Chapter 6 Never Forget
NEVER FORGET
Gale watched as the handsome face of Rory Connors went through several phases.
He was processing her words and she’d let him have that moment while she studied him.
His brown hair was styled with a bit of product in it. Not a lot, but enough that she’d bet he got up, showered, put something on his hands and ran them through his hair on top. The sides were cropped shorter, the beard on his face trim.
She always imagined a writer just lived day by day and didn’t always care what they might look like when they got up.
Not sure why she thought that.
His brown eyes were dark, as if they held onto secrets that no one would want to know, or he was afraid of sharing.
She wasn’t afraid of much. If she was, she wouldn’t be here now trying to know more about him and this case that had haunted him and paved her career.
When his lips pursed, she asked, “What did I say that has you thinking of something new?”
He gave a faint snort, his head bobbing back as he’d done it. “I never thought of what you said before. That by writing crime fiction I was putting my head in the mind of a killer. To me it was about solving a crime and having that happy ending that I never got. That my family never will.”
“I’m sorry for that,” she said. “There isn’t anything else I can say because nothing will change a thing nor make it better.”
“No. I appreciate you saying that. Too many times people feel they’ve got to find some words that they think I need to hear when it’s more about what they feel they have to say.”
“That’s it exactly. We can just chat if you want and see what comes out. Kind of keep it informal.”
“That works,” he said.
“No reason for you to tell me about that night. We can get there when the time is right. Maybe if you don’t mind, a small recap of what brought you here.”
“When I was a cop, I was already writing books. I couldn’t get an agent or publisher but that didn’t stop me from doing it.
I self-published, learned everything I could about marketing and put myself out there.
It did much better than I thought and I continued.
After the second year I realized I could make more doing that than being on the force. ”
“Without benefits,” she said. “And that’s horrible to say, but sometimes those things pop into my mind.”
“I thought of it all, but I was doing well and going at my pace. Sometimes you just have to do what feels right. I had enough experience from my job alone to write dozens of books.”
“Good for you.”
He picked up the cider and took a long drink. “This is good.”
“I’ll let Clay know,” she said.
“Writing allowed me the time I needed to focus on Rene and everything that happened. My career took off there, I got my agent, got my first big publishing deal and it’s only continued.
As for Rene, every thought, every lead, everything that my mother or I remember, I’ve exhausted it to the point it gets a red line through it.
I’m embarrassed to say I’ve seen more red than black in my search. ”
“Do you look into everything, even the smallest of memories?”
“I do,” he said. “Nothing is overlooked. My mother will call me out of the blue and tell me she remembered something and I’ll go through all my notes looking for any mention anywhere that I could have thought the same.”
He kept mentioning his mother. “What about your father?”
He leaned back in his chair. “We don’t talk. My parents divorced a few years after Rene’s death. My father was very vocal in the courtroom when Cooper was found not guilty.”
She remembered hearing that from her parents. They’d felt sympathy for Rene’s parents, but Cooper wasn’t the right man.
“That’s sad that their marriage fell apart.”
“Sad but common. My father chose to forget and my mother will always remember.”
She blinked her eyes some, the itchiness of tears gathering. “You’ll never forget.”
“No. I can’t. I need to do this. I have...dreams. Sounds stupid.”
“Absolutely not,” she said. “A dream is just your relaxed subconscious urging you on. That’s how I choose to look at it.”
His face was flush and she wasn’t sure why he was embarrassed to admit he was following something that came to him in the night. She did it often. The least she could do was let him know he wasn’t alone.
“That’s a good way to think about it. My mother dreams too.
That’s what brought me here. I’m not sure why I never remembered this before and it probably means nothing, but I need to see if it was brought up in the court proceedings.
I saw pictures of it from the police report and when I looked back I knew something wasn’t right. ”
“What?” she asked, sitting up straighter.
“Before she left for her walk, I noticed an ankle bracelet on her. A bunch of strings tied around her ankle. I asked her what it was and she said she found it at the cabin my family rented. I found out it was called embroidery floss. All the same color of blue tied around.”
