by Dave Sypher
"In a while, darling,” Cassandra scooped up her daughter.
"Shinju, this is my daughter, Arya.”
"Hi, Arya, it’s nice to meet you. Is she named for the character?” Shinju tried to catch Arya’s eye, but the girl burrowed her head into her mother’s shoulder, too shy to respond to Shinju’s greeting.
"Yes. We thought it a pretty name, but it’s also simple. Bryce and I wanted to name her something unique. Of course, that name is very popular right now, but it’s still new enough we figure she won’t run into a dozen others in her school years with the same name.”
"What schooling is Arya getting?”
Cassandra pushed open double doors to reveal their office. A large arty Nash Distillery piece dominated the wall behind the main desk, but off to the sides were two other desks with more practical purposes.
Setting Arya down, Cassandra motioned for Shinju to sit in front of the desk, where a computer was waiting.
"She’s had a private tutor for her preschool studies, and this fall is scheduled to start classes at a private kindergarten. We were considering home schooling her, but we decided that it’s best if Arya has interactions with others her own age, at least for a few years. If things get difficult, or we don’t like the school’s teaching agenda, we can switch Arya over to home schooling with a combination of online classes and one-on-one teaching via a private tutor. She’s already tested strongly in math and art, though she seems to be having some difficulties with reading and writing, so I’m taking time out every day to help her with those problem areas.”
"That sounds like a lot of pressure for a child not yet in kindergarten,” Shinju said. "I remember being taught how to write, but not to read. It seems as if I’ve always been able to do that.”
"The emphasis here at home is on playful learning, so we’ve been doing games, wherein Arya’s learning basic numbers, basic geometric shapes, colors, the alphabet, and some basic words. At the preschool classes that she attended this last year, she worked on all those skills along with her social interaction skills with other children through cooperative playing. The toys she was recommended include recognizing shapes in both positive and negative forms, where the blocks get put into a container through holes the same shape as the block, which graduated to games where she would select a block of a specific shape and color when asked. So at this point, it’s more play than work, and she should be very well rounded on those and her social skills since she says she’s looking forward to seeing some of her preschool classmates again in kindergarten.
"I’ve queued up the security videos from Trin and Logan’s house from the day before the burglars broke in. You can see the house from practically every angle, including most of the yard. I’m assuming you know basic video controls, so I’ll leave you to it while I take Arya through her lessons.”
"Yes, thank you,” Shinju pressed play, mentally comparing how the house had looked when she’d walked through it to its pre-burglarized state. Pausing the video, she pulled out her phone, so she could look at the pictures she’d taken beside the rooms which the video kept scrolling through every couple of minutes.
The exterior backyard was imaged, as were the side yards, but instead of panning across an area, these security images were fixed, and it was apparent that the security system had a blind spot. She wondered if it were set up that way, or if one of the cameras had ceased functioning just prior to the couple’s disappearance.
Walking to the door, she called out, "Cassandra?”
"Yes!” Her voice came from another room.
"Did one of the cameras break, or was coverage deliberately omitted from an area of the yard?”
"Hang on,” Cassandra called. "I’ll be there in a minute.”
Going back to the desk, Shinju scrolled through the interior images while waiting.
Cassandra hurried in, face reddened.
"I didn’t want to say it in front of Arya, but the coverage leaves out one area of the yard on purpose. It goes from the back door straight out to the gate to the alley.”
"Why wouldn’t they want exterior coverage of their back door?”
Cassandra’s blush deepened. "Trin told me that she and Logan liked to make love in their backyard, and they didn’t want their security company watching them. Plus, an interior camera covers the back door from the inside. If you watch the nighttime footage, you’ll notice that the bedroom cameras don’t rotate after dark, to give the occupants privacy.”
"Other than the omitted coverage, I didn’t notice anything I’d consider out of the ordinary, though now I’d like to visit and examine the area that lacks coverage to see if I think there’s anything unusual about it.”
