Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1) (14 page)

"You were awfully quiet in there, Tom," Annie said as she, Jesse, Deputy Schillings, and Tom walked out of the morgue to their vehicles.

"I was mulling over some of the things that Doc told us.  Besides, you update the Sergeant better than I do, so I let you pay attention."

"What kind of things were you 'mulling'?"

"Did you notice on the Evidence Collection Log that both women had pierced ears, but on each woman the left earring was missing?"

"Yes, I did, and the first thing I thought of was that they struggled with their abductor and lost an earring during the struggle.  This would tentatively indicate that he or she was right-handed as a person being attacked by a right-handed assailant usually defends with their left side.

"Carmen's brother said she always wore a necklace on a gold chain and it wasn't found on her body or at the scene."

"Doc said there were no defensive marks or wounds on either body to indicate any kind of a defensive struggle," Tom said.

"What then?  When he or she abducted the women he - I'm just going to refer to the perp as a he because I can't imagine another woman doing this - must have had a way to keep them subdued.  A weapon of some sort."

"Doc noticed rope marks on their wrists and ankles and took fiber samples," Jesse said.

"Yes," Tom said.  "Both women were bound at the wrists and ankles with some kind of nylon rope that is quite common, and their mouths were taped shut.

"Doc also said that around the neck of the second victim he found a small sliver of wood embedded in her flesh under the ligature marks.  He said it looked like old wood.  It's being sent to the forensics lab for analysis.  Maybe it will indicate where she was held."

"Or, at least be a piece of evidence we can tie to a scene when we find one," Jesse said.

Deputy Coroner Schillings got in his car and returned to the Sheriff's Office.

Tom, Jesse, and Annie drove down Flower Street to have lunch at one of Jesse's favorite places, Bit of Germany.  Neither Annie nor Tom realized that this small, quaint restaurant even existed.

"This is a neat place, Jesse.  I didn't know it was here.  What are you going to order?" Annie said.

"One of my favorites is the Bratwurst.  How about you?"

"I'm going to try the Bavarian Golasch," Annie said.

"What's that?" Tom asked.

"It says, right there on the menu, that it's tender cubes of beef served over noodles with the choice of German Red Cabbage or cucumbers.  I think I'll go with the cabbage."

"Then you'll have gas all afternoon," Tom laughed.

"Well, cucumbers are no better," Annie said.  "Haven't you noticed 'burpless' cucumbers for sale at the market?  That should tell you something."

Jesse ignored them both.

"Have you decided yet, Tom?" he asked

"Yeah, I think I'll have apple strudel with vanilla ice cream and grab some carne asada tacos after we leave."

Annie and Jesse laughed at Tom.

"Well, this isn't food that's in my comfort zone," Tom said.

"Tom, I'm not familiar with German food, either.  I never ate in a German Restaurant in Arkansas.  But at least I'm open to new experiences," Annie chided.

"Be brave and try something.  If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it.  You can take it back to the office in a doggie bag and I'll eat it later."

"OK, what do you recommend, Jesse?" Tom said.

"Try the German Beef Sausages.  They're good and I think you'll like them.  They're called Knackwurst."

They gave their orders to the waitress and Tom was surprised at how much he enjoyed his meal.

They stopped to regroup in the parking lot.

"What's your next step?" Jesse asked.

"I'm going to contact the CDC and see if there is someone there we can talk to about spiders," Annie said.

"We want to get all the reports back as soon as possible so we can compare them and look for similarities," Tom said.  "The only things so far is that each victim had 13 bites that appear to be from a spider - probably a black widow.

"Because the number is the same on both bodies, it kind of rules out randomness - at least in my mind.

"I'm curious to see what else might be the same," Tom said.

"Both victims were young Hispanic females and were missing their left earring," Annie said.

"Yes, there's that, too."

"Did the deputies find anything useful on the surveillance tapes from Happy Gas?" Jesse asked.

