Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1) (10 page)

"So, when are you going to ask her out?" Annie said, as they walked out to their vehicle.

"Who?"

"Laine."

"Laine?" Tom asked.

"Yes, you know, Laine DelMonte, our esteemed Chief Technical Investigator."

"Why would I ask her out?"

"Why not?"

"Quit answering my questions with a question," Tom said.

Annie laughed.

"Well, she's beautiful, intelligent, available, she has long blond hair, that sexy Texas accent, deep blue eyes, she's available, she sings 'Yellow Rose of Texas' better than her namesake, Lane Brody, she's available...

"Did I mention she's available?"

Tom laughed.  "I don't date," he said.  "I don't have the time."

"Yea, I know, your goldfish really demand all your free time," Annie said.

"Did you know Laine is a regular singer on Saturday nights at the Crystal Palace?"

"I heard something about that, yeah."

"Have you ever gone to see her sing?"

"Nah.  The Crystal Palace is too noisy for me.  I should have been born in England.  Give me a glass of Stout - or whatever - in a nice quiet pub where the loudest sound is some idiot throwing darts at a dart board and missing, and I'm content."

"Oh, come on.  You're not that old.  Don't you like to have fun?  A little romance?"

"You should talk.  Jesse is crazy about you and you won't give him the time of day."

"That's not true.  We go out from time to time."

"Yeah, but you don't want to get serious do you?  Or make a commitment."

"How do you know?'

"He told me."

"You and Jesse talked about me?"

"What else do guys talk about except girl problems - or NASCAR?  Did you and Laine talk about me?  I bet you did."

"Well, yes, now that you mention it, your name did come up a time or two."

"What did she say about me?"

"I'll never tell.  Girl talk falls into the same class as talking to a Priest in a confessional."

"Oh, give me a break," Tom laughed.

"So, Tom, you've never been to the Crystal Palace?"

"I didn't say that.  I went to see Collin Raye once.  He's one of my favorite singers."

"Mine, too, he's really good.  Puts his heart into his music.  Did you know Collin Raye is from De Queen, Arkansas?  That's only 40 miles from Mena.  We could be related.  We have Ray's in our family tree.  I did a little genealogical research once, but didn't get far enough to find a connection.  However, everyone is related to everyone in Arkansas," She laughed.

"I did find out that my great great grandmother was a full-blooded Choctaw Indian from Yalobousha County, Mississippi."

"Well, hells bells, girl.  That gives you a lot in common with Jesse.  What's he, Cherokee?"

"Yeah, his people hail from Cherokee, North Carolina.  Both of his grandparents on his Dad's side were full-blooded, documented Cherokee who lived all their lives on the reservation.  His maternal grandmother was also Cherokee and married a white man, who's Polish."

"Jesse sometimes dances at the Pow Wow here in Bakersfield every June.  He's a grass dancer," Annie said.

"Grass, like in pot?"

"No, silly.  The job of a grass dancer at a Pow Wow is to flatten the grass in the arena for the other dancers.  'Grass' doesn't refer to the grass in the arena, however, it refers to braids of sweet grass, an herb that they tie on their belts.  You should see his outfit.  It's gorgeous.  You'll have to go next June.  I have some pictures on my computer.  I'll show them to you some time."

"Do you dance at the Pow Wow?"

"I could, but I never have.  I don't have the regalia."

"What's regalia?" Tom said.

"The right costume, or clothes," Annie answered.

"I bet you'd make a cute squaw," Tom laughed.

"Oh, shut up," Annie said, as she reached over and gave his upper arm a punch.

"Listen, Tom, I have a good idea that I'll probably regret."

"Oh good, that's the best kind.  What's your idea?"

"Let's you, me, and Jesse go to the Crystal Palace Saturday night to hear Laine sing and then invite her to have dinner with us afterwards.  What do you say?"

"Are you trying to set me up with Laine?"

"No, I think we should try to match-make Jesse with Laine, don't you?  That would solve my problems with Jesse and you wouldn't have to step out of your comfort zone and ask Laine for a date."

"What?  That sounds stupid.  You can't be serious?"

Annie laughed so hard at the incredulous look on Tom's face that she thought she would pee her pants.

"I'm just kidding, Tom.  I do think you should give Laine a chance, however.  I think the two of you would be great together."

"And what about you and Jesse?" Tom asked.

"I'm working on it," Annie said.

Wednesday, 15 August 2012, 1:00 PM

"Detective Weston," Tom said as he picked up his phone.

"Detective Weston, this is Sergeant Harry Jamison from Arvin PD.  You spoke with one of our officers the other day, Officer Orlando Lamantia, and asked to be informed if we received any new missing person's reports of a female.  Well, unfortunately, we have."

"Thank you for calling me.  Can you tell me about her?"

