Mystery at Devil's Elbow

Two years later the Fisher family experienced another tragedy.

“Sheriff’s office what is your emergency?”

“My daughter is missing,” said Martha through her tears and swollen throat. Her hands were trembling, and her gut was tied in knots.

“Can I have your daughter’s name?”

“Lisa Fisher.”

“How old is your daughter?”

“19 years old.”

“How long has she been missing?”

“Thirty-six hours.”

“Where was she last seen?”

“At her job at the Waynesville Hospital.”

“What’s your location?”

“2216 Teardrop Road.”

“We have a sheriff’s deputy on the way.”

Lewis sat on the couch, his face in his hands. It was obvious he was crying. Mary sat next to him, holding him in her arms as he sobbed uncontrollably.

Ten minutes later, Deputy Bishop rang the doorbell. Mary went to the door and let him in. He saw Lewis in Martha’s arms sobbing loudly. Martha was holding him with all her strength. She had her head down and was trembling.

“Lewis and Martha, I hate to bother you, but I need to ask you some questions? Who was the last person to see your daughter?”

“Her supervisor at work, we think,” said Lewis through his tears.

“What time was that?”

“Her boss said she left at 8:00 PM Tuesday night.”

“Was she supposed to come right home?”

“She usually does,” said Lewis.

“She didn’t talk about going anywhere?” asked Bishop. “So, she should’ve been home before 9:00 PM.”

“That sounds about right. Sometimes she stops to get a quick bite to eat,” said Martha.

“Did you check back with the hospital to see if she returned?”

“Yeah, her boss and the other nurses are on the lookout for her.”

“Does she have a boyfriend she might’ve run into?”

“She’s not seeing anyone right now.”

Bishop took down the description of Lisa’s car and reached for his radio. He asked dispatch to alert all officers to be on the lookout for Lisa’s car. Mary provided Bishop with locations where the family had searched and who they had called. She also gave him the name and phone number of Lisa’s supervisor. It seemed the family had explored every logical place. Bishop suddenly slapped his forehead.

“I need to step outside for just a minute and contact the sheriff’s office. Be right back.”

Bishop shut the door behind him as he stepped out onto the front porch. He swallowed hard and made the call.

“Dispatch, this is Deputy Bishop, over.”

“This is dispatch, go-ahead.”

“Dispatch, request a patrol car go to the old fishing road next to the Big Piney starting at the Devil’s Elbow branch and check for Lisa Fisher’s car.”

“Bishop, this is Haney.”

“Go-ahead, Haney.”

“I’ll take that on. I’ll report to you in about 20 minutes.”

“Roger that. You know what we’re looking for.”

“Unfortunately, I do.”

Bishop went back into the house to see if he could get any more information from the family. He was just stalling for time. He and Reggie both believed they knew where Lisa was. They also knew they weren’t going to find her, but maybe they could at least find her car.

Mary heard a car drive up in the driveway and looked out to see JD. She met him at the door.

“Mary, how’s your mom and dad?”

“They’re taken it pretty hard, Sheriff. This is a tough one.”

“I know, but I think we all know what’s going on, here don’t we?”

“I’m afraid we do.”

JD sat down with Lewis and Martha and tried to console them. He even got Martha to get everybody some cookies and coffee. He was just trying to get her mind off the disappearance of her daughter. The phone rang, and Mary answered it.

“This is Tammy Jenkins. I heard about Lisa’s disappearance. I just called to see how your family’s doing.”

“My parents are sick with worry.”

“Are you doing okay?”

“No, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Is there anything I can do for your family?”

“No, I don’t think there is.”

“I hope you know how much I care for your sister. If you think of anything, please don’t hesitate to call me back.”

“I will.”

In the Fisher living room, Deputy Bishop was pacing back and forth near the door when he received a call on his radio. He asked them to hold while he and the sheriff went outside.

Once outside, Haney told JD and Bishop that Lisa’s car was at the same location as Victoria Abney’s had been. With no sign of struggle and Lisa’s purse and keys on the front seat, it was a scene they were familiar with.

JD and Deputy Bishop stood there staring at each other. How could they tell Martha and Lewis? There was no other alternative. All the clues were there. It was obvious what happened.

“Wait out here, Bishop.”

“You want me to tell them, Sheriff?”

“No, I’ve known them both since we were kids. Lewis and I joined the Army together and served in the same squad in Nam. Nobody else should tell them.”

JD walked in the door and saw Mary, Lewis, and Martha all hugging each other on the couch.

“There’s no easy way to say this. We found Lisa’s car. It was parked over in the forest a short distance from the river. There was no sign of struggle, and her keys and purse were in the front seat.”

Martha screamed. Lewis broke down. Mary moved to the floor in front of her parents and hugged them both.

Deep down, they all knew where Lisa had gone. Martha and Lewis would never see their daughter again.

Later when they were investigating the car, they found a book under Lisa’s purse. There was a note taped to the front cover to Tammy Jenkins.

Great Book Tammy, Love Lisa.

There was also an old stuffed Pink Panther that had fallen on the floor of the car. A note was pinned to it that read:

To my dear family, I will remember and love you always.