Authors: Juliet Dillon Clark
“Let me see what sort of arrangements I can make. Do you have time to talk to the police about the fire at the ranch?” she asked.
“Yes, I was planning on doing that,” he said. “What did you think of my mother’s parents?”
“I think they love you very much.”
“I think so too. It took a lot of courage for them to hold onto that ranch for all of these years.” Most people would have sold it and been done with it.”
“Did they mention why they didn’t do that?” she asked.
“We talked about it. At first they were too distraught to deal with it. Then, the Davenports sued them over it.”
“What do mean they sued them? Didn’t your grandparents own it with your parents?” she asked, perplexed.
“Yes, they did. But the Davenports tried to prove that it really belonged to them. They said that David had a will leaving it to them.”
“Did anyone have a copy of this will?” she asked.
“No one could produce it. It didn’t matter anyway, because the Dorans produced documents that proved they had given my parents money to run the grape operation. The ranch was collateral and they all owned it in joint tenancy.”
“So, if anything happened to Shelly and David, your grandparents got the ranch. Jeremy, let me clarify this. First, your dad inherited the land and his dad tried to buy it back. Then, they tried to get it back from the Dorans after your parents died. Is that right?”
“Well, now that you said it that way. Yes, that’s what happened,” he answered.
“There is something here that we are missing,” she said.
Lindsay met Jeremy at his grandparents’ home. It was an older, large ranch style home in the hills along the 101 Freeway. Lindsay was surprised to see grapevines on the hillsides surrounding the home. “Is this your grandparents’ farmland?”
“No, they converted the extra land around their home to grapes. The land our family farms is across the freeway. The land around the house is ten acres. The fields on the flatlands are about one hundred acres now. They used to own four hundred acres, but they’ve sold most of it.”
Jeremy used his key to enter the home. “Is anyone home?” he yelled into the large house. His voice seemed to echo.
“We’re in the library,” a booming voice called out to him. “Come on back.”
Lindsay followed Jeremy to the library. A tall, overweight man sat behind a large desk. He had a ruddy complexion. From the flaccid look of his face, he looked like a drinker. His gray hair was thinning in the front. The woman sitting on the couch was also large. Her gray hair was cut short and she peered at them with big brown eyes.
Jeremy made introductions and Charles Davenport immediately took control of the conversation. He scolded Jeremy. “I demand to know why you are doing this to us.”
“I want to know what happened to my parents and sisters,” Jeremy shot back.
“Honey, we’ve told you what happened,” Elizabeth Davenport interjected.
“You’ve told me your version of what happened,” Jeremy said.
“Are you calling us liars?” Charles said in a raised, defensive voice.
“I want to find out for myself. I need to find out. I wish you understood that,” Jeremy said.
“I can’t believe after the life we have given you, that you would betray us like this,” Elizabeth said.
Wow, Lindsay thought, no one was kidding when they portrayed these people as controlling and manipulative. She watched in horror as they tried to guilt-trip their grandson into dropping the matter.
Jeremy took the reins. “Are you going to help or not?” Everyone was silent. These were not people who were used to being challenged. That was obvious.
In a resigned voice, Elizabeth said, “We’ll do what we can. But, we thought you should know that we are not happy about it.” Elizabeth looked at Lindsay. “What is it you want to ask us?”
“My understanding is that David was working in the family business and then quit. Why was that?” Lindsay asked.
Charles answered. “He worked while that girl finished up college. We thought that they were going to stay in this area and both work for us.”
“So, that was it. He just wanted to do his own thing?” Lindsay confirmed.
“That was it. After he approached me about it, he made some demands. I couldn’t work them out, so he left,” Charles said.
“What kind of demands?” Lindsay asked.
Elizabeth started to answer. Charles looked at her in a way that stopped her mid-sentence. He answered, “He wanted me to make changes and he wanted his sister and brother out of the decision making process.”
“What kinds of changes? Why haven’t I heard this before?” Jeremy interrupted.
Charles sighed. “Your dad wanted to grow grapes and start an organic farm. He said it was going to be the wave of the future. Pure fiction if you ask me. I didn’t want to make the changes.”
“What about the other issue?” Lindsay asked.
“David thought that Chuck and Carol were hurting the business. Their salaries were too large and they were doing too little work,” Charles said.
“You disagreed with this?” Lindsay said.
“I wanted all of my children to work together on this. I know David was smarter and worked circles around them. I would have eventually rewarded him for it,” Charles said.
“So, instead, you chose to lose him?” Lindsay commented.
“I knew he would fail and come crawling back. His dreams were too big for his pocketbook,” Charles said smiling.
This man was actually betting his child would fail. What kind of man did that, Lindsay thought. How arrogant.
“Jeremy tells me that the ranch here is a quarter of what it used to be,” Lindsay remarked.
Charles scowled. “Farming isn’t what it used to be. We’ve sold off some of the land.”
“What was your interest in the land that your father left David?” Lindsay asked.
“There was no interest there,” Charles said in a cool tone.
“I was told that you offered him five times what it was worth,” Lindsay said.
Charles turned red. “You were misinformed.”
“So, you didn’t try to sue the Dorans for the property after your son died?” she asked.
