The Turn

by Carolina Mac

  Farrell had Barbie Radford, a blonde kindergarten teacher. She was twenty-four when she died in the same manner. Raped and strangled in the east end of the city behind a boarded-up diner.

  “Read through all the statements,” said Jesse, “and then we’ll talk it though—see if anything or anybody hits on both of them.”

  “Right,” said Farrell. “Hope something does.”

  BLAINE had the ‘handles’—the dating names of all the people JoAnne Engels talked to in the month before her murder. Before he left for the funeral, he gave the list to Lily. “Call the head office of the dating site in California and push them. See if you can get the real names and addresses of everybody on the list.”

  “Sure, boss. I can do that.”

  “And if you have time, set up a white board in the dining room for the boys. They might need a comparison chart or something like that to work with.”

  Lily nodded. “I’m on it.”

  “Tell Carm lunch meeting at one. If she doesn’t have time to make anything, just order in.”

  Dental Office. Downtown Austin.

  TENSE and stressed, Doctor Endicott, stormed into his dental practice at twenty after ten expecting chaos and it was anything but. The girls had everything in hand.

  Hannah smiled as he zoomed past on his way to his office. “Morning, Doctor. How did your wife’s appointment go?”

  He nodded and kept walking. He’d made up a lie about Renee, but it was good practice for the future when he’d have to lie a lot more frequently.

  “Fine, fine,” he mumbled and kept on going. Once inside his private sanctuary with the door closed, he collapsed into his leather chair and let out a breath.

  What the hell am I going to do?

  Once he’d calmed down, he checked the patient schedule on the computer and realized he had ten minutes to spare. In the lunchroom, he filled his own personal mug—the one with the smiling molar on it—with fresh coffee and added a shot of cream. He was about to go back to his office when Angela came in on her break and asked him what he knew about renting a cabin in hill country.

  “I’ve got one week left of vacation and thought it might be restful to read and relax and do some hiking out there away from it all,” she said.

  “Uh huh, an intelligent choice to recharge, Ange. I have no suggestions but I’m sure there are a lot of rentals on line.”

  Fantastic idea. I need to look for one myself.

  Blackmore Agency. Austin.

  BLAINE and Travis returned from JoAnne Engels funeral. A small gathering of family only. No outsiders had shown up. No one unaccounted for. Blaine had expressed his sympathy and left after the interment at the cemetery.

  “Nobody showed,” said Travis.

  “Yeah, that was a waste of time,” said Blaine, “but I had to be sure.”

  “Maybe Jesse and Farrell will have something for us.”

  “Hope so. I called a meeting for one o’clock. We need something to work with.”

  Carm had lunch ready when they returned and after everybody had their fill of salad and chicken fried steak, they got down to business.

  “Jesse, you go first,” said Blaine.

  “Farrell and I compared all the statements in the two cases, and both girls were reportedly with a male the night they were killed, but there were no good descriptions. The best we got was an average looking guy. No one noticed a specific vehicle or anything out of the ordinary.

  “Austin PD had nothing to work with,” said Farrell. “They chased down every lead they had and came up empty.”

  “Was there any mention of online dating in the reports?” asked Blaine.

  Jesse shook his head. “Nope. Not once.”

  Blaine turned to Lily, “Did you get the names from the dating head office?”

  “Nope, and I put pressure on them. They were adamant in sticking to their privacy policy. They won’t divulge any information without a subpoena.”

  “We asked nicely,” said Blaine. “I’ll deal with it.”

  Dental Office. Downtown Austin.

  AFTER the last patient left for the day and the girls went home, Max locked the door, hibernated in his office and did research on his computer. He found several cabins available in hill country that would be perfect for his purposes. He made appointments to see two on Saturday.

  With that chore out of the way, he flipped over to the dating site and sent emails to one of the girls he’d had several conversations with in the past week.

  A few minutes later he got a reply.

  “Sure, a drink would be nice. Where?”

