Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1)

by Renee Benzaim

  * * *

  Tom was sitting at his desk reviewing the calls they received about 'Jane Doe' when his phone rang.

  "Detective Weston," he said.

  "Detective, my name is Stetson Maddox. I think I saw that unidentified girl whose picture is on a poster at the Texaco station in Pumpkin Center."

  Tom pinched the bridge of his nose to relieve the pressure building up in his head. Numerous calls about the identity of their 'Jane Doe' had come in since the Press Conference, and none of them checked out.

  "Tell me when and where you saw her, Mr. Maddox," Tom said.

  "Call me Stetson, please. My legal name is Orville, but everyone calls me Stetson because I always wear a hat.

  "I'm a long-haul truck driver. I carry freight up and down California. About two weeks ago, on August 3rd - I checked my log to be sure - I saw a young lady hitchhiking on an access road to the I-5 freeway just outside of San Diego. I know the Chippies down there don't like hitchhikers, so I pulled over and asked her if I could give her a lift.

  "She said, sure, and hopped into my cab. She said her name was Gabby and she was headed to the Roseville area to try to find her sister."

  "What time of day was this, Stetson?" Tom asked

  "Early afternoon, about 2:30 or thereabouts.

  "We made good time and only stopped once to get something to eat at a truck stop. We pulled into Mikul's truck terminal in Pumpkin Center - the one across from the Texaco station just off the 99 Freeway - about 6:30 PM.

  "I planned to stay parked there for a while and catch some sleep in my cab, so she said she would go on into Bakersfield and spend the night. She wanted to shower and get a good night's sleep so she would be 'presentable', as she put it, when she arrived in Roseville.

  "I offered to buy her dinner, and she accepted, so we walked down to a restaurant called Los Arcos where I frequently eat when I'm in that area.

  "She was quiet most of our trip, but opened up a little more at the restaurant. She said she and her family hadn't been in contact for 13 years. In her early years she was rebellious and went her own way, ending up in San Diego. Now, she wanted to make amends to her family, but she didn't know for sure where they were. When she first left, they were living in the Fresno area. She searched for them online, but didn't find anything. She did, however, find the name of someone she thought was one of her sisters and who lived in Roseville. This sister had married before Gabby left the family and the name was the same. In addition, the sister's husband loved the Mother Lode area, so it made sense that they were living there.

  "So, that's where she wanted to start her search."

  "Did she tell you the name of her sister?" Tom asked.

  "No, she didn't, and I didn't get her family name, either, just Gabby. She also said she'd just celebrated her 28th birthday on the 1st and realized she was getting older and wasting her life."

  "When did you first see the poster?"

  "Today. I pulled into Mikul's again and walked over to the Texaco to get something cold to drink. The poster was up in a couple of places. I was shocked. It looks just like Gabby. Of course, it's a drawing, not an actual photograph. Then I talked to the man behind the counter, and he told me the story of the discovery of her body."

  "Do you remember the name of the clerk?" Tom asked, as he scribbled notes on his legal pad.

  "Yes, it's Farhad. I think his last name is Raj.

  "Of course, word of the spider bites on the body are the talk of Pumpkin Center, and when Farhad mentioned that, I remembered something else that happened when Gabby and I were eating dinner.

  "I noticed that our waitress seemed uneasy and nervous. When she came to our table to see if we needed anything, she kept glancing at a man sitting at a table in a dark corner of the room. I asked her if she was OK, and if the man was bothering her. She said, no, he just gave her the creeps.

  "Just about then, he stood up and walked to the counter. He wore one of those white mesh tank tops that you can see through.

  "His tattoo caught my attention."

  "What was it?" Tom asked

  "On his back, just below his neck and positioned between his shoulder blades was a large tattoo of a black widow spider. The tattoo artist positioned the tattoo so that when the guy flexed his shoulders, the legs appeared to move. Really gave me the creeps."

  "Can you give me a physical description?" Tom asked.

