Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1) (17 page)

In his house, Joseph watched from the window as the Detectives drove off and breathed a sigh of relief.  Gently, he placed Buster back in his terrarium and went down to his basement.  He knew what he must do to make Annie appreciate his pets.

Saturday, 25 August 2012, 10:00 PM

After standing in line for over an hour to get in, Annie, Tom and Jesse finally found a table with a good view of the stage at the Crystal Palace.

"Do people dance during the show?" Tom asked as he glanced at the dance floor just below the stage.  "When I was here to see Collin Raye, there were people just standing in that area."

"Sometimes," Annie said.  "A lot of people, like me, love to line dance.  Usually when there's a popular guest artist, folks don't dance because they just want to watch him or her perform."

"You never told me you line dance," Jesse said.

"Me, either," Tom chimed in.

"Well, a girl has to have her secrets.  I like to come here when Laine sings, have a glass or two of Merlot, and line dance.  It's just my boots, the music, and me.  I don't need a partner."

"I noticed your boots.  They're very red - with fringe." Annie laughed.  "They're specially made for line dancing.  They're lighter than regular work boots and the soles aren't slick, so you don't end up on your derriere on the dance floor.  Although, some people do anyway.

"If you wore regular boots to line dance, your legs would get tired fast."

"I like that 'Romeo' line dance video on YouTube with Billy Ray Cyrus and Dolly Parton.  I ran across it by accident once and watched it a couple of time." Jesse said.

"Wow, I really feel out of place here," Tom laughed.

"You, a cowgirl and Tonto there, an Indian, complete with his long braids that the District Attorney loves."

"However, I'm just a hard-workin' redneck homicide detective.  How boring."

Annie and Jesse both laughed at Tom.

"Keep in mind, Tom," Jesse said, "that everyone in America except the Native Americans came from another country.  If you do some research on your family line, you may be surprised what you find out."

"That's true, Tom," Annie said.  "My ancestors come from England, France, German and Scotland.  I can even trace my line back to the 13th century to the short-term King of Scotland, John Bailol.  Of course, y'all know I have a full-blooded Choctaw great-great grandmother."

"My maternal grandfather's family came from Poland," Jesse added.

"We're a regular UN here, aren't we," Tom said as he waggled his eyebrows.

All three of them laughed, then quieted down when the MC walked onto the stage.  The show was about to begin.

The three friends enjoyed the show, and when the MC introduced Laine to the audience, Tom's jaw practically dropped into his lap. 

Laine was dressed in a blouse with short puffy sleeves and a sweetheart neckline that showed off her cleavage, but discreetly.  She wore a short denim skirt with a ruffle at the bottom and black and red fancy-tooled boots with fringe down the sides and a boot bracelet on her right boot that sparkled in the lights that rotated on the stage in different colors.

She wore a cowboy hat and her hair was in curls half-way down her back.

She was a bundle of energy.

"Hey, y'all," she shouted as the applause died down.  "Are you ready?"

The crowd went wild.  Laine was obviously one of their favorite singers.

She turned around to the 'boys in the band' and nodded.  They fired up with the opening strains of "Redneck Woman" that had the crowd roaring and clapping along.  Tom was clapping and stomping along with the rest of them, clearly having a great time.

She followed it up with "Any Man of Mine" and the dance floor was crowded with people doing the line dance "Go Go Stomp."

"Oh," Annie said, "That's one of my favorite line dances!"

"Well, get your butt out there and show us your stuff," Jesse said.

"No, I couldn't.  You would laugh."

Tom got out up.  He pulled Annie to her feet and gently propelled her onto the dance floor.

"They'll laugh at me if you make me stay here and make you dance," Tom said.

Annie laughed.  She looked up at Laine who gave her a thumbs up and stepped into the line.

Tom went back to his seat and turned to Jesse.  "Well, she can dance and Laine can sing," he said.  "What else are they hiding from us?"

When the song finished, Annie returned to her seat.

"That was fun!  Thanks for pushing me onto the dance floor," she said to Tom as she laughed.

For her next song, Laine was joined by one of the men singers for their rendition of the "Yellow Rose of Texas."

"You were right, Annie, she does sing it better than Lane Brody.  I'm impressed," Tom said, and Jesse seconded him.

After several more songs, Laine stepped up to the microphone.  "I always like to close with this song," she said.  "Someone has been singing this song on this stage almost every Saturday night since it was released by Allison Moorer in 1998 - 'A Soft Place to Fall'."  The crowd went wild, and when they quieted down, Laine closed with this soulful song.