"Bryce is going to be mowing the lawn in two days. You can drop by when he’s there, which should be around one.”
"Did Logan not hire a landscaper?”
"No. He liked doing things himself, and since we’re probably going to sell the property, we didn’t think it would be worthwhile trying to find a service to take care of it for just a few weeks to months. The trees and bushes had been trimmed by Logan this spring, so it’s just a matter of mowing the grass and checking on the watering system to make sure that it’s still working correctly. Which reminds me, that’s something else that needs to be turned off once we sell the place.”
"What do you mean?”
"When we moved out of our last house, the people who bought it didn’t immediately switch the utilities over to their name. I guess they thought we’d continue paying the bills until we figured out they hadn’t switched them over to their name. I had to call the electric, water, and gas companies to cut them off four days after they closed and moved in. Since it was winter, I suppose it was a harsh thing to do, but you don’t do that to people, try to take advantage of them, I mean.”
"I hadn’t heard of people doing that. It’s always been you get the rental or house, you call the utilities, you get the services changed to your name, and then you move in.”
"Exactly. Hopefully that taught them to not expect others to continue paying for services for a property that’s no longer theirs.”
"I think I’m done here for now. I’ve got something else to check on until I meet Bryce at Trin and Logan’s house.”
Chapter twenty-seven
Trying Miranda Wilcox’s number again before leaving the distillery, Shinju was sent to voicemail again.
"Bingo,” she said to herself. "You must be the same woman who now owns Griff’s phone, as I think she must not have access to it right now.”
Driving to the jail, Shinju asked if she could see Miranda Wilcox.
"Visitor’s hours are Wednesdays and Saturdays from nine to noon,” the officer told her, "So you’ll need to come back tomorrow.”
"Do I have to be related to an inmate to visit with them?”
"No. You just need a valid ID. You’ll need to fill out one of these forms and present it along with your ID, and your inmate will be brought out to the visitation room after you pass through our screening. Everyone’s allowed an hour visit.”
"Great, thanks,” Shinju told the officer.
She added to her notes back at her hotel. "Curiously, Logan and Trinity have a deliberate blind spot in their security coverage. Cassandra told me that Trinity told her it’s because the Thorntons liked to make love in their backyard, and they didn’t want to be observed by their security company. Cassandra also said that the video coverage of the bedrooms was altered at night to allow greater privacy for the rooms’ occupants, so I wonder if there wasn’t something else going on, since the same limitations could’ve been put on a camera covering the area from the back door to the gate to the alley. I will be visiting the home two days from now when Bryce plans to go over to mow the lawn. Tomorrow, I’m going to go visit Miranda Wilcox in the local jail, as it’s a visitation day. I’m almost positive it’s the same woman, as I’ve tried to call the phone number I was given for Griff twice, and it went straight to voicemail both times. I’m not sure wh
at I should ask her at this point, because she’s sure to clam up if I confront her too soon about her possible involvement in what happened to Griff, and possibly to Logan and Trinity as well. So I suppose I should hold off until the next visitation day instead.”
She got a text from Cassandra. "The test results came through on the powder found in our RV. It’s consistent with a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl, and they said the amount of fentanyl in the mix was at a fatal level. I think that Trin and Logan are dead, killed by the same thing that killed Griff! That means they were murdered, and we’ve got to find their killer!”
"Damn it,” Shinju said, before writing back. "I’ve discovered a possible lead in that respect. I’ll let you know after I’ve followed it further.”
"Why didn’t you say anything to me this morning when you were here?”
"This lead came to light shortly after I left,” Shinju hated lying to Cassandra, but she hadn’t wanted to give her false hopes that the police had arrested the person responsible for Griff’s overdose.
"Well, keep on it, then,” Cassandra wrote back. "I know if anyone can solve this, you can!”
