Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1)

by Renee Benzaim

  Annie and Jesse laughed at Tom.

  "Well, this isn't food that's in my comfort zone," Tom said.

  "Tom, I'm not familiar with German food, either. I never ate in a German Restaurant in Arkansas. But at least I'm open to new experiences," Annie chided.

  "Be brave and try something. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. You can take it back to the office in a doggie bag and I'll eat it later."

  "OK, what do you recommend, Jesse?" Tom said.

  "Try the German Beef Sausages. They're good and I think you'll like them. They're called Knackwurst."

  They gave their orders to the waitress and Tom was surprised at how much he enjoyed his meal.

  They stopped to regroup in the parking lot.

  "What's your next step?" Jesse asked.

  "I'm going to contact the CDC and see if there is someone there we can talk to about spiders," Annie said.

  "We want to get all the reports back as soon as possible so we can compare them and look for similarities," Tom said. "The only things so far is that each victim had 13 bites that appear to be from a spider - probably a black widow.

  "Because the number is the same on both bodies, it kind of rules out randomness - at least in my mind.

  "I'm curious to see what else might be the same," Tom said.

  "Both victims were young Hispanic females and were missing their left earring," Annie said.

  "Yes, there's that, too."

  "Did the deputies find anything useful on the surveillance tapes from Happy Gas?" Jesse asked.

  "No. They said the parameters of the tapes didn't reach as far as the roadway. They also said that any vehicles that stopped for gas on that side of the lot during the time frame they were looking at didn't match a vehicle that would have the kinds of tires determined by the tire tracks that Laine cast."

  "So, another dead end," Jesse said.

  Jesse spoke up, spelling out the fear they all felt, "I hate to think we've got a serial killer on our hands with a penchant for black widow spiders."

  * * *

  "This isn't going to be easy," Annie said, as she and Tom pulled up in front of the Gutierrez home in Arvin at 2:00 PM. "If it wasn't for the coincidences between the conditions of the two women, I would wait until they buried their daughter. But we have no leads and they just might be able to tell us something that will help us find this killer."

  "I talked to Julio this morning," Tom said. "He is devastated, of course, and blames himself, but he understands why we have no time to lose. They're expecting us."

  The two detectives walked up to the modest home and the front door opened before they reached the porch. Annie let Tom take the lead.

  "Good afternoon," Tom said as he held out his hand to the young man who stood in the doorway. "You must be Julio. I'm Detective Tom Weston and this is Detective Annie Avants. Thank you for seeing us so soon. I know you and your family are going through a terrible time right now and we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us."

  "It's terrible, the most terrible thing you can imagine. The only reason we consented to see you today is to prevent another family from going through a tragedy like this. I explained to my parents that there was another victim who died under similar circumstances and you have fears that there may be more victims. They want to do whatever they can to help you find and stop this person. Please, come inside. We don't need to do our talking standing in the front doorway."

  They entered the small, neat living room and found Alana and Roberto Gutierrez sitting on the couch, holding each other while Mrs. Gutierrez wept softly.

  Annie and Tom sat down in two easy chairs that were separated from the couch by a coffee table. Julio settled into a recliner off to the side of the coffee table and introduced Tom and Annie to his parents.

  "Please accept our condolences," Annie said softly as her heart broke for the grief these three people were feeling. "I know there's nothing we can say that will make the pain any less. Hopefully we can catch the monster that did this to your daughter and prevent some other parents from suffering the same grief you are going through."

  "That won't bring back our daughter, no matter what you do to this. . .this creature who would do such a thing. I don't understand, I just don't understand," Mr. Gutierrez sobbed as he buried his face in his hands. "Our Carmen never hurt anyone. She was so kind and gentle and always laughing and smiling. Why would anyone want to take her life?"

  "We don't have the answer to that question, Mr. Gutierrez. People do bad things to other people and sometimes we never learn the reason why," Tom said. "We know this is difficult for you and we won't impose on you for very long. We just have a few questions we need to ask you, if that's all right."

