Florida Heat

by Rainy Kirkland

“The police already asked me that when they came to get some of his hair. Why would they want Christian’s hair?”

  Jo held back a sigh. In case they have to identify his body she thought wearily. “Aggie, everything they can learn about Christian helps them with the search.”

  “Even having pieces of his hair?”

  “Yep, that way they know what he looks like right down to his hair color.”

  “I gave them his picture. I had a school picture from last year. He still looks the same he’s just a little taller. Do you think that matters?”

  “No, I don’t think that matters.”

  “My show comes on now,” Aggie said suddenly and, reaching for the remote, turned on their big screen TV.

  “Wow, that’s some TV.” Jo realized it was the only decent piece of furniture in the room.

  “Danny liked to watch the games,” she said absently. “But he’d get really upset if his team lost.”

  Yeah, Jo thought, I wonder how much he bet on them. “Well, I’ll go now so you can watch your show,” she said struggling to stand.

  “Uh huh,” Aggie muttered, her focus totally on the large screen.

  “I’ll just show myself out,” Jo made her way to the door taking one last glance at the disheveled room and the woman who didn’t seem to notice. “Good night,” she said from the doorway.

  But if she heard, Aggie didn’t reply.

  * * *

  The search continued for two more days and with each passing hour Kate felt her hopes of finding Christian Witmore alive begin to slip. She knew that there was always the possibility. Elizabeth Smart was found after nine months and Jaycee Dugard survived hell for 18 years. But the thoughts of Christian Witmore having to deal with something like that made Kate sick. She’d completed a run of all the sexual predators in the general area and interviewed several but nothing had turned up. It was like Christian had just vanished, so she was surprised when she received a call from Betsy Johnson asking her to stop by the school. The woman had refused to give any information other than Kate needed to come by after school.

  Intrigued, Kate walked into the elementary school and found Diana Harkins hanging a poster for the upcoming Field Day.

  “Hey, you got it back?”

  “Oh, hello Detective Snow.” She smiled as she put the final staple in place. “On the schedule as planned.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  Diana smiled. “Never underestimate the power of the parents. I just made a few phone calls and got the ball rolling. Mr. Phelps had no choice -- reinstate Field Day or face a parental revolt.”

  “And is Betsy Johnson okay with this?” She thought of Betsy’s cryptic phone call.

  “Oh she resigned as the chair, but I expected that. She didn’t want to be responsible for all the work anyway. So in the end I get my Field Day and Betsy doesn’t have to do anything.”

  “Sounds like everybody’s happy,” Kate said.

  Diana sighed, “Well, not exactly. Mr. Phelps feels like I went behind his back and technically I did. But he never should have sided with Betsy. He knows Field Day is a tradition here.”

  “Isn’t this going to cause you a problem since he’s your boss?”

  “Not really, I’ve been here longer than he has and I have a lot of parental support. So he can yell and carry on but in the end it will all work out. The Field Day will be a success and then all will be forgiven.” Diana smiled. “I just need to be sure that it’s the best Field Day we’ve ever had, then I’ll be golden again.” She chuckled. “Right now he just considers me a thorn in his side.”

  “I guess I should say good luck.”

  “Thanks, hey, are you here about Christian? Is there any news yet? I keep hoping we’ll hear something.”

  Kate shook her head. “We’re following all leads but right now there’s nothing new. Can you tell me how to find Miss Johnson’s classroom?”

  “Sure, she’s over in the temporary building. Go through the doors and around the side of the building. You can’t miss it. She’s the last classroom on the right. Should I say good luck to you, too?” Diana grinned.

  Kate smiled back. “Nah, I have my homework so I’ll be okay.” When she entered the portable, Kate stopped. Bulletin boards welcoming students back lined the hallway and someone had already added their own creative decorations to several. She wondered why the teachers hadn’t taken down the flowers that now sported mustaches, but that wasn’t her problem. She found Betsy Johnson in the last classroom as promised.

  “Ms. Johnson,” Kate said from the doorway and watched Betsy jerk with surprise. “I’m sorry,” Kate continued entering the classroom. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Betsy immediately regained her composure. “Did you stop by the office to sign in, Detective Snow?”

