Discombobulate

Chapter Twenty-Eight

It took forty-five minutes to haul the caskets up from the ground. They were placed into the back of two hearses and taken out of the cemetery. Susan and Jennifer Houghton would immediately be taken to the Brimington County Coroner.

They'd be thoroughly examined on the inside and out. Everything from their head to their toes. Everyone would meet back in the cemetery in the evening. The caskets would be lowered, the dirt would be placed back on top, leveled out, and the tent would be taken down. Life would go on.

Sheriff Winston offered to buy Denise a coffee from Opal's. She turned him down and claimed she was tired. Detective Mullen offered to drive her back to her house. She rejected his offer, got into her Chevy Impala, and took off.

Her behavior seemed off to Winston. She had barely spoken a word to either of them. She stared off into space and kept muttering to herself. Winston could never hear what she said because it was so quiet.

One would expect a different reaction. Digging a loved one back up was a pity. However, this would lead to new evidence and the potential closing of the case. A murderer could be arrested. She had been emotionless and distraught the whole time. Her mind was somewhere else.

"You look like a lost puppy." Detective Mullen shoved his elbow in Winston's side.

Winston winced at the pain. He placed his hand where Mullen shoved his elbow. "Why did you do that?"

"We've been working together for what? Almost a month now? You've been professional about every case besides this one. What's up with that?"

Detective Mullen had pulled Sheriff Winston aside in the cemetery. The few people left were on the opposite side. The trickle of rain had come to a halt. None of the reporters or journalists had shown back up yet. It gave the two of them time to talk alone.

Mullen lowered his voice, "don't tell me you have a crush on her too."

Winston rolled his dark eyes. "Look, I'm an adult. If I wanted to take her on a date, I'd ask her on a date. It's not anything like that! 

"Well, what is it? You keep overstepping in this case. You went with her to the hospital. You took her home from the hospital. You were at her house for a while. You offered to get her coffee. It looks bad on your part."

Sheriff Winston watched over Detective Mullen's shoulder. The funeral director and one of the grave diggers were holding hands. The grave digger opened up a car door to let the funeral director in the passenger's side of the car. She smiled and kissed his cheek before she got into the car.

"Are you even listening to me?" Detective Mullen snapped his fingers in front of Winston's face.

Winston's eyes met Mullen's. "Do you really want to know what I think? I think Denise Houghton is going to be murdered and there's nothing I can do about it!"

"The person I think committed these murders, I can't arrest him! I have zero proof! If she gets killed, that's going to be my fault. It'll be my fault for not catching the murderer! Are you happy now?"

Sheriff Winston continued before Detective Mullen could interrupt him. "I worked on a case a decade ago. I had a gut feeling someone was the killer. I couldn't prove it. Do you know what happened? He killed again. The killer murdered his daughter before he was finally put in prison."

"We're getting the autopsy done today. In a couple of hours, we'll have everything we need." Detective Mullen tried to reason with him.

"But we won't!" Winston threw his hands up. "If it's in the caskets, the bagged evidence has to be tested, it'll take a few days. That's precious time we'll never get back!"