"Hey, girlfriend," Laine said to Annie when she sat down at their table, "you really stomped 'Go Go Stomp'."

"I tend to get carried away with that one.  It gets rid of my hidden aggressions," she laughed.

Tom poured Laine a glass of wine.  "Are you hungry, Laine?  We waited for you to finish before deciding what to do for dinner."

"I'm starved!  However, I'm ready to go somewhere a little quieter.  There's a diner open twenty-four hours not far from here and the food is good.  Do you want to go there?"

Laine was sitting with her back to the stage, and before they could answer, she heard the boys in the band strike up the opening strains to Mustang Sally.  Her eyes got big and she visibly paled.  She quickly turned around, wagged her finger at the MC, and mouthed 'NO'.

The MC laughed.

She turned back around and looked at Annie.  Annie's face was bright red and she looked like she was ready to hide under the table.

"They wouldn't, would they?" Annie said to Laine.

Tom said, "What's wrong, Laine?" and then he noticed that Annie appeared just as distressed as Laine.

The group onstage played a few more bars.

"Oh, ladies," the MC said, "your presence is required on the dance floor," he said, talking to Laine and Annie.  "OK, folks, clear the floor.  You're in for a real treat."  He turned around to look at the musicians.  "Where are our favorite Chippies, Scott and Matt?  Ahh, here they come."

"Our lovely ladies of the law love this song.  It's one of their favorite line dances and they do it better than anyone we've ever seen.  They really put their heart and soul, among other parts of their anatomy, into their dancin'.

"C'mon, ladies, don't be shy."  He pointed at their table.  "The beautiful homicide detective Annie Avants and our equally beautiful CSI Chief, and one of our favorite singers, Laine DelMonte."

Matt and Scott walked over to their table and pulled out the chairs for Annie and Laine.

"Chippies?" Tom said with a puzzled frown.  "I know all the CHP officers around here, but not these two."

Jesse laughed, "Look at them, Tom.  Now, picture them wearing a pair of skimpy underwear and a bow tie - nothing else.  Get it?"

"Ah," Tom said as the light bulb went off in his head.  "Chippies, Chippendales!  Goodness, what else don't we know about these two ladies?"

The music started and the four dancers gave their all to the sultry music of Mustang Sally.

"Look at them dance.  Geez, if the people at work could see Annie now, they wouldn't believe it.  I didn't know she could move like that.

"Yee Haw," Tom yelled out as he stood up and pumped his fists in the air.

Jesse was laughing and snorting at the same time.  "They'll never hear the end of this," he said between laughs.

When the dance finally finished, Matt and Scott brought Laine and Annie back to the table, shook hands with Tom and Jesse, and went back to their server duties.

Laine reached down and picked up her purse.  "I don't want to hear a word from either of you," she said as she turned to leave, followed closely by Annie.  "I'm ready to go to that quiet diner.  Are you coming?"

The men agreed that they were ready to go to a quieter environment, so they left the Crystal Palace.

When they were settled in at the diner, Tom said to Laine, "I was really blown away by your singing, not to mention the dance you and Annie put on.  I had no clue the two of you were so talented."

"You have no clue about a lot of things," Annie said.

Everyone laughed as Tom's face turned red.

"Thank you, Tom," Laine said, as she reached over and patted his arm.  "I've been singing since I was three years old and always just took it for granted.  It's my outlet, like line dancing is for Annie."

"Well, the two of you sure surprised the two of us," Jesse said.  I knew you sang here, because Annie mentioned it before, but I wasn't prepared for the extent of your talent, not to mention Annie's moves."

"You guys are just too kind," Laine said, as she blushed.  "OK, let's just drop this line of talk for the moment."

"How's Noelle doing?" Annie asked, changing the subject.  Noelle, Laine's daughter, turned five years old in April, and was Laine's pride and joy.

"She's fine, she really likes school.  She came home all covered with poster paints the other day and said she was making me some new dishes for dinner.  I guess the teacher made up some 'clay' that they can mold, and after it dries, they paint it.  I can't wait to see what she brings home.  She talked about it all evening."

"Laine, did you know that Tom is a potter?" Annie said.  "He has a studio and a kiln, the whole kit and kaboodle."

"Really? Tom, you've been holding out on us.  How exciting!  Do you have a wheel and everything?" Laine said.

"Oh, yes.  It's a full-fledged pottery studio.  I have a hand-built kick wheel and a couple of electric wheels.  The kiln I built myself.  Why don't you bring Noelle by some weekend and she can play with some real clay.  Then I can fire it for her and it will last a long time, not like that 'play clay' they use in school.  It sounds like she might have a strong interest in creating with clay."

