Sandrift: A Lin Hanna Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

you
came out to walk the dog?” he asked, “You’re pretty jittery.”
    “I’ll be ok,”
Lin felt somewhat better. “Now that you mention it, I had planned to eat
breakfast after walking—that’s probably why I have the jitters. I feel
better now.”
    Ken took Lin’s
basic contact information and made a brief note regarding her discovery. “Why
don’t you take the dog back home and get some breakfast,” he suggested. “We’ll
be here for awhile taking care of all this. You can come in to the station
later this morning and we’ll take your complete statement then.”
    Lin readily
agreed, taking Ken’s card and tucking it in her pocket. “ I’ll call before I
come down to make sure you are in.   Thanks.”
    Ken spoke
briefly with Jerry Lee who was now off the phone.   He agreed that Lin could give her
statement later.   “No need for her
to stay right now.   It ‘ll be at
least half an hour before the doc and his crew can get here.”
    Lin was only
too happy to take Sparky and head back toward the parking lot.   She still felt shaky but the physical trembling
had stopped by the time she reached the Jeep.   Sparky seemed ready to leave also,
jumping eagerly into the front seat as soon as she opened the door.
    “Perhaps you
generally ride in back,” Lin told the dog, “but we’ve both had quite a shock so
let’s stick together for now.”   Sparky curled up in the passenger seat at her suggestion.
    Lin drove
directly back to Kate’s house.   As
she pulled into the parking area underneath she saw that Eloise was outside
cleaning up some flowerbeds.   Lin
hastily grabbed Sparky’s leash and led the dog upstairs.   She didn’t want to talk to anyone just
yet.
    An hour later,
Lin was in much better shape.   She
had changed clothes, observing that the only apparent damage resulting from her
fall was a bruise on her rear that was only a bit sore when she first sat down.
“That’ll be pretty,” she thought as she slipped into fresh clothes.   She had already fed Sparky and fixed
herself some scrambled eggs and toast.
      Pouring a second cup of fresh coffee, Lin
went out on the porch to relax for a bit.   The shakes were gone but she was still troubled by the experience.   Who could the young woman be? What had
happened to her in such a peaceful place?   Although the body was swollen and the woman’s face was dark and
distorted, Lin had not observed any obvious wounds or injuries.   Perhaps she died naturally, but she
seemed to be pretty young.   Lin felt
truly puzzled.
    For the moment,
all Lin wanted was to sit on the porch with her coffee and relax.   She focused on the peaceful view of the
sound and soon she felt herself growing drowsy.   She had slept well the night before, but
she guessed her body was reacting to the shock of her experience.   Putting her coffee cup aside, Lin
stretched out on the lounge chair and soon found herself drifting into that
comfort zone of relaxation between sleep and wakefulness.   A short nap would really help…
    She awoke with
a start when she heard someone coming up the steps.   She sat up as Eloise appeared by the
screen door.
    “I hope I’m not
disturbing you,” the kindly neighbor spoke gently, “but I just heard some
troubling news on the radio.   No
names were mentioned but it sounded to me like they were talking about you so I
had to check.”
    “Come in
Eloise, there’s coffee in the kitchen.   What did you hear?”
    Eloise described
a local news report that indicated that a lady who was walking her dog had
found the dead body of a young woman in Nags Heads Woods.   “I saw you heading out with Sparky this
morning and I hoped they were not talking about you but I had to check.   I saw you come back and you looked
pretty shaken up at the time.”
    “I’m afraid
that was me,” Lin replied thinking of how fast news travels in small
communities. “Actually, Sparky found the young woman—he just dragged me
along.   It was