Dead By Dawn (13 page)

“No, I’m pointing out that there were indications of other people in the house from the bloody footprints,” Lindsay said.

“The house was locked from the outside. My client had to break in,” Alberts said.

“I read that in the transcript and saw that the D.A performed some sort of test on the windows for the jury to see that there was no way your client could have seen the body from the glare. Have you tried to recreate that?” Lindsay asked.

“No, but that is a great idea,” he conceded.

“Unfortunately, it’s too late, the house burned down,” she responded. “There is one thing that bothered me in all of this.”

“What’s that?” Alberts asked.

“It is not often that I go to a parole hearing on a case. I noticed that Small did just that and presented new evidence,” Lindsay said.

“I thought that was odd too.”

“Especially, because there are no new owners of the property,” Lindsay said.

Alberts eyes widened. “Who owns the property?”

“Shelly Doran’s parents and they haven’t been there in years,” Lindsay said.

“Can you talk to them and find out of they spoke with Small?” Alberts asked excitedly.

Lindsay flashed a smile. “I already did. They haven’t heard from him since the trial,” she said.

“Gotcha.” Alberts said gleefully. “What now?”

“Take that to the D.A,” she said. “Maybe this would qualify as new evidence.”

“And if that doesn’t work?” he asked cynically.

“File a complaint with internal affairs. It’s a long shot, but testimony at a parole hearing is under oath. If Small lied there, he may have lied in other places,” she said.

“You think IA would review a case that is this old?” Alberts said.

“It’s a long shot,” Lindsay said. “What about the snitch?”

“He’s dead,” Alberts said. “He testified in three cases. All of them were jailhouse confessions.”

“This is a small town.” Lindsay remarked. “Was Small involved in all of the cases?”

“I’ve never checked,” Alberts said.

“Look at that angle too,” she responded. “The attorney that handled the case had never tried a murder case. Didn’t that bother the appeals court?”

“It didn’t bother them a bit,” Alberts said. “A good attorney would have challenged the timeline of the murders.”

“A good attorney would have proposed more questions about Kelly Davenport’s disappearance,” Lindsay remarked.

Detective Kragen met Beatrice Taylor at her office. “You know that a private detective was here a few days ago?” she said.

“I know. We have been working with her on the Davenport child’s disappearance. She shared your conversation with me,” he said.

“Good, then I don’t have to repeat myself,” she said flatly.

“I talked to Charles Davenport and Judge Van Buren. They both seemed to point the finger at your brother Bing as Letty Carlson’s baby’s father.”

Beatrice broke out laughing. “You’re kidding right?”

He looked at her seriously. “No, I’m not.”

She peered back at him and said with certainty, “There is no way that my brother fathered that child.”

“How do you know that?” he asked.

“When Bing was a child, he had the mumps. He had full use of his equipment, but my parents were told that he would never be able to reproduce,” she said.

“You’re sure of that?” Kragen said.

“Yes, I am. No one knew but our family,” she said.

“So, who do you think fathered Letty’s child?” he asked.

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told the PI. I think it was either Charles or Martin. The rumor around town was that it was Martin,” she said.

“Both of them claim that they were married at the time,” he said.

Beatrice let out a hearty laugh. “You and I both know that just because your married doesn’t mean you can’t fool around. Right?”

He smiled. “You’re right. So, which one would have the most to lose if his wife found out?”

“The way I see it, Charles’ wealth came from his father. He was going to inherit whether he fooled around on his wife or not. Have you met Lizzie?” Beatrice said.

“Yes, I did,” he said.

“She can be a formidable opponent. She seems like the perfect wife, but she as just as controlling and willful as Charles. It’s amazing that they haven’t managed to kill each other over the years,” she said.

“What about Van Buren?” Kragen asked.

“He’s an all together different demon. His parents had money, but lost most of it by the time he went to law school. Marty got lucky and married into money,” she said.

“He comes off as aloof, like he’s had money all of his life,” Kragen commented.

“He has and he hasn’t.” Beatrice said. “He gives the impression that he has. He’s good at the con. Darla had him on a leash. It was her money and she controlled the purse strings.”

“Is this common knowledge?”

“For those of us who knew him, yes. She was a nice lady, but she found out quickly that her husband couldn’t keep his pecker in his pants. She watched him like a hawk,” Beatrice said.

“If he fathered the baby, would she have known?” Kragen asked.

“You can bet on it,” she said.

The Newport Aquatic Center was packed. The party for Pirate Bay Paddleboarding was in full swing. There were decorated cabanas set up on the beach. On the shore several men were teaching the party guests how to stand up on the paddle boards.

As Jeff and Lindsay entered the first cabana, Tracy McCarthy came up to them and gave Jeff a hug. “Nice to see you. I didn’t know if you would venture down this way,” she said.

“I wouldn’t miss Clay’s party,” Jeff said.

“He knows how to throw a party. There must be two hundred people here,” Tracy replied. She reached out and hugged Lindsay and took Evan from her. “How are you big guy?” she cooed.

“Where’s the line to get out on the water?” Jeff asked.

Tracy pointed to the edge of the water. “I think that first line is for beginners. Further down there are a couple of boards to take out for a while. Have you been here before?” Tracy asked.

“We came up once a while ago,” Lindsay answered. “We usually go down in Malibu since its closer to us.”

