Authors: Louise Hendricksen
“Hey, what about those rocks and twigs?"
“Whatever was under the tire stays. I remove only debris that has fallen in later.” She
emptied the bag and started preparing the next impression.
When the casts hardened, she stored each in a separate container and carried them to the
car. Jed, loaded down with her gear, trailed after her. They had just gotten the car
loaded up when a blue pickup sped past
She grabbed Jed's arm. “Duck down, it's Samphan."
“Jesus! If he finds us..."
She heard the spraying of gravel as the pickup skidded to a stop, then the sound of the
truck backing up. “What'll we do? He knows my car."
“Improvise.” Jed triggered the lock, closed the door, and grabbed her hand. “Follow me
and do as I say.” He dragged her into the woods. “Hurry, I've got an idea.” He led the
way through a tangle of shrubbery and there, spread out in a mossy glen, was the
blanket.
She skidded to a stop. “Did you plan this?"
“Don't be ridiculous.” He pushed her forward. “If you want to save your casts and our
skin, lie down and make some appropriate noises."
A metallic thump sounded as Victor either kicked or hit her car. She dove for the
blanket.
Jed flung himself on top of her. “Sorry.” He tousled her hair and jerked her blouse open.
“Now, kiss me."
“No. Dammit, Jed, get off of me."
This was asinine,
she thought
They should have gotten into the car, tried to
bluff Samphan.
She struggled to get free. “Let me up,” she whispered
harshly.
When the shrubbery moved, she caught a glimpse of a green jacket and her heart thumped
against her ribs. Victor Samphan could be the killer. She threw her arms around Jed's
neck. “Ohh Jed ... sweetheart.” She put her lips against his ear. “He's watching."
Jed reached between them and she felt him unzip his pants.
Oh, my God.
Her cheeks
blazed with embarrassment. She squeezed her eyes shut. “I'm going to die,” she
whispered.
Jed kissed the curve of her breast and moved his body against hers. “If this doesn't
work, we both might"
A twig snapped and Victor stepped into the clearing. Jed jerked up his head. “What the
hell ... Jesus Christ, man, can't you see we're,” He got to his feet, turned his back,
and zipped his pants up. “No damned privacy anywhere."
Amy pushed herself to a sitting position, held her blouse together, and studied Victor
Samphan through her tumbled hair. His eyes took in the scene skeptically and his rigid
features had a pasty cast.
When he became aware of her scrutiny, his expression turned scornful. “Horny bitch!"
Blood pounded in her head and perspiration broke out underneath her clothing.
If she
drew her gun, he'd attack before she could shoot. And if she did get in a lucky
shot, what then? Interrupting a pair of lovers wasn't a crime.
“Hey man,” Jed said in a wheedling tone. “It's worth a hundred bucks to you if you keep
this thing quiet.” He held out two fifty dollar bills. “My wife will kill me if she
finds out."
Samphan took a step forward, snatched the money from Jed's outstretched fingers, and
stepped back. “Get your asses out of here. If you ever come here again, it'll cost you a
helluva lot more than money."
Jed helped Amy to her feet. “We're going.” He took up the blanket and tarp and put his
arm around her.
As they edged past the man, Amy rested her hand on the gun in case he changed his
mind.
“Slut!” he hissed.
She stiffened. “That's enough,” She would have lashed out at him with her fists and feet
if Jed hadn't dragged her with him. “I won't let him talk to me like that."
“Oh, yes, you will.” He rushed her up the trail to the car.
She got the door unlocked and snapped the keys into his hand. “You drive, I'm out of
commission."
Jed didn't need any urging. He gunned the motor and tore out onto the graveled
thoroughfare.
When he reached the blacktopped highway, he pulled over to the side. “Damn, I don't want
to go through that again.'*
“Amen to that. I've never felt so, so,” she shuddered, “I need a bath."
“Jesus, Amy, he might have killed us!"
She stared at him. “Why didn't he, Jed? I'll bet money that's where that woman was
murdered."
Amy, Dr. Epps, and B.J. gathered in the conference room for a coffee
break before going their separate ways.
B.J. sipped his coffee and let out a long sigh. “Lord, what a day.” He regarded Amy.
