One Strange Accident

by Kay Wyont

  “Good luck with that,” Danny replied.

  “Are you voting no?”

  “Yes. No. Oh, you know what I mean. It’s pointless. I think we should move on.”

  “We probably should. But...”

  “Uh oh. Here we go.”

  “But...my gut is saying we should talk to them. And here, my friend, is where I pull the ‘sometimes you have to go with your gut instinct’ card. It’s also where I remind you how much time I spent sitting outside a real estate office because of your gut, and that paid off, didn’t it?”

  Danny rolled his eyes and sighed. “I really don’t like you. I hope you know that. I knew that sooner or later that would come back to haunt me. Okay, let’s interview them, just so we can close the loop. I’d hate it if someone actually had an explanation and we didn’t find out until it was too late. Besides, I do owe you one. But then we’re even. Who’s first?”

  “Brandi Clarke. She lives around Babcock and Huebner, about five minutes away. I talked to her earlier today, and she said she’d be home all day.”

  “Brandi, huh? Isn’t one of Margaret’s cats named Brandi? We’re not going to interview a cat, are we?”

  “Hang on a minute! I need to look something up.” Randy pulled out his phone.

  “I thought you knew the address. What are you looking up?”

  “Places for you to move. It’s a win-win situation. You won’t have to serve on a jury, and I won’t have to work with an idiot.”

  “So much for being brilliant. Maybe I should move. You’re mean to me.”

  “Only because you deserve it. Turn right up there.” Randy pointed at the next side street. “It should be the third or fourth house.”

  “This it?” Danny stopped at the curb by an older bungalow.

  “Yep. Come on!” Randy led the way to the house and raised his hand to knock on the door. Before he could, a rather tall young woman with long blonde hair almost ran into him as she stepped out of the doorway.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry. I was just on my way out. Are you the police?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Are you Brandi Clarke?”

  “Yes. I totally forgot you might stop by. I was going to H-E-B, but that can wait. Please, come on in.” She stood aside and waved a hand toward the couch. “Have a seat. What can I do for you?”

  “We understand you’re friends with Rick Caldwell. Is that correct?” Randy asked after a quick introduction.

  “Yes, I am. Or rather, I was. Not so much now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know anybody who would want to be friends with someone who drove into a crowd of old people. Do you?”

  “Probably not,” Randy agreed. “How long have you known him?”

  “About a year and a half. We have the same major, so we’ve had several classes together at St. Mary’s. That’s where I met him. We even went on a few dates.”

  “What can you tell us about him?”

  “Not much. If you’d have asked me that a few weeks ago, I’d have been able to tell you more, but now I can’t.”

  “What do you mean? You lost me.” Randy glanced at Danny who appeared just as confused.

  Brandi leaned back in the easy chair and frowned. “Well, I thought I knew him. I thought he was a really good guy, but after what he did, I realized I don’t know him at all. I can’t believe I’m such a sucky judge of character.”

  “Let’s make this easier for you and play a little game, Ms. Clarke,” Danny said. “Let’s pretend it’s a month ago. What would you have told us about Rick then?”

  Randy smiled to himself. Way to go, Danny. “Please try to think about Rick in those terms, Ms. Clarke. Don’t let your opinion be colored by the recent news stories.”

  “Okay, I’ll try. Like I said, he was a good guy. When I heard on the news what he’d done, I thought it had to be an accident, and I felt so sorry for him. Of course, the reports since then say it wasn’t, so I’m still in shock. Never in my wildest imagination would I think Rick would do something like that. You guys probably hear that a lot, though. Isn’t that what family and friends always say to the reporters on TV? ‘He’s the last person I would expect to do something like this.’ But in Rick’s case, it’s true.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that just doesn’t seem to fit him. Rick wouldn’t hurt a fly. As a matter of fact, that’s one of the few things I didn’t like about him. He was just a little too tame for my taste. We dated for about a month, but I ended up calling it off.”

  “How did he take the breakup?” Randy asked.

