The Wife of a Lesser Man (LA Cops Series Book 1)

by Sandy Appleyard

  “I tell you what. I’ll take you and whoever you invite out for dinner before or after the show. Fair?”

  “Okay, you’re invited then,” She said, giving a high five to her mom.

  “Well, there are ten tickets in there. We could all go with that many,” Richard added.

  Shelley’s chin dropped as she opened the envelope, removed the tickets and fanned them out in disbelief. “Oh my goodness! Richard! How the hell can you afford this?”

  Richard waved. “As much as I would love to take all credit, I should let you know that everyone else pitched in and I also got a discount because….well, I’m a cop.” He said, pointing his thumb at his chest and raising his eyebrows.

  Shelley exhaled and looked around the room, “Aw, thanks everyone.”

  Jessica rose from her chair and handed Shelley a small pink box with a white bow on top. The bow was bigger than the box.

  Shelley said, looking at the box. “Oh thank you, honey, you didn’t have to get me anything.”

  “It’s nothing major, so don’t get too excited,” Jessica said, casually walking away.

  Shelley opened the box there was a small costume jewellery necklace inside. It was imitation silver and the pendant a small medallion with a rose carved into the background. The lettering said ‘kiss me’, and the ‘I’ was dotted with a pink rose.

  “Oh, Jess, it’s so pretty! Thank you!” she said, gently pulling it out of the box and getting a closer look. “I love it.”

  “Hey, I’ve decided that I’m not going to a spa day with you.” Sarah raised her finger and continued “but, I will come to yoga with you.” Shelley smiled. “How’s that grab you?” “I think that would be so much fun!” Shelley grasped her hands together and clapped with glee.

  “On one condition,” Shelley said. Sarah shifted her weight onto her other leg and furrowed her brows. “You have to wear yoga pants,” she said, looking down at Sarah like a school teacher. Sarah paused and pursed her lips. She relented, “Fine, but I’m not doing any freak ass chants or anything.” She said, pointing her finger in Shelley’s face. Shelley grabbed Sarah’s finger and forced it to one side in a thumb wrestle.

  Chapter 7

  Richard bent sideways for the third time in ten minutes and winced. Mark entered his office and scrunched up his face.

  “Sorry man….turkey farts,” Richard said.

  “You too?” Mark asked, fanning the air with a file. Richard nodded “All night. Thanks to Shelley’s leftovers I had to fly solo last night. Lisa wouldn’t stay.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, it probably wasn’t all because of the smell.” Mark laughed.

  Lisa stood at the doorway sideways, with one foot overlapping the other. “Sorry to interrupt, but Karen Reed’s mom, Martha Masterson is holding.” Mark jumped up and ran to his office. Lisa followed.

  “Any more leads?” he asked.

  “Nothing in the phone records. No luck with a cell phone so far. All that’s left is the bracelet. Maybe mom knows something about that.” Mark nodded as he straightened his tie and cleared his throat into his clenched fist. He lifted up the receiver and pushed the lit button on the cradle. Lisa winked and closed the door, heading back to her office.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Masterson. This is police Chief Mark Tame.”

  Mrs. Masterson’s voice was strong and clear. She sounded alert. “Good morning Sir. Please, call me Martha.”

  “Oh, well in that case, please call me Mark,” he replied warmly.

  “Absolutely. I have to tell you, I’m a little surprised it’s taken so long for someone to get in touch with me.”

  “I understand your frustration, cases like this where it’s clean and not much evidence take time. We had to gather as much information as we could before contacting you. Otherwise the process would be very repetitive for you and might compromise any details you might be able to share.”

  “I see. Well, anything I can do to help, please ask.” Martha said firmly as if she was scolding him. Mark furrowed his brows.

  “Er..thank you. Um, tell me, when was the last time you saw your daughter?” Mark cleared his throat.

  “Well, Karen was up to see me in the summertime. I think it was in July.” She waited.

  “And how was the visit? Did she seem normal with you or were things off at all?”

