Murders and Mayhem Most Foul

By Sharron Vanhovel

It was Thanksgiving eve in Macy, a small town in central Washington state. Sarah Barnes had nothing on her mind except the scrumptious feast already being prepared for the next day’s dinner. However, before she reached her home, events took place that would shatter her life forever.

To save her own life, Sarah traveled incognito on a cross-country journey. Along the way, she met and helped many interesting people. After months of traveling and looking over her shoulder, Sarah decided it was time to return home and get some answers. Surely, after all that time, it was safe to do so. Wasn’t it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662449529

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Murders and Mayhem Most Foul

Sharron Vanhovel

Copyright © 2022 Sharron Van Hovel

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-4951-2 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-4952-9 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

On the cool, clear night of November 26, the night before Thanksgiving, Sarah Moore had no idea her life was about to change tragically forever. The night was cool and getting colder by the minute. At ten thirty, the sky was clear, and the dry leaves crunched under her feet. She was getting chilled, so she made the decision to cut through the park. This would shorten her trek about a half mile. She normally stayed out of the park at night because it seemed really spooky. Tonight, she threw caution and fear aside and stepped into the park.

As the leaves crackled under her feet, she remembered how she and Matt loved running through them. This reminded her that Matt would not be home for Thanksgiving this year. He had decided to wait and come home during Christmas break at college. He said there would be more time to be together then. She missed Matt.

Sarah and Matt had been friends since her family had moved here when she was in first grade. They became girlfriend and boyfriend in sixth grade and were still going strong. They had been talking of marriage when he graduated from college. Both of them were saving toward that goal—she at Big Box and Matt working at his dad’s construction company in the summers. Matt knew he did not want to work construction as a career, so he was majoring in business management. He was hoping to work for her dad, but since Dad and Matt had not talked about that, so it was not a sure thing. However, Sarah knew it would all work out in the end.

Sarah knew she and Matt made a fun, attractive couple. Sarah was 5'6, 120 pounds but Matt described her as slender with curves." She had long, light brown hair and blue eyes. Both she and Matt sang in the church choir. Matt was six feet tall, 160 pounds. He was good-looking, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He had an athletic build. They both sang in the school and church choir. They were also prom king and queen in their senior year of high school.

Ever since the first grade, when the Moore family moved in next to the Barnes family, the two families have shared the holidays. Now just thinking of the food being prepared by both mothers was making Sarah’s mouth water. Between the two moms, there would be enough food to feed a small army!

Sarah’s mom would get up early and put a 25-pound turkey in the oven. Matt’s mom would bake a ham. Then there would be potatoes and gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, vegetable salad, fruit salad, cranberries, homemade rolls, and do not forget the pies. There would be pumpkin, apple, mixed berry, cherry, and coconut cream to please all the family members.

Sarah was so hungry she could imagine the aroma of baking pies and taste the cookies, which would be in plentiful supply. She could smell the smoke from the fireplaces and pictured families snuggled down, watching movies or maybe playing games.

Hearing traffic on the road near her house, she wondered where they could be going, as the street dead-ended in a cul-de-sac in the next block. There were five houses in her cul-de-sac. Three were vacant with the families gone for the holiday. That left her family and the Barnes family. Where were these cars going? Were they lost?

Sarah was about to step out of the park to inquire if these people were indeed lost when she heard brakes, the slamming of multiple doors, and several male voices. Instead of leaving the park, she stepped behind a tree. She saw six men, all dressed head to toe in black, with guns! As she watched, three men went to her house and three to Matt’s! Two men to the front of each house and one each to the back. The two men in front kicked in the doors and began to fire! When she saw the guns, she had grabbed her cell phone, but in her panic and haste, she dropped it. Searching through the leaves, she found it and dialed 911. Help! Someone is shooting people in two houses on Elm Street near the dead end. I heard screams and yelling! Please hurry!

Sarah was asked to stay on the line until the police arrived. Shaking and sobbing, she complied. She did manage to slip out and got the license plate numbers. She hid behind the tree again while waiting for the police.

In only a few minutes, the black-clad men came out of the houses. They looked around to see if there were any witnesses, Sarah guessed. One man, maybe the boss, asked the number killed. There were seven in Sarah’s house and five in Matt’s. Okay, that tallies with the list. He then asked, Did you get the papers from the safe in the office?

No papers, just a small coin collection was the reply.

There had to be papers in that safe. I saw him put them in there myself, the boss replied.

Not there now, and I hear sirens. Let’s get out of here before we’re trapped in the cul-de-sac!

The police arrived just a few minutes after the killers left. Sirens blaring and lights flashing red and blue, they came to a screeching halt a few feet from where Sarah was hunkered down behind the tree. Must be every cop in town! Several officers went into each house. Some searched the grounds and neighboring houses to make sure no harm happened there and to verify they were empty. More than one officer came outside, threw up, then reported on the carnage inside. The report was horrific. In one house, seven were dead, shot multiple times—one male, age 45–50, three females, one 42–45, one teenager 18–20, and one about 7. There were also three male children, ages 7–13. It was Sarah’s entire family and her cousin visiting from out of town. The second house had five dead—one male aged 45–50, one female, 40–45, and three female children, 7–14. That was Matt’s entire family.