“We did; but only because it was our family land. If David hadn’t inherited it, it would have stayed in our family,” Charles said.
“Tell me why you think your son and his wife were killed,” Lindsay said.
Elizabeth answered that. “Well, obviously because Shelly was involved in drugs. That man that was convicted was a druggie.”
“I know that’s what you told the police. What is the real reason?” Lindsay challenged.
Charles got up from his seat and peered at her. It was clear that he was trying to calm himself down. “That is the real reason. What are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything,” Lindsay said in a stern voice. This man was not going to intimidate her. “There was weak evidence to support that claim and you know it. What was the reason?”
Charles sat back down in his seat. He was regaining his composure. He looked at Jeremy and said, “We’ve done enough of this. You and your friend need to leave.”
Jeremy looked stunned. He stuttered, “Why won’t you answer her questions?”
Elizabeth got up. “I’ll show you out. We are quite done here.”
Lindsay and Jeremy went to the car and drove out of the gates at the ranch entrance.
“Are they always like that?” Lindsay asked.
“Pretty much. It’s their way or the highway,” he responded sadly. “I should have known better than to take you there.”
“How did you survive in that household?”
“You described my life there. I survived. I didn’t live. There was no love; just possession,” he said.
A moment of silence passed. “Don’t get me wrong. I had everything anyone could want as a child. The one thing that was missing was love. In a sense, I should be more grateful to them for taking me in. I just resent the way they kept me from my other relatives. I think I would have had more love with Grandma and Grandpa Doran.”
“For what it’s worth, Jeremy, I think you are right,” Lindsay said softly. “You have a good family, now that you know them.”
“I know I do. It’s just hard not to resent the Davenports. It’s because of their selfishness that I missed out on all of these years with my other grandparents. I think about that all the time, since Grandpa Doran doesn’t have much time left.”
“Did you ever visit the man convicted of killing your parents?” Lindsay asked.
“I tried. He wouldn’t see me,” Jeremy answered.
Jeremy was driving the car down the 101 Freeway, toward the police station in Paso Robles. Lindsay called ahead to Dixon Calhoun. “We are headed in to talk to the arson investigator.”
“Head out to the ranch instead. There are new developments,” Calhoun said. “I’ll meet you guys there. How far away are you?”
“We are just passing Templeton, so another thirty to forty minutes,” she said.
She got off the phone and said to Jeremy, “Go to the ranch. The arson investigator is there. My friend says there are new developments.”
They drove to the ranch. Yellow crime scene tape blocked the entrance to the property. Jeremy got out of the car and looked at where the house had once stood. He had tears in his eyes.
“Are you okay?” Lindsay asked.
He wiped the tears from his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. “This was all I had left of my family,” he said softly.
They walked over to the officer who was standing near the tape. “Dixon Calhoun is expecting us,” she said. The officer radioed ahead to the house. The radio crackled and an answer came back to escort them up. Calhoun met them around the remains of the house. Lindsay noticed several crime scene techs sifting through the ashes in the house. It was then that she noticed the coroner’s van on the other side. Calhoun walked them over to the remains of the barn where Matt Somner, the arson investigator, was sifting through burned-out wood.
“Dixon, why is the coroner’s van here?” she asked quickly.
“That was the new development. The fireman found the remains of a small child in the fire,” he said.
Jeremy gasped. “Oh my God, you found Kelly?”
“We think the remains are too small to be Kelly,” Calhoun answered.
“Thank God,” Jeremy exclaimed with relief.
Calhoun introduced them to Somner. “You’re the owner?” he asked.
“My grandparents are in the process of transferring ownership,” Jeremy answered. “Do you know what happened?”
“Someone used accelerant to burn the front house down. We think the barn was just dry timber and may have started burning from sparks from the first fire. Is there anyone who would want to hurt you?” Somner asked.
“No, not that I know of,” Jeremy said.
Lindsay cleared her throat. “I used to be a homicide detective. Can you tell me anything about the body?”
“The coroner has it. It looks like an infant. The home had a raised foundation and the body was under the house. It didn’t appear to be buried. Or if it was, the grave was shallow,” he said.
“What kind of shape are the bones in?”
“They are very old. The skull was broken. That’s all I know,” he said.
“Have you found anything in the barn?” Lindsay asked.
“No, did you think we would?” he said curiously.
“No, I was just curious.”
“We were in the process of getting bids to remodel the house. I was going to live in it,” Jeremy offered.
“You’re going to have to rebuild now,” Somner said. He addressed Lindsay. “Dixon tells me that you were out here a couple of days ago and saw some one running away.”
“I did. He was too far away. I didn’t get a description, if that’s what you are looking for,” she said. “Can I talk to you for a minute alone?”
“Sure,” he said and walked away from where they were standing.
“Did Calhoun tell you about the murders that took place here before?” she asked.
“He mentioned it. I don’t see how any of this could be related,” he said.
“I don’t know either, but I suspect it is. Will you let me know if you find anything out of the ordinary or of interest?” she asked.
“I can’t give you information directly. I’ll go through Calhoun. How’s that?” he offered.
“That works for me.”
Lindsay met with the Dorans and Jeremy two days later. She told them, “The coroner cannot identify the child found on the property. What he did find is that it was between eighteen months and two years old.”