no looking back (A Breakdown Series Short Read)

by Debra Webb

  In reality, beyond the initial required training, Shutter Lake’s police force was nothing more than glorified mall rent-a-cops. Keeping an eye on things and occasionally nudging a citizen who misbehaved to watch his or her step. Laney had driven folks home from local pubs, she’d watched after their houses while they were traveling—even fed their birds and fish from time to time. The truth was, Shutter Lake hadn’t needed a seasoned detective like her. A seen-it-all former LAPD detective, at that. But she’d come here—to this paradise tucked in the valley—twenty-four months and one week ago badly needing the calm and tranquility the town offered. McCabe had been glad to have her on board. So much so he’d given her an impressive title to go with an unexpectedly generous salary.

  Now it seemed they were going to need the special skill set she had hoped never again to drag out of retirement.

  “Focus, Laney.” With both hands she grabbed the gritty cop instincts she’d once trusted completely and hauled them from the black hole where she’d tossed them two years ago. She’d promised herself she was never going back there. Never.

  The home’s front door had been unlocked and ajar when one of the victim’s employees, one Renata Fernandez, arrived at the house to see what was keeping the boss this chilly Thursday morning. No indication of forced entry at that door or any other potential access points into the home.

  Sylvia Cole, owner and operator of a local house cleaning service called Sparkle, was usually in her downtown office by six every morning, Monday through Saturday. When she hadn’t shown by seven-thirty, Fernandez had come looking for her. Fernandez had given her statement and was currently sequestered to the back deck. She’d told Officer Trask she couldn’t be in the house with her friend lying dead on the floor.

  Laney glanced beyond the wall of windows on the other side of the room. The woman sat in one of the four metal chairs flanking a table on the expansive deck. Her cell phone was in Laney’s pocket. She didn’t want Fernandez calling anyone and discussing what she’d found. Fortunately, once the lady had called the police, she’d been too distraught to think to call the Cole family or anyone else from Sparkle. Trask had arrived on the scene to find her kneeling on the floor next to the victim, deep in prayer as she rocked back and forth.

  Sylvia Cole’s arms were spread out to her sides, her legs slightly bent at the knees and angled to her right, her left hip prominent. Laney’s first impression was that the body had been posed. The victim’s long blond hair fanned around her head, her blue eyes stared unseeing at the steeply vaulted ceiling where a fan slowly turned. Her pink nightshirt sporting the Sparkle logo was hiked up to the tops of her thighs. When Laney crouched down for a closer look she noted the victim wore lavender panties. No bruising on the thighs or other visible indication of sexual assault.

  No blood. No visible physical injury at all beyond the ring of bruises circling her neck. Laney didn’t need a coroner or a forensics expert to tell her the woman had been strangled. There were no ligature marks suggesting a rope or a scarf or belt. The bruises were unquestionably made by the killer’s hands. Laney had seen it before. Pinpoint hemorrhages in the whites of the eyes suggested the same, manual strangulation.

  This murder was close up, perhaps executed by an intimate of the victim since there was no sign of forced entry. Despite Shutter Lake’s peaceful reputation, folks weren’t naïve. Some of the most brilliant minds in the world lived in this small town. They locked their doors. And, maybe the oddest part of all, no indication the victim fought her attacker. As far as Laney could see there was no skin under her meticulously manicured nails. No bruises or other marks on her arms.

  “Shit,” Laney muttered again.

  She shook her head. If the killer was someone the victim knew, then in all probability he—and it was most likely a he—lived right here in Shutter Lake.

  Clearing her mind of the disturbing thought, Laney absorbed the details of the room. The chair that had stood at an angle to the sofa was overturned. A teakwood tray, clay potted African violet and a magazine had been swiped or knocked off the ottoman that served as a coffee table. Potting soil from the shattered container had spilled across the floor. The victim’s purse lay on the floor by the table closest to the door. A wooden bowl atop that table held wads of keys. In addition to the usual car and house keys, the victim had keys to her office, to her clients’ homes and businesses. Laney hoped her clients’ keys were locked up in the office downtown. Sparkle serviced the who’s who of Shutter Lake.