  "He was about 6'0" tall, not overly muscular, but it looked like he kept himself in shape. He had long hair, dark brown, and had one ear pierced with a circle. I don't normally notice people this much, but he drew my attention. He wore jeans and cowboy boots. Nice boots that had probably cost a lot. That's all I remember.

  "The waitress, whose name is Blanca, took his money and he left. I didn't see what he was driving or if he was on foot."

  "Stetson, how long will you be in Pumpkin Center today? I'd like to come out and talk to you in person, get a signed statement of what you just told me, and show you an actual picture of our 'Jane Doe.' I'm afraid it's a morgue shot, but it's not disturbing. Her face wasn't damaged in any way."

  "I will be happy to stay for as long as it takes. I'm ahead of schedule right now. I can meet you at Los Arcos Restaurant."

  "OK, great, Stetson. I'll get what you told me typed up and be there as soon as I can. I'm coming from Norris Road in Bakersfield, but it shouldn't take too long. How will I recognize you?"

  "Well, I'll be wearing a Stetson," Stetson laughed.

  * * *

  Annie returned to her desk from the break room just as Tom hung up the phone.

  "What's up?" she asked, leaning over his shoulder to see what he was writing.

  "I think I have a lead on the identity of our 'Jane Doe'," he said. "A truck driver picked up a young woman in San Diego on August 3rd and drove her as far as Pumpkin Center. When he was in Pumpkin Center again today, he saw our poster and called me.

  "I'm going to type up the information he gave me and meet him in an hour."

  "Did you get contact information on the trucker?" Annie said.

  "Oh rats," Tom said, as he banged his hands on his desk. "I was so interested in what he was saying that I only got his name. I don't even know the company he drives for. I'd better get going and hope he doesn't leave before I get there. It'll only take me a few minutes to type up my notes. I'll leave a copy on your desk so you can read them. He mentions a man he saw that, in his words, was a real creep. You'll find it interesting."

  Tom typed up his notes into report form, printed a copy for Annie, and rushed out the door. The last thing he needed was to lose the one witness who may have a clue about the identity of their 'Jane Doe.'

  * * *

  When Tom returned two hours later, Annie was at her desk reviewing the Murder Book to see if there was anything she missed.

  "Did you find your trucker?" she asked Tom.

  "Yes, he was still there. He read the statement, but didn't have anything new to add. I talked to the waitress, Blanca Cardenas, and asked her about the man with the tattoo. She said she only remembers seeing him two or three other times. She doesn't think he lives in Pumpkin Center. He doesn't say much - just sits in the back of the restaurant and minds his own business. She doesn't know why he creeps her out, but he does. Los Arcos is a more upscale restaurant than the little taquerias that are popular in Bakersfield and she isn't used to seeing someone like that in there. Their main clientele are local business people and families. Their prices are mid-range, but reasonable.

  "I made a sketch of the tattoo as best they could remember it. I told Blanca I would send down a police sketch artist to help her recreate his likeness and she said that would be fine if they could come when her shift was over, which is at 5:00 PM. Stetson will already be gone by then.

  "I called Sarah and she said no problem.

  "I also talked to the clerk at the Texaco, but he doesn't remember seeing anyone with a tattoo like that, so I will wait until I get a picture drawn and the tattoo ske
tched up and then have some uniforms visit all the businesses along Taft Highway to see if we turn up anything."

  "Did the trucker recognize our 'Jane Doe' when you showed him the morgue photo?"

  "Yes, and it shocked him. He said she was so vibrant and full of life and looked forward to reuniting with her family. It upset him."

  "Well, he isn't high on the suspect list, but he's still there. He was with her on the day she allegedly disappeared and he had opportunity," Annie said.

  "Yes, but what would his motive be and where would he keep her for ten days?" Tom asked.