"Sure.  Her name is Carmen Chalina Gutierrez, 5'5", 130 pounds, brown and brown, twenty-three years old, DOB 13 February 1989.  The last time anyone saw her was around 8:30 PM on Monday, August 13th, in the vicinity of the La Mexicana Market on Bear Mountain Road in Arvin, cross of C Street.  She talked briefly with a female friend, AnaMaria Lupita DelaFuentes.  She walked into town to go to the market and get some dinner for herself and her brother.  Her parents were out of town at the time and arrived home Tuesday morning.  Her brother. Julio Curito Gutierrez is 16 years old.

"Julio says she was wearing faded blue jeans, sandals, and a dark blue tank top.  She has pierced ears, and usually wears a gold cross on a gold chain around her neck.

"Her parents contacted us the morning of August 14th when they returned home from a visit with relatives in Modesto and Officer Jose Rubio went to their home around 4:00 PM to take a report.

"They gave us a picture, so I will email both the report and the picture to your office.  It includes the statement of the brother and the girlfriend who talked to her briefly outside of the market.

"She had a boyfriend, but he's supposedly returned to Mexico.  Mr. Gutierrez said he was illegal, so I doubt that we'll find him.  She graduated from Bakersfield City College in June of 2006 and has been working part-time at Arvin Lumber in Arvin.  I have officers out talking to her co-workers today to see what we can find out and we are canvasing the neighborhoods between the Market and her home to see if anyone saw anything.  As soon as we have more information, I will send it to you.

"That's about all we have at the moment."

"Did anyone you've talked to so far indicate that she might just be off visiting friends?"

"Her parents, brother, and her friend all stated emphatically that this is not normal behavior for Carmen.  She was a responsible young woman.  That's why the parents felt comfortable leaving her in charge of her brother when they went out of town."

"OK, thank you Sergeant.  I'll get the information from my email.  I appreciate the heads-up.  If we hear anything, we'll contact you immediately."

Tom sat at his desk considering the information on the missing young woman from Arvin.  What did she have in common with their 'Jane Doe'?  The area where both crimes had occurred was the same.  The vineyards where their 'Jane Doe' had been found weren't that far from Arvin, where the missing girl lived.

However, he didn't want to draw any false conclusions until he had more information to go on.  He would read the email from Sgt. Jamison when it arrived.  That case was out of his jurisdiction, since it was in the city limits of Arvin, so it wasn't his place to alert anyone.  Of course, he would tell Annie about the missing person so they could keep it in mind.

When the information arrived in his email, he printed out two copies, read it over, and put them in a new file on the corner of his desk.

Thursday, 16 August 2012, 9:00 AM

When Tom arrived to work the next morning, he remembered the call from Arvin PD when he saw the folder on his desk.  "Arvin PD sent over a new missing persons report on a Carmen Gutierrez, along with statements from her family and friends," Tom said, when he brought Annie a cup of coffee from the break room.

"Thanks," she said.  "Sorry I'm running late.  Have you looked them over yet?"

"Yes, I read through what they sent and made two copies.  I thought we could go over them together.  Then, if we find anything that raises a red flag as far as our 'Jane Doe' is concerned, we can make note of it and update both Jesse and the Sarge."

"OK, I'm ready."

They moved to the conference room and spread the reports out on the table.  They each read the information as they sipped their coffee.

"Is it my imagination," Annie said, "or is this coffee getting worse each day?  It isn't that old and it already tastes like sludge.

"I don't think anyone ever cleans out the pot.  For all I know, this batch of coffee has been sitting there all night.  It sure tastes like it," Annie said.

"No, I heard Sunnie making it fresh when I got here at 8 AM.  At least, I thought that's what she was doing," Tom said.

"Well, I can't drink this, but thanks anyway," Annie said as she pushed her cup aside and reached for the next report.

After they had time to absorb the information in the reports, Tom looked up and said, "What commonalities do you notice between our 'Jane Doe" and Carmen Gutierrez?"

"The only thing that stands out is that both females are Hispanic and young.  And Arvin isn't that far from where our 'Jane Doe' was found.  I wish we knew who she was and where she came from," Annie said.  "I hate not knowing and that there could be people who care about her that are frantic to know where she is and what happened to her.  Just like this girl's parents."

"Carmen Gutierrez doesn't seem like the type who would just take off and not tell anyone where she was going," Tom said.

"Also, the family doesn't have any money to speak of and there hasn't been any kind of ransom demand.  She's been missing for three days.  I don't have a good feeling about this.  I don't like the fact that the two women resembled each other and our 'Jane Doe' was found in the south part of the County and Carmen Gutierrez lives in the south part of the County.

"I talked to Sgt. Jamison at Arvin PD and made him aware of our concerns and the similarities between the two girls.  It's too soon to draw any conclusions, but it won't hurt to give them a heads-up," Tom said.

"Have them show the picture of our victim to the people they have already interviewed, including Carmen's family, to see if anyone recognizes her.  They also need to post pictures of 'Jane Doe' around Arvin," Annie said.

"I'm just afraid if it becomes necessary to post pictures of Carmen also, that people will start to panic," Tom said.

"I know, but we need to do whatever we can to identify our 'Jane Doe'," Annie replied.  "That's our main concern at the moment.  Until we know who she is, we can't start to put together what happened to her." 