  “How about Cactus Bar and Grill?”

  “Okay, I know where that is. What time?”

  “Seven?”

  “See you there.”

  Max inhaled a breath and pushed back in his chair. “Hope you didn’t lie to me, girl.”

  He called Renee and told her he had an emergency extraction, then locked himself in the bathroom and got ready for his date.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Friday, September 7th.

  Blackmore Agency. Austin.

  CARM was busy in the kitchen when Blaine dragged his tired ass downstairs at seven thirty with Lexi running full speed ahead of him. He’d spent half the night on his desktop working on recovering the names he needed from the dating site. There was no time to waste.

  Another young girl might die before the subpoena was issued, the company served by someone in their locale, the paper sent to their legal department for a decision. And then they either complied or had their battery of lawyers stall and refuse to comply.

  He knew how these legal things worked. The youngest guy to pass the bar in Texas and with a record score.

  He let the dog out and one glance at the back yard reminded him of Olivia. Would she have a plan ready sometime today or was that wishful thinking? What about her offer to go riding? Could he make that happen on the weekend? Would he have time?

  Lil arrived at eight and he followed her to her office. “I got the names of all the guys JoAnne Engels talked to in the last few weeks.” He handed her the list. “These are the ones she arranged to meet. Seven of them. Have squads pick all of them up and dump them at DPS for Jesse and me this morning.”

  Lil gave him a look. “How late did you stay up getting the names, boss? You look wiped.”

  “Too late, but it had to be done. We’ve got no place to start and waiting for the next body to drop is not the way I want to go.”

  Lil tossed her purse onto a chair and picked up her mug. “As soon as I grab a coffee, I’m all over it. What about the two unsolved? Did you happen to see those girls on the dating site when you… went deeper?”

  Blaine grinned. “I did, and I need you to find out where their computers are and have them picked up and delivered to Sue.”

  She winked at him. “I’m busy today.”

  Blaine nodded. “We all will be.”

  Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange.

  JESSE and Annie were at the harvest table eating breakfast with the kids when Blaine called. Jesse answered his cell on the first ring. “Morning, Blacky, did you get something?”

  “I was able to get the names from the site and I’m having the men the Engels girl dated brought in this morning. Are you up to interrogating a couple of them?”

  “Sure, how many altogether?”

  “As far as I could tell from the emails—seven.”

  “Hope he’s one of the seven,” said Jesse.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “I’ll drive to the city after breakfast.”

  Annie was shaking her head and giving him hand signals. “Let me rephrase that, Ace will drive me after breakfast.”

  “Okay, good. Travis can drop you when he goes home for the day. I thought of having him pick you up, but he’d already left his apartment.”

  “I’ll be glad when I can drive myself,” said Jesse. “I hate depending on other people.”

  “I’m not ‘other people,” said Annie, “I�
��m your wife and we’re supposed to help each other.”

  Jesse smiled. “I guess that part’s true.”

  Blackmore Agency. Austin.

  BLAINE ended his call to Jesse and his cell rang. He checked the screen and it said Green. His heart did a little thump and he couldn’t help but smile. “Good Morning, Miss Green.”

  “Morning, Mr. Blackmore. I worked on your proposal last night and if you have some time today I could drop by and show you what I’ve come up with.”

  “Umm… I won’t have time until much later. I’ll be at headquarters most of the day. Could we do dinner and talk about it then?”

  “Dinner? Not the way I usually do business.” She sounded very professional. “Do you want to wait until tomorrow?”

  “Honestly, I don’t want to wait. Carm is anxious to get started and I want to see you.”

  “Oh.” She paused, and her voice softened. “Maybe I gave the wrong impression when I suggested the bike ride.”

  “Nope, I don’t think I got the wrong impression. You indicated you were interested in doing something together. You thought of it and you said it. I like a straightforward person.”

  “Are you a straightforward person, Mr. Blackmore?”

