Dead By Dawn (19 page)

Ken chuckled. “Is my answer ever any different? I’ll call you as soon as I have something.”

Ray interjected, “Did you do anything with those prints I brought down a couple of days ago?”

“I haven’t had a chance to enter them. They’re not a priority.”

“I understand,” Lindsay offered. “I’ll wait to hear from you on these.”

Lindsay left the crime lab and headed for the nearest FedEx store to send the fingerprint card back to Las Vegas as promised. After she filled out the envelope and paid for the package, her cell phone rang. It was Ken Parker. “Your prints came back to a Gerry Michaels in Las Vegas.”

“That’s who I thought it would come back as. Thanks for your help.” Lindsay said with disappointment in her voice.

Beatrice Taylor put down the telephone receiver. The phone call from Charles Davenport had left her confused. He was in the neighborhood and wanted to drop by for a consultation. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.

She could hear the door open in the reception area. Her assistant and her paralegal had both called in sick for the day, leaving Beatrice to answer the phones. One of the disadvantages of being a one-woman office was that there wasn’t much support staff to cover when there was an absence. Charles entered the reception area. Beatrice noted that he looked nervous and fidgety. This was not Charles’ normal demeanor. He usually strived to be confident and in charge. He wasn’t exuding that confidence today.

“Come on back,” she said, motioning toward her office.

Charles followed her into the bright office and took a seat across from her. “What can I do for you?” she asked.

“My grandson has hired a private detective to find his sister Kelly. Were you aware of that?” he asked.

“I was. She came in and asked me some questions about how your son acquired the ranch,” she said. “A police detective also came by to see me.”

“Yes, I know the body of my high school girlfriend and her baby were found at the ranch,” he offered.

“What does that have to do with your visit?” Beatrice asked.

“The detective I spoke with mentioned your brother,” Charles said.

Beatrice nodded her head waiting for him to continue. “Look, there is no easy way to say this. I know that my son was given a package when my dad died. Do you know what was in it?”

Beatrice moved forward in her chair. She paused for a moment. She had to decide if this was the time to bluff or not. “Yes, do you want to talk about it?”

Charles was startled by her reply. He was hoping that she had not read what was in the package. “Can you discuss it? Doesn’t it violate some sort of privilege?”

“Not at all, your father is dead,” she said hoping to get him to talk.

“David brought the package to me before he died,” Charles said.

“He showed it to you?”

“He showed it to me. I was so ashamed to admit Marty and I had raped that girl. I was even more ashamed that your dad took the fall,” he said.

“How did David react?” Beatrice asked softly.

“He was angry. He was ashamed that I had let something like that happen.”

“Did you repair the damage before he died?” Beatrice asked.

“No, I never got the chance. He told me to leave him alone,” Charles said.

“I heard that you were trying to buy the ranch from him,” Beatrice said.

“I was brokering the deal for someone else,” Charles said. “There was a large sum of money in it for me if I was successful.”

Beatrice sat back in her chair. “So, why did all of this bring you here?” Beatrice asked.

“David told me about the bodies buried under the house,” Charles said.

Beatrice used her best poker face to hide the fact that Charles had just dropped a bomb. “He found this out from the package your dad left,” she said as more of a statement than a question.

“Yes, but you knew that if you knew what was in the package,” Charles said.

Beatrice didn’t answer. Finally after a long silence she said, “David knew who killed the people under the house.”

“Yes, he did. He threatened me and told me if I ever contacted him again that he would release his grandfather’s letters,” Charles said.

“You never contacted him again?” Beatrice asked.

“No, I didn’t. Three weeks later he was dead,” Charles said.

“So, why are you here?” Beatrice asked again suspiciously.

“You know that Marty killed them,” he said.

“Marty killed who?” Beatrice said confused.

“Marty killed Letty and the baby,” Charles said.

“I don’t know that,” she said defensively.

“Did you keep a copy of the package my father gave David?” Charles asked pointedly.

“No, the copy David had was the only copy,” she answered.

“Good. I can’t have that package surfacing,” he said.

Beatrice stiffened at the thought of what Charles had just said. “You didn’t get the package when David’s house was cleaned out?”

“No, the Dorans owned the property. We didn’t get anything out of it,” Charles said.

“Is it possible the Dorans have it?” Beatrice asked.

“Maybe. I was hoping to retain you to write a letter to them and ask for David’s personal effects back,” he said.

Beatrice couldn’t contain her laughter. “Your son died over thirty years ago. I doubt that the package even exists anymore,” she said.

“Could you give it a shot?” he asked.

Beatrice thought about it for a moment. What if her brother or Marty did kill that lady and her kid? It was in her best interest to let the past be the past. “No, I don’t take on work like that,”

“So what should I do?” he asked.

“You should drop the whole thing,” she answered sternly.

“I can’t. There are too many people poking around,” he answered.

“That’s exactly why you should leave this all alone. What do you hope to accomplish?” she asked.

“I want to see the package again. I want to assuage my own guilt,” he answered.

“Your own guilt about what?” Beatrice asked.

“In retrospect, I think there are some things that I didn’t realize at the time,” he said in a guarded tone.

“Some things regarding?” she let her voice drift off.

“The circumstances regarding my son’s death,” he said.

“What do you mean by that?” Beatrice asked.

“I don’t know exactly. Maybe it wasn’t all about his wife and drugs,” he said. “I was so sure at the time it happened and now I’m not.”

