Storm of Suspicion - 14. Chapter 14

“Dammit”, Peters cursed, as he gave the ancient ham radio a few more cranks before throwing the radio mic against the wall. “This is useless, guess I might as well get comfortable,” he mumbled as he walked over to the cast iron stove in the corner. “There must be some firewood around here somewhere.” As Peters surveyed the light keepers house with his flashlight, he found a couple of oil lamps on one of the shelves. Lighting them and placing one on the table near the stove, he then took the other and continued looking for wood to burn in the stove. In the next room was a large fireplace with a pile of kindling nearby and a pile of old newspapers. “Perfect,'' he exclaimed as he began piling the wood and newspapers in the fireplace. “Now if I can just find some blankets or something”. Peters took his flashlight and continued to search the house for anything useful to keep warm with or even to eat. “Come daybreak I can walk back to town…But then what?” he pondered, wondering if Karla had made it back to town and what sort of trouble she’d cause. Right now, she was the only person that could tie him to the fire at the Griffin. “Danny is dead so that takes care of that problem,” he speculated.

The light keepers house hadn’t been used in the years since most of the lighthouses had become automated, and this particular one actually being deactivated, was at least maintained in the summer as a museum. Back near the entrance a small gift shop was set up in the corner of the room with a few snacks. Peters quickly grabbed a handful of candy bars and went back to the fireplace to keep warm. Outside the winds continued to blow, whistling through the cracks around the windows as the rains had now turned to snow. Drifts of snow began to form along the window sills and along the bottom of the door as Peters pushed an oversized couch closer to the fireplace and curled up on one end. “Maybe she actually did get caught in the storm,” Peters tried reassuring himself. “And who are they gonna believe anyway? Me or that bimbo?” he decided, throwing the last candy wrapper into the fire.

§

As the sheriffs cruiser pulled into the parking lot at the station, Mark started yelling to the officer, “I demand a lawyer!” and beating against the back of the seat with his still high heeled foot.

“Calm your engine queen”, the officer replied. “We just need to ask you some questions, thats’ all. No need to lawyer up yet.”

“Unhuh, that’s probably how you got Ted Bundy too and look where he is now,'' Mark responded sarcastically.

“But Ted Bundy was actually guilty of something...are you guilty of anything?” the officer continued provoking as he opened the cruiser door and directed Mark to get out of the vehicle. “We’ll straighten everything out inside. You did say before this was all a big misunderstanding didn’t you?”

“Prick,” Mark mumbled as they walked up the sidewalk and entered the building.

The inside was a sleek modern designed building that more closely resembled a medical facility than the old stale industrial blue painted police station Mark had remembered on Berkeley Street in Boston before it had been converted to a hotel. Seated behind an enclosed reception desk, a young blond officer sat answering the phone. Looking up at the officer and Mark, he indicated to wait as he continued speaking into a headphone. “Yessir, yessir, they just arrived”. Looking back at the pair, “Winters, Captain is waiting for you in interrogation room 3”.

The officer led mark down a hallway to the room, opening the door he directed Mark to go in a take a seat. “We’ll be right with you. Can I get you a water or coffee or anything?” he politely asked.

“No thanks, I’m good for now thank you. I just want to get this all straightened out so I can get back to rehearsing”, Mark calmly stated. “I’m going to be the new headliner at the Magnolia House.”

“K, That’s nice”, Winters responded flatly closing the door.

Mark looked around the barren room. A small table in the middle with a chair on either side. On one wall adjacent to the chairs was a large inset mirror. “Yay, two way mirror, how stereo-typical. Hey…”, Mark waved at the mirror sneeringly then unable to resist a mirror began pulling at the corner of one eye. “Damned crows feet…” he mumbled. “Agh and these damned bags…Thank you Maybelline for concealer”

“Mr. Lane…” a plainly dressed man addressed Mark as he entered the room.

“Yes?” Mark replied turning to the voice.

“I’m Detective Meadows, have a seat.” Meadows was like something off Instagram Serving Men. Standing at about 6’3” with tightly cropped black hair and deep olive complexion and sapphire blue eyes. His white button down shirt strained against his bulging chest and his arms were the size of Marks legs.

“Oh, I see they pulled out the ‘big guns’ for me huh?” Mark swooned at the detective like a horny schoolgirl.

“Ah, yeah. So anyway”, Meadows began. “Were you in Provincetown on the night of Johanna James’ murder?”

“Well yes, of course. I was working there all summer,” Mark replied.

“And did you know Ms James?” Meadows progressed.

“Yes, we worked together at the Hideaway,” Mark answered.

“And what was your relationship?” The detective continued. “Would you say you were you rivals?

“Rivals? Honey, all drag queens are rivals and that bitch made everyone’s life miserable, but I didn’t kill her if that's what your getting at. I’ve sure wanted to a few times,” Mark sneered. “But I didn’t kill her.”

“And is this your dress?” Meadows responded, pulling the tattered dress that Mark had discarded at the hotel from a bag. “This appears to be blood and if I don’t miss my bet it’s probably going to match Johanna James’ blood.”

“Yeah, I imagine it probably will,” Mark began. “I was there when she was killed.”

“So if you didn’t kill her who did?” Meadows drilled. “And why are you here if it wasn’t to elude police there?”

“Look I have no idea who killed her and I’m here mostly to get away from whoever killed Johanna,” Mark exclaimed.

“But you saw her killed, you just said…” Meadows forged ahead for any rational.

“I said I was there, but I didn’t see who killed her. Have you ever seen the lighting in a bathroom of a gay bar? Your lucky to see your own dick never mind anyone’s face,” Mark declared. “Since I was in the bathroom when she got murdered, I skipped town as quick as I could just in case the killer did see me there and decided to come after me too! I knew Johanna was supposed to be coming to Orlando to work this winter and since she obviously wasn’t going to be making it, I’d come in her place and kill two birds with one stone, sorta speak.”

“Well for now we can’t get through to the Provincetown Police, I’m sure they will be wanting to talk to you about all this,” Meadows stated.

“So what am I supposed to do in the meantime?” Mark inquired. “Thanks to Consuela I’m not sure if Ron will let me back at the Magnolia…”

“This should only take a couple of days and we can straighten everything out with him, once your cleared on this end,” Meadows declared. “Meanwhile… we need to make sure you don’t run off again so we’ll put you at a hotel down the street with an officer watch.”

“Yay, that sounds like fun,'' Mark sighed. “There goes rehearsing and a job here for the summer…”