,” Tim responded. “He turned back to the men he was chatting with for a
few moments and then made his way to Lin’s table.”

Extending his
hand he introduced himself, “I’m Tim, how can I help you?”

Lin explained
what she was trying to learn.
 
Tim
took it all in and then asked, “OK, if I sit down.”

“Certainly,”
Lin replied. “I was just about to get a refill on my coffee, anyway.”

Tim signaled
for the waitress to refill Lin’s mug and bring him one also.
 
He settled himself in the booth opposite
her.
 
He could aptly be described as
a “giant” of a man—tall and broad shouldered.
 
From appearances, Lin would judge him to
be a “gentle giant.”
 
He had a very
friendly demeanor and was very relaxed.
 
I’ll bet he can be tough if the situation calls for it though, Lin
thought.