Unintended Consequences - By Marti Green

Chapter

29





If he wasn’t so goddamn tense he might have appreciated the beauty surrounding him. The red rock encasing the Colorado River as it snaked its way thousands of feet below truly was majestic. Maybe when this was over, he’d take his wife for a vacation here.

The website listed on the brochure told him exactly when and where Nancy’s trip would end: Marble Canyon. It even said where they’d spend their last night before being whisked to Las Vegas for their flights home: Marble Canyon Inn. He had arrived two days earlier and settled into a room at the same lodging. He used another name and showed a false driver’s license. It had been easy finding someone to make it, no questions asked. There wasn’t much to do while he waited for her, so he’d taken in some of the sights: a boat ride up Lake Powell, a hike along the north rim of the Grand Canyon, a visit to Navaho Bridge. All spectacular, he thought. Even so, his next move was always in the forefront of his mind. Nothing he saw or did could shake it from there. He was prepared to kill Nancy Ferguson.

He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Maybe she didn’t know anything. Or maybe she knew that Sunshine Harrington wasn’t the Calhouns’ daughter. That would be fine. Then she’d mosey on home from her adventure vacation and he’d go back to his wife. But if not, well, he’d had to clean up problems before. He wouldn’t shy away from it now.

Although he’d been away from home for five days now, he wasn’t cut off from what was happening back home. The hotel had a computer for guests, and each night he logged on to The News Dispatch, Michigan City’s daily newspaper. And last night he’d seen it: George Calhoun’s execution had been stayed for seven days. He knew what that meant. They were waiting for Nancy to get back from her trip, waiting for her to lead them to Sunshine Harrington, waiting to determine if she was George Calhoun’s daughter. If that happened, if it turned out to be true, they’d start wondering whose body was in that grave. He couldn’t let that occur.

He sat in the hotel lobby at a seat near the front desk, a local newspaper held up to his face, waiting for Nancy’s arrival. The police badge was tucked into his jacket pocket and his nerves were in check. Shortly after three o’clock a bedraggled group of twelve arrived and began checking in. There was a family of four, three couples and two single women. One woman looked to be in her twenties, the other considerably older. The older one must be Nancy, he thought. His guess was confirmed when she took her turn at the desk. “Nancy Ferguson,” she told the clerk and he handed her a room-access card.

He carefully folded his newspaper and followed her group into the elevator. When she got off on the third floor, he followed, watching which room she entered, and continued down the corridor. He didn’t want to be seen talking to her. There couldn’t be anyone who might identify him later, when her body was found—if it came to that. After the corridor had cleared, he walked back to her room and knocked on the door.

“Ms. Ferguson?” He showed her his badge. “I’m a detective and I have a few questions about an ongoing investigation. May I come in?”

Nancy stood there in the open doorway with her arms folded. “What investigation?”

“I’d prefer not to talk in the hallway.”

“Then I guess you’d better tell me what this is about.”

“It’s a murder investigation and it concerns Sunshine Harrington.”

Nancy’s hand flew to her mouth. “No! Has she been killed! Please tell me that’s not so.”

“No, no, she’s fine. But she may have information that will be helpful in connection with an old unsolved murder.”

Visibly relieved, Nancy invited him in. He closed the door behind him.

“How could Sunshine know anything about an old murder? She’s too young.”

He cleared his throat. “I understand you were close friends with her mother.”

Nancy nodded.

“Did Mrs. Harrington ever tell you how she came to raise Sunshine as her daughter?”

Nancy looked at the floor. “She was her brother’s daughter. He and his wife were killed in a car accident.”

“We know that’s not true. A man’s life is at stake now.” He raised his voice. “This isn’t a time to preserve secrets. If I learn that you’re lying to me, you’re guilty of obstruction of justice. That’s a felony. You’d be looking at serious jail time.”

After some hesitation, Nancy said, “She found Sunshine sitting in a chair at the Mayo Clinic. She was a very sick child, abandoned by her parents. Trudy couldn’t bear the thought of this little girl being shuffled through the foster-care system, so she took her home. She saved Sunshine’s life.”

“And where is Sunshine now?”

Nancy gave him Sunshine’s address. It was the last thing she ever did.