Secrets in the Shallows (Book 1: The Monastery Murders) (52 page)

Katy nodded as she resigned to say, “Try not to be gone all day, please?”

“I won’t.” John leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “Call me if you need me.”

“I will. Hmmmmmm. Want some takeout pizza for dinner tonight? I have been craving some.”

“You’re already thinking about supper?” John laughed as he walked over and kissed her gently on the lips. “I’ll see you tonight. I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart,” Katy said as she picked up the paper and began to read. The headline on the front page read:
Mother Superior Arrested for Murdering Timothy Fields!

John smiled as he put on his overcoat, grabbed his keys, and headed out the front door. As he got in his car, his phone rang. “John Smith.”

Sheriff Johnson’s voice came through the speaker. “Good morning, Counselor.”

Turning on his car, John greeted him. “Morning, Sheriff. I’m leaving for your office right now.”

“Good to hear. I wanted to bring you up to date before you get here. Peter called me late yesterday, and they finished the autopsy.”

“And? Was he murdered?”

“Yes, he was; and by drowning,” the sheriff replied. “Plus, there were large gashes on his head and body. The one on his head was big enough to indicate that Tom was knocked out before he was drowned. Peter even looked over the old photos from the body recovery, and was able to corroborate his findings based on what he saw. Tom Green was drowned after being knocked unconscious. I’m also going to try to meet with the Judge sometime later today, if he’ll take the time. I want to get that second warrant taken care of before the arraignment on Monday.”

“Wow!” John exclaimed as he stopped at the end of his driveway. “Well, I’m heading there now. We’ll talk more about it after I get there.”

“All right, Counselor. I just got here myself. Drive safely, and I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay, Sheriff. See you in a few.” John hung up the phone as he turned onto the highway, heading towards town.

* * * *

Holding his briefcase in one hand and travel mug in the other, Sheriff Johnson hurried through the front door of his office as the clock revealed it was 8:55 a.m. In the waiting room, Herbert and Margie Fields had been anxiously waiting for fifteen minutes to meet with the sheriff and the D.A. about their son’s murder case. Herbert wrapped his arm around his wife, consoling her as they sat quietly.

Smiling at the older couple, Sheriff Johnson greeted them warmly. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Fields. I’ll be right with you.” The Fields both nodded in acknowledgment as the sheriff approached his assistant’s desk.

Looking at his office assistant, Heather, the sheriff whispered, “John Smith will be coming in any moment. Go ahead and send him on back when he arrives. Any word from the Greens yet?”

“They should be here in about an hour, Sheriff,” Heather replied.

“This shouldn’t take too long, but we’ll be with them as soon as we’re finished with the Fields.”

Heather smiled and said, “I’ll get them some coffee if they have to wait very long.”

“Good idea, Heather,” the sheriff smiled as he turned back to the Fields couple. “Please, follow me to my office, Mr. and Mrs. Fields,” he instructed, directing them down the hallway.

Herbert grasped Margie’s hand, helping her move along one step at a time. Sadness enveloped them from mourning their recent loss. Walking in the room, they slumped down in the armchairs solemnly.

Only a second later, John peeked his head in the doorway and said, “Good morning, everyone. I was told you were all here, and to come on back.”

“Come in, Counselor. Can you close the door, please?” Sheriff Johnson motioned for John to sit down.

John sat down on an available armchair, and pulled out a digital voice recorder from his briefcase. Holding it up to show them, he commented, “I need to record this session. I hope that is all right?”

Mr. and Mrs. Fields both replied, “Yes.”

“Thank you,” John said, pushing the
record
button before he set it down on the desk nearby. Holding up his index finger, he said clearly, “Herbert and Margie Fields’ Interrogation, 9:00 A.M, Saturday, December 19.” Looking over at the couple, he asked, “Herbert Fields, do you give me, District Attorney John Smith, permission to record this session with Sheriff Johnson?”

“Yes, I do,” Herbert replied.

“Margie Fields, do you give us permission to record this session with Sheriff Johnson also?”

“Yes, I do.” With tears welling up in her eyes, Margie looked at Sheriff Johnson and asked, “We read in the paper that you arrested Mother Superior Mary Ellen for Timmy’s murder. Is it true that Mother Superior could have killed our son? I just can’t believe she would do that. We attend services there every week! How could she do that to us?”

John set his travel mug on an end table, and then leaned forward to pull out a tissue from its box and hand it to her.

Clearing his throat, Sheriff Johnson replied, “All of the evidence points to Mother Superior being the murderer. We have directly linked her through DNA samples collected at the scene from the rope used to strangle your son. She has yet to confess any involvement, but we do have a stack of evidence piling up to prove our case against her. Her arraignment and bond hearing are set for Monday at 9 a.m.”

Herbert asked, “How long will it be before we know when the actual trial will be?”

With a firm voice, John interjected, “We are moving as quickly as we can to expedite the case. This way, the entire community can put the entire matter to rest and begin the healing process. We won’t have a date until we get further along. A lot still has to be done to solidify the case, and that all takes time. We will do everything we can to do things right so we don’t cause a mistrial.”

Tears flowed down her cheeks as Margie said, “I still can’t believe it. We even had her counsel him on some issues he was having. He was very upset after his friend, Tom Green, was murdered. He wouldn’t talk about it with us, so I told him to talk to her. Do you think that led to him being killed too?”

Sheriff Johnson said, “Mrs. Fields, what was done to your son was very wrong. He didn’t deserve what happened to him. I can’t get into all of the specifics about the case, but I assure you we are doing our best to put Mother Superior Mary Ellen behind bars for good. It’s just too bad that Maine doesn’t have the death penalty, in my opinion.”