"I'll put a copy of this report on the Sarge's desk and email one over to Jesse so they're both aware of what's going on," Tom said, as he headed for the copy machine.

Tom was sitting at his desk reviewing the calls they received about 'Jane Doe' when his phone rang.

"Detective Weston," he said.

"Detective, my name is Stetson Maddox.  I think I saw that unidentified girl whose picture is on a poster at the Texaco station in Pumpkin Center."

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose to relieve the pressure building up in his head.  Numerous calls about the identity of their 'Jane Doe' had come in since the Press Conference, and none of them checked out.

"Tell me when and where you saw her, Mr. Maddox," Tom said.

"Call me Stetson, please.  My legal name is Orville, but everyone calls me Stetson because I always wear a hat.

"I'm a long-haul truck driver.  I carry freight up and down California.  About two weeks ago, on August 3rd - I checked my log to be sure - I saw a young lady hitchhiking on an access road to the I-5 freeway just outside of San Diego.  I know the Chippies down there don't like hitchhikers, so I pulled over and asked her if I could give her a lift.

"She said, sure, and hopped into my cab.  She said her name was Gabby and she was headed to the Roseville area to try to find her sister."

"What time of day was this, Stetson?" Tom asked

"Early afternoon, about 2:30 or thereabouts.

"We made good time and only stopped once to get something to eat at a truck stop.  We pulled into Mikul's truck terminal in Pumpkin Center - the one across from the Texaco station just off the 99 Freeway - about 6:30 PM.

"I planned to stay parked there for a while and catch some sleep in my cab, so she said she would go on into Bakersfield and spend the night.  She wanted to shower and get a good night's sleep so she would be 'presentable', as she put it, when she arrived in Roseville.

"I offered to buy her dinner, and she accepted, so we walked down to a restaurant called Los Arcos where I frequently eat when I'm in that area.

"She was quiet most of our trip, but opened up a little more at the restaurant.  She said she and her family hadn't been in contact for 13 years.  In her early years she was rebellious and went her own way, ending up in San Diego.  Now, she wanted to make amends to her family, but she didn't know for sure where they were.  When she first left, they were living in the Fresno area.  She searched for them online, but didn't find anything.  She did, however, find the name of someone she thought was one of her sisters and who lived in Roseville.  This sister had married before Gabby left the family and the name was the same.  In addition, the sister's husband loved the Mother Lode area, so it made sense that they were living there.

"So, that's where she wanted to start her search."

"Did she tell you the name of her sister?" Tom asked.

"No, she didn't, and I didn't get her family name, either, just Gabby.   She also said she'd just celebrated her 28th birthday on the 1st and realized she was getting older and wasting her life."

"When did you first see the poster?"

"Today.  I pulled into Mikul's again and walked over to the Texaco to get something cold to drink.  The poster was up in a couple of places.  I was shocked.  It looks just like Gabby.  Of course, it's a drawing, not an actual photograph.  Then I talked to the man behind the counter, and he told me the story of the discovery of her body."

"Do you remember the name of the clerk?" Tom asked, as he scribbled notes on his legal pad.

"Yes, it's Farhad.  I think his last name is Raj.

"Of course, word of the spider bites on the body are the talk of Pumpkin Center, and when Farhad mentioned that, I remembered something else that happened when Gabby and I were eating dinner.

"I noticed that our waitress seemed uneasy and nervous.  When she came to our table to see if we needed anything, she kept glancing at a man sitting at a table in a dark corner of the room.  I asked her if she was OK, and if the man was bothering her.  She said, no, he just gave her the creeps.

"Just about then, he stood up and walked to the counter.  He wore one of those white mesh tank tops that you can see through.

"His tattoo caught my attention."

"What was it?" Tom asked

"On his back, just below his neck and positioned between his shoulder blades was a large tattoo of a black widow spider.  The tattoo artist positioned the tattoo so that when the guy flexed his shoulders, the legs appeared to move.  Really gave me the creeps."

"Can you give me a physical description?" Tom asked.

"He was about 6'0" tall, not overly muscular, but it looked like he kept himself in shape.  He had long hair, dark brown, and had one ear pierced with a circle.  I don't normally notice people this much, but he drew my attention.  He wore jeans and cowboy boots.  Nice boots that had probably cost a lot.  That's all I remember.

"The waitress, whose name is Blanca, took his money and he left.  I didn't see what he was driving or if he was on foot."

"Stetson, how long will you be in Pumpkin Center today? I'd like to come out and talk to you in person, get a signed statement of what you just told me, and show you an actual picture of our 'Jane Doe.'  I'm afraid it's a morgue shot, but it's not disturbing.  Her face wasn't damaged in any way."

"I will be happy to stay for as long as it takes.  I'm ahead of schedule right now.  I can meet you at Los Arcos Restaurant."

"OK, great, Stetson.  I'll get what you told me typed up and be there as soon as I can.  I'm coming from Norris Road in Bakersfield, but it shouldn't take too long.  How will I recognize you?"

"Well, I'll be wearing a Stetson," Stetson laughed.