"Oh, that would be wonderful.  She'll be so excited.   How does next Saturday afternoon sound?" Laine asked.

"Sounds great to me," Tom said.  "It should be a lot of fun."

"Are we still on for tomorrow?" Jesse asked Annie.  The four of them were going to have a potluck at Annie's house and go over the cases up to this point.  Sometimes casual meetings like this would let ideas surface that stayed hidden during the rush of a normal workday.

"Yes, of course.  I've been cooking special stuff for the last couple of days.  You better not be late and you better be hungry," Annie laughed.

After a decent meal and more camaraderie, everyone went to the parking lot and headed home in their own cars.

Tom sat there for a few minutes watching their taillights disappear up the road.  He knew he'd never look at Laine the same way he looked at her before.  Annie was dropping hints that he should ask Laine out.  He wasn't sure it would be wise to date someone he worked with - if she would even consent to go out with him.  Nevertheless, the thought appealed to him, as did Laine.  He would see how things went the next few weeks and then decide what to do.

Sunday, 26 August 2012, Noon

Everyone enjoyed get-togethers at Annie's home, whether they were business related or just for fun.  Her front room was large. The main couch was a creamy off-white, with pleated skirts, and faced a white painted brick fireplace with a big mirror hung above. The coffee table was square and inset with glass tiles separated by light strips of oak.  On the highly polished hardwood floor underneath the coffee table was a hand woven rug made by the Chimayo Indians in New Mexico. Two matching pillows graced each end of the couch.

On one side of the couch was a comfortable recliner in light gray Naugahyde draped with a colorful afghan that Annie had crocheted. Next to the recliner was a woven basket that held a collection of balls of yarn.

On the other side of the couch was a chair that matched the couch.  Across one of the arms of the chair Annie had placed an Indian star quilt that her grandmother quilted for her many years ago.

On the wall behind the couch was a small entertainment center that housed her Bose stereo system and collection of CDs. The only televisions in Annie's home were a small portable television in the kitchen and a medium sized television in her spare bedroom, which doubled as her office.

Looking past the couch towards the back wall were a pair of French doors covered in sheers. They opened onto a patio and an English style flower garden planted with an assortment of wildflowers. Annie preferred this to organized flower beds.

Between the couch and the French doors was a square dining room table with four chairs.  It was made of the same light oak as the coffee table.

On her off-white painted walls hung an assortment of drawings and paintings of Indian women and children, with a brave or two interspersed between them. On the mantle of the fireplace were many photographs of Annie and her family as she was growing up.

The ambiance of the room was warm and inviting. Annie loved to sit in her recliner and read or crochet while she listened to her music. Right now she was playing "We the People" by Brule, one of her favorite Native American groups. She really did take her Choctaw heritage seriously.

In the days prior to the meeting, she spent her spare time cooking food she could serve cold today while they talked.  She planned a menu similar to the old-fashioned Sunday box lunch socials she attended at her church in Mena with her family.

She fried chicken, made potato salad, coleslaw, corn bread, hush puppies, biscuits, and a chocolate cake and apple pie.  Laine was bringing a pot of her famous Perdernales Chili, from President Lyndon Johnson's favorite recipe, and the guys were bringing the liquid refreshments.  She didn't know exactly what they would bring, but figured it would be alcoholic.  With that in mind, she also fixed a big jug of southern sweet tea.

Of course, Annie never removed original documents from the office, but made copies of the Murder Book for each person.  Laine was going to bring copies of any reports that she hadn't distributed yet so they could be added to the Murder Books.

Right on the stroke of Noon, the doorbell rang.  Annie opened her front door to Tom and Jesse, who arrived at the same time.

She laughed, "You guys must be hungry to be so prompt."

They came inside, put the beer in the refrigerator, and opened a couple of bottles of Merlot so they could breathe.  They didn't know what kind of food Annie was going to serve, so they were prepared for anything.

Annie placed the food on the coffee table as she figured the first order of business would be to fill their empty stomachs.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang again. 

Annie opened the door and there stood Laine carrying a huge pot of chili.  Jesse jumped up to help her and set the pot on the coffee table with the rest of the food.

In front of the fireplace, Annie set up a large white board which she labeled into two columns with the victim's names, 'Gabriela Lozcano' and 'Carmen Gutierrez'.  She almost included Maria Ortiz's name, but couldn't bring herself to do so.

"What can I get you ladies to drink?" Tom said.

"I think I'll start off with some of Annie's sweet tea," Laine said.  "No one makes it better than she does.  I drank gallons of sweet tea growing up in Texas, but never could make it to my liking."