  Kate shook her head.

  “Then you’ll need to go back and sign in. It’s procedure. That’s why I didn’t realize you were here. Our secretary is to inform us of any visitors.”

  “And that’s a good procedure,” Kate said, perching on the corner of one of the student desks. “But since you called me and asked me to come, I’ll let the office know I was here when I’m ready to leave.” Kate surveyed the room. It held none of the welcoming warmth of the hallway but instead rules and regulations covered much of the wall space. Posters admonished students to be good citizens and a wall chart of the times tables hung in a prominent place. Kate smiled remembering her own struggles with the nine times facts until her mother had shown her the key. “Did you have something you wanted to tell me?” She watched the woman struggle for control. Jo was right, she thought, this was the grandmother who would smack your hand if you reached for a cookie.

  “It’s not what I want to tell you,” Ms. Johnson said finally, “but what I want to show you.” She rose from behind her desk and moved to the far corner of the room. She stopped at a grouping of four student desks that had been pushed together to form a table. “I instructed the students to clean out their desks today,” she said stiffly. “I won’t tolerate untidy desks.”

  Kate moved to stand beside her. “Okay….”

  “This is Christian’s desk,” she indicated. “And as you can see it’s already full of clutter.”

  “Okay.…” Kate waited.

  Betsy reached in and started to pull out papers. “Since Christian wasn’t here, I started to clean out his desk myself and this is what I found.” She held out a crumpled wad of papers to Kate.

  Kate took the papers and flipped through them in confusion. “You thought I’d want to see his homework pages?”

  Betsy snatched the packet back and set it on the desk. “Not those,” she said with irritation. She sorted through another handful, then separating some, handed Kate another batch.

  Now Kate understood. In her hands were Internet searches on antifreeze. The article started with the headline “Danger to Pets.” A quick scan told how domestic pets could be attracted to antifreeze because of the sweet aroma and taste but how it was a deadly poison. Another sheet advertised antifreeze for cars, and a third sheet again warned of the danger to toddlers or pets.

  “Where would he have gotten these?” Kate said looking up. “Do you have a computer in the classroom?”

  For a moment Betsy looked stunned. “You think he looked that up in here? Absolutely not. Christian didn’t have permission to use the computer since he never had his homework completed on time. As to where he got that, I couldn’t say. I just thought that given the circumstances of his father’s death, that would be of interest to you.”

  “Well you’re right about that. And you’re sure he couldn’t have used your classroom computer to access this?”

  Betsy drew herself up to her full 5’3”. “I told you he didn’t,” she said tartly. “I don’t misstate the facts, Detective, and I dislike having to repeat myself.”

  Kate looked down at the papers in her hand. Oh, Christian, she thought, what have you done? Walking back to her car, Kate fel
t her phone vibrate. Pulling it out she groaned at the text. “U R needed at ME off – ASAP” Kate hit reply and slipped the phone back in her purse. Okay Willard, she thought, what now?

  It was after shift by the time she reached the morgue and she wondered if Willard would still be there. Keying her ID code she entered. She no longer noticed the odors that always seemed present and she briefly wondered when that had happened. Pushing through to Doc Tucker’s office, she was relieved to find the assistant ME still sitting in front of his computer.

  “Hey, Willard. I got your message. What’s up?”

  He swiveled in his chair to face her. “It’s after shift.”

  “I know that,” Kate said easily. “But for dedicated government employees like you and me what’s in a shift? I’ve been in the field all day and just got back. Did you need me for something?”

  He reached for a sheet of paper on the desk. “No, I think you need ME for something. I ran the DNA on your missing boy.”

  “Okay,” Kate took the report. “Let’s hope we never have to use it.”

  “Well, you’re going to want to use it,” he offered smugly. “Because his father is not his father.”

  “What!” Kate couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice.

  “I had Daniel Witmore’s DNA on file from the autopsy. And for the heck of it I ran a match between him and the hair sample that Officer Sullivan brought in.”

  “And they’re not a match?”

  “Either Sullivan brought me hair that was not from the kid, or Daniel Witmore is not that boy’s father.”