  “No, things were fine then. It was afterward that she began to become distant.” Martha’s words were slightly condescending.

  “Were you close with Karen?” Mark ventured.

  “What kind of a question is that?” Martha’s tone went flat.

  “Mrs. Masterson-“

  Martha cut in “Please call me Martha!”

  “Er, sorry, yes, Martha. Um, no question implies anything; I’m just trying to establish what Karen’s relationships were like. I ask everyone I interview this question.”

  “Fine. Yes, I was close to my only daughter. I tried for many years to convince her to get out of that town and live up here where it is safe. But she wouldn’t listen. Even after that riff raff husband of hers died she still stayed. I’m not impressed at all with the way things work there. It’s taken weeks for someone to finally contact me and investigate my daughter’s death and I think it’s just disgusting.”

  She paused. “I’m not sure what happened to Karen. She just stopped calling. We didn’t have a fight or anything, she just…well, it’s almost like she disappeared. Her calls went from once a week to once every two weeks and then I didn’t hear anything from her for the whole month of September. The last time I heard from her she said she’d met someone but didn’t share anything else. She wouldn’t even tell me his name.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss Martha,” Mark said.

  Martha didn’t respond. “Are you still there?” Mark asked.

  “Yes,” Martha sniffed.

  “Can you tell me anything about a bracelet Karen had?”

  “What kind of bracelet?” Martha’s voice became clear again.

  He described the blue tear dropped bracelet to her. “No, I don’t recall her having anything like that. She did wear a lot of costume jewellery though. She bought a new piece regularly.”

  “Do you know if she owned a cell phone?”

  “No, she had one through work but she didn’t use it for anything personal. She shut it off when she wasn’t on call.”

  “Did she ever give you the number?”

  “No, like I said, it wasn’t for personal use. She was a Child and Youth Worker…but I’m sure you already knew that.” Mark could hear the condescending tone again.

  “That’s fine. We can contact her employer for it. We need to get her call records is all.”

  “I don’t see how that would be any help. She only spoke to her clients with it. I’m sure this wasn’t a job a child could have done. Although in that neck of the woods, who knows….”

  “Thank you for your time Martha. We’ll be in touch.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  …

  “Any luck?” Lisa asked, opening the door. Mark saw her rise from her chair the moment he hung up the phone. She must have been watching the line the whole time.

  Mark sighed, “Now there’s a piece of work.” Lisa crossed her arms, waiting for the details.

  “It’s no wonder Karen moved far away from her mother. She’s more upset that nobody has followed up with her than she is that her daughter is dead.” Mark stared at the ink blotter on his desk, he shook his head in disbelief.

  “Maybe the friend will have more insight,” Lisa suggested.

  Mark lifted his hand and scratched his head. “Maybe.” He lowered his hand and looked directly at Lisa. “Do we have that picture of her with the bracelet around? I’ve got another idea.”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll have someone from evidence bring it up,” Lisa said, closing the door.

  Mark retrieved his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and navigated through his address book. When he found the number he needed, he p
icked up the phone and dialled.

  “Good morning Sarah’s.” She answered cordially.

  “How’s your morning so far, Trouble? Have you scared away your customers with all the turkey farts?”

  Sarah laughed. “No, but I’ve had to send Vera out to run errands more than usual.”

  “How sweet she is I don’t have the heart to fart!”

  They both laughed and Sarah said “Whoops! There’s another one!”

  Mark added, “We could do this all day!” They kept laughing until they were short of breath.

  “Okay, okay…I know the Chief of Police isn’t calling me to ask how my ass smells today, so what can I do for you?” Sarah asked, wiping her eyes from the tears of laughter.

  Mark sniffled and wiped his eyes as well. “Well, I was wondering if you could help me with a bracelet.”

  “What for Shelley? You want to buy her another gift?”

  “No, no. It’s actually a piece of evidence from a murder we’re investigating.” There was a pause.

  “Oookay. There’s a request I wasn’t ready for.”

