by M. Z. Kelly
When we finished discussing the Wonderland case, Leo mentioned the Peters investigation. “I got an address for David Baxter, the former officer who Mel was dating. I made an appointment for us to go by his office at four this afternoon.”
“Tell you what,” Darby said. “Me and Horton can follow up with the minister, if the rest of you want to waste your time with Baxter.”
“It sounds like you have issues with Baxter,” Leo said.
“He’s scum. I can’t believe Mel was seeing him.”
***
As Darby and Woody followed us to our meeting with Tina Weston, Olivia asked how my move went.
“Everything’s in the new house,” I said. “We’re having the evil spirits cast out tonight, so I’m hoping I can get some sleep.”
Olivia laughed. “Really?”
I nodded. “Somebody named Neptune, who Natalie and Mo know, is coming over. They call her the ghostbuster to the stars.”
Leo joined in the laughter. “Could you do me a favor and videotape the session? I’d like to see...” He laughed again. “...Neptune in action.”
“I’ll see if she allows it.”
We chatted about my move a couple minutes longer before Olivia commented on Darby’s reaction to our plans to meet with David Baxter. “It sounds like he and Baxter had some history.”
Leo glanced at her from the driver’s seat. “I heard they almost came to blows a couple of times. Baxter made his share of enemies when he was with the department.”
“What do you know about the beef that got him fired?”
Leo said he wasn’t sure, so I told Olivia what I’d heard. “Baxter was dating a secretary at Metro and got into it with someone she was seeing on the side. I heard the guy threatened him with a gun. When Baxter made the arrest, the guy took some lumps. A complaint was lodged, and Baxter was facing an IA investigation for excessive force when he resigned.”
“That sounds like his typical MO,” Leo agreed.
“He sounds like a real prize,” Olivia said. “It makes me wonder what Mel saw in him, but I guess you could say the same thing about a lot of guys.”
Traffic was light, and the drive to Tina Weston’s house in Van Nuys took us less than an hour. We met up with Darby and Woody on the street before going to the door.
Wendy Sturgis, a friend of Weston’s from college, was staying at her residence to help her deal with the loss of her husband. The petite blonde showed the four of us into the family room, then said, “I’ll tell Tina you’re here.” She hesitated. “Just so you know, she’s still having problems processing what happened.”
A couple minutes later, we realized Weston’s processing involved her taking medications that made her barely coherent.
After Olivia made introductions, she showed Weston the photos of our suspect taken in the convenience store down the street from the Wonderland Drive murder scene. “We believe this is the woman your husband met. Does she look familiar?”
Weston, who was blonde and a bit on the heavy side, pushed her hair back as she took the photos from Olivia. “She’s a...a fuuucking trammmpp...”
“Have you ever seen her before?”
“No.” Weston’s head slumped forward, and she began weeping. I took the opportunity to observe her arms, since she was wearing a short-sleeved blouse. I saw nothing in the way of cuts or scrapes.
“Do you have any idea why your husband went to the house on Wonderland Drive?” Olivia asked.
Weston’s tears suddenly stopped, and she laughed. “I guess...to mmmeet that whoorree.”
Olivia tried to refocus the discussion. “I understand that you and Ken were having some marital problems?”
There was more laughter. “He was seeing...” Weston threw the photographs Olivia had given her on the floor. “...her, so I guess so.”
“What about enemies, problems your husband might have had with his clients or co-workers?”
There was no response.
“Ms. Weston, I need you to cooperate. Tell me what was going on.”
“Nothing. Ken and I were...we were in love, until he decided...I wasn’t enough.” She broke down weeping again.
Olivia gave her a moment, then said, “Is that when you began seeing your minister?”
Weston brushed her tears and looked at Olivia. “What? How...how did you...know about Mmmike?”
“Barry Goldman told us you two were involved.”
“Barry...that stupid son of a bbb...bitch.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He was cheating Ken out of his comm...issions, and...” Weston’s gaze moved off.
“And what?”
“Nothing. Barry’s just an asshole.” Weston looked over at her friend, who seemed shocked by what she’d said. “I’m going back to bed.”
Olivia called after her, but Weston stumbled down the hallway to a bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
“I’m sorry,” Sturgis said. “She’s been...pretty out of it, as you saw.”
Olivia stood, along with the rest of us. “We may need to come back and talk to her when...when she’s less medicated. I’ll be in touch.”
After leaving Weston’s residence, Darby and Woody left us to go interview Reverend Malloy.
On the way to our meeting with David Baxter, Olivia mentioned Weston’s behavior. “She came across as someone who’s pretty immature. I have a feeling the issues between her and our victim were brewing for some time.”
I agreed. “I think our Wonderland case might have more to do with our suspect than the victim or his wife.”
“Meaning?”
“I’m not sure, but we know the motive wasn’t robbery, and Weston apparently had no prior relationship with the woman who called herself Mattie. If I was placing bets, I’d say our suspect is living out some kind of deep-seated fantasy or trauma.”
