A Brief Case of Murder

The dense rolling fog, enveloped the Rover like a blanket, causing Kate to slow down. She leaned forward  trying to see the road that edged up, like a winding ribbon, taking her to some mystical place.  Pulling over into a turnabout she got out, and inhaled deeply, her lungs stinging for a moment as they filled with the moist salty air.  The view was hidden behind the wall of clinging haze, yet Kate remembered the shoreline vista and every rock and pinnacle that stood together like a fortress protecting the shoreline from angry waves that swept away anything in their path. 

She would soon be home again.  How time changed things. It seemed like only yesterday that she and Aggie raced along this road on their bicycles each daring the other to go as fast as the wind.  Their sibling rivalry had been more intense than most but the passing years had at last made them friends. 

As she stretched to get the kinks out of her weary body, her eyes shot skyward. Angry clouds made their presence known through a break in the swirling fog, foretelling the coming of a storm. Kate hurried to the Rover hoping to beat the squall home. She continued on up the road. As she reached the point where it turned inland the fog began to lighten. Up ahead was the entrance to the drive that would bring her home to Myrtlewood. A deep yearning within reminded her how much she missed this place.

Sitting in the bar at the Shoreline Hotel, Olsten absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the bar. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he felt his irritation growing. He detested being kept waiting for any reason. Tom Selvers was an efficient attorney, and in the past had gotten him out of a lot of bad situations.  Gazing around the room. Olsten was relieved not to notice anyone he knew. The fan overhead circulated stale air that was better left untouched. The Shoreline wasn't exactly the kind of hotel Olsten would normally find himself in but he didn't want to run the risk of seeing anyone this afternoon. The sooner they got this ugly business over with the better. He went over the events of the last 24 hours and it all seemed like a nightmare. He was tired of being jerked around by everyone.  Picking up his drink he eyed the doorway expectantly, 2:30, where the hell was he? He probably should have met Tom at the yacht. But where to send Sara  in the meantime. It was too risky to have her in a public place right now, damn, he just couldn't believe how the past two days had gone. You never could go home again should have read, you never should go home again. He decided that after this meeting with Tom he would call Sara  and arrange for her to leave town. After he left this place she could join up with him in a few days. She certainly would understand his need to be extra careful now. He couldn't stay at the cottage after giving Jennifer the papers. 

Reaching in his pocket he pulled out the cigar that Paul Thompson had given to him yesterday. He didn't even like the taste but he needed something to do. Looking at the wrapper he saw it was a cheap brand that tasted like bull turd. Lighting it he wondered what a person could do to keep his stress under control.  Everything seemed to be in place except for that unfortunate incident last night.  How the hell had he found him? Olsten couldn't imagine that Ted Walker would have followed his career. A name change should have been sufficient to make him anonymous. Since his father had moved the business to Houston there really was no way that Ted could have traced him. 

It was strange how old business suddenly became new business. Blackmail at this late date was a serious miscalculation on Walker's part.