  "I didn't say he was the perfect suspect, Tom, I just said we couldn't rule him out for the time being. Can you run a background check on him and see what you turn up? Also, his itinerary for the ten days between when he said he dropped her off and when her body was found?" Annie asked.

  "I'm one step ahead of you. I got copies of his logbook for those days and will verify them with the trucking company. That's about it for now."

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Thursday, 16 August 2012, 3:00 PM

  "What are you going to do next, Tom?" Annie asked when Tom looked up from his computer while searching for spider tattoos that matched the one on the back of 'John Doe'.

  "As soon as Sarah gets us the sketches from Blanca Cardenas, I'm going to circulate them to the local tattoo parlors. For the moment, I'm getting ready to visit pet shops and see what I can find out about our local citizens who buy spiders for pets. Do you want to come?"

  "No, thank you. I have no love for spiders. They give me the creeps. I think I'll stay here, research spider phobias, and see if maybe I can figure out what kind of person would do something like this to another human being.

  "And, we have a big problem, Tom. Sarge is concerned about the number of cases in this department that are 'cold'. She refuses to consider them 'cold cases', just says that they are 'still under investigation', but I know she's getting heat from the powers that be. Now, with this case already three days old and no real leads, the pressure is mounting and the media is not being kind."

  "I feel the heat, also, Annie. I don't know what else we can do. Deputies and detectives are scouting the area between where the body was found and where the truck driver said he last saw her in Pumpkin Center. Everyone in Pumpkin Center is being interviewed by deputies and other detectives in the off chance they saw something, or someone, suspicious. So far, no luck."

  * * *

  Tom left the office to visit several local pet stores in the area. He knew it was a long shot, but many people liked to keep spiders, especially tarantulas, as pets. He wanted to get a list of customers with this hobby and see if anyone matched the people he was talking to. In any event, he could run checks on them and see what turned up in their background that might lead them to use black widow spiders as a way to torture and kill someone.

  He also left each store he visited a copy of the spider tattoo and said he would have a deputy stop by later with a sketch of the man who bore the tattoo.

  Several of the pet storeowners were helpful and said that they did sell some tarantulas as pets. Unfortunately, most of them didn't keep the names and addresses of their customers and unless they paid by credit card there was no way to track their purchases. Some of the storeowners promised to go through their credit card sales receipts and see what they could find. It was a long shot, but Tom hoped it would pay off.

  * * *

  When Tom and Annie met up at the Detective Bureau later that day, they talked again briefly with Sgt. Collins to bring her up-to-date on both Gabriela and Carmen, who was still missing. They told her what Stetson Maddox reported, but there wasn't much else new to report.

  "I'm going to call the Placer County Sheriff's Office and tell them what's going on here and what Mr. Maddox told us about our 'Jane Doe', possible name 'Gabby.' Roseville is a small town, just over 100,000 people, and maybe they can circulate the sketch and see if anyone comes forward. I'll ask them to pass the information on to other towns in their County in addition to the city of Roseville," Tom said.

  Tom turned to Annie. "Did you find out anything about spider phobias?

  "Nothing surprising. It seems that a vast majority of people are afraid of spiders. It's called arachnophobia and is usually irrational. However, it is treatable."

  "Uh, maybe you should check out the treatment," Tom said. "You get very pale whenever we talk about spiders. What do you think?"

  "I think I'll keep my irrational fear, thank you. I think the cure would be worse than the problem."

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Friday, 17 August 2012, 9:00 AM

  The next morning, Tom and Annie found copies of Sarah's sketch of the 'spider man' on their desk. They made numerous copies, along with the spider tattoo sketch, and gave them to the deputies who were canvassing the area around Pumpkin Center.

  Tom settled back down at his desk to call the Placer County Sheriff's Office.

  "This is Detective Tom Weston from the Robbery/Homicide Unit of the Kern County Sheriff's Office," Tom said when the clerk answered the phone. "May I speak to someone about a murder victim, a 'Jane Doe', that we have here who may have connections with people in Roseville?"

