Page 18 of Murder in the Lighthouse

“As I recall, she first mentioned it around the end of summer, late August or the Labor Day weekend. So about two months ago,” Marta said.

“Did she name a specific case?”

“Sure she did. The Upland murder,” Barry answered. “It’s one of Santa Cruz’s most notorious murders. The victim was Connie Upland, a thirty-eight-year-old schoolteacher found brutally murdered ten miles from the middle school where she taught. It happened on a Thursday, April 15th, 1999, tax day. Nice lady, too. Marta and I knew Connie, her husband, and her two little girls. Our families went to the same church. Marta and I think that’s why Bethany was interested in trying to solve it.”

Lucien exchanged looks with Brogan. “You’re saying Bethany thought she could solve a twenty-five-year-old cold case?”

“Yeah. She discovered something in the file that just didn’t seem right. Bethany was convinced that she’d found two other murders that matched Connie’s set of circumstances.”

“Like what?” Lucien wanted to know.

“Connie had stayed late that day to help one of her students who was failing math. She was seen locking up her classroom around four-thirty. That’s the last time anyone saw her. Yet, her car was still parked in the lot. Her husband reported Connie missing that night when he got home from work because she’d never shown up. Their daughters were still at the babysitter’s, waiting for their mom to pick them up.”

“But what were the particular circumstances of her death that made Bethany think it was connected to the other three murders?”

Marta made a face. “I’m not sure exactly. Half the time, I tuned out those kinds of gory details.”

“A woman out walking her dog the following day found Connie’s nude body at the edge of a wooded area designated as a preserve,” Barry provided. “She’d been the victim of a brutal attack. She’d been both strangled and stabbed. Bethany believed it was the work of a serial killer.”

“Ah.” Brogan furrowed her brow, pondering this new piece of information. “Do you think Bethany’s interest in the Upland murder could be connected to her disappearance?”

“It’s hard to say,” Barry replied. “Bethany was always fascinated by cold cases, but she never mentioned feeling threatened or in danger because of them. In hindsight, we wished we’d asked her who she planned to meet that Sunday.”

Marta added, “Bethany was a smart girl, always on the computer doing her research. Maybe she stumbled upon something she shouldn’t have.”

Lucien stopped pacing, his expression serious. “Did you mention this to the detective working on her disappearance?”

“No. We didn’t want to sound crazy,” Barry muttered. “That was three weeks ago. It’s not as if the police took us seriously at the beginning. I’m not sure you know, but at first, they told us she probably ran off with whomever she met at Wilder Ranch. Of course, we don’t believe that’s what happened.”

“No. I can see that,” Lucien replied. “Okay. We need to take a deeper look into what Bethany discovered. The connection between Bethany’s interest in the Upland murder and her disappearance might not be a coincidence.”

“And it could be what got Sam killed,” Brogan assessed. “After Sam got involved trying to find his sister, how many trips do you think he made to Pelican Pointe?”

“Several,” Barry stated. “I went with him to Pelican Pointe at least twice myself during that first week. I know he must’ve gone back without me at least two more times. He put up flyers and texted his mother the last time we heard from him, saying he intended to meet with someone who had sent him a tip about Bethany.”

Brogan stared over at Lucien. “That sounds like a setup. How was this tip obtained? Through an email? A text message?”

“I don’t know. We were so focused on anything that might help find Beth I didn’t ask.”

“But it sounds like someone was leading Sam to that lighthouse, manipulating the situation,” Lucien decided. “They wanted Sam there for a reason.”

Barry’s hands balled into fists. “I want justice for my children. I want whoever did this brought to justice.”

“What can we do to help? We’ll do anything,” Marta pleaded. “We’ll do whatever you say. We just want to find out what happened to Sam. And why, after all this time, is Beth still missing.”

Lucien sent them a sympathetic smile and took out one of their business cards from his shirt pocket. “For now, let us take itfrom here. But if you think of anything else, any detail, no matter how small it may seem, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.”

As they headed to the entryway, Marta stopped them with a determined look in her eyes. “There is something else you should know.” She hesitated momentarily before blurting out the secret she’d kept to herself. “Beth had been receiving strange phone calls in the weeks leading up to her disappearance. She never told us who was on the other end of the line, but I could tell it was troubling her.”

Barry’s eyes widened. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You know our Beth. She brushed me off whenever I brought it up. She explained it away by saying she got lots of telemarketers calling. But I know our daughter, and I could see the worry in her eyes. At the time, I let it go. I wish now I hadn’t.”

Lucien's expression sharpened at this new revelation. “Did you notice anything else out of the ordinary? Was she being followed? Did you notice any unfamiliar cars parked near your house or anyone watching the property when she visited?”

Marta shook her head. “No, nothing like that. But one night about a month ago—the first of October, I think—she stopped by for dinner at around six. While I got dinner on the table, I overheard her arguing on the phone. She had stepped into the hallway for privacy. But I could still hear her side of the conversation. She argued with someone for at least ten minutes. When I asked her about it, she assured me it was nothing important, a work thing, and told me not to worry about it. And here we are weeks later. Sam’s gone, and she’s nowhere to be found.”

“We’ll find out what happened, Mrs. Heywood,” Lucien assured her. “It might take a while, but we’ll keep at it until we develop a baseline theory.”

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