"I’ve got to stop getting my name reported by the media,” Shinju told herself. "I think it has created an expectation in clients that I can solve any case someone else cannot. Of course, then Sanchez wouldn’t be bringing in thousands to a million dollars on single cases now.”
Shaking her head, she began working on her questioning strategy for Miranda Wilcox the next day.
The jail’s screening process involved Shinju putting her wallet and phone into a locker, walking through a metal detector, then being locked in a corridor and scanned with a wand before she was allowed to enter the secure visitation room.
Checking in with the guard at the desk, he told her, "You’re over at table nineteen. It’s right over there. You may not hug the inmate, you may not kiss the inmate, you may not hand the inmate anything. If you’re caught doing any of these things, you’ll be removed from the visit and barred from coming back. Do you understand?”
"Yes,” Shinju went where the guard was pointing. Sitting down at the table, she had to wait until Miranda was checked in to the visitation area. She gave Shinju a suspicious look, but came to the table anyway.
Sliding into her chair, she said in a quiet voice, "I don’t know you, girl. What you doing comin’ to see me?”
"Hi, Mira. We talked on the phone about Griffin Thornton.”
Upon hearing her nickname, Mira relaxed somewhat. "Oh, that was you?”
"Yes.”
"You find him yet?”
"Unfortunately, yes.”
"What you mean, unfortunately? He in trouble?”
"Not anymore. I hate to tell you like this, but he was found dead of an overdose. He had no ID on him, and since his parents are missing, it took the family a couple of weeks to report him missing, and the police a few more days to match the description of him to the body.”
"Shit! GT OD’d? I didn’t figure him for the type.” Mira’s voice had gone up a bit, but she caught herself, settling down. "Don’t call me ungrateful, because I am happy that you told me he’s dead, because now I won’t have to have anyone out looking for him, but I have to ask you, why did you come all the way down here just to tell me this?”
"GT was supplying me.”
"Ah, you must be one of his newer customers, cause he ain’t never mentioned you.”
"I’m new to town,” Shinju truthfully told Mira.
"Well, it explains you being his 'friend’ and all, but I still don’t know what you want from me.”
"I was in a severe car accident a couple of years ago, and ever since, I have horrible pain. GT was giving me stuff for it, and now he’s gone, and I can’t function that well without my pain meds.” Shinju was sitting with hunched up shoulders, as if she was suffering from significant back pain.
Mira’s expression darkened a bit. "Just because I was arrested don’t mean I’m guilty of what they say. I have a number of friends who could’ve left that shit in my house, you know.”
"I know,” Shinju said, dropping her eyes so that Mira would think she was being subservient. "I was just hoping for a name. Now that GT’s gone, I’ve got no one, and with them new regulations, I can’t get my pain meds from no doctor. Just a name, please, Mira. Someone I can go to.”
"Oh, no, baby girl,” Mira said. "You ain’t getting something for nothing. You put a yard into my inmate account and come back next visitation day.”
"A yard, huh?” Shinju had no idea how much money was considered a yard.
"Give me any lip, and I’ll make it one and a half yards.”
"No, no, no. A yard is fine. I do that, and then you’ll tell me?”
"Yes. You pay up, or I’ll know you’re just some shill sent in to try to do a number on me. Now, we’ve got nearly the whole hour left. Tell me what you know about GT.”
"He used to be close to his aunt, but he hasn’t really seen her since he got emancipated from his parents.”
"Yeah, he was always bitching about his family not supporting him when he was younger, wasn’t he?”
"Seemed like it, but he wasn’t all bad.”
"He never demanded you trade your ass for a high? You’re just his type.”
"I never had to trade for it, at least not yet.”
"You will, baby girl, you keep going like you is. Best you sober yourself up and get the hell out the game while you can. I tell you what, you get clean, and I’ll set you up when I get out. This is my first time getting caught, so I should just get probation. That’s fine, because I have a dummy address I can use for that, and I can use you as a buffer between me and the man. That is, as long as you ain’t never been caught dealing.”