“A common thing,” she said.
“It was on her when her body was found. My mother said she’d never seen it before and I had said Rene put it on that day. That’s it, it was never discussed again.”
“Okay, what’s different now?”
“It was loose on my sister’s ankle when I saw it. Enough to not leave a mark. I would have remembered it leaving a mark. When I went back to pictures of her leg after she’d died, it was almost cutting into her skin. They said it was from her body bloating or it catching on a branch.”
“But you don’t believe it?”
“No.” He got up and grabbed his laptop and returned.
“Look at it here. This is the police picture before it was cut off of her and after. Four strings. I don’t remember the exact number before, but it was over four.
Not only that, my sister was OCD about things.
They didn’t undo the knot. They just cut the bracelet off and see how much is hanging off of it and how it’s burned on the edges so it doesn’t fray. ”
“Yeah,” she said, scrolling in closer. “I used to do that too.”
“Exactly. Rene would have made her knot, cut off the extra and then burned it down so that nothing was showing but the knot and she would have had the knot on the inside of her leg so it’s not visible. This was on the outside and look at how much is hanging past the knot.”
“Damn,” she said. “Are you positive?”
“I am,” he said. “I know it. But I need to see it. It’s got to still be in evidence. I wonder if anyone ever tested it.”
“You think the killer took it off and then tied it back on?”
“I don’t know what to think other than it’s not the way I remember it.” He moved to the living room and came back with a notebook. “I don’t have Rene’s talent, but this is what I remember. The minute I woke up I tried to draw it. I know people won’t believe me.”
“I believe you,” she said, looking at the ankle bracelet. Six strands, the knot not visible anywhere looking at the front of the leg and yet the police picture shows it tight and almost in the front.
Yes, it was possible it moved during the struggle and the dumping of her body, but that didn’t explain why the knot was different or tighter.
“I need to gather more information. I need to see the evidence. Once I get the court records and can see if it was ever discussed, then I can reach out to the detective that’s been working the case.”
“I can talk to Ford,” she said.
“I don’t want special treatment. At least not until I have facts. That’s how we don’t get anyone to return calls.”
She reached for his hand again. “No one should dismiss this,” she said. “I mean it.”
“I’ve walked by the spot they found her body.
It’s not far from here. She was drawing an older rundown cabin set back further by the water.
I remember getting upset with her over that.
I told that to the police too. And I was positive she was going back there to get more pictures.
They were on her phone. The pictures right before she died. More than before.”
“What did the police say?”
“They ruled it out as that is where she went on her walk, but not where the crime occurred.”
“They were positive?”
“It’s what we were told. It’s in the police report.”
“Interesting. And you’ve got those pictures?”
“I do. Nothing I can really see on them or nothing much. She liked to draw. She was so good at it.”
“I remember now that it was concluded she’d gone for a walk looking around and it happened on the way back. I forgot about the fact that she was drawing a picture.”
“It was glossed over. Just one thing that didn’t seem of importance. The house is gone now and condos are in its place.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s where I live. And now I realize it was you that was walking around taking pictures earlier this week, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. Not sure what I expected to find, but I thought maybe I’d feel something. Stupid, I know.”
“Nothing is stupid, crazy, or impossible.”
“I keep telling myself that too, but it’s getting harder to believe as the time goes by.”
“I want to help you, Rory. Not just for you or for Rene, but for this community. It’s this lingering whisper always showing up in people’s ears.
Who did it? Is it someone we know? A tourist passing through?
Could they do it again? We need answers as much as you do.
It’s time. I feel it. Maybe it’s the break you’ve been waiting for. ”
“I’ve thought that a lot in my life and it’s normally a wild goose chase.”
“I’m good at catching farm animals,” she said, smiling.
He laughed. “Thanks for that. Maybe you can teach me.”
She squeezed his hand and let go, not aware she’d been holding it as long as she was. “I’d like that.”