  "Of course, we will be happy to help you in any way we can. We answered a lot of questions when Officer Rubio came to take the report that Carmen was missing."

  "Yes, we have the reports from Arvin PD, and our questions will most likely be a repeat of what you told them. However, this is a necessary step in our investigation. Can we proceed? Are you ready?"

  "Yes, please, ask your questions," Mrs. Gutierrez said.

  Annie stepped in to ask the first question. "It's important for the three of you to think very carefully if you know of anyone who might have wished Carmen harm. Anyone at all, no matter how insignificant it may seem."

  The Gutierrez family sat in silence for a few minutes and thought about Annie's question. One by one they slowly shook their heads.

  "In the missing persons report, you mentioned that Carmen had an ex-boyfriend who possibly had returned to Mexico. Is there a chance he could still be in the Bakersfield area?"

  "We don't know," Julio answered. "We haven't seen him for six months or more. He was illegal and lazy. Carmen felt he was just looking for someone to support him so he could hang out with his friends. It wasn't a match made in heaven. She was glad to be rid of him."

  "Still, give me his name and a description and the places he would hang out. If you have the names of his friends, we will talk to them also," Tom said as he pulled out his notebook and pen.

  "His name was Angelino Escobar. He hung out a lot in Lamont. I don't know the name of any of his friends because he didn't bring them around here. He was originally from Jalisco. Carmen only tolerated him for a couple of months before she told him to stay away from her. The last we heard, he had returned to Mexico."

  "Can you describe him? Do you know if he was affiliated with any gangs?"

  "He was about 5'8" tall, and weighed about 120 pounds. Very thin. I never saw anything that would tie him into one of the gangs. I don't think he was here long enough to get involved with them."

  "Did he have any distinguishing features, or marks, such as tattoos?" Annie said.

  "Now that you mention it, he did have a tattoo on the back of his left hand. It was a spider, with its front legs going partway down his fingers. Creepy looking thing. Carmen tried to get him to have it removed, but he refused."

  Annie and Tom looked at each other, but didn't say anything about the tattoo.

  "Mr. or Mrs. Gutierrez, is there anyone else you can think of."

  "No, no one," Mr. Gutierrez said. "And even though Angel was lazy and worthless, he wasn't an evil or mean person. Carmen just wanted someone who had a future so their life together would be happy and full of children and laughter. She didn't think she would find that kind of life with Angel."

  At the mention of the life that Carmen would now not have, the tears started flowing again and Annie and Tom realized that this meeting was over. They rose from their seats and left the grief-stricken family to their sorrow.

  * * *

  As they approached their car, Annie said, "We need to find out when Carmen's body will be released to her family and when the funeral will take place. Someone needs to discretely photograph everyone there or make a video. And watch out for someone with a spider tattoo on the back of his hand."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Thursday, 2
3 August 2012, 8:00 - 11:00 PM

  After taking a nap to recover from his night's adventures, and the amusement he felt from attending the second press conference, the man hit the road into Bakersfield. I'm going to cruise in Bakersfield's own little corner of Mexico, El Mercado Latino east of town. I bet there are all sorts of little Hispanic chicas hanging out there just waiting for someone like me to show them a good time.

  He laughed so hard he almost wet his pants.

  By the time he drove out Edison Highway, El Mercado was closed, but the Plaza stayed open until 11:00 PM. Sitting at an outside table with his beer, watching the parade in front of him, it wasn't long before some giggling girls started eyeballing him.

  "Come on over, girls," he said as he motioned to them. "I don't bite."

  Shyly the four girls strolled over and sat in the chairs around his table.

  "Can I get you a soft drink?" he asked. "None of you look old enough to drink beer."

  They giggled. "Maria is old enough," one of them said. "She just turned 21 last week."

  "Well then, I will buy a beer for Maria, but the rest of you get Coke. How's that for a deal."

  They giggled some more and he placed his order.