  “He seemed okay with it. We stayed friends, and I saw him a lot around campus. We’d occasionally eat lunch together after class, but that’s it.”

  “You like the bad boys, huh?” Danny asked.

  “Well, I wouldn’t go quite that far,” Brandi said with a chuckle. “I mean, I want a nice guy as much as the next girl, but he’s just a little too nice, if you know what I mean.”

  “Not really,” Randy replied. “I’m not sure how someone can be too nice.”

  “Here’s an example. Once we were eating lunch outside on the restaurant’s patio. A stupid fly kept bothering us, and I tried to smash it, but Rick caught it mid-flight. It was kind of amazing, actually. He took it to the other side of the patio and let it go. So, when I said he wouldn’t hurt a fly, I meant it literally. I don’t want somebody around who’s not willing to smash a scorpion for me, and the flatter the better. I hate those things.”

  “That seems pretty futile at an outdoor restaurant. Didn’t the fly just come back?”

  “Well, I don’t know if it was the same one or not, but yes. See? Sometimes it’s better to just smash them. And then there was the time we went to the movies. I don’t remember what I wanted to see, but he said it had too much violence and we should watch something else. We ended up at some boring chick-flick. I need a guy who doesn’t mind watching stuff getting blown up. Oh! I remember. It was The Expendables 3. I mean, who doesn’t like a good action film? Stallone, Gibson, Statham, Ford. Add in Bruce Willis and you’ve got my dream cast.”

  “Anything else, Ms. Clarke?” Randy stifled a grin. Margaret would love her. They’d watch Willis movies and beat the crap out of scorpions.

  “No. Like I said, this came as a real shock. Rick always did better in class than me, he was super polite, and our teachers all loved him. I can honestly say I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like Rick. Or didn’t, anyway. They’ve probably changed their opinion of him now. With most people, there’s at least one person who can’t stand them, but not with Rick. He’s the kind of person you immediately like and want to be friends with. When I first heard, I hoped it was another Rick Caldwell, but then I saw his picture on the news. How does someone go from rescuing flies to killing people? I just don’t get it.”

  “I can’t answer that, Ms. Clarke, but thank you for your time. If you think of anything that will help us, please call.” Randy handed her his card and stood up.

  “I will, and I hope you come up with a logical explanation. This just doesn’t seem like Rick, even though there’s no way it couldn’t be. I’d sure like to know why.”

  Back in the car, Randy said, “It’s too bad you’re married. She seems like the perfect girl for you. Y’all could spend all your time watching action movies.”

  “Except for the fact she’s almost young enough to be my daughter, you’re right. And the more explosions, the better.” Danny smiled. “Luckily, I’m already married to someone who can’t stand chick flicks. So where do we go from here?”

  Randy double checked the list. “Let me call Jesus Flores and see if he has time to meet with us. It’s just him and Linda Florentino left to interview.”

  Jesus and Linda didn’t tell them anything they didn’t already know. Rick was a nice guy who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Like Brandi, they were reeling from the shock.

  Back at the station, the detectives were surprised to see Frank Jenkins waiting for them at Randy’s de
sk.

  Danny waved. “Frank! What are you doing here?”

  “I called to talk to you guys, but they said you were out. I thought I’d come by and wait.”

  “I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Randy said. “What’s up? Is there a problem at the hospital?”

  “Sorry to say, I was seriously wrong. Rick went into the bathroom a couple of hours ago. He was in there for a while, and his parents got worried. When they couldn’t get him to answer, they tried to open the door, but he’d locked it. They called for help, and I rushed to find a nurse. When we got the door open, we found him unconscious. He made a makeshift noose out of his hospital gown and used the safety bar in the shower.”

  “How did he do that? Those bars aren’t that high.”

  “It was one of those horizontal bars higher up to steady a person having a hard time standing. He tied it at the top, and then it looks like he just sat down. There was just enough tension to make him pass out.”

  “Crap,” Randy said. “Is he still alive?”