"No.  They said the parameters of the tapes didn't reach as far as the roadway.  They also said that any vehicles that stopped for gas on that side of the lot during the time frame they were looking at didn't match a vehicle that would have the kinds of tires determined by the tire tracks that Laine cast."

"So, another dead end," Jesse said.

Jesse spoke up, spelling out the fear they all felt, "I hate to think we've got a serial killer on our hands with a penchant for black widow spiders."

"This isn't going to be easy," Annie said, as she and Tom pulled up in front of the Gutierrez home in Arvin at 2:00 PM.  "If it wasn't for the coincidences between the conditions of the two women, I would wait until they buried their daughter.  But we have no leads and they just might be able to tell us something that will help us find this killer."

"I talked to Julio this morning," Tom said.  "He is devastated, of course, and blames himself, but he understands why we have no time to lose.  They're expecting us."

The two detectives walked up to the modest home and the front door opened before they reached the porch.  Annie let Tom take the lead.

"Good afternoon," Tom said as he held out his hand to the young man who stood in the doorway.  "You must be Julio.  I'm Detective Tom Weston and this is Detective Annie Avants.  Thank you for seeing us so soon.  I know you and your family are going through a terrible time right now and we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us."

"It's terrible, the most terrible thing you can imagine.  The only reason we consented to see you today is to prevent another family from going through a tragedy like this.  I explained to my parents that there was another victim who died under similar circumstances and you have fears that there may be more victims.  They want to do whatever they can to help you find and stop this person.  Please, come inside.  We don't need to do our talking standing in the front doorway."

They entered the small, neat living room and found Alana and Roberto Gutierrez sitting on the couch, holding each other while Mrs. Gutierrez wept softly.

Annie and Tom sat down in two easy chairs that were separated from the couch by a coffee table.  Julio settled into a recliner off to the side of the coffee table and introduced Tom and Annie to his parents.

"Please accept our condolences," Annie said softly as her heart broke for the grief these three people were feeling.  "I know there's nothing we can say that will make the pain any less.  Hopefully we can catch the monster that did this to your daughter and prevent some other parents from suffering the same grief you are going through."

"That won't bring back our daughter, no matter what you do to this. . .this creature who would do such a thing.  I don't understand, I just don't understand," Mr. Gutierrez sobbed as he buried his face in his hands.  "Our Carmen never hurt anyone.  She was so kind and gentle and always laughing and smiling.  Why would anyone want to take her life?"

"We don't have the answer to that question, Mr. Gutierrez.  People do bad things to other people and sometimes we never learn the reason why," Tom said.  "We know this is difficult for you and we won't impose on you for very long.  We just have a few questions we need to ask you, if that's all right."

"Of course, we will be happy to help you in any way we can.  We answered a lot of questions when Officer Rubio came to take the report that Carmen was missing."

"Yes, we have the reports from Arvin PD, and our questions will most likely be a repeat of what you told them.  However, this is a necessary step in our investigation.  Can we proceed?  Are you ready?"

"Yes, please, ask your questions," Mrs. Gutierrez said.

Annie stepped in to ask the first question.  "It's important for the three of you to think very carefully if you know of anyone who might have wished Carmen harm.  Anyone at all, no matter how insignificant it may seem."

The Gutierrez family sat in silence for a few minutes and thought about Annie's question.  One by one they slowly shook their heads.

"In the missing persons report, you mentioned that Carmen had an ex-boyfriend who possibly had returned to Mexico.  Is there a chance he could still be in the Bakersfield area?"

"We don't know," Julio answered.  "We haven't seen him for six months or more.  He was illegal and lazy.  Carmen felt he was just looking for someone to support him so he could hang out with his friends.  It wasn't a match made in heaven.  She was glad to be rid of him."

"Still, give me his name and a description and the places he would hang out.  If you have the names of his friends, we will talk to them also," Tom said as he pulled out his notebook and pen.

"His name was Angelino Escobar.  He hung out a lot in Lamont.  I don't know the name of any of his friends because he didn't bring them around here.  He was originally from Jalisco.  Carmen only tolerated him for a couple of months before she told him to stay away from her.  The last we heard, he had returned to Mexico."