“And, as far as we know, she hasn’t acted out prior to this,” Leo agreed. “That means something or someone has triggered her actions.”
TWENTY-FOUR
“Yes, that should work out fine. I can meet you there Sunday night.” Haley ended the call, then removed the battery from the burner phone.
She walked over to her closet, going through the outfits, trying to decide what to wear for the weekend’s date. The man she would be seeing sounded older and well-educated. Maybe he was expecting someone who was worldly and experienced. She decided on a blue silk dress that was cut short.
After trying on the outfit, she went over to the vanity. She was removing her makeup, getting ready for bed, when the image of her dead sister appeared.
“What are you going to do?” Lizzy asked.
“It’s nothing you need to be concerned about.”
“You’re going to see another man, aren’t you?”
Haley studied her dead sister’s image for a moment. It was always a little disconcerting to see Lizzy as she was at age twelve. Her sister hadn’t changed since their last day together. Haley wondered what their lives would have been like if Lizzy had lived.
“Talk to me,” Lizzy demanded.
Haley ran a brush through her hair. “This time, your death will be avenged. I promise.”
“I won’t let you do this.”
Haley’s voice pitched higher. “You don’t have a choice.”
She stood, turned off the light, and got into bed. As she lay there, Haley had a thought that maybe Lizzy would never understand what she had planned. She was, after all, a girl trapped in time, a prisoner of the past. Even though she was determined to avenge Lizzy’s death, she realized her sister might never come to terms with the one thing that held her captive.
Lizzy didn’t understand that she was dead.
TWENTY-FIVE
David Baxter had an office in Boyle Heights, a working-class neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles. It was an unusual place for a private detective to set up shop, something Leo commented on as we parked on the street near his office.
“According to what Molly
pulled together,” I said, “Baxter’s working with his brother, who’s been in business here for over a decade. He probably has a lot of repeat clientele he’s built up over the years.”
We found the PI’s office in a strip mall a block off Whittier Boulevard. It was next door to a bail bondsman, which probably made for one stop shopping for some clients.
A gum-smacking receptionist led us into a back office, where we found Baxter. The ex-cop was a big guy in his forties, with oily black hair and bushy eyebrows. I had a thought that if someone gave him a couple more quarts of liquid sleaze, he could be Jimmy Sweet’s brother.
After Olivia introduced herself, Baxter turned his attention to Leo and me. “I heard you guys are kicking butt and taking names, getting lots of press.”
“We’ve caught a few breaks,” Leo said.
Baxter nodded, looked at me. “Sorry about Winkler. We had our differences, but he paid his dues.”
“Thanks. It’s hard to believe he’s gone.”
We took seats across from Baxter’s cluttered desk, while Bernie settled beside me. I knew the former cop was a heavy drinker, both by reputation and the odor of whiskey mixed with mouthwash wafting our way.
Olivia let Leo take the lead in questioning the ex-cop. “As I mentioned when I called, we’re doing some follow up on the Peters case. We understand that you two were friends.”
Baxter smiled. “I guess you could say that. We got together a few times.”
“When was the last time you saw Mel?”
“Probably four or five weeks ago. We went to Malibu for drinks, and...” His smile grew wider. “...other things.”
Leo glanced at me, looked at Baxter again. “You two were involved in an ongoing relationship, I take it.”
“I guess you could say that. Like I said, we hooked up now and then, but it was nothing serious.”
“Did you know she was seeing other guys?”
“Of course. She talked about some artist friend, and I knew there were others.”
“Did Mel ever mention to you that she had some health issues?”
“No, nothing that I remember.”
“She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and probably only had a few months left to live before she was killed.”
Baxter ran a hand over the stubble on his cheek. “I had no idea.” His gaze drifted off. “Maybe that explains things.”
Leo’s brow tightened. “Explains what?”
Baxter’s gaze found my partner again. “There was a change in Mel. She was...I guess you could say maybe she was searching for something. I remember getting up one morning after we’d spent the night together, and she was sitting on her patio, crying.”
“Did she tell you what was going on?”
“Not exactly, but I think it might have had something to do with that group her sister belonged to.”
“What group is that?”
“I don’t know much about it. All I know is that Mel said Marilyn was a member going back to her college days.”
Leo leaned closer to Baxter as he said, “What exactly are you talking about?”
“Marilyn was a member of a secret group, something that called itself the Society.”
TWENTY-SIX
“All I really know about the group is that Mel said they were using her sister. She said something about Marilyn having to pay dues.”
“Who else was involved in this group?”
“I have no idea, but I got the impression whoever it was wanted money.”
I spoke up, telling Olivia and Leo what Mo had mentioned about the group. “I got the impression that maybe the leader is involved in extorting money from its members, but Mo didn’t know anything specific.”
“That could be the case,” Baxter said. “Mel said she wanted to get inside and try and stop them.”
“Do you know if she was successful in doing that?” Leo asked.
