First In Series Sampler, Volume 1

Chapter 5

Morgan was torn. Her immediate reaction was to rush forward, but there was something in their stance that also made her want to turn and run back to the safety of her aunt"s house. There was something about the way they were staring at her that made Morgan want to seek shelter and safety.

Her first instinct won out, and she stepped forward, not wanting to believe it was her Aunt Meredith on the ground. The others watched her walk towards them but stopped her before she got too close.

"I"m positive I saw her with Meredith; she is the one that killed her!" insisted the younger woman once again, pointing at Morgan.

The two officers look from the woman to Morgan, and the man took a step in Morgan"s direction. As he did, he reached behind him and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, but his partner stopped him with a single word.

"Wait."

"Wait? Why would you wait? That"s your killer—arrest her." The younger woman turned to the female cop, astonished they were not putting handcuffs on Morgan.

The other woman gave a shake of her head in caution.

"Let us do our job. We"ll take statements from both of you. Right now, everybody needs to just calm down." The female officer put her hands up as if to stop the aggression of the other woman.

Morgan didn"t know where to turn. Her eyes were drawn to the body before darting back and forth between the people in front of her. Then the mist deepened as if to cover Meredith from Morgan"s sight. The male officer gave a shudder of his shoulders as something cold draped across them. His partner stepped forward and put her hand on Morgan"s arm, steering her away from the body.

"You"re Meredith"s niece, aren"t you? It"s Morgan, right?" she asked as she guided Morgan away.

Morgan looked at the officer and realized she was trying to take her mind off what was going on. By now, other police officers were arriving on the scene, the area was being roped off with evidence tape, and the gurney was being brought down the dunes, led by the coroner. Morgan felt tears develop. With head bowed, she stepped away from the scene in front of her, following the guidance of the officer.

"Yes, I"m Morgan Seaver. I don"t understand this. I just talked to my aunt a couple of hours ago. She was supposed to come back up to the house, but time got away from me, and I didn"t realize she hadn"t come back. I was just coming down to look for her, and that"s when I... I found you all."

The officer gave her a sharp look as if surprised by something Morgan had said. But she seemed to decide to not ask questions, at least not the questions obviously on her mind, and instead, she introduced herself to Morgan.

"It"s okay, Morgan. We"ll get this all sorted out. My name is Jenny White. I"ve known your aunt for years, and my partner is Stanley Newman. He"s a relative newcomer to the island, but we won"t hold that against him." Jenny was trying to put Morgan at ease, adding a bit of chitchat. By now, they had walked away from the other two, and Morgan turned to look over her shoulder to find the young woman her own age staring at her intently.

"And who"s that? The one who is so positive I killed Meredith."

"Sirena Storm. She is relatively new to the island as well, but with strong family ties. Don"t let her get to you. Once we take everybody"s statements, we can figure out how your aunt died."

The mist swirled around the two women, but Jenny ignored it. Morgan expected to feel the surrounding dampness, but it wasn"t like any other mist she"d ever been in. It almost had a warm, comforting feeling to it, but it dissipated as Jenny and Morgan made their way back to the house.

"Stanley will be along in a moment. He"ll take Sirena"s statement first."

"She"s not coming up to the house, is she?" Morgan asked sharply.

"No, there"s no reason for her to. Besides, right now, she seems a little too aggressive towards you. I think she should keep her distance. Maybe once all this is sorted out, you too can start out again on the right foot, but for now, I think distance is a good thing to put between you."

They had reached the kitchen door, and with the familiarity of somebody who had been to Meredith"s house many times, Jenny opened the door and guided Morgan into the kitchen. Not asking permission, she walked to the kitchen cupboards and pulled out two coffee mugs, keeping her back to Morgan as she got her own grief under control. Then Jenny walked over to the coffee maker, and flipped it on, like she knew it would be ready to brew. And she did; Jenny had spent many afternoons sitting in the kitchen with Meredith, catching up on the island gossip. And lately, all Meredith could talk about was the arrival of her niece. She had no fear or foreboding in her voice when she spoke about Morgan, and Jenny had a hard time believing her niece could show up at the island and immediately killed her aunt. It made no sense to the officer.