  "So, you all look so young and innocent, I can't tell which one is the old lady of the group. Who is Maria and what are the names of you other lovely ladies?"

  "I'm Maria," said one of the girls. "And this is Lupe, Estralita, and Marta. They're sisters and live in the house next to mine."

  "It's my pleasure, ladies," the man said as he handed around their drinks. "My name is Jerome. I just got into town from Crescent City, which is way up north, almost to Oregon. I'll only be in town for one night and I wanted to meet some real Hispanic ladies. We have a lot of Native Americans where I come from, but very few Hispanics."

  After a while, he ordered some tapas for them to snack on and they had a good time just visiting. The girls did most of the talking among themselves and he just sat there beaming and nodding.

  Finally, one of the sisters said to Maria, "We should go home now, Maria. We're supposed to be home before 10:00 PM."

  "OK," Maria said. "We can go now. It was nice visiting with you Jerome. Maybe we'll see you again if you come back to Bakersfield."

  He looked sad. "Maria, do you have to be home by 10:00 PM also? I am enjoying this visit so much I hate to see it end."

  "No, my parents don't set a limit on me. But my friends are younger, and must be more careful. I can stay a while longer," she said.

  "Girls, run along home now. It's not far and you'll be OK. I'll check on you later when I go home, OK? Tell my family I am coming in later on."

  The girls weren't thrilled to leave without Maria, but did as they were told. As they walked away, they turned and waved at Maria and her new friend sitting at the table in the El Mercado Latino Plaza. It was the last time they would see her.

  * * *

  The rest of the man's evening went as planned. He talked Maria into getting into his car and then, like with Carmen and Gabriela, he turned vicious and took her to his basement to meet his pets.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Friday, 24 August 2012, 8:00 AM

  Annie picked up the phone on its first ring as she dumped her purse and messenger bag on her desk. I haven't had my coffee yet, she thought, and already the phone is starting to ring. I hope it's important.

  "Detective Avants," she said as she shuffled her stuff so she could sit down. "Robbery/Homicide. How can I help you?"

  "I'd like to speak with Detective Tom Weston, please. This is Officer Kyle Lancaster from the Roseville Police Department."

  "Detective Weston should be coming in any minute now, can I . . . Oh, hold on a second. Here he is now.

  "Tom, its Officer Kyle Lancaster from Roseville PD for you."

  "This is Detective Weston," Tom said as he grabbed for the phone. "I hope you have some good news for me."

  "I think I'll just about make your day, Detective," said Officer Lancaster. "A woman came into the station this morning at 7:00 AM, saying the woman in the poster that you sent us is her long-lost sister, Gabriela Lozcano. She had a photo of her sister that was quite old, but it's pretty much apparent that it's the same woman."

  "Did you tell her anything about her sister?" Tom asked.

  "No, I just said that you had information about her sister and that I would call you and put you in touch with her."

  "That's good, Officer. My partner and I will get on the road within half an hour and be there by early afternoon. It's about a 4-1/2 hour drive from Bakersfield. Can you call the sister - what's her name? - and tell her to meet us at your office around 1:30 PM? If we're going to be any later than that, I'll call you from the road.

  "Sure thing, Detective. The sister's name is Reina Banuelos. She and her husband have lived in the Roseville area for about 15 years now. I asked her where her parents were and she told me that they returned to Mexico a year or so after Gabriela disappeared back in 1999. I told her to wait until she talked to you before she contacted her parents and other siblings. I didn't want them to get their hopes up."

  "That was a good idea. Thanks for the info. We'll be there just as soon as we can."

  Tom hung up the phone and turned to Annie with a big smile on his face.

  "I think we know who our 'Jane Doe' is now. Roseville PD had a visit from a woman who claims to be the sister of our 'Jane Doe'. The information she gave the Officer matches what "Gabby" told the truck driver. Her name is Gabriela Lozcano and we need to hit the road now. Bring your files and we can go over everything en route."