  “Yeah, but he’s in a coma. Even if he wakes up, there’s a possibility of brain damage, depending on how long his oxygen was cut off. It took us a while to get the door open because the nurse couldn’t find the key, so it doesn’t look good. I feel so bad. I told you there wasn’t anything to worry about, but boy was I wrong. I should have predicted it as torn up as the kid was, especially after he found out about the fourth death.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “Danny’s right, Frank. Like you said, you aren’t a psychiatrist, so don’t go blaming yourself. We missed it, too, and it was his choice,” Randy said. “I’ll give the kid credit for one thing. He’s inventive. I don’t think I’d have come up with that idea. I’d have tried to get a razor and slit my wrist or overdose on some drug.”

  “So would I, but his options are pretty limited,” Danny replied. “I guess he just went with what he had.”

  “Well, until he wakes up, if he wakes up, they’ve pulled off the guard. It feels sorta weird not being there. I’d requested that assignment after the first shift, and now I don’t quite know what to do with myself. If there’s anything I can do to help with your investigation, let me know.” Frank wrote down his cell phone number and handed it to Randy.

  “Thanks for the offer, but it looks like we’re at a standstill.”

  “Well, please keep me in the loop. I sure would like some answers, if that’s even possible.”

  “So would we, Frank,” Randy agreed. “So would we.”

  FIVE

  The next morning, Randy looked up when Joe unmuted the TV they kept in the squad room to catch breaking news. A hush fell over the office as a newscast about a major accident interrupted the regular programming. A Cessna 182 had crashed into a high school gymnasium on the south side of town. The news anchors switched to a reporter on scene. “The pilot was killed instantly, and no passengers were reported on board. No students were harmed, but one staff member suffered a broken arm due to flying debris.”

  The face of a student flashed on the screen. “It sounded like a bomb went off, and everything rumbled and shook. I was so scared!”

  Another student piped up. “If Coach hadn’t let us hit the showers early because of the heat, we’d have been in there. We’d probably all be dead!”

  The report continued, anchors rattling off facts as they became available. Danny turned to Randy. “Man, that was lucky. Can you imagine if a whole class of students had been in that gym?”

  “I’m pretty sure luck didn’t have anything to do with it,” Randy said. “I’m not a big believer in luck. I go more for the hand of God directing things.”

  “So, why do you say something like, ‘if we’re lucky’ all the time? Contradict yourself much?”

  “It’s just an expression. I don’t look at it as a contradiction. Everyone has their foibles, and that’s mine. We’ve got a few extra hours...want me to list yours?”

  “I’ll pass.” Danny stuck out his tongue and turned back to the TV. “It’ll be interesting to see what the NTSB comes up with. That plane isn’t that old. Didn’t they say it was a 2012?”

  “Yes, and that’s a lot of money down the drain. They’re not cheap.”

  “How much do you think something like that would cost?”

  “Why, are you thinking of buying one?”

  “No. I was just curious.”

  “I don’t know. Let’s google it.” Randy scrolled through lists of planes for sale. “Well, most of them from 2012 say to call for the price. That tells you something right there. I can hear the salesman now. ‘If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.’ Here’s a few listed for under $300,000 but they’re all from 2002. Oh! Here we go. There are two 2012s listed, and both are a little less than four hundred thousand. That’s a ton of money. I didn’t pay that much for our house. In other words, the salesman would be right.”

  “Why are we looking this up anyway?”

  “I don’t know.” Randy sighed, drumming his keyboard. “Maybe because we can’t come up with anything else for the Caldwell case and this makes a good diversion. A bigger question, though, is why we even care about Rick. The ‘whodunnit’ part is solved.”

  “I wonder if they’ve amended the charges.”

  “I don’t know, but even if they have, they can’t officially charge him as long as he’s in a coma. And then there’s the possible brain damage.”

  “I can’t stop thinking about him. What’s up with that, anyway?”

  “Neither can I. Margaret says it’s because it doesn’t make any sense,” Randy answered, referring to his wife and confidant. “Normally we’re able to wrap everything up in some neat little package, but we can’t in this case. Not even close.”

