Page 51 of Cold as Hell

Marlon shrugs. “I don’t know. The storm was going strong. I’d just gotten back to my residence after helping Will and others close the shutters. I saw what looked like Yolanda going past, alone, so I headed back out. I was worried she might be lost in the whiteout—she seemed to be heading the wrong way.”

I’ve suspected Marlon has an eye for Yolanda. It’s not reciprocated… yet. But he would definitely have braved the storm if he thought she could use help.

“Anyway, if it was Yolanda,” he says, “I never caught up with her. That’s when I saw Lynn. Someone was helping her through the whiteout. I considered going over to them, but I really wanted to be sure Yolanda was okay, and whoever was with Lynn seemed to have it under control. I did a circuit of the town, and I noticed Yolanda’s light on, which meant she got home fine. I finished my circuit, and got myself inside.”

“And then you went out later.”

“Just when the storm was dying down. Maybe seven o’clock? I came out and did another patrol. After thinking I saw Yolanda and then seeing Lynn, it made me realize someone should go out every now and then and do a quick circuit. That’s when I saw Grant peeking in the store window, and I figured he was looking for his wife. I called out that I had seen someone taking her home during the storm.”

“The person you saw being helped. Are you sure it was Lynn?”

Marlon nods. “She has a multicolored scarf. That’s a giveaway. I’ve seen it before, and it made me think we should all have different scarves. Like you and Eric do.” He smiles. “It’d be easier to tell people apart in winter, when they’re all bundled up.”

“And the person with her?”

“No distinctive scarf, or anything else.” He leans back inhis seat. “When Eric said you wanted to talk about that, I thought back to what I could tell you. Not much, I’m afraid. With the whiteout, I really needed something distinctive—like that scarf—to tell people apart. The person with Lynn was maybe four or five inches taller than her. Average build. Slender, though it’s hard to tell with the parkas. My impression was that it could be a man slightly under average height or a tall woman.”

“The person seemed to be leading her back to her apartment?”

He nods. “That was my impression. I know she’s in the family residence with Grant, and they were headed in that direction.”

“Can you hold on for a second?”

“Sure.”

I slip into the exam room, where April is still finishing her post-autopsy cleaning. I take my tablet from the counter and return to the waiting room.

I tap the tablet and bring up a map of Haven’s Rock. “Can you show me where you saw Lynn?”

He pulls off his glove and points. “Right here. And I was over here.” Another point.

I mark the spots. “And which direction were they heading?”

He indicates, and I put an arrow on the map.

Then I look at it, and my heart drops. Yes, they were heading toward the family residence… but if I extend that arrow further? It goes straight to the lake.

“You said this person was helping Lynn?” I say, as I realize why that’s significant. “Not walkingwithher? Not Lynn helping this other person findtheirway?”

He frowns. “I presumed Lynn was being helped, and now I’m not sure why. Because she seems like someone who mightneed help, and I jumped to conclusions?” He drums his fingers on the chair arm and then snaps them. “No. It was the posture. Whoever was with Lynn had her by the arm, as if helping her walk.”

“Show me.”

I stand, and he does the same, moving in beside me. He takes my arm closest to him, holding it by the upper arm. Then he reaches the other hand over to hold my lower arm.

“Like she needed to be steadied?” I say.

“Exactly.”

Marlon steps back out of my personal space. “I really don’t like where this is going, Casey. You’re saying Lynn is missing, and I’m probably the last person to see her. Except I didn’t see her alone. I saw her being led by someone with a good grip on her.” His voice drops. “I know what happened to Kendra. Please tell me I didn’t make a very bad mistake here.”

What do I say to that? If he mistook Lynn’s killer for a helper, that wasn’t his fault. It was a blizzard and the personseemedto be helping her. But that won’t make things easier, will it?

“I’m still checking things out,” I say. “Thank you for all this.”

“Is there going to be a search party? The storm’s died down. I can help Will or Kenny arrange one.”

I squeeze his arm. “I’ll let you know. Thank you, again.”

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