  "Wow, that's the best news we've had in almost two weeks," Annie said as she shoved the files into her messenger bag, grabbed her purse, and followed Tom out the door.

  * * *

  After a quick stop at the closest Starbucks to grab some coffee and a quick snack, Annie and Tom got on Hwy 99 and headed north to Roseville. Traffic was light this time of day and they made good time, arriving at the Roseville PD at exactly 1:00 PM.

  They approached the PSO and Tom introduced himself and Annie. "I'd like to speak with Officer Lancaster. He's expecting us. We've just driven up from Bakersfield."

  "Right. He told me to watch out for you. Let me give him a holler and he'll be right with you. You can take a seat over there."

  "That's OK. We've been sitting for a long time and moving around a little feels good," Annie said. "I think I'll check out your Most Wanted Posters."

  A couple of minutes later, Officer Lancaster came into the room from the back area. "It's good to see you. You made good time. I asked Mrs. Banuelos to be here by 1:30 PM unless she heard differently from me. Why don't we leave it at that and go into the conference room and review your files?"

  "Good idea. There is little doubt in our minds that this woman, Mrs. Banuelos, is the sister of our 'Jane Doe.' The truck driver told us about the same story that the sister told you."

  Tom and Annie followed Officer Lancaster into the conference room and took their seats. A few minutes later, the PSO came in with some cups of coffee for everyone and asked, "Did you have a chance to eat lunch on your way up? If not, there's a deli close by and I can get you a couple of sandwiches and salads."

  "Oh, that would be wonderful," Annie said. "I'm starving. What do they have?"

  "Just a regular deli menu - turkey, ham, lunch meat, and meatball subs, as well as other things. For salads, they offer coleslaw, potato salad, and green salad. Stuff like that. It's sort of like a Subway."

  "I think I'll have a ham and cheese sub and coleslaw," Tom said.

  "And I'll have a turkey sub and potato salad," Annie added.

  "Right, I'll be back in a few minutes," the PSO said and left the room.

  While waiting for their lunch, they went over the information Officer Lancaster had received from Reina Banuelos. When Annie and Tom looked at the actual photograph of the young woman, they knew it was their 'Jane Doe'.

  "What a shame to have to bring
this kind of news to this woman who hasn't seen her sister in so long. And she will have to tell the rest of her family. At least, it'll give them some closure, regardless of how sad it is."

  "We can't release the body until our investigation is a little further along and all of our lab reports have come back, but we should be able to release her in less than a week. I wonder where they will bury her? It could be a problem if they plan to ship her body back to Mexico," Tom said.

  "From what the sister told me, she and her other siblings live in this area. So it makes sense that they would bury her here. We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it."

  After they finished eating and cleared away their trash, it was 1:30 PM. The PSO returned to the conference room and said that Mrs. Banuelos had arrived.

  The PSO escorted Reina Banuelos into the conference room and Annie was struck by how much she resembled Gabriela Lozcano.

  "Thank you for coming in," Annie said as she introduced herself, Tom, and Officer Lancaster.

  "There's no easy way to tell you this, but the women we know as "Gabby" was a murder victim in Bakersfield. Her body was discovered on August 13th and we had no way of identifying her."

  "Oh, my god," Reina Banuelos sobbed. "I was afraid it was something bad. I felt like Gabriela was dead when I saw her sketch. Why else would someone be looking for her?"

  After they explained what happened, they gave Mrs. Banuelos a few moments to take in all the information and get her emotions under control.

  "Well, I'm glad she told that man as much as she did and it led you to me. I will contact my parents in Mexico, and my brothers and sisters. This is such a terrible tragedy, but Gabriela went out of our lives such a long time ago that we were always fearful something bad would happen to her. Can I bring her here for burial?"

  "Yes," Tom said. "I talked to the forensic pathologist before we left. He said there is no reason she can't be released to you within the week. We just need to be sure that all the lab results are in. Will you bury Gabriela here in Roseville, or in Mexico?"