  Her wallet was empty of cash and credit cards. A hairbrush, lip gloss, a tampon that looked as if it had been in her purse for ages, and a bottle of over the counter pain medication had been unceremoniously dumped on the floor along with half a dozen of her business cards.

  One of the cards, the side that featured Sylvia Cole’s gorgeous smile turned up, lay next to the pile. So young. Damn.

  The rest of the main living area was undisturbed. Laptop sat on the dining table, opened to the online boutique where she’d been viewing holiday wear. No dishes in the sink, no clutter on the counters. No stacks of this and that on the dining table. Even the fridge was pristine. Wine, cheese, fruit and a box filled with tempting cupcakes from the local bakery were neatly organized. Evidently the queen of clean kept her own abode sparkling, too.

  The small house had two bedrooms and two baths beyond the expansive main living area. Bedroom one and the smaller bathroom were located to the left of the dining area while the master suite was to the right of the living room. With another glance at the woman on the deck, Laney headed down a short hall to the master bedroom. This bedroom also looked out onto the back deck that spanned the length of the house. French doors were locked. Two towering windows looked out onto the woods that butted both ends as well as the back of the property.

  On the bed pale blue sheets were tousled as if the victim had already been tucked in for the night when her killer arrived. Or maybe she’d been in bed with her killer. Using both gloved hands, Laney picked up the twisted flat sheet and sniffed it. Perfume—she glanced at the bottle of Angel on the dresser, the vic’s—and something more masculine. A combination of leather and something citrusy, maybe lemon. Definitely men’s cologne. The faint white stains on the fitted sheet would tell the tale of what took place in the bed most recently. Not that Laney had any doubts about her own conclusions.

  On the bedside table a cell phone was plugged in to charge. Laney picked it up and scanned the calls and texts. Nothing since six yesterday evening until about six-thirty this morning. Sylvia either didn’t communicate with anyone during that time or those particular contacts had been deleted by the killer.

  Beyond the tousled sheets, the bedroom appeared to be in order. No strewn clothes or overturned furniture. She ventured into the en suite bath. The pristine tile walls of the shower were dry, a loofah lay on the marble bench and a towel hung over the glass door. The terry cloth was dry to the touch.

  A walk through the closet showed a chic wardrobe impeccably organized. The jewelry box on the built-in bureau was overturned. Costume jewelry pieces lay scattered on the smooth white surface. Any fine jewelry was gone. Laney would need a family member or friend to determine what, if anything, was missing.

  She wandered back to the main living area. The victim had money, no doubt. She’d started her business right out of high school with nothing but a broom and a bottle of window cleaner, she’d touted in her locally run commercials. By the time she was twenty-one she had an office downtown and a six-woman crew. Her only competitor had packed up and left town that same year and no other cleaning service had dared invade Sparkle’s territory.

  But if a burglar was after money—Laney paused to consider the victim once more—why not choose the home of someone else in Shutter Lake? There were dozens of far wealthier residents.

  Access.

  Laney’s gaze strayed to the security system’s keypad. Generic, definitely not high end. According to the monitoring company, the system had not been activated
in the past twenty-four hours. Why have a security system if you weren’t going to use it? Yet, lots of people had one installed and rarely used it. They loved the idea of having one, felt some sense of security just knowing it was available. But it didn’t work if it wasn’t activated.

  Either way, Sylvia Cole likely knew the person who killed her. Clearly she opened the door to him or her. Laney was leaning toward a male perpetrator considering the semen stains on the sheets.

  If the motive was nothing more than robbery, why not take any number of other highly marketable items—like the laptop on the dining table, or the latest video game console on a shelf right under the television in the living room? This didn’t have the feel of a robbery.

