i'm sorry, your friend has been murdered

I am in shock.

I had gone to Rigger Court on Wilmington Island to look for Barbara's car, and found it.

 

Something about the quietness of the house bothered me, so I took a picture and sent it to Carolyn, partly as proof that I'd done the errand she requested of me, partly as proof of where I was in case things went badly.

Neither of us had heard from Barbara for a couple of days.

That was very unusual.

Carolyn told me she'd texted and called several times yesterday, but never heard back.

She had texted and called Kal, too, to no avail.

That's when Carolyn had become alarmed and called me last night, to see if I'd heard anything, to see if I knew where his house was, as his car was at Barbara's.

As soon as Carolyn got the photo of Barbara's car, she called me, then she was going to call Sandy and see if she might know anything.

I went up to the porch and rang the doorbell.

No response.

I knocked on the door, loud raps on the wood to get their attention.

No response.

I looked in the window by the door.

The house was dark, no lights anywhere, no sound at all.

That was very unusual.

And just as I was about to step off the porch, Carolyn rang, telling me to get out of there, that Sandy read a story online about them being murdered.

Say what?

By that time, I was crossing the small front yard, heading toward my car, when I saw a young woman dash up to the mailbox and pull out its contents.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" I asked, in my best authoritative voice...

and reaching out her right hand, she said her name, followed by the words, "I'm Kal's stepdaughter"...

and I just froze.

She was who???

Kal had a stepdaughter???

That's when Detective Noble stepped forward and asked me why I was there.

What???

I had not even noticed the police car pulled up beside my little Saturn.

I told him I'd come to look for my friend's car, in response to a friend's concern, as I had Kal's address and Carolyn did not.

I told him we had not heard from Barbara in a couple of days and that was unusual.

I told him Barbara had been taking care of Kal since his first hip surgery in May and that they had recently come back from North Carolina where he had that surgery repaired as he had messed up the hip again.

The detective took my name and number, confirmed that the young woman was Kal's stepdaughter, that she'd arrived from New York with her boyfriend, and that Kal's wife was still in Japan.

Kal's wife???

What???

The detective also took the names of numbers of Carolyn and Sandy and told me to let them know he would be in contact this next week.

When I brought up Barbara's niece and nephew, he told me they had already been notified of Barbara's death...

and that's when it hit me...

she was really dead.

But she just had her birthday, only two weeks ago...

right?

Seeing the shock, that's when the detective again said those words to me:

"I'm sorry, your friend has been murdered."

Shock.

The police had been called in for a 'welfare check' after gunshots were heard.

Both had been dead when the police arrived.

There were no signs of forced entry, no signs that anyone but them had been there. 

Shock.

I sat in my car and cried until I felt calm enough to drive.

I left the officer, the stepdaughter, and her boyfriend still at Kal's house.

I drove straight home, then walked down to Tony and Laura's house.

They were gone, so I sat on the front porch in a rocking chair, sitting and crying and gradually calming down as the birdsong and green tree and curious gekko surrounded me.

My guess is that took an hour.

It was long enough that I felt I needed to let Tony and Laura know I was there, in case one of their neighbors mentioned my visit.

They were having a Saturday in Pooler when I told them about Barbara's death, but I assured them that I was about to go home, as I was calmer.

I also opened the door and let Dane come out, but he was a bit spooked that I was there and had been crying.

He really is a very sensitive dog.

Now, I am home...

in shock...

still...

but calmer.

i thank You, God, for leading me where I needed to be this day.