Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1) (27 page)

Friday, 7 September 2012, 7:00 PM

Tom walked up to Laine's front door with butterflies in his stomach. 
Maybe I should have called first
, he thought.

He hadn't talked to Laine very much since the three of them made pottery and ate at John's Incredible Pizza.  Everyone had been too busy working on the murders to socialize.

When Laine opened the door, she was surprised to see Tom standing there.

"Tom, what a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting you," Laine said.  "Come on in."

"I'm sorry to drop by without calling first.  Annie asked me if I was going to call, but I took a chance that you'd be home," Tom explained.

"Well, actually I do have plans in about an hour, but have a seat.  I'll get us some iced tea."

Tom felt uncomfortable.  Noelle came into the room and was delighted to see him.

"Hello," she said as she jumped up on his lap.  "Is my bowl ready?"

"Not yet, sweetie.  It takes me a while to get everything baked and finished.  It won't be too long, though."

Laine returned to the living room and said to Noelle, "Honey, go play in your room for a little while.  Mommy and Tom have some 'big people' things to talk about."

Noelle looked disappointed, but shrugged her shoulders and said, "OK, but don't talk forever."

Laine turned to Tom and offered him a glass of tea.  "Actually, Tom, I'm glad you stopped by. There is something I need to tell you and I didn't want to do it on the phone."

"I apologize for just coming over without calling, Laine.  I just thought if you and Noelle weren't busy, we could go to Baskin Robbins and get some ice cream.  I think all my good manners left me many years ago."

Laine laughed.  "Oh, Tom, that's not true.  You're not the only one who has been living the single life for several years and has forgotten what it's like to think of another person in your life.  Really, I do understand.

"Something unexpected came up this week and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it," Laine said.  Tom could tell she was troubled and uncomfortable.

"Has Annie told you much about my past and how I came to be a single mom?"

"She mentioned a little, but you know Annie, she told me if I wanted to know more I'd have to find out from you," Tom said.

"OK, here's the short version.  After I finished college and got my Bachelor of Science degree, I went to work for CSI in Houston.  I loved my job and I was good at it, so I advanced quickly.  I kept taking more and more classes to add to my knowledge base because I wanted to be the best that I could be.

"In one of those classes - I think it was on forensic anthropology - I met an interesting guy.  His name was Wyatt Ferrell.  Turned out he was a successful real estate broker in the Houston area, but he had a passion for anthropology so he signed up for this course.

"As time passed, we got to know each other and started dating.  My work fascinated him, but his work bored me.  Nevertheless, when the class ended, we continued to see each other.  In fact, we were practically inseparable.

"To make a long story short, I found myself pregnant.  At first I was thrilled.  Wyatt had never proposed, as such, but he talked as if we were going to be together forever.  We weren't living together, because that's not how I my parents raised me, so it was an easy matter to keep my pregnancy to myself for the time being.

"I struggled with how to tell him about the baby.  I didn't want him to think we had to get married just because I was pregnant. Then, I took a realistic look at what life with Wyatt would be like.  He had made it clear that his career was very important and having a family wasn't in his immediate plans.

"I didn't like what I saw.  Actually, I panicked when I thought about it.  Then I became worried that when he found out about the baby, he would insist we get married.  I felt trapped.

"This reaction really surprised me, so I went to a counselor that I knew and we had several heart-felt sessions.

"The long shot is that I knew, in my heart, a marriage to Wyatt just wouldn't work.  I decided that I needed to leave Houston before my pregnancy became apparent and I made the decision to leave secretly, without telling Wyatt ahead of time.

"I know that was cowardly of me, but it's the way I was at that time.

"I started looking for another job in forensics and the one here looked promising.  I couldn't quite figure out how to apply and not leave a trail from Houston, but I talked to the personnel department and they assured me that personnel records were private and they wouldn't be able to give Wyatt any information about my new location.

"I don't know what happened after that in Houston.  I applied here, and was accepted, and in October of 2006 began working here in Kern County.