  This was a murder staged to look as if a robbery attempt had gone very wrong.

  As if she’d said the words out loud, the woman on the deck stood and turned toward the wall of windows. Her gaze landed first on the victim lying on the floor. Fernandez’s body visibly shook. Finally her attention shifted to Laney. She was afraid. Afraid of what the future held for her now that the owner of the business that represented her livelihood was dead, and devastated by the abrupt and unexpected loss of her longtime friend.

  Laney walked toward the French doors that separated the stylish interior from the rustic outdoors. This home was an accurate depiction of the woman who had lived here. The interior reflected her taste in the finer things. But then, why not? Sylvia Cole was the only child of wealthy parents. A young woman born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth. Yet, as an adult, she had chosen to work hard and make her own way, even forgoing the Ivy League education both her parents had attained and offered to provide for her.

  Sylvia Cole had been her own person and completely confident in who she was.

  The air was crisp on the deck. The woman, Renata Fernandez, was the victim’s second in command at Sparkle. Fernandez had been with the service since the beginning. Like the victim, she was young, maybe twenty-five or six, and beautiful. One couldn‘t help noticing that all those employed by Sparkle were young and beautiful. Was that a prerequisite of employment? If so, why? Were these ladies providing more than cleaning service?

  Slow down, Laney, you’re allowing your own dark experience to color your conclusions.

  “Ms. Fernandez, it’s a little brisk out here. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be inside? We could go to the guest room.”

  Fernandez shook her head. “No. Please. I can’t go back in there.”

  Laney nodded. “I understand.” She pulled out her cell and sent Trask a text to bring coffee when he returned. Fernandez needed warning up and Laney could use a second cup herself. “Would you like to sit, Ms. Fernandez, or do you prefer to stand?”

  This time of year the temps dropped into the forties, occasionally lower, at night. Laney would just as soon stand as to sit in one of the metal chairs but she would defer to the other woman’s wishes.

  “Thank you, Deputy Holt. I prefer to stand.” As she said the words she turned just enough that the interior of the house was no longer in her line of sight.

  “Ms. Fernandez, how long did you know Sylvia?” Laney knew the answers to many of the questions she intended to ask, but she needed the witness’s confirmation. The more mundane questions also helped to put the other person at ease.

  Fernandez hugged her arms around herself much as Laney had done earlier. “Please call me Renata.” She drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “We met at a club in Grass Valley when we were in high school.” She shook her head. “We both had fake IDs so we could get beer.” Her cheeks flushed. “You know how it is when you’re that young. You’re foolish and eager for the rest of your life to happen as quickly as possible.”

  Laney nodded. “I did the same thing. I hated all the guys my own age. Older guys were far more interesting. They didn’t hang around the skating rink or the bowling alley.”

  Fernandez nodded, her smile sad. “That’s why we went to the clubs.”

  She fell silent for a moment. Swiped at her eyes with the wad of tissues in her hand.

  A faint smile tilted her lips and she went on. “We became friends and she told me about her plans to start her own business. She had no desire to go to college the way her parents wanted. She talked her mother into giving her the college money to start her business and for a down payment on her home.” Fernandez looked around. “She bought this place when she was nineteen years old. She ran the business from right here for two years. Then we moved into the office downtown.”

  “Were the two of you partners?” Again, Laney had the answer but she wanted to know more about their relationship. The best way to get all the right information was to ask all the wrong questions. Most people would go to great lengths to correct your mistakes, always adding more than requested in the process.

  “No. I’m just like the rest of the crew, an employee, but we were best friends.”

  “Did you feel as if after all this time you should have been more?”

  Surprise flared in her eyes. “Of course not! The business was her idea. Her idea and her execution. I was just along for the ride. I feel honored that she asked me to be her right hand. I was very grateful she had so much faith in me when she made the offer. She pays me way more than I’m worth and treats—treated me,” her voice warbled, “with respect and admiration.”