  Kate looked from the report in her hand to Willard. She knew better than to ask if he was sure. “I guess he was Aggie’s child from a previous marriage,” she said slowly. “I’ll have to ask Jo.”

  “Jo is involved with this case? I thought hers was the headless body.”

  Kate folded the report and slipped it in her bag. “She’s on the edges of this one too,” she said by way of explanation. “Both Agatha and Danny Witmore were clients of hers.”

  “But I thought she did the batterers.”

  “She does,” Kate said. “Last time Danny tried to get rough with his wife, she hit him over the head with a wine bottle. They both ended up in jail that time, hence on Jo’s client list.”

  Willard nodded. “And has she done anything more to identify the killer of our headless body.”

  “I don’t think she’s had a moment free to think about it. Look, thanks for this. If we need to test Aggie’s DNA I’ll get back to you.”

  “Have Jo get back to me,” he said turning back to his computer. “After all, it is her case.”

  Not wanting to further the discussion, Kate just turned. “Thanks again,” she called and hurried out of the land of the dead.

  * * *

  Jo looked up as Cheryl nudged a bedraggled woman through her doorway.

  “Last one of the day,” she announced. “This is Ruby. She’s here for her appointment.” Despite the heat, Ruby wore several layers of clothing none of which matched. The plaid flannel shirt hung open to show a tattered green blouse that nearly covered a once pink tank top. Her skirt hung slack on her pudgy figure and Jo didn’t want to think of how many layers were under there.

  “I’m supposed to see Miss Cindy,” Ruby looked from Cheryl to Jo in confusion.

  Jo stood and smiled. “Miss Cindy is on vacation,” she said. “But you know me, Ruby.” She indicated the woman should sit.

  Ruby hesitated and clutched her large bag even tighter. “Miss Cindy’s gonna be mad if I don’t see her.”

  “No she won’t,” Jo said. “In fact, she asked me personally if I would meet with you since she couldn’t be here.”

  Ruby cocked her head. “She wanted me to meet with you?”

  Jo nodded. “Since she couldn’t be here. She was really disappointed that she wouldn’t get to see you this month, but she didn’t want you to miss your appointment.”

  “That was real nice of her.” Ruby finally sat down. “I brought her a present but I guess you can have it.”

  Jo signaled Cheryl that she could leave and then turned back to Ruby. “A present, how kind of you.” She watched Ruby root around in her bag and pull out a badly bruised orange.”

  “Why, thank you.” She carefully took the rotten orange with two fingers and pulling out a tissue set the orange and the tissue on her desk. “How have you been?”

  Ruby’s eyes darted around Jo’s office. “Hmmm?”

  “I asked how you’ve been?”

  “Been where? I haven’t been anywhere but here.”

  “Okay, how are you doing?”

  Ruby looked at Jo with confusion. “Doing what?”

  Jo smiled and took a breath. “Where are you living now?” She reached for her pen to fill in the missing information on Ruby’s written monthly report.

  “Here and there,” she said shifting in her chair.

  Okay, Jo thought, let’s try another way. “Are you living in a house now?”

  Ruby shook her head. “Too hot for a house. Under the bridge is cooler.”

  Jo watched Ruby’s eyes fix on the jar of hard candy on her desk. “Would you like a piece of candy?”

  Ruby’s smile showed a strong dislike for dental hygiene and she nodded vigorously. Jo popped the top from the jar and offered it. “Here take some.”

  Ruby reached in and took one piece. “Can I have one for old Charley?” she asked. When Jo nodded she carefully reached in for another. “And can I have one for Mr. Burns at the grocery store?” Again, Jo nodded and again watched Ruby carefully select one piece. “And can I have one for Miss Cindy?”

  “But Miss Cindy isn’t here.”

  “I’ll save it for her,” Ruby said solemnly. And at Jo’s nod she reached in and carefully selected just one piece. “Thank you.”

  Jo watched as Ruby placed each piece of candy in a different pocket of her outfit. “Ah, I was looking over Miss Cindy’s notes, Ruby, and you were supposed to report to Lake View for some testing. Did you get there?”

