Page 11 of Once Marked
Linda’s hands clenched and unclenched, as if she were attempting to wring the haunting memory from her very skin.
“I called out to her,” she went on, her voice a mere whisper in the quiet room.“But there was only stillness in return.I walked closer, trying to talk with her...and when I saw her eyes behind those sunglasses…”
Her voice hitched, choked by the rawness of the recollection.
“They were vacant,” she finally managed to continue.“No life in them at all.It was like being trapped in some awful horror movie.”
Her gaze sought Riley’s, desperate for empathy, for a reprieve from a burden of guilt that wasn’t actually hers.
“You’re being very helpful, Ms.Morris," Riley said.“I just have a couple more questions.”
She hesitated before making a query that was both necessary and invasive.
“Did you touch anything?Or even move anything?”
“No, I—I knew better than to disturb … I knew that I mustn’t ….I backed away and I think I screamed, but I called 911 as soon as I could manage my phone.”
“Just one more thing,” Riley said.“Have either of you spoken to anyone about what happened?Specifically about the condition of the body?”
Both women shook their heads.
“The Sheriff told us not to,” Linda said.
“We didn’t even tell Grace about all that,” Lucy added.
“Then please keep it that way,” Riley said.“It’s important that the details not be made public.”
“Okay,” Linda said.Her gaze drifted off, lost in the replay of that morning.
Lucy broke in, her whisper laden with terror.“Neither of us can stop thinking about that poor woman.But what if Linda had run into the killer?”
The question was unsettling and potent.Riley had no doubt there would have been two dead women on that beach to be discovered by whoever wandered by next.
She felt sympathy for these two young women.As software engineers, they probably worked hard.Their vacation, meant for rest and rejuvenation, had been brutally upended, overshadowed by what-ifs and could-have-beens.Here in this cozy living room, far removed from the sterile confines of an interrogation room, the impact of this woman’s report felt all the more personal, all the more poignant.
“Thank you, Linda,” Riley said softly, closing her notebook with a sense of finality.The story had been told, the recollection setting the gears of investigation into motion.But behind the facts lay the human cost, the shadows now cast over two lives that had merely sought the peace of an ocean vacation.
“Let’s go,” Riley said to her companions, her voice firm despite the knot of apprehension in her stomach.
As she stood, Riley extended a hand, pressing a small card between Linda’s trembling fingers.“If you need to talk, this service can help,” she said.“I’ve written my phone number on the back if you want to check in with me.”
“Thank you,” Linda managed, clutching the card as if it were a lifeline.Lucy nodded beside her, silent gratitude shimmering in her eyes.
“We’ll do everything we can,” Riley assured them, her much-repeated promise genuine despite the helplessness that often came with it.“Please try to rest, and do call Sheriff Beeler or me if you remember anything else.”
Both Ann Marie and Sheriff Beeler thanked the two women.Then Riley and her colleagues made their way out of the cottage.The door closed behind them with a soft click, sealing off the world of Linda and Lucy from their view.Riley moved down the stairs, then paused on sand below, taking a deep breath of salty air that did little to cleanse the lingering taste of tragedy.
“It’s such a lovely setting,” Ann Marie commented sadly.
Riley nodded, taking one last look up at the cottage.Behind those curtains, two women grappled with the kind of fear that would linger for many years to come—perhaps for the rest of their lives.
She caught Beeler’s eye and indicated their next destination.
“Sheriff, we should speak with Luther Shearer next.We need to hear his story.”
“Of course,” Beeler agreed, his own demeanor mirroring Riley’s professional resolve as he led them back to the cruiser.
“Next stop, the town of Darnley,” Beeler announced, as he opened the car doors for his two companions.“It’s not far from Nag’s Head.”