“Charles, I’m sorry. I don’t think you need a lawyer. I think you need a good therapist,” Beatrice said and rose from behind her desk. “I have other appointments. Can I see you out?”

Charles looked at her and understood that he was being dismissed. “Of course,” he said and got up from his chair.

Beatrice went back to her office after seeing Charles Davenport to the door. She was angry that he had tried to pin this on her brother. She was also angry that he had just admitted he and Marty had raped that college girl her dad had taken the fall for. Charles was always so arrogant. Had he made that appointment with her to write the letter to the Dorans or had he made the appointment to see what she knew? She wondered if she could make inquiries about the package to the Dorans without raising any red flags. She had to be careful how she did this. She would be breaking attorney-client privilege if she shared this information with anyone.

Beatrice rummaged through her desk until she found Lindsay Carter’s business card. If she called Carter, what would she ask her? Do you know if my brother killed Letty Carlson? That sounded stupid, Beatrice thought. How could she do this? She stood up from her chair and went over to the wall safe in her office. She opened it and pulled out the copy of the old police file that she had from her brother’s murder. The police had never found the murderer. Did Bing do something that had gotten him killed? Did he kill Letty and the baby and did someone go after him?

She sat back down at her desk. A tension headache was creeping up her neck and into her temples. She read the file again. Nothing jumped out at her. It was the same file she had been looking at for years. She wished it would just speak to her and tell her what had happened to her brother.

She took out a legal pad and started jotting down the things Charles had said. He told her that David had confronted him with the package from his grandfather. Charles had admitted that he and Marty had raped the girl. He told her that his dad knew about the bodies that were buried under his house. Why hadn’t Charles Sr. gone to the authorities with that information? It dawned on her all of a suddenly, like a bolt of lightening. Had Charles and Marty killed Letty and the baby? Is that why Charles Sr. never went to the police? Was Charles Sr. once again protecting his son and covering up his misdeeds? Maybe Bing had nothing to do with this at all. Maybe it was Charles misdirecting and making Bing the fall guy. Maybe Charles and Marty had killed Bing to cover it up.

If Charles had set up this meeting to find out what she knew, maybe she was in danger. Either way, that made Charles and Marty dangerous. She needed to start watching her back.

Lindsay decided that Gerry Michaels needed to be checked into. The fingerprints that came back matched the name, but the story didn’t fit. She called Cal Poly and asked to verify information given on a job application. She was told that they only handled written requests.

She called Marge Clarke and let her know that the fingerprints were on their way back. Marge asked, “Did you find anything?”

“No, Gerry appears to be who he says he is,” she remarked.

“Good. He is a nice man.” Marge said.

“Sandy mentioned that Gerry works there part time. How did he come to own the other business?” Lindsay asked.

“I think he came into some money several years ago. He started the flower shop and then expanded into the landscaping end during the building boom,” Marge said.

“He worked for you full time until he started his own business?” Lindsay inquired.

“Yes, he did. We were all surprised when he opened the shop. Flowers didn’t seem like his thing,” she said.

“But he has a college degree in Horticulture,” Lindsay said.

“I don’t remember seeing anything like that in his file,” Marge responded. “Where was that degree from?”

“His website says Cal Poly San Luis Obispo,” Lindsay answered.

“I don’t remember seeing any college information in his file,” Marge said again.

Lindsay decided to try Gerry Michaels shop to see if she could catch him in. He answered on the second ring, “Desert Orchid, how can I help you?”

“Gerry?” she said.

“This is Gerry. Who am I talking to?”

“I’m Lindsay Carter. I’m a private investigator,” she said.

The other end of the line was silent. She continued, “I have been hired to locate a friend of yours, Ellen Jericho.”

“I haven’t seen Ellen in a long time. She got married and left the area,” he said.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Lindsay said. “You knew her from when she lived in Los Angeles?”

“No, I didn’t know her then,” he said. Lindsay could hear the tension in his voice.

“When did you first meet her?” Lindsay asked.

“Look, I don’t know you and I don’t feel comfortable answering questions about Ellen,” he said tersely.

Lindsay ignored his response. “I noticed from your website that you graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.”

“That’s what it says,” he retorted.

“That’s funny. When I looked at your employment records, I didn’t see it on there,” she said cheerfully.

There was a long pause. “I don’t know where Ellen Jericho is. I think we are done here.”

Lindsay heard the phone click to disconnect the call. She thought, he wasn’t very helpful. She went back on the internet to see if she could find a picture of Gerry. She found one from several years earlier. He was accepting an award from the chamber of commerce. She printed the picture and put it in the file.

Lindsay took a break and got herself a soda. She sat down at the kitchen island and pulled out the mail. She shuffled through until she found the envelope from the DNA lab. She opened the envelope and read through the results. The results were not what she expected. It appeared that Dan McCarthy had been right about Ellen Collins. Ally Collins and Dan McCarthy were related. She could break the news to Dan and see how he wanted to proceed. Technically, she didn’t have the right to even do a DNA test on Ally Collins. This new information if not handled correctly could cause some problems for her. Even more disturbing was Tracy McCarthy’s DNA profile. It didn’t match Ally Collins or Dan McCarthy’s. Lindsay didn’t understand how that could be. Shana McCarthy had dropped Tracy off to her parents and told her that Tracy was her child.