Discombobulate

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sheriff Winston hung up the phone with a sigh. He had spent a little over an hour trying to arrange the exhuming of Susan and Jennifer Houghton. He was adamant that it needed to be completed as soon as possible. He had been transferred from call to call. He had been speaking to a variety of different people. Everyone needed to be on the same page.

In another two hours, he'd be on the way to the courthouse in Lexing. He was meeting with the local prosecutor and the Brimington County Coroner. He needed to explain what the situation was and why they needed to exhume the bodies. 

The sheriff's office was also located in Lexing. He hadn't been there in a while. Nobody updated him on Greg Sullivan's situation. Last he knew, old files were still being searched through. They were continuing the search for screwed up cases. He planned on stopping by and figuring out what was going on. 

Until then, he had to eat breakfast. He grabbed a grapefruit out of the fridge and started to peel it. Last night's phone call with Mullen kept him up most of the night. He couldn't help, but think it was a clue.

Sullivan was the number one suspect in Winston's mind. Daniel Alberg's girlfriend confirmed his whereabouts on August 8th. She even had photos on her cell phone to prove it. Tara Alberg still had her alibi for August 8th too. 

That left Winston with Greg Sullivan. His August 8th whereabouts were a mystery. The crime scene hadn't been properly set up. No finger printing, no marking of evidence; nothing besides a few photographs of the scene and paperwork for the official reports from Denise and Tara.

Winston popped a slice of the sour fruit in his mouth. The sun had started to rise in Brimington. It crept through the window above the sink. Golden rays struck the table Winston was sitting at. He chewed his grapefruit slowly. 

If things went right, he would be able to call Denise later. Bodies were usually exhumed in the summer. When the ground is warmer, it doesn't take extra effort to dig up the caskets.

This case was a special scenario. Every day that they waited, the temperature dropped. It was already in the lower forties. Occasionally, it would dip into the upper 30's. The Michigan weather was a ticking time bomb. 

If this weather continued, kids would be wearing winter coats over their costumes. Winston had to buy candy for Saturday. He was about a mile from the nearest store. If he waited too long, the Halloween candy would be picked over. 

The sound of a car door slamming made him drop his grapefruit slice. Ignoring the sound, he picked it up and threw it back in his mouth. He wasn't used to the buzz of Brimington.

His apartment was in the middle of town. Most people drove the main road through Brimington to get to other towns. The most popular destination in Brimington was Opal's Coffee Shop. Winston had never been there.

He swallowed another piece of grapefruit. A loud knock came from his front door. He paused and stared at his door. Another knock came a few seconds later.

It was only a little after eight in the morning. It had to be something important. Who shows up to someone's house this early without a warning?

Fortunately, Winston was already dressed. He answered the door in a pair of khakis and a black t-shirt. His heart stopped when he opened the door. A news reporter with a microphone stared at him.

A camera man was behind her with a camera rolling. A large white van with the Lexing news station's name parked behind his sheriff's car. He couldn't get out of his driveway unless they moved.

"Good morning, Sheriff Winston! Do you have time to talk about the Houghton Murders?" 

Winston stepped outside and shut his apartment door behind him. "I can only disclose so much information. What about them?"