  Ruby popped a mint in her mouth then shook her head.

  “You know the judge said as part of your probation you were supposed to go there.”

  Ruby sucked harder on the candy.

  “Why haven’t you done what the judge said?”

  “Got no way to get there,” she said simply. “Too far to walk. Too damn hot. Cooler under the bridge.”

  “I see. So would you go if you had a way to get there?”

  Ruby shrugged and continued to look around the office.

  “If I drove you, would you be willing to stay there for a few days?”

  Now Ruby frowned. “Stay where?”

  “The judge wanted you to go to Lake View. So if I drive you over will you stay there? It’s air-conditioned,” Jo offered. “It would be cooler than under the bridge.”

  “Under the bridge isn’t bad,” she defended.

  “Ruby, under the bridge is dangerous.”

  Ruby shook her head in denial. “Nobody bothers Ruby under the bridge. It’s a good place unless the Birdman is there.”

  “The Birdman?”

  At Jo’s question, Ruby stiffened and clutched her bag. “I don’t like the Birdman – flies here flies there, always looking when nobody thinks he’s watching.”

  “Does the Birdman bother you?”

  Agitated now, Ruby started to rock in her chair. “Ruby stays away from the Birdman. Stay away, stay away.”

  Fearing she was going to lose Ruby completely, Jo offered the candy jar again. “Would you like another piece?”

  Ruby shook her head. “Got one for everybody. Don’t need more.”

  “Then will you stay at Lake View if I drive you over?”

  “In your car?”

  “We can even put the top down,” Jo offered. “Wouldn’t you like to take a ride in my car with the top down?”

  “Like I’d be going on a vacation?”

  “Just like a vacation with good f
ood and air-conditioning. You wouldn’t have to sleep under the bridge to stay cool.”

  “Okay.”

  Relieved, Jo reached for the phone. “Just let me make a call so they know we’re coming.” When the arrangements were set, Jo stood. “Let’s go start your vacation.”

  Ruby smiled. “Everybody goes on vacation. Miss Cindy’s on vacation, the little boy’s on vacation, and now Ruby goes on vacation.”

  Jo watched Ruby look at the picture of Christian Witmore tacked to her bulletin board. “Have you seen him?” she asked.

  “Mmm-hmm, he’s on vacation with his mom.”

  “No,” Jo said slowly. “He’s missing.” She took the picture off the bulletin board and offered it. “His mom is really worried about him. Do you know where he is?”

  “How can his mom be worried?” Ruby asked in confusion. “She took him for a vacation.”

  “And you’re sure this is the little boy you saw with his mother?”

  Ruby nodded firmly. “The pretty lady came and told him they were going on vacation. Then they went away.”

  Jo took a mental step back. Pretty lady? She wouldn’t have labeled Aggie ugly but it was a stretch to call her pretty. Getting an idea she sat back down in front of her computer and called up Aggie’s mug shot.

  “We’re not going in the car with the top down?”

  “Yes, we are, but in just a minute. Ruby is this the lady you saw with Christian?”

  Ruby shook her head. “That’s not his mama. His mama was really pretty. She had gold hair and wings like an angel.”

  “But you saw someone with blonde hair take Christian away?”

  “Mmm-hmm, for their vacation like Miss Cindy and now Ruby.”

  “Okay,” Jo sent a quick e-mail to Kate and then turned off her computer. “Let’s go and get you started on your vacation.”

  Ruby paused in the doorway and reached in the pocket of her green blouse. She withdrew one of the pieces of candy. “Would you keep this for Miss Cindy? I don’t know the people on vacation and one of them might take it from me.”

  “Sure, I’ll keep it safe and give it to her when she gets back.”

  On the ride to the treatment facility, Jo tried unsuccessfully to get more information out of Ruby about the woman with the gold hair. With the top down, talking was difficult as it was and somehow Ruby had become fearful that the Birdman might be on vacation, too. Afraid that once they got there, Ruby would flee, Jo spent most of the ride trying to reassure her.

  When they pulled up outside the facility, a pretty woman in a pink sundress opened the door to greet them. “Ruby, how good to see you again. We have your room all ready for you.”