MacMillan Wharf

MacMillan Wharf: Chapter Three

MacMillan Wharf: Chapter Three

by Richard Gifford

The ninety-foot white hull of the Explorer inched up to the dock. The deckhands secured the bow and stern lines to the large cleats on the floating platform. Once the boat was tied off, Captain Billy cut the engines and Juicy stepped down to the dock to wheel over the aluminum gangway.

The passengers pushed and shoved their way to the gangway like nervous cattle. Spending half an hour with a murdered woman was enough to ruin any thoughts of ice cream and foot-long hot dogs that awaited their return to dry land. As the last passenger disembarked, Chief Souza and his small entourage of officers and EMTs strode up the walkway and onto the boat.

Annie sat in the wheelhouse next to Captain Billy, who had been very kind to her since he realized that the body was that of her friend and mentor. Billy admired Annie’s good looks, bright smile, and sense of humor from the first time they met. He knew her boyfriend, Shane, from around town, but he didn’t know Annie well enough to tell her that she could do better. For the past month, he waited for them to break up so that he might ask her out, but that never happened. Now, he had a chance to show her his kinder side.

Once the engine stopped, Billy turned to Annie and asked “you okay?”

“I guess so,” Annie lied.

“I need to go down and talk to them,” he nodded his head towards the police and rescue workers standing in a circle around Linda Hanscomb’s corpse, “You want to come or wait here?”

Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’ll stay here for now. I don’t want to see her like that again.”

“Oh God! Mary Ellen. Has anyone called her? I’ve got to call her.” Annie had come to respect and admire Linda’s work this summer. Not only was she a skilled researcher and advocate for the whales, she was also a kind and patient teacher who had become a close friend. Clearly, Linda had been murdered. Why would anyone want to do such a thing? Annie vowed to herself that she would try to find the answer.

Billy headed down the aluminum stairs to the stern of ship where Dr. Hanscomb’s body lay covered by two orange foul weather coats. He watched as his father pulled back the hood of the coat that covered her face. The others officers stepped back from the grisly scene.

Who would do this? the chief wondered. Somebody wanted her gone, and judging by where she was found, the body was probably dumped from a boat well off shore.

“Hi Dad,” Billy mumbled as he stepped into the gathered circle. He always felt funny calling the chief of police “Dad” in public. “What do think happened?”

“It’s hard to say at this point. We’ll have to wait for an autopsy. Where did you say you found her?”

“About two miles off of Race Point. We’d been watching a mother and calf humpback for a while, and a passenger spotted the body floating.”

“Did you find anything else when you pulled her out of the water?”

“No, she was just like she is now. When Juicy and Annie brought her on board, I had them leave her right here. I asked Juicy to cover her with something so the passengers wouldn’t be any more upset than they already were. Annie is taking it pretty hard. She was close to Linda. Linda’d been out on a few trips with me earlier in the season so I recognized her right away.”

The chief paused for a moment, then asked, “Is Annie still here?”

“Yeah, she’s up in the wheelhouse.”

“I need to talk to her.”

As the father and son Souzas headed up to the wheelhouse, Officers Costa and McGuire watched the two Provincetown EMTs gently lift Linda’s body onto a gurney then zip her into a black body bag.

Annie watched from the wheelhouse as they rolled the gurney down the ramp to the dock where the ambulance was parked on the wharf. Her chin quivered, but she was still in too much shock to cry.

She was startled when she heard Billy’s voice behind her. “Annie, have you met my father, Chief Souza?”

“Hello Annie, I’m Chief Souza with the Provincetown Police Department” the elder Souza said as he removed his hat and extended his hand. “I’m sorry about Dr. Hanscomb. Billy tells me that you two were close.”

“I work with her, and she’s my friend,” said Annie not yet being able to refer to Linda in the past tense.

“When was the last time you saw her?” asked Chief Souza in a gentle, sympathetic tone.

“Last night, about eight-thirty. When we got back from our last trip, I stopped by the center to check the schedule for next week. I saw Linda in her office and we chatted for a few minutes.”

“What did you talk about?” 

“Nothing much, just small talk, really. We made plans to go out this weekend for dinner with her girlfriend, Mary Ellen.” The look on her face changed instantly from sadness to panic. “Oh God! Mary Ellen. Has anyone called her? I’ve got to call her.”

“Who?”

“Mary Ellen Johnson.”

“Would she be next of kin?” asked the chief.

“I guess so,” Annie replied, “they’ve been living here together for a few years. She owns a gallery called Dharma in the East End, she’s probably there now.”

Chief Souza paused for a minute and looked out the front window. He could see the EMTs loading Linda’s body into the ambulance. He watched as the photographer from the Cape Cod Telegraph ran around snapping pictures from every angle he could, while Betsy Gilmore scribbled furiously in her notebook. “Friggin’ vultures”, he muttered. He knew that more would be coming soon. They were probably on their way from Boston already with satellite trucks. Bad news travels fast, he thought.

“Okay Annie, why don’t you go home and get some rest. You’ve had a hard day,” said Chief Souza.

“But what about Mary Ellen? Somebody needs to tell her.”

“I’ll head over there right now. Do you want a ride home? I can have a car drop you off.”

“I’m coming with you” said Annie adamantly. “Linda was my friend and Mary Ellen is, too.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“C’mon Annie, I’ll drive you home,” said Billy sheepishly.

“Listen, you two, I have to tell Mary Ellen right now. With all the people on Commercial Street, I can run there faster than you can drive.”

Chief Souza knew that she was right. If Annie worked and socialized with the deceased, then she might be useful on this case. “Okay, let’s go” he conceded. The three left the wheelhouse and started up the ramp to MacMillan Wharf.

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