  “Not a bit.”

  “That’s what I thought. First impression and all that.”

  “Are we on the same page? If not, I’d rather you say so up front.”

  “I’m attracted to you, yes, and I’d like to know you on a personal level.”

  How attracted?

  “What time do you close?”

  “Friday night I’m open until nine, but it’s Kenny’s turn to close. I’ll be finished at six.”

  “Can I pick you up?”

  “Or I can meet you.”

  “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

  “Sure, pick me up at seven. I don’t live far from the nursery.” She gave him the address and he put it into his phone.

  He felt like shouting, but said in his calmest voice, “Looking forward to seeing you.”

  Dental Office. Downtown Austin.

  MAX leaned over Mrs. Phillips with the drill in his hand and was about to start on her cavity when Hannah burst through the door without knocking.

  “Doctor, the police are here, right out there in our waiting room and they want to speak to you.”

  “They’ll have to wait, Hannah. I’m with a patient.”

  An officer in a Texas Ranger uniform appeared behind Hannah and pushed by the receptionist into the treatment room. “I have to ask you to come with us downtown, sir. You’re wanted for questioning in an ongoing investigation.”

  “Ridiculous. What would the Texas Rangers want with me? I haven’t done anything. Think again, Ranger. I’m treating a patient and I’m not leaving.”

  The Ranger gripped Max firmly by the elbow. “We’re leaving now, sir. Don’t make this hard on yourself.”

  Max let go of the drill and turned to Hannah. “Get Angela to finish up with the patient, then reschedule my appointments. I’ll be back.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Ranger Headquarters. Austin.

  BLAINE arrived with Farrell and Travis and found Jesse in Chief Calhoun’s office drinking coffee. “Here you are,” said Blaine. “I’m happy you’re up for some interrogations. You’re better at it than most.”

  Jesse grinned. “Just one more thing I can do sitting on my ass. It’s been added to my list of medically approved activities.”

  The Chief grinned. “We’re happy to have you back anyway we can get you.”

  “Thanks, Chief.”

  “Have all our guests arrived?” asked Travis.

  “Heard the boys bringing some of them in,” said the Chief. “I was surprised you got the dating site to cough up the names without a lot of legal wrangling. Those sites are sticklers for protecting clients’ privacy.”

  “Lil is pretty persuasive,” said Blaine and Farrell rolled his eyes. “Let’s get started.”

  FARRELL opened the door to room number three and sat down opposite a tall, black dude with short hair. He put the recorder on the table alongside his yellow pad and pen. “Hey, Leon. How’s it going?”

  “How do y’all think it’s going? Me jerked out of my class and sitting on my ass locked in a fuckin little room. What the fuck is happening? Why do the Rangers want to talk to me? I ain’t done nothing illegal.”

  Farrell smiled. “You probably haven’t, Leon, and that’s what we have to confirm. We’re clearing a list of guys who dated a girl named JoAnne Engels.” Farrell tapped the end of his pen on his pad. “Name ring a bell?”

  Leon’s eye narrowed. “That’s the chick that got murdered at the club, right?”

  Farrell nodded. “You talked to her online and then got together?”

  “That shit is supposed to be private, man. I don’t feel comfortable that y’all could find that out.”

  Farrell stood up and paced. “See, Leon, when somebody gets murdered, we find out all kinds of shit that people don’t want us to know. Private and not so private. Hear what I’m saying?”

  “I hear ya. Doesn’t mean I like it.”

  “Where were you on Labor Day? Did you go out and party Monday night?”

  “Sure, I did. Me and my boys took some hot items we met downtown to the food trucks, then we took the babes to the lake.”

  Farrell shoved a sheet of paper across to Leon. “Give me names and numbers of your boys and you’re done here.”

  Leon raised an eyebrow. “You believe me?”

  “Course I do, Leon. I’m a cop. People lie to me from morning to night. After a while, and thousands of lies later, I can tell the difference. Know what I’m saying?”