“I’m not sure. She said something about there being a contact online, I think it was through Facebook. You might check her phone, if you have access to it.”
***
Olivia got on the phone after we left Baxter’s office, contacting the department’s Computer Crimes Unit. “I need someone to meet us to go over Mel Peters’ phone and computer. They were taken when the murder scene was processed.”
Olivia was quiet for a moment, listening to the response from whomever was on the line. She then said. “Not good enough. We’ll be there within the hour, and I expect you will have an analyst meet us there. Nothing else in acceptable.”
“Sounds like we’re not a priority,” Leo said, after she ended the call.
Olivia was fuming as she worked her phone again. “They’re going to have to make us a priority.” Our lieutenant spent the next ten minutes contacting the captain in charge of the Computer Crimes Unit and getting assurances that someone would be available to meet with us.
When she hung up, she said, “Sometimes I feel like I spend my day as a burr up someone’s butt.”
Leo smiled. “Maybe that’s why some people refer to administrators as assholes.”
“I wonder what Mel’s sister knows about this group called the Society,” I said from the back seat.
“We’re going to find out as soon as we’re done with CCU,” Olivia said.
As it turned out, Olivia had gotten her point across to the captain. We were met at the Computer Crimes Unit by a supervisor named Carl Gooding. He had both Mel’s computer and phone on a counter when we arrived in his lab.
“We believe our victim was dealing with a group called the Society that was active going back to her sister Marilyn’s college days,” Olivia told Gooding. “From what we know, they can be accessed or contacted via a link embedded in a Facebook page.”
Gooding, who was in his forties, with thick glasses and an accent that made me think he had roots in Boston, said, “Give me a moment to get inside her account, then we’ll use some software to take a look.”
It took Gooding less than five minutes to find the link. He used Mel’s laptop to show us what he’d found. “This is from your victim’s browsing history. The Society is a secret closed Facebook group.”
“What can you tell us about their members?” Olivia asked.
“Not a lot, based on what we have, but it looks like they post messages to the group’s wall. There’s information about hookups and places to meet, but it’s all coded.”
“Meaning what, exactly?”
“Meaning that only members of the group can access further information about the members and the location of their meeting sites.” Gooding worked the keyboard. “Give me a sec, and I’ll see if I can get inside.”
We waited while Gooding worked his way through several screens. I let Bernie sniff around the floor of the computer lab before the computer technician called us back over.
“This is the Society’s landing page,” Gooding said. “It’s an invite-only private group that’s not accessible via the usual protocols. Mel had a password, sent by Marilyn, that allowed her to gain access.”
“What can you tell us about the group?” Olivia asked.
“There’s a photo of her and Marilyn with someone who goes by the name Lazarus.” Gooding clicked on a link, then turned the screen in our direction. We saw Mel with her sister and a man we didn’t recognize.
“What do we know about this Lazarus person?”
“It just says that he’s the founding member of the Society. No other details.”
“Can we see who else is a member of the group?” I asked.
Gooding shook his head. “Like I said, the group is closed, so the membership roster isn’t accessible. It looks like each member has a unique password.”
I heard the frustration in Olivia’s voice as she said, “Do you have any idea what the principal activity was for this group?”
“Just that it’s a way for members to learn about meeting locations. What exactly they do once they get together isn’t posted.”
Olivia gath
ered her purse off the counter. “Can you keep working on this and let us know if you get any further information?”
“Of course.”
Our lieutenant then looked at Leo and me. “Let’s go find Marilyn Peters and find out what she knows about Lazarus.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
We got back to the station just before five after making lots of calls, but failing to locate Marilyn Peters. We met with Darby and Woody and discussed the Peters case first, updating them on what we’d learned from David Baxter and the Computer Crimes Unit.
“It seems obvious there was something going on between this group that calls themselves the Society and both Mel and her sister,” Olivia said. “But the jury’s still out on whether or not that had anything to do with Mel’s death.”
“What do we know about this Lazarus guy, who supposedly leads the group?” Woody asked.
“Nothing, other than finding a picture of him with Mel and Marilyn. CCU is going to do some more digging, so maybe they’ll flesh out something more.”
“I think we should also put Jenny and Molly on finding out what they can about the Society,” I said. “I don’t think they would mind doing a little overtime.”
“I’ll call them.”
“It could be the Society is just another dating site, maybe specializing in higher end clientele,” Darby suggested. “It might be that both Mel and her sister were looking for a couple of high rollers.”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “From what we know, the group goes back to Marilyn’s college days. My friend Mo knows about them and says they’re a bunch of scammers, ripping off their membership.”
Darby looked at Olivia. “I think she’s compromising another investigation, talking to her friends.
“I am not,” I said. “She knows Mel was murdered, and that she was my friend, and happened to mention what she heard on the streets.”
“Let it go,” Olivia said to Darby. “We all know Kate’s friends have a lot of street cred.” After Darby disagreed, she said, “Let’s move on to the Wonderland case. What did you guys learn from Tina Weston’s minister?”