Margie’s dabbed her tears with a tissue. Herbert held her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Wadding her tissue up, Helen took in a deep breath and relaxed.

John added, “We have several witnesses and plenty of evidence that are going to help this case. I don’t think she has a chance of getting off. If she is responsible for Tom Green’s death too, then we will try her for Timmy’s and Tom’s murders together. I think that will help our conviction probability too.”

“Do you combine cases like that often?” Herbert asked.

“It depends. If someone has killed multiple people, especially by similar means, then they can be. Both of the boys’ causes of death and circumstances are so similar that they indicate a ‘modus operandi.’ That means that the killer used similar methods to kill more than one victim. If we can show that she was responsible for both deaths, and that Tom died in a similar way to your son, then we would definitely try them together.”

John added, “If there were any question that this would not work, then I would try them individually instead. There’s no need to drag the inevitable out. We have the pile of evidence we need, and it will blow any defense to pieces.”

Sniffling, Margie asked, “Do you think my son would still be alive if I hadn’t forced him to attend those counseling sessions with Mother Superior?”

“I really don’t know, Mrs. Fields. There is no way of knowing,” John said emphatically. “I also want you to know that Peter Balkan is an experienced forensics examiner with the Office of Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maine. He has handled dozens of cases like this, and has worked very closely with me on your son’s murder. He has gone beyond the call of duty, and his help has been invaluable in finding evidence. We’re very fortunate to have him working with us on this case.”

Sheriff Johnson asked them, “So, is there anything more that you would like to add to your past statements? Have you remembered anything else about Tom Green or Mother Superior Mary Ellen that could help the case?”

Margie responded, “I did remember something. The last time I saw Tom was when he came over to study with Timmy and Lisa. He seemed very agitated and angry. I don’t know what happened.”

“Did you ask him what was wrong?” John asked.

“Of course I did,” she said emphatically.

“What did he say?”

“He said very rudely that it was ‘
none of my freakin’ business
.’ Behind closed doors in Timmy’s room, I could hear Tom yell that he hated Mother Superior and those stupid nuns. I thought I heard him say that he was going to get back at Mother Superior really good.” Shrugging her shoulders, Margie shut her eyes as she took in a deep breath. “Within a few weeks, he was dead.”

Sheriff Johnson looked directly into Margie eyes and said, “What you’re saying backs up a lot of other evidence we have obtained. I know we can include your testimony as a witness.” He paused for a moment and said, “Well, I think I have what I need from you for now.”

John added, “I assume you will have no problem testifying about what you know at the trial?”

“Of course, we will testify. We want Timmy’s killer put in prison for good,” Herbert said loudly.

“Yes, we never want that murderer to be free to kill anyone else again,” Margie added.

“Don’t worry. We will do our best to make sure justice is served. I am confident that we will succeed,” Sheriff Johnson said as he stood up. “We are going to interview the Greens next. They should be here soon, so unless you have anything to add, I probably need to go ahead and get ready for them.”

“We’ve told you all that we can remember,” Herbert said.

“I know I can’t think of anything else,” Margie added.

Stopping the digital recorder, John said, “Hopefully, getting the killer behind bars will go a long way to help you to find peace. Thank you both for coming today. We will need to get an official deposition at some point. I’ll let you know when that is getting close.”

“All right, Mr. Smith. We’ll be happy to do whatever is needed,” Herbert replied. “Thank you too, Sheriff. It’s comforting to know you are hard at work and solving these horrible crimes.”

Moving towards the door, Sheriff Johnson reached his hand out to shake their hands. Opening the door, he said, “I am very sorry for your loss, Mr. and Mrs. Fields. I know that it must be almost unbearable to lose your child.”

“I hope you never find out how it feels,” Margie replied as the couple headed out the door.

The sheriff closed the door and sat back down in his chair. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the intercom button and said, “Heather, are the Greens waiting?”

“Yes, Sir,” Heather’s voice replied over the speaker.

“Give me five minutes and then you can send them in.”

“Will do, Sir.”

Sheriff Johnson looked over at John and said, “Ready for the next one?”

“Ready as I can be.” John leaned back in his chair and stretched as he smiled.
W
e
’ve got this case under control,
he thought to himself.

* * * *

Tom and Helen Green sat down in the same armchairs that the Fields couple had sat in only a few minutes earlier. Tom held Helen’s hand gently, as he looked at Sheriff Johnson and asked, “So, is Mother Superior the one who murdered Tom and Timmy?”

“As I told the Fields, all of the evidence points to her being the culprit. She was arrested for Timothy Fields’ murders, yesterday.”

“What evidence is that?”

John interjected, “There is DNA, fingerprint and plenty of audio and other physical evidence that ties Mother Superior directly to both Tom and Timmy’s murders.”

“I never would’ve suspected Mother of doing something like this,” Tom Senior commented.

“Neither did anyone else, Tom,” John replied. “The important thing is that she is behind bars, and all of the evidence and witness testimonies we have should keep her there. You’re all right with being put on the stand, right?”

“Of course, we are,” Helen replied.

Holding up his digital audio recorder and pushing the
record
button, John asked, “I need to record this so I can listen to it later.” Pushing the
record
button he said clearly, “Tom and Helen Green Interrogation, 10:00 A.M, Saturday, December 19. Tom and Helen Green, do you give me, District Attorney John Smith, permission to record this session with Sheriff Johnson?”

Tom nodded, “You have my permission to record me.”

“You have my permission too,” Helen said.

Leaning forward, John began, “Tom and Helen, there are a few things I need to know. Why didn’t you want the body autopsied when he was found in the pond?”

Tom replied, “The day he went missing, his girlfriend broke up with him. The coroner assumed it was suicide, and that’s what he wrote on the cause of death. However, the coroner died last year of a heart attack.”