  "Sure thing, Detective. Let me connect you with Detective Forrester Plourde in our Homicide division. Hold on, please."

  A few minutes later, Detective Plourde came to the phone.

  "Detective Plourde, how may I help you Detective Weston?"

  "This is probably a stretch, but we had a homicide that went down on Monday, August 13th. The victim is a Hispanic female, no identification, no clothes, no fingerprints on file anywhere we could find. Our sketch artist did a drawing and we posted it all around Kern County. Yesterday we received a call from a long-haul truck driver who saw the sketch when he stopped in Pumpkin Center. He identified her as the same female he gave a ride to from San Diego to the Bakersfield area sometime during the first part of August. There were indications on her body that she was held captive for several days before her death on the 12th or 13th of August, which is when her body was dumped, so his recollections fit our time frame.

  "They ate dinner at a local Mexican restaurant before she took off on foot to go into Bakersfield and he returned to his rig to get some sleep. We talked to the waitress, but there was nothing she could add as far as our 'Jane Doe' was concerned.

  "He said they didn't talk a lot on their trip, but she did mention that she hadn't seen her family for 13 years, that her name was Gabby, and she was heading for Roseville, the last place that she knew one of her sisters lived.

  "What I would like to do is email you all the information we have, including the sketch of the victim, in the hopes that you could post the picture around Placer County, especially Roseville, and maybe someone will come forward who knows who she is."

  "We'd be glad to help. As soon as I get the information, we'll make copies and have our deputies spread it out around Placer County, with a concentration on the Roseville area."

  "That would be an immense help, Detective. I hope that it will turn up something positive. We've reached a standstill as far as identifying this young victim, but her death was bizarre and we really want to find her relatives."

  "Just send the stuff over and we'll get on it right away. If we hear anything, we'll get in touch with you immediately."

  "Thanks a lot, Detective. I hope to hear from you soon."

  After visiting several tattoo parlors with no results, he wrote that avenue of investigation off as a dead-end.

  * * *

  Tom put down the papers he was reviewing and picked up his ringing phone. "Detective Weston."

  "Detective, I'm the owner of Your Petz in Bakersfield.

  "You were here asking about people who may have bought spiders for pets, or showed an interest in them.

  "I have a very short list that I've reconstructed from my invoices. I could only go back a couple of months because I usually turn all my invoices over to my accountant every coupl
e of months.

  "I could email this list to you right now, if you'd like to see it," he said.

  "That would be wonderful. Thank you. I'll watch for your email."

  * * *

  When the email arrived, Tom checked out the names and was stunned when one of the customers turned out to be Joseph Al-Fassi, one of the Autopsy Assistants at the morgue. In fact, he was the diener who assisted in the autopsy on 'Gabby'.

  When Annie came in a couple of minutes later, Tom showed her the list.

  She looked at it in silence, her face a study of incredulity.

  "Wow, what should we do now?" Annie asked.

  "I think running a background check on Joseph is the first order of business. I don't think we should talk to anyone at the morgue yet until we get some information back. However, we need to act quickly because we don't know the killers motivation or if he plans to strike again. We also need to keep Carmen Gutierrez in mind. Is she a victim of the same man or is her disappearance unrelated."

  "I'll start a background check and you can see what you can find on line," Tom said.

  A few hours later, Annie gave Tom the information she found. Tom didn't find anything special on the background check.

  "I called his alma mater, but they aren't allowed to release personnel records without a court order. However, there was an article in the local newspaper during the time he attended about a student who brought a tarantula to the cafeteria on his shoulder and a cafeteria worker went into cardiac arrest when she saw it. The student was Joseph. They had to call 911 and rush her to the hospital. The administration wasn't happy with him, but he wasn't suspended even though there is a rule about having pets in your dorm room."

  "Did it say why he did it?" Tom asked.

  "His response was that he forgot the tarantula was sitting on his shoulder when he decided to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. He didn't see what the big deal was.