“Anything interesting happen in Wheeler?"
Amy finished chewing an antacid tablet. She'd been popping them like candy all afternoon.
“Not a lot Kim Sen appears to be clean, though Victor Samphan is trouble. Evidently,
some sort of conflict started between him and Mai when they were in school. He says Mai
lied to Cam. That she claimed he was making passes at her when he wasn't. Cam confronted
him and Samphan beat him up."
“Do you buy his story?"
“He's full of hostility, that's for sure.” She pressed her hand against her churning
stomach. “The place where the Honda was pushed into the river is near Samphan's
home."
Dr. Epps pulled a pen and notebook from his pocket. “How do you know?"
“The route to Samphan's house runs along the river. The area is isolated, with little
or
no traffic, and it's not too far from where the men found the car."
He scribbled industriously. “How did you go about verifying the location?"
The incident in the woods flashed through her mind for the hundredth time. She flushed
and concentrated on peeling a strip of clear nail polish from her thumbnail. “I compared
the tire imprints I took in the woods to the tires of the Honda. Same rib and cross bar
configuration. And many of the other characteristics matchup.” She raised her gaze to
her father's. “Have you had a chance to run the license numbers I gave you through the
DMV?"
“Not the ones from the cars behind Kim's rooming house. I'll try to get to it tomorrow.”
He levered himself out of his chair and dragged out his easel and oversized pad. “Let's
see what we know about our Jane Doe."
Dr. Epps leafed through his notebook. “Female, brown eyes, black hair.
Four-foot-eight-inches. Ninety-two pounds. Approximately twenty-five to thirty years
old."
“I called Mrs. Waring at Harborview,” Amy said. “She described Chea Le as pretty and
petite with a sunny disposition. Other than that, she knew little about her. Neither did
the other volunteers. What was the estimated time of death?"
“Ten to twelve days before we found her,” B.J. said.
Dr. Epps turned to Amy. “I did the test you suggested on some tissue from her kidney.
Guess what? No diatoms."
“Good, now we're certain she was dead before she went into the river.” Amy recorded the
fact in her own notebook.
“And under B.J.'s guidance, I embedded hair samples in a block of resin and sliced
cross-sections for microscopic exam.” Dr. Epps pressed his hands together. “Her hair was
circular, with a thick cuticle with continuous medullae.” He swelled out his chest and
smiled. “All characteristically Asian."
Amy grinned. “At the rate you're picking up forensics, you'll soon replace me."
His cheeks grew pink. “Never.” His eyes glinted. “But it's been an exhilarating
experience working with you and B.J."
“We didn't type her blood.” B.J. said somewhat impatiently.
“I'll do it tomorrow and send it for a DNA,” Amy said. “Was that an appendectomy scar on
her abdomen?"
“Yes,” B.J. said.
“How far along was her pregnancy?"
Dr. Epps regarded her with a direct gaze. “Three months."
“We'll need a DNA on the fetus too."
“Did you get one on Cam?” B.J. asked.
“Yes, but we haven't received any reports yet Dad, was she raped?"
“No evidence of it."
“What was the cause of death?"
“Damnedest thing I've ever seen. Her chest cavity was full of blood."
“An aneurysm?"
B.J. shook his head. “We found no weakening in the wall, no evidence of ballooning, but
her aorta was ruptured."
She nodded. “A fatal blow to the chest. I thought that might have been it."
Dr. Epps frowned. “Is that possible?"
“She was a tiny woman. And you saw what was done to the gardener who got in the way."
Dr. Epps continued to frown. “Did you check to see if something inside the car could have
made that contusion?"
Amy emptied a large envelope onto the table. Each sheet had a labeled carbon mark. “You
won't find anything there that faintly resembles the contused area."
Dr. Epps pored over the pieces of paper. “You're right, but I still can't believe anyone
could rip open an aorta,"
“I know, I'd doubt it too if I hadn't witnessed a similar blow to the chest” Amy tried to
keep her thoughts off Nathan. She turned to her father, “Did you measure her legs?"
“Yep. With the car seat in that position, there's no way she could have reached the brake
or accelerator."