Sarah left the park, crossed the street, and was stopped by Detective Wayne Davis. Sarah, in tears, begged him to be able to go inside, but he told her she really didn’t want to do that. She asked if she could go up the back stairway to get some clothes. He said, How about answering a few questions then we will see? Are you the person who reported the shooting?

Yes, she replied, and through sobs and tears, she answered more questions.

The detective asked, Can you tell me why you were out alone at ten thirty at night?

Sarah answered, I was walking home from my job at Big Box, the three-to-ten shift.

Now can you tell me what you saw and heard? he asked.

Sarah replied as fully as she could. She explained about the shortcut through the park, hearing cars, brakes, car doors slamming, and male voices. She described how they divided going into the houses and how they kicked in the front doors. Sarah broke down crying as she related hearing the shooting and the screams. She told how they hurried out of there when they heard the sirens. She told him everything she remembered. When she got to the part about the papers in the safe, Detective Davis perked up.

What papers? he asked.

I don’t know. My dad must have known the boss if he said he saw my dad put papers in the safe. That safe was used only temporarily because he never kept anything there of importance.

What business is your father in?

He’s an accountant and does audits for businesses, Sarah replied.

Why?

I guess so they can check to see if someone was stealing from them.

Who was he working for at this time?

I don’t know. Sarah added that her father also had an office in town. We need to let Matthew know about his family and Ester’s family too.

The police will take care of that.

The crime scene team of Kim Harrison and Steve Lewis came outside to report that all the killings were done in the kitchens and family rooms. The photographer, Solar Thomas, was almost finished taking preliminary pictures in Sarah’s house. Kim Harrison said they had also checked the bedrooms and had found only the office safe had been tampered with. The door was left open, and it was empty. The consensus was that this had been a pro job, perhaps with serious criminal ties, but why the other family? Davis wanted to know.

No good reason. Maybe just because they were home and could have possibly seen or heard what was happening, replied Detective Sam Michaels.

Sarah was allowed to use the back stairway to get some clothes from her room, accompanied by Samantha Michaels. She was then taken to the police station to make a formal statement to get it recorded. Sarah was put in protective custody with Detective Michaels, her protector for the time being. Exhausted and tired, she was glad of the reprieve and was able to get a little sleep.

The media, alerted by police scanners and sirens, were out quickly and in full force. Some arrived almost as soon as the police. The FBI was also present, along with residents. Everybody loves blood and mayhem as long as it isn’t theirs.

The crime scene team was working, and following right behind them was the cleanup crew. The police were trying to keep names out of the news, just releasing the number dead until next of kin could be notified. Sarah was being kept out of sight as much as possible.

Chapter 2

Mathew had been notified by police near his college and said he planned to leave for home the next day. Sarah thought he would call after being notified, but he didn’t.

She didn’t know how much he was told nor when he would get home. She decided she’d just have to wait and see.

While waiting for Matt to call, she decided to return to the house and the safe room in the basement office to see if the missing papers were in there. She would also get the $200,000 her dad kept in there just in case. Dressed in dark clothes, she slipped out of the motel bedroom window and headed toward her home.

When Sarah was eighteen, her father told her about the special room he had built in the basement. It was connected to but not part of the main house. It had eighteen-inch reinforced concrete for the walls and floor underneath where the garage joined the house. Another 18 inches of concrete was poured for the garage floor, which became the ceiling of the safe room. A vault door was installed, and with wood paneling, you would never know it was there. A special code was required to enter. Once inside, the door could be opened by hand.

Keeping in the shadows, she was able to get to her house in just a few minutes. Slipping to the back door of the garage, she unlocked the door, entered, and turned off the alarm in the garage. She then entered the laundry room. Once inside, she turned the garage alarm back on. She went downstairs to the basement office. Using the code her father had given her, she entered the safe room.

There were papers there, hopefully, the right ones! She selected a handgun, ammo, and the $200,000. After resetting the lock, she went up the back staircase to the safe in the master bedroom. After opening the safe, she deposited the papers and left the $3,000 cash and her mom’s jewelry inside. She locked the safe and left the master bedroom. She then went to her bedroom and collected the money she had been saving for Christmas. She left her bedroom and went down the back stairs to the laundry room. There she turned off the garage alarm and left the house through the garage to the back door of the garage, where she reset the alarm. She slipped out into the night. She walked back to the motel and climbed through the bedroom window apparently unseen and collapsed on the bed!

Mathew arrived home late Thanksgiving evening, not in the best of moods, but what did she expect? Matthew got out of the car. His dark hair mussed. Sarah could see the pain that filled his eyes. He stood beside his car and opened his arms. Sarah ran to him, and they embraced. Matt kissed her forehead, laid his cheek on top of Sarah’s head, and they both cried. The police stood back to allow their joined grief to be released. After a few minutes, they broke apart but continued to hold hands. The police didn’t seem to care how late it was or how tired he was. They were tired, too, since they had been working most of the day and had questions for him. The crime scene team of Harrison and Lewis had taken only an hour for dinner then were back on the job. The police photographer, Sol Thomas, took more photos in the daylight. Detectives Davis and Michaels took Matt to the police station.

Matt’s mood had not improved upon hearing there would be more questions. He said he hoped it wouldn’t take too long, that he was really tired after the long drive. The detectives had little sympathy for him as they had been up and working all night and were still working today. They were tired and frustrated too. When he complained, he was told to "quit complaining, put his big boy pants on, and answer some