  Leon wrote the names and numbers down, then he grinned. “Thanks, man. Didn’t catch your name.”

  “Donovan.”

  Leon’s dark eyes narrowed, and he pointed. “Heard of you, man. Few weeks ago, in the fuckin gang war, one of the assholes stabbed you in the back.”

  Farrell rolled his left shoulder. “Still sore, and worse than that—wrecked one of my tats.”

  BLAINE wrapped up his interview with Wayne Nadler, an average looking guy with longish brown hair. He had a solid alibi for Labor Day. He was in Vegas and didn’t return until Tuesday night. He provided all his flight and hotel information, and Blaine sent him on his way.

  Breaking for a coffee, Blaine asked one of the Rangers in the corridor if anybody they brought in seemed anxious.

  “Yeah, the guy in room one has been pounding on the door and screaming for his lawyer. Says he’s a dentist and has to get back to his patients.”

  Blaine smiled. “I better save him until last, Rocky.”

  Rocky grinned. “You know it, Mr. B.”

  TRAVIS strode into room two and had an immediate sense of the guy sitting at the table. Everything about him spelled military, and Travis had an inside track after spending years in the Marines.

  Jamey Boyd had a buzzed off haircut. He was tanned and tall, looked super fit, lean and wiry.

  Travis sat down opposite him. “Want a coffee? You been waiting a while.”

  “Could use a drink, thanks.”

  “No problem, Jamey. Be right back.”

  Travis returned with two coffees and set Jamey’s in front of him. He turned on the recorder and asked. “Army?”

  Jamey nodded and didn’t make eye contact.

  That’s when Travis noticed the scar down the right side of his face, barely healed. “Out long?”

  He shook his head.

  “How did the online dating go?”

  “Not worth a flying fuck. All liars on there.”

  “Heard that.”

  “Can I ask why I’m here?”

  “Course you can. A girl named JoAnne Engels was killed Monday night and you were one of the people she talked to online.”

  “Okay, she was the only one from that gig I actually met in person, pretty enough, but she lied about her age. I’m twenty-six and didn
’t want to date a nineteen-year-old student. She had fake ID and wanted to go to the dance clubs in the district. I don’t dance, so when we met for that get acquainted drink, we sorted it out.”

  “And that was it?”

  “I took my picture off after that. Too much hassle. If I don’t meet somebody, then I’ll stay single.”

  “All I need from you, Jamey, is an alibi for Monday night and you’re good to go.”

  “The holiday night?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “I was home. My Mom had a barbeque for my sister and her kids.” He shrugged. “Nothing special. You can ask her.”

  Travis stood up and offered his hand across the table. “That’s it, Jamey. You can go. I’ll have one of the squads take you home.”

  Jamey shook his hand. “Marine? Am I right?”

  Travis smiled and nodded.

  JESSE closed the door on room four for the second time. His first interview with Murray Infusio, a short Asian exchange student had amounted to nothing. He had a solid alibi and Jesse let him go back to the U.

  His second candidate was Sean Rebecca. Twenty-five years old, six feet tall, dark hair and eyes.

  Jesse sat down and flipped up a clean page on his note pad. “I’m Jesse Quantrall. Sorry to make you wait, Sean. Did anybody offer you a drink?”

  “No, but I could use a Coke.”

  Jesse stood up. “What kind?”

  “Doctor Pepper is good.”

  Jesse returned with the drinks and took a long drink of his soda. “Okay, let’s get this done, and you can go back to what you were doing.”

  “I was sleeping. I work nights.”

  “Right. Sorry about that.”

  “This is about JoAnne, the girl that got murdered, right?” asked Sean.

  “Why would you ask that?”

  “I’ve never talked to cops before in my whole life, so it’s the only thing I could think of.”

  “Well, you are correct,” said Jesse. “We have to talk to every person JoAnne Engels talked to on the dating site.”