Amy blew out her breath. “It's going to be hard for Jed to sell all this to a jury.” She
massaged an ache in her temples. “I didn't get time to have her fingerprints run through
APIS.” She stood up. “I'll go over her clothing after I eat supper. Maybe I'll find
something that'll help identify her."
B.J. cleared his throat. “Did Jed meet you today?"
“Yes,” she said, then stood and turned away to avoid the questions about her personal
life she knew would follow. “Good night. Dr. Epps. See you in the morning. Dad,” she
said, excusing herself.
Upstairs, she went into her bedroom and fell across her bed. She hadn't eaten anything
for lunch and her hollow stomach let her know it, but she didn't have the energy to
move.
When the ringing of the phone awakened her, the room was pitch dark. “Go away,” she
muttered, and rolled over. The phone continued to ring. It could be Cam, she thought.
She still didn't move. It might be Nathan. She sat up and grabbed the phone.
“Hi, babe,” Jed said. “Can I come over?"
Amy flopped onto a pillow. “What for?"
“Well, I was just lying here thinking."
“Thinking about what?” Amy tried unsuccessfully to stifle her yawn.
“Dammit, you could at least pretend you're interested."
“Jed, what's the point?” she said.
“I kissed your breast today and I can't stop thinking about it."
“Jed, I like you, okay? But that's the extent of it. Please don't ever,
ever
mention this afternoon to me again. Good night.” She hung up.
Groaning, she got up, microwaved a TV dinner, and went down to the lab. After typing
their unidentified female's blood, she went over her clothing with a magnifying glass, a
laser light, and ultraviolet rays. Nothing of interest showed up except a wide stain on
the woman's slacks and the tail of her blouse.
Amy moistened a corner of a clean piece of filter paper with Luminol and turned out the
lights. As she touched the edge of the stain with the filter paper, the stain
fluoresced, confirming her suspicion that the woman's body fluids contained blood.
Further experiments provided little additional information. Prolonged immersion in water
had diluted the fluid too much.
Microscopic examination of the fabric she'd found in the woman's hand showed a mixture of
cotton and polymer. She debated which procedures to use. The exact shape of the torn
scrap had to be preserved for comparison with the garment from which it had been torn,
if they were lucky enough to find it.
That meant she couldn't do a chromatographic separation of the dye constituents. She
frowned and swore. If she could show that the garment and the torn piece had the same
dye composition, no one could dispute it However, a scanning electron photomicrograph of
one of the polymer fibers would suffice.
Her lab work out of the way, she dialed Hue's number. Raymond answered. After they'd
greeted each other, she asked him if he knew Kim Sen.
“I've talked to him,” Raymond said.
“What do you know about him?"
“Nothing. He's friendly, maybe too friendly.” He laughed. “Us guys aren't sure which side
of the fence he belongs on, if you get my meaning."
“Yes, I wondered if he might be gay. Do you know if he has any relatives in Wheeler?"
“I know there's another Sen in town, but I've never met him."
“What can you tell me about Victor Samphan?"
“Known him ever since we were little kids. Did you have a run-in with him?"
“Can you keep this confidential?"
“No problem."
“One of the Asian employees at Fenwick's may have had something to do with Mai's
murder."
“So you're investigating Victor and Kim?"
“That's right."
“What about the janitor?"
“Mr. Fenwick didn't say anything about a janitor."
“Most of the businesses in Wheeler use Hanuman Janitorial Service."
“Spell that, please.” When she finished writing the name, she stared at it.
"Hanuman.
I've seen that name before somewhere recently."
“Probably on that old gray junker they haul their equipment in."
“That's right. It was parked behind the rooming house where Kim lives. Does he own the
business?"
“I don't know, but it must be successful. The majority of the Asian businesses are
clients."
Amy jotted in her notebook. “Do you know anything about an ongoing feud between Mai and
Victor? This would go back to their high school days."
“I was a couple of years ahead of them in school,” Raymond said. “Hue would know. She
just finished putting the kids to bed and she's standing here,” he laughed and Amy heard
the sound of him kissing Hue, “dying to know what beautiful lady is calling her
husband.” He laughed again. “Here she is."