"Me, too, Tom," Annie said.  "I'll save the Merlot for later."

The four friends dug into their eclectic meal while they chatted about inconsequential things.  When they had finished for the moment, Annie and Laine moved the food to the table so the coffee table would be clear.

Annie and Laine then opted for a glass of Merlot.  Dessert and coffee could wait.  They were stuffed.

Annie went to the white board and started listing everything they could think of regarding the two victims.

When she finished her listings, she summarized, "Both victims were young Hispanic females, under thirty years of age.  Both had pierced ears, but only the right earring was in place and the other one wasn't found at the crime scenes.  Both were nude and weren't killed where their bodies were found.

"During the autopsies, the forensic pathologist verified that they were both bound with the same type of yellow nylon rope as there were fibers embedded in their ankles and wrists, plus impressions left from the ropes.  Traces of duct tape were found around their mouths, and he thinks they were probably gagged most of the time.

"Neither one had eaten for several days, but the perp gave them water.  I guess the murderer realized that a person can only go a short time without water and then they stand a good chance of dying.  Dried feces and urine were found on their bodies.  Some of it was old and dried, but some was probably released at the time of death.

"Gabriela was in a state of almost complete rigor mortis and lividity was fixed.  Based on that and her body temperature, which was the same as the ambient temperature, Deputy Coroner Schillings and Doc estimate that death occurred approximately twelve to fourteen hours prior to the discovery of her body.

"Like Gabriela, Carmen's body temperature was the same as the ambient temperature and the estimate for her time of death is approximately five to eight hours prior to her being found.  The rigor mortis was only partial, just down to her upper extremities, and her lividity was also fixed.  These are just estimates based on what was observed at the crime scene and at the autopsies.

"Each woman had 13 bites on her lower extremities and Doc has now determined that these were black widow spider bites.  We did find two spiders at the first crime scene, one in Gabriela's hair and one underneath her body.

"Cause of death for Gabriela was the rupturing of an aneurysm in her brain, possibly caused by stress and the fact that the venom of black widow spiders tends to drastically increase blood pressure.

"Carmen was strangled and fibers from the nylon rope were still embedded in her neck.  A piece of wood was found between the rope fibers and her neck and is being analyzed.

"The only other commonality is that they were both found in the south part of the County.  However, we now know that Gabriela was passing through and it was fate that put her in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Carmen doesn't seem to have been handpicked because she just randomly decided to go to La Mexicana Market on the day of her abduction."

"So, we're searching for someone who goes out randomly looking for his next victim?" Jesse said.  "Have we asked people in the vicinity of where the abductions occurred if they noticed any unfamiliar vehicle cruising around the area either that day or the days before the abductions?"

"That's pretty much standard procedure to ask the people we canvass if they noticed any strange vehicles in the area," Tom replied.  "However, I think we should talk to everyone again and stress the word 'cruising' instead of just asking about strange vehicles being seen in the neighborhood."

"Laine has cast tire tracks and boot prints," Annie said, turning to Laine.  "What can you tell us, Laine?"

"Well, as I mentioned before, the boot prints are unusual and special issue military.  They can't be purchased through commercial outlets unless they surface at a military surplus store.  As for the tire tracks, they're pretty much standard for SUVs and there was nothing about this track that would make it unique or tie it to a particular vehicle.  But the tire tracks at both scenes, as well as the boot prints, appear to be the same."

"All the similarities point to one perp," Jesse concluded.  "If this gets out to the media, we may have a panic on our hands.  Already they are talking about the spiders, but it's pure speculation based on a comment they overheard at the first crime scene by a deputy who should have kept his mouth shut."

"Gabriela's body has been released to her family and the funeral is Tuesday, August 28th, at 3 PM in Roseville.  Tom and I will be going and, Laine, we'd like Mike Everett to go with us to take as many discrete photos of the people there as he can."

"Not a problem," Laine said.  "I'll have Mike contact you about when you're leaving."

"Are we missing something - anything?" Tom said.  "Will we get more answers focusing on the victims or focusing on the cause of death?  I really feel like there's something staring us in the face and we just don't see it."

Laine handed each of them copies of the reports she brought with her so they could update their Murder Books. 

As Annie looked through her copy, she realized that they still didn't have copies of any of the drawings Sarah had made of the possible suspect.

Before they broke up their meeting, Annie reminded them that Maria Ortiz was still missing.

Since there wasn't much else to discuss, the four friends enjoyed the rest of their visit, and left with bags of leftovers.