  Laney reached into her jacket pocket and retrieved her notepad, flipped to a fresh page then dug in that same pocket for her pen. “What about the other employees? Can you give me their names, cell numbers and addresses?”

  Fernandez swiped at her nose and cleared her throat. “Of course.” She frowned for a moment. “I actually have all their contact information in my phone. Would you like me to share those five contacts with you? Their addresses are in the notes section. All of them are at work this morning.”

  “That would be great.” Technology was an amazing thing. “Do you recall an employee, past or present, having trouble with Sylvia? Pay disputes or assignment issues?”

  Fernandez’s chin lifted in defiance of any suggestion of discord. “Never. She paid us all well. Used our personalities and strong points to choose assignments.” Her expression hardened in challenge. “Maybe you don’t know this, but Sylvia made it a point to hire people who might not have a chance at a good life otherwise. She sought out those less fortunate. She was an angel.”

  Laney had a reasonably clear idea what she meant, but she wanted her conclusions confirmed. “How do you mean less fortunate?”

  “We were all undocumented when we were hired. Most of us didn’t have a real home or food on a regular basis. Sylvia helped us with the paperwork for citizenship. She helped us find better places to live. I’m the only one who lives in Shutter Lake. The others commute in together from the Grass Valley area, but they have nice places. Two even own their own homes.”

  “So all of you owe Sylvia a great deal?” Fernandez nodded in answer to Laney’s question. “Do you have any idea who might want to harm her? Did she ever have trouble with anyone outside the business? Maybe she mentioned someone who was bothering her.”

  Obviously someone had. Of course there was always the chance the murder had been an act of impulse or of opportunity if the robber hadn’t known Sylvia was at home when he chose her place to burgle.

  Except that Laney had a feeling this was not about a few pieces of jewelry or a handful of cash and plastic.

  Her investigative skills might be a little rusty but not that out of shape.

  Fernandez shook her head adamantly. “Everyone loved Sylvie. I never knew her to have a harsh exchange with anyone.”

  Laney thought of the rumpled sheets. “What about a boyfriend? Was Sylvia seeing anyone?”

  “I don’t think so.” The other woman considered the question for a minute. “Sylvie—that’s what her friends called her—was very independent. She didn’t want anyone telling her what to do, not even her parents. She made up her own mind and did what she pleased. She didn’t w
ant to be tied down with a husband or children.” She smiled, the expression not quite so sad this time. “I told her one of these days that clock of hers would start ticking and she would marry the first man who looked her way.”

  “Sylvia was young and beautiful and,” Laney began, highlighting all that the witness had said about the victim, “as you said very independent, but she would still have needs.”

  Another flush crept up Fernandez’s cheeks. “This is true, yes. But if there was anyone special she never talked about it with me. She was very private about that aspect of her personal life. She liked keeping her home life and work life separate.”

  So much for her friend having a clue about the victim’s lover. With any luck, DNA would give them a place to start. But that was only if the semen on those sheets led back to someone in one of the databases at their disposal. Prints would be useful as well. The problem was, all those things took time. Even in a small town like Shutter Lake, determining who might have been involved with the victim would take time—particularly if that someone didn’t want to be discovered.

  Chief of Police Griff McCabe was also their forensic tech. He’d been the official evidence collector in Shutter Lake for nearly two decades. Most of the time that duty encompassed nothing more than gathering prints and sending them to the lab in Sacramento. But this was different.

  Way different.

  Inside, the front door opened and the chief walked in, Trask, carrying a drink tray with four coffees, followed right on his heels. Laney flashed a smile for Fernandez. “Officer Trask brought you a coffee to warm you up. I’ll send him out.”

  Fernandez thanked her and Laney gave her a reassuring smile. Hopefully she would eventually recall any disagreements the victim had with coworkers or any potential romantic interests. No one went through life without roadblocks or obstacles and certainly not without heartbreak.