"Can you describe him?  Do you know if he was affiliated with any gangs?"

"He was about 5'8" tall, and weighed about 120 pounds.  Very thin.  I never saw anything that would tie him into one of the gangs.  I don't think he was here long enough to get involved with them."

"Did he have any distinguishing features, or marks, such as tattoos?" Annie said.

"Now that you mention it, he did have a tattoo on the back of his left hand.  It was a spider, with its front legs going partway down his fingers.  Creepy looking thing.  Carmen tried to get him to have it removed, but he refused."

Annie and Tom looked at each other, but didn't say anything about the tattoo.

"Mr. or Mrs. Gutierrez, is there anyone else you can think of."

"No, no one," Mr. Gutierrez said.  "And even though Angel was lazy and worthless, he wasn't an evil or mean person.  Carmen just wanted someone who had a future so their life together would be happy and full of children and laughter.  She didn't think she would find that kind of life with Angel."

At the mention of the life that Carmen would now not have, the tears started flowing again and Annie and Tom realized that this meeting was over.  They rose from their seats and left the grief-stricken family to their sorrow.

As they approached their car, Annie said, "We need to find out when Carmen's body will be released to her family and when the funeral will take place.  Someone needs to discretely photograph everyone there or make a video.  And watch out for someone with a spider tattoo on the back of his hand."

Thursday, 23 August 2012, 8:00 - 11:00 PM

After taking a nap to recover from his night's adventures, and the amusement he felt from attending the second press conference, the man hit the road into Bakersfield. 
I'm going to cruise in Bakersfield's own little corner of Mexico, El Mercado Latino east of town.  I bet there are all sorts of little Hispanic chicas hanging out there just waiting for someone like me to show them a good time.

He laughed so hard he almost wet his pants.

By the time he drove out Edison Highway, El Mercado was closed, but the Plaza stayed open until 11:00 PM.  Sitting at an outside table with his beer, watching the parade in front of him, it wasn't long before some giggling girls started eyeballing him.

"Come on over, girls," he said as he motioned to them.  "I don't bite."

Shyly the four girls strolled over and sat in the chairs around his table.

"Can I get you a soft drink?" he asked.  "None of you look old enough to drink beer."

They giggled.  "Maria is old enough," one of them said.  "She just turned 21 last week."

"Well then, I will buy a beer for Maria, but the rest of you get Coke.  How's that for a deal."

They giggled some more and he placed his order.

"So, you all look so young and innocent, I can't tell which one is the old lady of the group.  Who is Maria and what are the names of you other lovely ladies?"

"I'm Maria," said one of the girls.  "And this is Lupe, Estralita, and Marta.  They're sisters and live in the house next to mine."

"It's my pleasure, ladies," the man said as he handed around their drinks.  "My name is Jerome.  I just got into town from Crescent City, which is way up north, almost to Oregon.  I'll only be in town for one night and I wanted to meet some real Hispanic ladies.  We have a lot of Native Americans where I come from, but very few Hispanics."

After a while, he ordered some tapas for them to snack on and they had a good time just visiting.  The girls did most of the talking among themselves and he just sat there beaming and nodding.

Finally, one of the sisters said to Maria, "We should go home now, Maria.  We're supposed to be home before 10:00 PM."

"OK," Maria said.  "We can go now.  It was nice visiting with you Jerome.  Maybe we'll see you again if you come back to Bakersfield."

He looked sad.  "Maria, do you have to be home by 10:00 PM also?  I am enjoying this visit so much I hate to see it end."

"No, my parents don't set a limit on me.  But my friends are younger, and must be more careful.  I can stay a while longer," she said.

"Girls, run along home now.  It's not far and you'll be OK.  I'll check on you later when I go home, OK?  Tell my family I am coming in later on."

The girls weren't thrilled to leave without Maria, but did as they were told.  As they walked away, they turned and waved at Maria and her new friend sitting at the table in the El Mercado Latino Plaza.  It was the last time they would see her.