  “That’s funny, because that’s the same thing Mary thinks. Of course, they’ve probably been talking about us. As usual.”

  “As long as it keeps them happy.” Randy’s phone rang and he snatched up the receiver. “Homicide, Monroe... Okay, Chief.”

  “That was fast,” Danny said as Randy hung up. “Sanchez?”

  “Yep, he wants to see us.”

  “I wonder why.” Danny followed Randy down the hallway.

  “He probably wants us to close Rick’s case. I’m surprised he hasn’t already insisted. I’ve been expecting it.”

  When they arrived at the chief’s office, he greeted them and told them to sit down. “Okay, guys, I need an explanation.”

  “What about, Chief?” Randy gave him his most innocent smile.

  “This.” Sanchez slid a folder across his desk. “Why haven’t you closed it?”

  Crap. I was right. “I wish I could answer that, Chief, but we can’t say, exactly.”

  “Something’s hinky, Chief,” Danny said.

  “You been watching The Fugitive again, Beckman? You know I hate that word. Why don’t you just say strange or weird? Hinky has no meaning.”

  Randy tried the distraction technique. “Are you two going to keep quoting movie lines? If so, I have better things to do.”

  “Nice try, Monroe. But you still haven’t answered my question.”

  “Sorry, Chief.”

  “Don’t you think it’s about time to move on? I’m sure it’s not the only open case you have?”

  “No, it’s not. You’re right, but so is Danny,” Randy replied. “I know it makes no sense. Caldwell clearly did it, but for some reason we can’t seem to let it go.”

  “You’ve talked to him and his parents, interviewed his friends, examined the crash site, and had forensics check the car. Did I miss anything?” Both detectives shook their heads before he continued. “You’ve gone over all of that and come up with absolutely nothing. Pack it in!”

  “Are you saying to close it, Chief?” Danny’s voice was reluctant.

  “Unless you give me one good reason why not, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  “Okay, Chief, if that’s what you want, we’ll close it.” Randy returned the c
hief’s stare. One shot, Monroe. Don’t blow it! “But, let me ask you a question. What would make a clean-cut kid with nothing on his sheet but a traffic ticket, decide one day to plow into a crowd of people? And that same kid can’t tell you why he did it, just that his mind was a complete blank at the time. What would make him do it?”

  “You know we don’t have to explain the why, Randy. Leave that up to the prosecution and the defense. Our job is to find the culprit, not explain away their actions. That’s not a good enough reason to keep a case open, so close it and move on.”

  “Okay, we will.” Randy sighed. Dammit.

  Chief Sanchez looked from one dejected detective to the other. “You two are going to give me gray hair. Or more than I already have.” He ruffled his salt and pepper head. At least he was in a joking mood now. “You reported a clean drug screen, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, it was. No alcohol, either. He did tell us he had smoked pot, but it was over a month ago. He said he wasn’t a regular user, so it would be out of his system by the time they drew his blood.”

  “He told you he’s smoked pot before?”

  “Yes.” Randy looked at the chief’s furrowed brow. Come on, boss. Make the leap!

  “What else did he say?”

  “Just that he was always the designated driver, so no way would he drink and drive.”

  “Did he spill his guts, or did you have to threaten him to get him to talk?”

  “No, he was pretty open with us. He answered all of our questions right away, although we had his parents wait outside. His father refused at first, but Rick gave us permission to question him alone. As a matter of fact, when we mentioned that if he lied we’d know once we saw the blood work, he said he’d already signed a release, so we could look at it.”

  “Are you saying he didn’t ever lawyer up?”

  “No, sir, he didn’t. His father hired one, but Caldwell’s always been willing to talk to us without him being around.” Danny flashed Randy a conspiratorial smile. The chief was interested in the case.

  “I swear, if you don’t wipe that grin off your face, Beckman, you’ll be back walking the worst beat I can find. And I guarantee you, there won’t be a donut shop within twenty miles of your location.”