"For a long time, I watched to see if Wyatt would find me, but he never did.  The few friends in Houston I kept in touch with said he was devastated, searched for me, and questioned all of them, but no one told him anything.  They just said that I wanted to make a fresh start and it was my choice to leave without telling him.  They said I was kind of a wuss, and they didn't agree with my decision to sneak off like that, but they respected it.

"I guess, after a while, he gave up."

"And now, Laine, has he finally found you?" Tom asked.

"Yes, Tom, he has.  He saw an article in the local paper about our serial killer.  The article mentioned my name.  It didn't take him long after that to track me down.

"He showed up here last Wednesday.  He succeeded in getting one of my friends to tell him about Noelle and the reason I left Houston.  When he saw Noelle, briefly, he was overjoyed and very upset with me for keeping her to myself."

"And what does he want now?" Tom said.

"We talked a little the night he showed up, but I told him I couldn't discuss it right then and there, so we set this meeting for tonight.  He wants to be part of Noelle's life even if we don't have a marriage or relationship, and I can see his point.

"I think it would be confusing for Noelle right now if I was seeing someone else.  I need to keep this as simple as possible for her sake and see where it leads.

"I have no plans for starting any kind of relationship with Wyatt.  I still feel the same way about a future with him as I did before.  However, I think it would be selfish to deprive him of his daughter.  In any event, he said that if I tried to keep him from seeing her, he would seek legal means and insist on DNA testing.  I know he's Noelle's father, so it's easier to avoid all the unpleasantness.

"Does all of this make any sense to you, Tom?  I was so looking forward to spending more time with you now that we broke the ice.  You know, I've had my eye on you for some time," Laine said with a big grin.

Tom gave her a half-hearted smile.  "I understand, Laine.  I'll step out of the picture and let this take its course, whatever that is.  I hope that when the dust settles there will be a place for me in your life and that of Noelle."

"Thank you, Tom, for being so understanding.  I truly am sorry.  If I never saw Wyatt again, it would be too soon.  Nevertheless, I never lied to Noelle about him.  I told her I chose to make our life apart from his, but that he was alive and well and, when she got older, if she wanted to know him, I wouldn't stop her.  Well, he beat me to the punch, I guess, and now Noelle needs to become acquainted with her father."

"OK, Laine.  I guess that means you don't want to go get an ice cream sundae, right?"

Laine laughed, "Not at the moment, but I don't know why we can't do it at some future time."

With a rueful smile, Tom left the home of Laine and Noelle, with an ache in his heart.

Sunday, 9 September 2012, 7:00 PM

Annie was surprised when Eddie called and invited her to dinner a couple of days after their meeting at Your Petz.  He was funny and charming on the phone, so she gladly accepted.  He said he would take her to one of his favorite places, but it was a surprise.

It was still hot so Annie gave a lot of thought about what to wear.  She didn't want to hassle with a dress and pantyhose, so she chose a dressy pair of light brown linen slacks, dark brown ballet flats, and a pale yellow ballet-neck silk top.  A gold chain belt circled her waist and she wore gold hoop earrings in her pierced ears.  Even though it was hot, she felt that it would be cooler to leave her long, auburn hair loose, hanging down her back, instead of bothering to pin it up and hope it would stay put.  A small, gold brocade bag with a thin chain strap completed her ensemble.  Inside the bag was her badge and a small .22-caliber handgun that she always kept with her.

When Eddie pulled up in front of her home, she locked up the front door and went out to meet him.

"You look great," Eddie said.  "Not like Detective Avants, more like the beautiful Annie Avants."

"Well, thank you, kind Sir," Annie said.  "I don't have occasion to dress up very often and it was a nice change.  Where are we going, by the way?"

"Ah, that's a surprise.  Just fasten up and we'll be on our way."

Eddie got onto the 99 Freeway and headed south.  When he came to Taft Highway, he turned off.

"Pumpkin Center?" Annie said. 