Shinju knew she had Mira then. Mira had admitted to dealing, and she’d alluded to the fact that Griff was dealing as well. If that was the case, then Mira was most likely his supplier.
"I’ve never been caught dealing,” Shinju truthfully told Mira.
"Excellent, that’s just fine, baby girl. You get sober, and you stick with me, and you’ll never have to worry about money again. You’ll find that you grease a doctor’s palm with enough money, and he’ll take care of you. However, I think all you need is time and maybe some PT to get over this back pain of yours. All you’ll need to do for me is distributing, collecting, and maybe some recruiting every once in a while. You know what a dead drop is?”
"Yes.”
"Great. You clean up, and I’ll see if you can handle a little bit of business. If you do okay, then we’ll step it up, but it may have to wait until my probation is done. My lawyer is already saying I should be out in no more than a month, with probation and time served.”
"That’s good news, Mira,” Shinju smiled, trying to look positive and hopeful.
"Yeah, but until then, I need a yard in my account. I got things I want to buy. The food here ain’t cutting it for me, and they charge outrageous prices in their store in here. I may need more if my lawyer is wrong about when I’m getting out. You keep visiting me once a week, and I’ll let you know. By the way, you ain’t never given me your name.”
"Lora,” Shinju didn’t know why she lied.
"Lora, huh. Well, your street name is going to be 'baby girl’, cause you’ve got that 'just out of the egg’ look to you. Looks like our time is up. You drop that money in, and come back next visit day, baby girl.”
"I will, Mira. Thanks for seeing me.”
"I ain’t got nothing better to do, at least not until I can buy a deck of cards.”
"Should I go early?”
"No. You’re a friend, so they expect you to stay until they kick you out. Let’s talk about anything else. Do you have hobbies, Lora?”
"I crochet,” Shinju said.
"My grandma did that. She taught me a few basic stitches when I was a child, but I didn’t keep up with it. I kinda wish I had. What kinds of things do you make?”
"I’ve made curtains with cotton thread
crochet borders in a variety of styles, using a different color and pattern for each room in the past. I also made a blanket for my couch in colors that pretty closely match all my living room’s colors. At least, they did until I moved here,” Shinju added.
"I know, it’s hard to move, ain’t it? You keep thinking in terms of the old place for a while. Can you paint your new place?”
Shinju shook her head. "I’m in an apartment until I get settled, and I don’t think they’d like it if I started painting everything.”
"So tell me, did the people who bought your old place want you to leave the curtains?”
"They did,” Shinju embellished her story. "They offered me some extra money if I’d leave them, and who am I to turn down extra cash? Besides, now I can make new curtains in different colors and patterns.”
"That sounds like a lot of work. That thread is really fine stuff”
"I don’t sleep well, and when I can’t sleep, I make things.”
"Well, you’ll have plenty to do once I get out. I want you to show me how to crochet again. My grandma left me all her hooks and a lot of yarn, and I haven’t had the heart to throw it out, so I want you to show me how to work with it so I can make myself some things.”
"I can do that,” Shinju was surprised at how easily she promised Mira something that would never happen. The thing was, she wasn’t pretending to be enthusiastic about having someone to teach how to crochet. She had tried to each Lora how to do it several times, but though Lora loved handcrafted things, she finally admitted that she just didn’t have the patience to work on a project for weeks to months at a time.
They continued talking about various crafts, and before Shinju knew it, their time was up.
"Remember, come back next visit day,” Mira told her. "And remember to take care of my yard ASAP, Baby Girl.”
"I will,” Shinju left. Stopping to use the bathroom, she did a quick search, discovering that 'yard’ was slang for a hundred dollars. Surprised by how large the amount was, she went up to the window, asking how she could add money to Miranda Wilcox’s inmate account. The clerk took her money, handing her a receipt for it. "Her account number’s on there,” the clerk told her, "So make note of it if she’s in for a long enough time that she needs more funds.”