Secrets in the Shallows (Book 1: The Monastery Murders) (39 page)

Sheriff Johnson sat for a moment, allowing the news to soak in. “Tom and Helen, we now have a forensic investigator from the State of Maine, as well as the D.A. on the case. Timothy Fields was murdered; and we think there may be a possibility he wasn’t the first. We feel it is necessary to have Tom’s body exhumed for further analysis to see if he was also murdered.”

“You mean, you want to dig our boy up?” Tom’s chin trembled.

“If we can examine the body further then I think we can find a cause of death. Tom and Helen, I know this is hard on you, but we feel there may be a connection with the death of Timmy. The last thing we want is another body floating on top of the pond. We need to catch the person who is doing this before they do it again.”

Sheriff Johnson waited for a response as he sat at the edge of his seat. “We need to know.”

Helen glanced over at her husband.

He shot a look at her. “No! I will not have my son’s remains scattered all to hell and back in some lab,” he said with his voice breaking.

Sheriff Johnson lowered his head and sighed. Flapping his hat against his leg he looked up, “It would help us, Tom. It could help the D.A and the forensic investigator find the murderer, if the two deaths are connected. It would help, Tom. Please?” he begged.

Tom brushed away a tear. “No, I said,” punctuating his statement.

Helen moved from her chair and sat beside her grieving husband. She rubbed him on the shoulder, “Honey?” Helen fixed her eyes on the sheriff, “What do we need to do?”

Sheriff looked at her and replied, “All that you and Tom would have to do is come down to the courthouse this afternoon and sign the papers. That’s it. We will take it from there. We’ll let you know what we find out before we release any information on the case.”

Tom sat with tears running down his cheeks. “That will make us live his death all over again. I want to forget the pain I feel every day. I wanted...”

Helen rubbed his broad shoulder. “We will be there, Sheriff.”

Relieved, Sheriff Johnson stood up and placed his hat on his head. “I can’t thank you enough.”

Helen stood up and opened up the front door allowing him to walk out. He turned toward her, “So, I will see you two there today?”

Helen pursed her lips, “Yes. What time do we need to be there?” Crossing her arms, she looked over at her husband sitting on the sofa as she talked to the sheriff.

Tom stared straight ahead, “You may go, but I am not going near that damn courthouse.”

Sheriff Johnson said, “Helen, I can let you ride with me, so you don’t have to drive yourself. I’ll make sure you have a ride home.”

Tom looked at his wife and stated firmly, “Helen, I would rather you not go.”

“Tom, we need to do the right thing by our son. If he was murdered, then we need to find out.”

Resigned to his wife’s persuasive argument, he finally agreed. “We will be there, though I don’t like it at all.”

The sheriff replied, “Thank you so much, Tom and Helen..”

Sheriff Johnson stood up and walked over to the door. “I’ll see you later, then. Be careful driving. We’re still having some nasty weather.”

Tom replied, “We’ll be fine, Sheriff. I’ve lived in Maine all my life.”

The sheriff nodded and opened the door to head outside. As he walked away, the sheriff looked back at the house. Through the sheer drapes, he could see Tom’s silhouette pointing at his wife in front of him. Hearing loud voices, Sheriff Johnson wondered if the Greens would follow through with their promise. As he got in his car, he looked back one more time at the window and started the engine.

As he drove away, he was overwhelmed from delivering the news to the Greens.
I can’t imagine having to open those old wounds, if I were his parents. At least we may be able to give them real closure.

C
HAPTER
35

Clashes of lightning illuminated the monastery foyer as if it were a bright, sunny day. Thunder continued to rumble, sending vibrations through the floor. Harry Wells, Joe Blacksmith and Tristan Winn stood inside the front door, as they waited for instructions. They could hear footsteps hurrying towards them as Deputy Williams walked up the hallway. Reaching the front, the deputy tried to catch his breath.

“You all right, Deputy? You look like you saw a ghost,” Harry chuckled.

Deputy Williams took in a long, deep breath and replied, “That sanctuary is a bit creepy when it’s storming outside. I looked around, but didn’t see anything in there that seemed out of sorts.”

“Well, that’s good to know. So, where do you want us to start, Deputy?” Joe asked.

“The sheriff wants you to focus on the nuns’ quarters and the offices primarily. Dr. Balkan found some previously missing evidence in the office just before the lights went out. There may be some other stuff that was missed. By the way, where is Dr. Balkan?”

“He’ll be here in a little while. I believe he was heading to the lab first thing to meet with Coke about those hair sample tests,” Joe replied.

“All right, well here is a radio in case you need me for anything,” Williams said as he reached in his pocket and handed it to Joe. “Do you know where to go?”

“Yes, we’ve got this, Deputy. We’ll let you know if we need anything,” Harry said as he put the radio away.

Picking up the cases they had set down beside them, the trio began heading down the hallway towards the stairs. Still haunted by the woman’s spirit, Deputy Williams smiled as he watched them walk away and disappear up the stairway.

* * * *

Music blared inside the forensics lab as Coke worked tediously to match the hair samples with the ones collected from the nuns. He had been there since early in the morning, trying to finish them before the sheriff got back from meeting with Tom Green’s parents. Sitting at his microscope, he was so focused that he never heard Peter Balkan come in.

“Morning, Coke!” Peter greeted.

Looking up from his scope, Coke smiled and said, “Morning, Doc. I wondered when you’d get your ass in here.”

