Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Beth Ann swallowed hard, her voice a raspy whisper. “What happened to my sister? How did she die?”
“As I said, she was found at Midnight Ridge.” Ellie kept a neutral expression, not sure Beth Ann should know the details at the moment.
“Her body is at the medical examiner’s office now.
I don’t have the autopsy report yet so can’t confirm the exact cause of death, but she sustained multiple external and internal injuries from falling over the ridge. ”
“So it was an accident?” Beth Ann asked, wide-eyed.
Ellie licked her dry lips. “At first we thought that and suspected suicide because we did find a note. But we have our suspicions now that she didn’t take her own life. That’s why I’m here. We’re trying to figure out what happened.”
A baffled look crossed Beth Ann’s face. “My God. You think someone hurt her?”
“It’s possible. I’m interviewing everyone who knew her to understand her mindset, so anything you can share could be helpful.”
“I don’t understand why she would be on that ridge.” Beth Ann rubbed her forehead. “Minnie was never much of an outdoor girl or hiker.”
Ellie considered Beth Ann’s comment. “Okay. Tell me more.”
“Minnie was a bookworm. She used to talk about going to nursing school.” Beth Ann’s eyes grew distant as if she was remembering something. “Then… she kind of had a bad spell and Dad said she was drinking a lot. But I figured it was just teenage rebellion and that she’d get through it.”
Ellie gently touched Beth Ann’s hand. “I’m so sorry, honey. What happened?”
Beth Ann’s face crumpled. “Well, Daddy came down on her hard one day and they got in a big fight. He accused her of sleeping around with different boys, but I didn’t believe it. Minnie was shy and didn’t date although there was one guy she liked, but she was too nervous to talk to him.”
Ellie contemplated that observation, wondering if this boy was Iris’s father.
“What was his name?” Ellie asked.
Beth Ann drummed her fingers on the table in thought. “Marty Burgess. He was a junior back then.”
“Do you know where he is now?”
Beth Ann shook her head. “No. After Minnie ran off, our house was a nightmare. I lost touch with everyone at high school when I went to college.”
“Is it possible that he and Minnie hooked up at some point?”
Beth Ann’s eyes widened. “Gosh, I don’t know. But not long after my dad accused her of sleeping around, Minnie ran away. I tried to ask Dad about it, but he told me to stay out of it, that it was none of my business.”
Ellie silently cursed, sympathy for Minnie welling inside her.
“Why are you asking me about her dating?” Beth Ann asked.
“Just trying to understand Minnie’s background and mindset. Did your parents file a missing persons report when she disappeared?”
“No, although my mother talked to the police, but Dad was furious that Minnie ran away and dismissed it as rebellion. It drove a wedge between me and Dad and Mom, too.”
Ellie nodded in understanding. “He didn’t want to talk to me either,” Ellie said.
“How was my mom when you told her?”
“She was upset and in shock.” Ellie paused. “Did Minnie have any enemies?”
The young woman’s frown deepened. “Not that I know of. But I have no idea what went on with her after she ran away or where she went. All I know is that when I was home for the holidays and she was still living at home, she acted sullen. I heard her crying in her room a lot, and she was depressed, but she wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.
Every day she became more and more withdrawn. ”
Something must have happened to trigger the change in her personality.
Beth Ann clenched her hands. “You mentioned a suicide note?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
Ellie hesitated, stomach churning. “Yes, but first I have a couple more questions.”
Elbows on the table, Beth Ann held the sides of her face to hold herself up as if she might crumble again. “Okay.”
Ellie blinked back tears of compassion for Minnie’s sister, tears she couldn’t show to the grieving young woman. She had to remain professional and find answers for Minnie and the family.
Even if the father seemed like a cold-hearted bastard.
For all she knew, he could have been involved in Minnie’s death.
Different scenarios raced through her head.
What if Mr. Benton was ashamed his daughter had a child out of wedlock?
Even though he claimed not to have known about his daughter’s pregnancy, he could have lied.
That attitude seemed old-fashioned but it still existed even in this century.
What if Minnie wanted to come home or had asked for help with the baby and he refused?
What if that refusal drove her to suicide?
A war raged in Ellie’s head. No… Laney had found deep bruises on Minnie’s back and shoulder. Her COD was murder.
Beth Ann’s eyes narrowed. “There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
Ellie nodded and squeezed the young woman’s hand. “Were you aware Minnie had a daughter?”
Beth Ann’s breath quickened. “What? My sister had a baby? When?”
Ellie had met with dozens of liars during the cases she’d worked. Beth Ann’s reaction was honest, as honest as it got.
She pulled a photo of the suicide note and set her phone on the table in front of Beth Ann. “I’m not sure of the timing. This is the note we found with your sister.”
Beth Ann leaned forward and read it, her eyes widening.
Seconds later, she looked up at Ellie, a myriad of emotions in her expression. “Oh, my God, Minnie had a little girl named Iris.” A guttural sob caught in her throat. “I… didn’t know.”
Ellie nodded thoughtfully. “Your parents said the same thing.”
A flash of anger flared across Beth Ann’s face. “They did?”
“Your father completely denied it, and your mother just broke down.”
Beth Ann stood and paced in front of the island, clenching and unclenching her fists.
“Did Minnie have any close friends?” Ellie asked. “Someone she may have confided in or called after she left home?”
Beth Ann thought for a minute, then grabbed a pen and notepad and jotted down a name.
“Janet Rodgers. I don’t know if they hung out that last year Minnie was at home, especially the last six months because Minnie didn’t want to be around anyone.
But I guess it’s possible that Minnie reached out to her. ”
“Did you try talking to Janet?” Ellie asked.
Frustration darkened Beth Ann’s eyes. “I went by Janet’s house once, but she claimed she hadn’t seen or talked to Minnie in months.”
“How about her teachers? Or the school counselor?” Ellie asked.
Beth Ann shrugged. “Maybe she’d turn to one of them, but I don’t know.”
Ellie took the paper with the girl’s name on it. “Thanks. I’ll talk to Janet.”
“If my sister was pregnant and didn’t want anyone to know, that might explain her withdrawal before she left home,” Beth Ann murmured, her expression tortured as her mind obviously raced to fill in the blanks. “If she’d told me, maybe I could have helped.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Beth Ann.” Ellie squeezed her hand. “Do you think your parents might have lied to me and that they did know about the baby? That perhaps that’s the reason your father and Minnie fought that night you said she was so upset?”
Beth Ann spun around, cheeks flaming with anger. “Maybe. If they did know, my father would have had a fit.”
“And that fight might have pushed Minnie to run away,” Ellie surmised.
Beth Ann’s eyes blurred with more tears, then she pressed her hand to her chest and inhaled several deep breaths again. “I guess it could have. Where is Minnie’s little girl now?”
Ellie gave her a sympathetic expression. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”