"Here's my card. If you think of anything else, give me a call. If I can't pick up, you can leave a message and I'll get back to you. Or, if he comes in again, call us, but don't make him suspicious."
"OK, will do. I'm not going to ask you what this is all about 'cause you probably won't tell me - at least on TV they never do."
Tom laughed. "Let me get a length of that rope and I'll get out of your hair."
After paying for his purchase, Tom headed back to the Detective Bureau.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Thursday, 30 August 2012, Noon
"I don't want to be morbid or poke my nose into business that isn't mine, but can you share Tom's story with me?" Laine asked Annie as they ate lunch at Jake's Tex-Mex Cafe on Oak Street. "It's been nagging at me since I started working here.
"I know he's been a widower for several years. His aura is just so melancholy that sometimes it hurts to look at him."
"How much have you heard?" Annie said. "It's really not a subject I like to talk about."
"I heard his wife was killed during a bank robbery turned bad in July of 2006. I don't know the details. I guess I could look up the newspaper accounts, but that seems a little extreme. I just thought you could fill me in, but if you're not comfortable talking about it, that's OK. I apologize if I've stepped out of bounds. He's such a nice guy, but so lonely."
"I can tell you what I know. If you're working with him now, it makes sense for you to know where he's coming from.
"Back in July of 2006 Tom and his partner were working in the Fraud Division. A lot of their work was done through research, of course, and on this particular day they were downtown to check some records at the County Recorder's Office. The bank wasn't far from there, just a small branch, nothing big. When the call came in of a bank robbery in progress, they responded.
"Things quickly got out of hand. The robbers panicked and took hostages. As soon as the SWAT team arrived, they set up a perimeter. The hostage negotiator made contact with the robbers immediately upon his arrival at the scene.
"There were three robbers. The bank had just opened its doors and there were eight customers inside in addition to four tellers and the Branch Manager. Two other staff members were also present, so the total count was15 people in all, plus the bank robbers.
"The robbers were radical. They didn't expect to find themselves in that position. They thought they could stroll in, rob the bank, and stroll out. However, one of the employees was just returning from the safe deposit box area and they hadn't seen her yet. She had time to push an alarm button before one of the robbers spotted her, realized what she had done, and shot her.
"Needless to say the robbers were in a panic when the SWAT team and everyone else arrived. They made the other fourteen people lie on the floor. They obviously didn't know what to do next and they had already killed one person. It didn't look good.
"The hostage negotiator talked to them for a long time. Finally, they made their demand - safe passage to Meadow's Field where a small plane was to be waiting to take them away. They would tell the pilot where they wanted to go when they arrived.
"It wasn't a very well-thought out plan. They didn't even ask for any money.
"They said if their demands weren't met within thirty minutes, they would start killing the hostages.
"And no matter how much talking and agreeing to their demands the hostage negotiator did, they didn't wait after the thirty minutes was up to show everyone how serious they were. They picked Mary.
"Up to that point, Tom didn't realize that Mary was in the bank because the parking lot was around back and he didn't see her car. When they put Mary at the front door, Tom yelled "NO!" Mary just had time to catch his eye before they shot her in the back.
"Tom's partner had to restrain him from bolting to her side and getting himself shot as well. In the confusion, the SWAT team found a way into the bank and were able to take out the robbers without any of the other hostages getting hurt. However, it was too late for Mary and the other bank employee.
"The paramedics on the scene had to sedate Tom and he was taken away. Tom's heart froze that day. It took him months of therapy before he could return to work. At first, he went into a comatose state and responded to nothing. His and Mary's family had to come and take care of all the funeral arrangements for Mary. Tom wasn't even able to attend her funeral. And to make matters worse, during her autopsy the pathologist found out that she was six weeks pregnant with their first child."
Laine sat there with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I almost wish that I didn't know," she said, "but now I can understand why Tom sometimes disconnects and gets that far-away look in his eyes."
Annie patted Laine's hand, then continued, "After he recovered, he left Fraud and threw himself into the Drug Enforcement Unit. He was driven and he didn't care. Nevertheless, he never did anything to endanger his new partner or the other members of the team. He was very successful at busting drug dealers. Part of his motivation was the fact that the bank robbers were looking for money to buy drugs. He hated druggies after that, even more than he had before.
"In December of 2009, Tom's partner retired, and Tom was assigned to be my partner in the Robbery/Homicide Unit beginning in January of 2010, when I transferred there from the Rural Crime Unit. By then, he was ready for a change from the violent world of the Drug Enforcement Unit. That's how he ended up with me.
"I didn't know anything about his history when I came here from Mena. The Drug Enforcement Unit keeps to itself and I didn't have much contact with Tom while I was working in the RCU. However, like you, I sensed a deep sadness in him.
"Since we would be partners and responsible for each other's backs, I asked about him and Sarge told me the story that I just told you. I was concerned at first, thinking he would be a 'hot dog' and not think things through, but I was wrong. He's very thorough and conscientious, and I couldn't ask for a more caring partner. I truly feel he would die to protect me, and I would do the same for him."
"Thanks, Annie, for telling me this. I will keep it to myself, of course. It just helps me understand Tom a little better."
"Do I detect a hidden interest lurking there somewhere, Laine?" Annie asked, with a smile.
Laine blushed a little. "I'm not sure, but I am drawn to him somehow. We'll see how it goes. I haven't had a lot of contact with him outside of work until recently. We've seen each other at the meetings at your house, of course, and there was our fun night at the Crystal Palace.