Setting his briefcase on a table nearby, Peter replied, “Yesterday was a long, hard day. I had a difficult time getting out of bed this morning. I’m not as young as I used to be.” He chuckled. “So, how are the tests going?”

“They’re coming along. I haven’t seen one that matched the ones you found yet though.”

Peter paused a moment and said, “After you finish that one, go ahead and work on Mother Superior’s sample. I have a feeling it’s going to be a match.”

“All right, Doc. Whatever you say. I was just going through the list alphabetically.” He pulled the slide out from under the microscope lens and set it aside. “This one doesn’t match either. I’ll check Mother Superior’s right now.”

Looking through the sample tubes, he found the one he was searching for. Picking up his tweezers, he broke the tube’s seal and pulled the long, gray hairs out to begin the test.

“I’ll be in my office if you need me, Coke. I’ve got a bit of paperwork to catch up on while you do that. Let me know the minute you find something.” Peter picked up his briefcase and walked over to his office. Turning on the light, he closed the door behind him.

* * * *

Light from the beacon permeated the dissipating rain as a lonely foghorn sounded in the distance. Two men aboard a lobster boat headed out to work. With the storm finally moving on, it was a quiet, enjoyable ride. Sunbeams had finally started to peek out from the clouds and streamed across the sky.

On his way back from the Greens’ house in Sanger that morning, Sheriff Johnson drove his cruiser back towards Wattsville.
Wow! That is simply an amazing sight,
he thought.

Crossing the county line, the sheriff tapped his radio button and said, “Dispatch, this is Sheriff Johnson. Can you get Deputy Williams?”

“Right away, sir. Over,” the woman’s voice replied.

Moments later, Deputy Williams responded. “Sheriff, Williams here. How can I help you?”

“I wanted to get an update on how it’s going over at the monastery?”

“Doing just fine, Sheriff. The forensics team is searching here right now. No news to tell as of yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do,” Williams replied.

“Copy that. I met with the Greens in Sanger and am on my way back. Just crossed into the county, so I should be back soon.”

“They going to allow Tom’s body to be exhumed, sir?”

The sheriff smiled and answered, “It would seem so, Deputy. They’re heading to the courthouse this afternoon.”

“Sheriff, I’ll head in to the department when I get done; and then maybe, I can catch up on some paperwork. In the storm, that sanctuary was quite creepy.”

“Did you know, when I was young, I wanted to be a priest?”

“Come again, Sheriff.”

The sheriff laughed and replied, “Yes, Deputy, I wanted to be a priest when I was a lot younger.”

“No way, sir!” Deputy Williams chuckled. “I’d never have believed that unless you told me, Sheriff.”

“I’m glad I didn’t go that route though. My job has a lot more excitement to it. The only downside is it’s a twenty-four/seven occupation. Sometimes the missus gets fed up with me because I’m gone so much.”

“I hear that, sir. But if you were a priest, you wouldn’t have a wife anyway. I think you made the right choice, sir.”

“Thank you, Williams. I do, too. Well, let me know if you find anything new. I’ll catch up with you later on. I need to get ready to see the judge in a bit. I’ll see you soon to go over everything. There’s plenty to do on this case.”

“I agree. Be safe, Sheriff.”

“I will. You too, Deputy. See you at the station.”

“All right, sir.

Removing a small hardcover case from his shirt pocket, the sheriff took out a half-smoked cigar and stuck it in his mouth unlit. He closed the case and stuck it back in his pocket. Turning on the radio, he heard his favorite country song on the station as he headed back to town.

* * * *

After searching several rooms, one of the forensics technicians, Joe Blacksmith, opened the door to the last room on the left. On the nightstand, he noticed a picture of a beautiful woman with long dark hair sitting on a chestnut horse.

Picking it up with his gloved hand, he admired the woman smiling back at him.
Who is this?
he asked himself.
Setting it back down, he flipped open the cover of a small book nearby. Inside, a small inscription was written in blue ink:

To Mother Superior Mary Ellen: Thank you for your many years of Catholic service. ~ Archbishop John Feldman.

Walking over to the bed, Joe knelt down and looked under it. Finding a suitcase, he picked it up and placed it on the bed. After unlatching the clasps on both sides, he opened up the suitcase and examined the contents. Within the small suitcase, he found only a small blue cloth bag, mirror, toothpaste, toothbrush, and a comb.

Completing his search of the room, he pushed the talk button on his radio, “Deputy? This is Joe. Are you there?”

“Affirmative. Find anything?” Williams replied.

“Not anything worth mentioning, Deputy.”

“Have you completed your search?”

“We’re making headway. I’m done with the dormer rooms finally. Tristan and Harry are working on the offices right now. I’ll go see about their progress and let you know.”

Deputy Williams said, “All right; maybe we can get out of here before it gets too late.”

“That would be nice. Keep me informed, Deputy.”

Joe gathered his kit and headed out the door towards the offices where his colleagues were busy searching on their own.

* * * *

Interrupting his thoughts, a sudden knock sounded from Peter Balkan’s office door. Peter took a deep breath as replied, “Come in.”

The door opened and Coke entered, carrying a manila folder in his hand. “It’s a match, Doc!”

Peter sat straight up in his chair and asked, “Mother Superior’s hair matched the samples you found from the rope and backpack?”

“That would be correct, sir,” Coke smiled, revealing his horrible buckteeth.

“Thanks, Coke. I need to tell the sheriff about this.”