  “Sorry to catch you off guard. I’m kind of in a bind with this one. Do you mind if we meet up and I can show it to you? It’s not actually a bracelet. It’s just a picture of the victim wearing it when she was alive.”

  “That’s okay, it’s cool. Um. It’s probably better if you can bring it to me. I have my equipment and reference material here.” Sarah coughed at the end of her sentence.

  “Sure. Will you be around all day?” Mark asked after she cleared her throat.

  “Yup. Vera and I will both be here. It’s pretty busy today since we were closed yesterday. Everyone’s getting a leg up on Christmas shopping.”

  “Great. I’ll be in touch.”

  …

  Mark checked his watch and went into his lunch pouch to retrieve his medication. His coffee was cold but he gulped down the last sip to wash down his pill. As he swallowed he saw Lisa come around the corner with a clear plastic evidence bag in her hand. She opened it up and retrieved the picture.

  “I don’t suppose they were able to get any prints off it were they?” Mark asked, hopeful.

  Lisa shook her head with a smirk. “Whoever did this was good.” She handed him the bracelet. “What’s your plan with this?”

  “I’m going to head out to Sarah’s and see if she can help.” He answered, shrugging on his jacket. Lisa smiled “Oh, I’d completely forgotten about Shelley’s friend. That’s a great idea.” she said, high fiving him.

  Mark put his index finger up to his temple. “I’m not just good lookin’ ya know.” He winked and placed the bracelet back in the bag. “I’ll be on cell for the next few hours.”

  “Drive safe.”

  …

  As Mark arrived at Sarah’s place, his cell phone rang. He pulled the emergency brake, turned off the ignition and grunted in irritation. His bladder was about to burst. The screen said it was Shelley.

  “Hey babe, I’m in a bit of a rush here. What’s up?” he said, gathering the evidence bag.

  “Oh not much, I just wanted to let you know the girls are safe back at their dorms. They called late last night when you went to bed and I didn’t get a chance to tell you this morning.”

  “Oh good. I wondered. I hadn’t heard anything. But you know, no news is good news.” he said, trying to hurry the conversation along.

  “Did you remember to take your medicine this morning?” she asked.

  Mark sighed. “Yes, I took it right before I left. Listen, I’m about to burst here. I finished a coffee before I left and I’m dying here,” he said, trying to make light.

  “Oh. Okay. Call me later then. Love you.”

  “Sure will. Love you too.”

  Mark walked briskly to the entrance and opened the door. The bell went off and both Sarah and Vera greeted him. He pointed toward the washroom door and headed there. They both nodded.

  When he finished and found Sarah again, she was waiting for him with some small instruments and a duo tang folder. Vera was off to the opposite side serving a customer.

  Sarah’s jewellery store was rather small but held a wide assortment of both costume and traditional items. Most were custom made by local artisans. One of a kind pieces that men or women of all ages would purchase. She sold everything from earrings and necklaces to bracelets and watches.

  Glass display cases were arranged in a U-shape and they held more expensive items. In the middle of the cases were about ten floor mounted swivel displays. Some were open and others were locked. Towards the cash registers Sarah kept a few small displays for children’s jewellery.

  Certain days of the week Sarah had a chosen jewellery designer hired to work in the back with either new orders or repairs.

  “Hey Trouble. Is it getting busier in here?”

  “Somewhat, but we’ll have more traffic tomorrow when Dan, the art man, is in. So, let’s have a look at this bracelet.” Sarah said, motioning to the file Mark placed on the display counter.

  Mark opened it and pulled the copy of the picture out of the file. Sarah examined it. “This is just a run of the mill Swarovski. You can buy it at any jewellery or gift store. It’s not even that old. Like two or three years I’d say.” She handed it back to Mark. He grimaced.

  “Damn. I was hoping it would be something we could trace.”

  Sarah stared blankly at him for a second. “There wasn’t any evidence at all? No fibres or fingerprints or anything?”

  “Nothing. The guy or person must have only ever been in her house when she was killed.”