"Yes.  Believe it or not, they have one of the best Mexican Restaurants around, Los Arcos.  Their shrimp is incredible and it's rarely busy.  I think you'll like it."

Annie didn't mention how that particular restaurant tied into her murder investigation.  She just thought it was one of life's strange coincidences.

He pulled into a driveway between the block of buildings at the back of where the restaurant was located and parked in front of a fence that surrounded a large house with many trees. 

"This is where I live," Eddie said as he came to a stop.

Annie frowned.  She remembered seeing the house, but hadn't interviewed anyone who lived there.  Red flags started going off in her mind.  She knew a deputy had talked to all the neighbors here.

"We did a lot of canvassing in this area during our investigation of Carmen Gutierrez's murder.  Did one of our officers talk to you?  I don't remember seeing your name when I reviewed the reports of all the people they interviewed."

"I must have been at work whenever they came by.  I never talked to anyone," he said.

"Normally, they leave a card in the door with a note to call."

"Ah, that probably explains it.  I never use the front door, or even check it.  If we look there now we'll probably find their card."

He walked around to her side of the car and opened the door.  It was then that she saw the knife in his hand and, before she could grab her purse, he pulled her through the door, which was wedged between the car and the fence, and pressed the knife into her side.

"Now, don't make a scene, Detective Avants.  People around here mind their own business, but it will be better for you if you just keep your mouth shut."

He slammed the door shut behind her and walked around the fence line along the side of the property, to the back, where they entered the patio.  He reached down and opened the door to the basement.

"Watch your step, now," he said.  "I wouldn't want you to fall and hurt yourself."

Annie went down the stairs, thinking furiously about what she could do.  As soon as they reached the bottom of the steps, he reached over to a table and picked up a pair of plastic ties that he used to bind her wrists. 

"Don't turn around," he said as he flicked on a light and let go of her.  She could hear him fiddling with something on the table and remained very still.

She glanced around the basement.  There were no windows, just miscellaneous old furniture and a stained cot. She gasped in horror when she saw shelves along one wall full of canning jars.  Each jar contained one black widow spider. 

"I see you've spotted my pets," Eddie said when he heard her gasp.

"Why are you doing this?  What could possibly make you do this?" Annie said, in terror.

"Tit for tat," he replied.  "They have to pay for what they did to me."

"Who?" Annie asked.

"The Hispanic bitches who locked me up with spiders when I was a boy," he said.  "I know you're not Hispanic, but you're getting too close.  And, besides, I like you."

"This is how you show me that you like me?"

"Enough talking for now," he said as he covered her face with a cloth saturated in chloroform.  That was the last thing she remembered.

Once she was unconscious, Eddie laid her on the cot, bound her feet with yellow nylon rope, changed the binding on her wrists to the same rope, and sealed her mouth with duct tape, gently brushing her long hair out of the way so it wouldn't get stuck in the tape.  He took the earring in her left ear and added it to his collection.

"God bless whomever invented duct tape," he muttered to himself.  "This should keep her quiet for a while.  I've got other things to take care of."

He left the basement, locked it tight, and walked to the front of his house and across the driveway to Los Arcos.

"Hello Blanca," he said to the waitress.  "I guess I'll be dining alone tonight.  My date didn't show up.  What's the special today?"

After he finished his meal, he moved his car around to the side of the house and parked it next to his other SUV, which was the same as the one he used most of the time, just an older model that he had altered so a passenger couldn't get out.  He took the gun out of Annie's purse and quickly shoved it into the waistband of his pants when he heard his neighbor, Okie, walking towards him.  He tossed Annie's purse onto the floorboards of the SUV and quickly closed the door.

For the rest of the evening, he and Okie sat on his patio and had a couple of beers, enjoying the end of a beautiful day. 
I'll deal with the lovely Detective Avants tomorrow
, he thought.  He called his assistant and said he had some personal business to take care of and wouldn't be in the shop the next day.