Jeff added, “We have our own equipment, but we didn’t want to hassle with the equipment and all of the baby’s stuff.”

“Is there anyone else here we know?” Lindsay asked.

“Oh, Clay knows everyone. I think a couple of Jeff ’s clients are here,” Tracy said.

A tall, tanned man walked up next to Tracy. “Who’s this?” he asked and pointed to Evan.

“Lindsay and Jeff, this is my uncle Danny,” Tracy said. “This is my agent Jeff and his wife.”

Everyone shook hands. “Evan’s ours,” Lindsay said. “But your niece seems to have taken a shine to him.”

They all laughed. Jeff said, “I’m going to go out on the water.” He took off down the beach.

“I want to go again too,” Tracy said and followed him.

“Danny, did you come down with Tracy?” Lindsay asked.

He looked at her shyly. “Most people call me Dan.”

Lindsay laughed. “Of course they do. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Tracy has called me Danny forever. We kind of grew up together,” Dan said.

“I forgot about that. Tracy was raised by your parents. Is that right?” Lindsay asked.

“Yes, my sister dropped her off and we never saw her again.”

“Seriously?” Lindsay said. “That’s harsh.”

“Yes, it was!” Dan exclaimed.

“How old was Tracy when this happened?” Lindsay asked.

“She was three or four years old,” he said.

Lindsay shook her head and looked at Evan sleeping. “I can’t imagine doing something like that.”

“I have two kids of my own. I can’t either,” Dan said.

“Was your sister always a problem?” Lindsay asked.

“Yes. She was my parents’ worst nightmare. She was the youngest and she ran away when she was 17,” he said.

“Did they find her?” Lindsay asked.

“No, they hired private detectives. One traced her to San Francisco, but no one found her. Then, one day out of the blue, she shows up at my parents’ house.” He paused and took a sip of wine. “She must have been twenty one or twenty two by then. She had Tracy.”

“So, she had her while she was gone?” Lindsay asked.

“She must have. She stayed a couple of days and talked to my parents about keeping Tracy. My parents agreed,” he said.

“Why didn’t your sister take Tracy to her father?” Lindsay asked.

“I don’t think the father was in the picture. There was a guy who visited her while she was at my parents. I never got the impression that he was the father,” Dan said.

“Did you know who the father was?” Lindsay asked.

“No, I remember the guy that visited was Tim Herron. Shana never said who the father was,” he said.

Lindsay looked surprised. “You remember the guy’s name after all of these years?”

Dan laughed. “I never forget a name. It’s kind of a curse.”

“What about Tracy’s birth certificate? Was there a father on it?” Lindsay questioned.

“Nope, I don’t think so.” He took another sip of wine. “You ask a lot of questions. You know that?”

Lindsay smiled. “Habit, I guess. I’m a private detective.”

Dan looked at her closely. “You don’t strike me as a private detective. You look more like a model.”

“You are too kind,” she said. “Can I get you more wine? I think you may be my new best friend after a compliment like that.”

He lifted his glass to hand it to her. “I’ll keep an eye on the little one for you.”

Lindsay came back with a refill of red wine. Dan asked, “Are you the private eye my niece hired to look into that guy who was stalking her?”

“I am,” she responded.

“Whatever happened with that?” he said.

“The guy was harmless. He had a sister who has been missing for many years. He thought Tracy was his sister,” she said. “He hired me to look for his missing sister.”

“I’m glad it was nothing serious.”

“I’m curious. Did Tracy ever look for her mother?” Lindsay asked.

“She went through a phase when she was a teenager. I think my parents even tried to help her locate Shana,” Dan answered sadly.

“They never found her?” Lindsay asked.

“No, I don’t think she wanted to be found,” he said.

“Why did she leave Tracy with your family?” Lindsay asked.

“She told my mom that she couldn’t handle the pressure of being a mother,” he said.

“Did your sister tell your parents where she had been all the time that she was gone?” Lindsay asked.

“I don’t think so. I know when Tracy was looking for her, she was focusing on San Francisco, but I was never sure why,” he said.

Two little girls came running up from the water. One of them said, “Dad, we want a hot dog.”

The other one, with white blond pigtails in her hair flashed a big grin. Her two front teeth were missing. “Oh, look at the baby,” she cooed.

Dan got up from his chair. “Don’t wake the baby up girls.” He looked at Lindsay. “This is Shana.” He pointed to the bigger of the two girls. “And this is Savannah,” he said and picked up the girl with the teeth missing. “This is my new friend Lindsay.”

Both of the little girls said hi. Savannah looked at Evan again. “What’s his name?”

“This is Evan. Would you like to hold him when he wakes up?” Lindsay asked.

Savannah’s eyes widened. “Yes.”

Dan interrupted their conversation, “Would you like a hot dog Lindsay?”

“Do they have hamburgers? I’d really prefer a hamburger,” she answered.

“One hamburger, coming up! Come on girls, let’s get some lunch,” Dan said. Shana and Savannah followed their dad toward the food.

Tracy and Jeff came back up from the water. “It is awesome out there today,” Tracy said.

“Is the water nice?” Lindsay asked.

“I fell in once. It was pretty warm,” Jeff said.

“So what have you and my uncle been up to all of this time?” Tracy said.

“He was telling me about your mother,” Lindsay said.

Tracy looked bewildered. “How did you get on that subject?”