Julia and Paul sat side by side at the desk in the motel room, surrounded by the debris of Wawa cheese hoagies, Diet Cokes, and Herr’s potato chips. The air smelled like saturated fats.
“Begin at the beginning, right?” Julia typed “William McKenna Buckley PA” into Google on her laptop. A slew of entries piled on to the screen, and she clicked the oldest first:
MCKENNA RE-UPS SPONSORSHIP
William McKenna, owner of McKenna Realty in Buckley, has agreed to sponsor the boys’ and girls’ softball leagues for a 9th year. Department of Recreation Head John Salvey said, “We could not be more grateful to Bill for his loyal support. McKenna Realty has been a proud sponsor of our leagues…”
“So he was a realtor.” Julia thought a minute. “That had to be a tough gig, with the mine fire on the way.”
“But don’t forget, people were selling to the government. I’ve talkedto Kay about how it was then. She told me that people were rushing to get the best deal and realtors jumped on the opportunity, bundling houses for sale. Kay told me she got a ton of phone calls from realtors.”
“Hmm. Oh, here he is.” Julia scrolled to a color photo captionedWilliam McKenna, and he was an attractive man with dark eyes, a largish nose, and a broad grin. His hair was thick and black, his hairline receding.
“He looks in his forties, and the piece is from 1996. So he’d be in his late sixties or early seventies now.” Paul cocked his head. “When was the Shoemaker murder?”
“1999.” Julia clicked the next article, noting that it was also older, as if McKenna got a lot of publicity back then:
BUCKLEY FIREHOUSE #1 OPENS TODAY
Today the Buckley Fire Department hosted a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the renovation of Firehouse #1 on Grove Street. The renovation, which took three years and cost $2 million, includes safety upgrades. Present was Mayor Gus Jablonsky, Fire Commissioner Bob McCloskey, Asst. Police Chief Pete Glushenko, Public Property Commissioner Joanne Rumanoff, and major contributors Cal Cooley of Buckley Bank and Bill McKenna of McKenna Realty.
“Wow, so McKenna knew Glushenko.” Julia clicked through the next few entries, and they were of McKenna hosting a first-time home buyer seminar, sponsoring a community welcome wagon, and setting up a local collection for the food bank, coats, and school supplies. “McKenna was a veritable pillar of the community.”
“Yeah, right. I want to know about the murder.”
“Me, too.” Julia typed “William McKenna murder Buckley” andhit Enter. A few entries appeared, and she picked the first, a newspaper account dated April 22, 1999:
SEARCH FOR LOCAL MAN ENDED
Authorities have ended the search for William McKenna, 42, of Buckley, after seven days. McKenna was sought by authorities as a person of interest in connection with the murder of James Shoemaker, 40, of Tallahassee, Florida. Shoemaker was found dead on McKenna’s property at 75 Crowley Rd. on April 15. The county coroner has ruled the death suspicious and the cause of death as blunt force trauma. Authorities cited limited manpower as the reason for discontinuing the search.
“Blunt force trauma, so he wasn’t shot.” Julia mulled it over. “It’s hard to see the connection to Kay except that it’s next door.”
“So to speak, but the farms are so big.”
“The murder was on April 15, and they stopped the search after seven days. Why? A state trooper told us that they searched for Cavalcante for two weeks and Eric Frein for forty-eight days.”
“Seven days is enough to keep up appearances.”
“Right.” Julia clicked the next few entries, accounts about the lack of progress on the manhunt for McKenna, then went back in time to the original account of the murder, which contained no new information. “Damn.”
“Can we fast-forward to the house fire? I’m curious.”
“Okay.” Julia searched “William McKenna Fire Buckley,” and onto the screen popped an article from a local online newspaper, dated April 30, 1999:
FIRE DESTROYS MCKENNA PROPERTY
The abandoned farmhouse and garage belonging to William McKenna, the Buckley man missing since April 15, was destroyed by fire last night. The property is located at 75 Crowley Rd. Authorities report that the suspected cause was vandalism. Chief of Police Peter Glushenko commented, “Hay bales were unattended after the property was vacated. Teenage vandals set fire to one, and it spread to the house and outbuildings. Buckley residents should remain vigilant against random acts of destruction.”
Julia clucked. “Glushenko again. He won’t say the cause is arson. I’m telling you, this is a cover-up. Did McKenna get a free murder because he knows Glushenko? Did they get away with murder?”
“It’s fishy.” Paul eyed the screen. “You know, I’m in the fire suppression business. If a house burns to the ground, there’s a lot more investigation than this, mostly for arson. It has legal, insurance, and tax implications. It doesn’t make sense that this is the last word.”
“Let me double-check.” Julia plugged “fire McKenna Buckley PA” into the search engine, but nothing else came up. “So there’s nothing else.”
“There has to be something in public records, especially here, because fire is such a big deal. There’s usually reporting from the local fire department.”
“Let me check.” Julia plugged in “Buckley Fire Station.” The screen filled with the no-frills website and a banner reading Buckley Station #1 above a red firetruck. On the left side was a list that read “Home, About, Contact, Responses, Fund Raising.”