  Vera motioned to Sarah to join them when she had a second. Sarah lifted her up index finger, indicating she’d be there in a minute. Mark put the picture back in the file.

  “Thanks for your help. Talk to you later,” he said and saluted Vera on his way out.

  Chapter 8

  An idea sprang into his head as Mark ate his sandwich while speed dialling Charlie’s office.

  “Charlie!” Mark said, his voice exuberant, with his phone on speaker.

  “Hey there Chief! How’s it going? You’re awfully chipper,” Charlie observed. It was then that Mark remembered he was supposed to chew out Charlie for his team missing the hidden picture at the victim’s house. It occurred to him that Charlie also missed the boat on the idea Mark had; he wondered why Charlie hadn’t thought of it sooner.

  “Listen. Is Karen Reed’s place still cordoned off?” he asked, lowering his key slightly.

  “Yup. Sure is. Toxicology hasn’t finished with her yet so until then the yellow tape remains.” Charlie paused. “Something on your mind?” he asked with caution.

  “As a matter of fact. Um, was her vacuum checked?”

  “Uh, I don’t think so. What do you mean? To see if it was working?”

  “No. For hairs, objects, evidential matter.” Mark shook his head. “We don’t usually do that. Most of that is usually contaminated,” Charlie answered matter of factly.

  “Well, her house was spotless and if she’s anything like my wife she doesn’t clean her vacuum often. It’s worth checking out I think.” Mark paused. “I can head over there now if you’d like. It’s on my way.”

  “Um, sure. I can meet you there. Nelson is due to be relieved anyway.”

  “See you then.”

  …

  Mark pulled up to Karen Reed’s house and saw Charlie’s van parked there. Part of him wished they could make the ‘Crime Scene Investigators’ getup a little less conspicuous. The van was the same as an ambulance or paramedic but with a big blue band around the centre and giant white lettering saying ‘CSI’ with smaller lettering underneath saying ‘Crime Scene Investigation’. ‘All that for a vacuum cleaner bag’ Mark thought to himself. Why Charlie couldn’t just bring the tackle box with all the evidence collection equipment was beyond him.

  Charlie exited the van and shook Mark’s hand. “Hey, thanks for coming,” Mark said out of habit, regretting it the moment he did. Why Charlie
’s crew had missed the boat twice now was something he needed to pursue. He needed the best investigative team possible and hated the thought of moving people around within the precinct. Especially given that Charlie, the head of forensics, had been in power for so long. He was disappointed that he hadn’t taken it upon himself to make changes.

  “After you.” Charlie motioned to Mark to go on. While Nelson stood at the door, holding it open.

  “Afternoon Nelson,” Mark said. Nelson tipped his hat and then did the same to Charlie.

  “You can head back to the office son,” Charlie said.

  “Sure thing, Sir,” Nelson said and once again tipped his hat and then walked towards his car.

  Mark noticed the smell had gotten slightly worse. “This place needs to be cleared out bad. The neighbours are going to start complaining; we might have the Environmental Protection Agency coming in soon if it’s not looked after.”

  “Can we get a rush on toxicology?” Mark asked.

  “Um, they should be just about finished. I’ll follow up.” Charlie pulled out his cell phone and went back outside.

  Mark looked around. ‘Think like a woman’. He said to himself. ‘Where would I put a vacuum cleaner?’ He opened the hallway closet door. ‘Bingo!’ The vacuum cleaner was a newer model similar to Shelley’s except it wasn’t an upright but a canister style. The button release for the canister hadn’t even been dusted for finger prints. He shook his head.

  Charlie re-entered with his tackle box and a small tool box and handed Mark a pair of rubber gloves. “Toxicology will be done by the end of the day. The lab will have everything they need by then. We’ll just be waiting for the results after.”

  Mark shook his head again, but not to approve. Instead, he was nodding in disappointment. Charlie picked up on the expression and became nervous.

  “Charlie, tell me. What’s going on around here?” Mark looked directly into Charlie’s eyes not in admonishment but with concern. Charlie mirrored his expression and waited for Mark to finish.