"Noelle and I are going over to Tom's this Saturday afternoon to learn how to make coil pots with real clay. That's about it, so far.
"I have my own issues to deal with, so I'm not in any hurry to even think about the possibilities of a relationship, especially with someone I work with. I can see the problems you and Jesse face and you're not even an 'item' yet," Laine said, laughing.
"Yeah, well, I'm not sure I want to be an item with anyone, not even Jesse, as fond of him as I am."
The ladies finished their lunch chitchatting about non-work related topics and then went back to work.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Friday, 31 August 2012, 2:00 PM
Tom, Jesse, Annie and Mike slowly walked out of the Church following the funeral mass for Carmen Gutierrez. The church had been overflowing with mourners for this vibrant, young woman taken from them.
They made their way to the cemetery for the interment, keeping a watchful eye out for anyone who looked suspicious, but they saw no one. Mike took as many discrete photos as was possible under the circumstances.
Annie didn't have much to say and the men could tell she was distraught. They were all feeling the pressure to find this perp and Maria Ortiz wasn't far from their thoughts.
"Two funerals in one week," Annie said. "That's two too many."
Tom put his arm around Annie's shoulders and gave her a hug.
"We're doing what we can, Annie," he said. "This perp is just slick and doesn't leave us much to work with
."
"I know. I'm just so worried that he has Maria Ortiz now and is putting her through the same thing these two women suffered. Soon we'll have another funeral to attend. And then maybe another and another. . ."
Tom looked over his head at Jesse and Mike and shook his head. "We'll get him, Annie. It's just a matter of time."
"Yeah, I know," Annie said. "It's just that Maria may not have much time left.
CHAPTER FORTY
Saturday, 1 September 2012, 11:00 AM
"Hey, come on around back," Tom said when he answered his front door to Laine and Noelle.
He picked up Noelle and carried her to the building at the back of his home that housed his pottery supplies, kiln, and the kick wheel he had built himself several years before, as well as two electric wheels.
"I'm glad to see you're both wearing jeans and t-shirts. Clay gets on everything. Sometimes I have to stand outside and hose off before I can go into my house," Tom laughed.
"Well, this is going to be fun. They just started making little things out of clay at Noelle's school and she loves it. It's nice of you to show her a real pottery studio. Who knows, maybe she'll become the next great master potter," Laine said as they entered the studio.
"Wow, this is nice. I didn't know what to expect, but this is very professional looking. What do you usually make?"
"I throw a lot of larger planters and a friend of mine makes macramé hangers for them. Then we sell them to local nurseries or private buyers. Word gets around. Unfortunately, as much as I love throwing pottery, I don't have a lot of time to spend in my studio."
"That's an impressive looking kiln in the alcove outside. Did you build it yourself? It doesn't look like something you can just go out and buy," Laine asked.
"Yep, I sure did. It's a catenary arch kiln and I built it one brick at a time. I can fire up to Cone 12 in it, which is about 1200 degrees F. It's wood-fired and I run it a lot in the winter because it keeps the studio warm.
"Noelle, come here, let's cut you some clay. Here's a plastic apron you can put on."
Noelle followed Tom to a small table set up for her. "I love clay," she said.
Tom laughed, "So do I, Noelle. It just feels so good.
"This clay in called Sandstone Buff. I buy it from Quyle Kilns in Murphys and of all the clays I've used over the years, it's my favorite." He cut a chunk off for Noelle and placed it on the table.
"OK, Noelle, the first thing you want to do is knead it like this." He showed her how to push and turn the clay. "This makes it easier to work and gets out any air bubbles."
Noelle did as she was shown, while Tom and Laine sat on stools at her table and watched her little hands work the clay.
Tom cut a couple of larger pieces for him and Laine and they kneaded their clay also.
"What we're going to do is build a pot by hand, using coils. Take a piece of your clay, about this big", he showed her a piece about the size of a golf ball, "and start rolling it between your two palms on the table to make a long rope. Like this. . ."
He demonstrated and all three of them set about making a long rope.
"Next, take the coil and start, well, coiling it to make the bottom of your pot." He started Noelle's coil and then let her do it herself.
"Make sure you keep the coil close, with no gaps. If you need to, wet your fingers and rub a little water on the sides of the coils to help them stick to each other.
"When you get the bottom as big as you want it, tuck the coil under the pot and make sure it's sealed good and not lumpy. Smooth it out if you have to. Then, wet the outside coil - like this - on top and begin with a new coil to make the sides of your pot. Kind of squish the coils a little together as you go. When we get the pot as high as we're going to build it, we'll smooth the sides down and make sure there are no gaps."
All three of them worked building their pots, watching Tom carefully to make sure they were doing it right.
"I'm like Noelle," Laine said. "I love the feel of the clay, and the smell."
"I'm finished," Noelle said. "It's big enough for Kool-Aid now. When can I take it home?"
"Well, we'll smooth it out a little and make sure it sits flat so it doesn't tip over. Then, tomorrow I plan to cook all the different items I have ready in the big kiln. That will take a couple of days. When it's finished, and cooled off, I'll bring it to your Mom and she can take it home to you. How does that sound?"
"Great! Thank you!"
"How are you doing, Laine?" Tom asked. "That looks pretty good and you've already smoothed it out nicely."
"I'm finished. I don't want to make it any taller. Just a shallow bowl is fine for now. I'd really like to learn how to do it on the wheel."
"That's doable. It's not hard to learn. We can do wheel work another time while Noelle builds a whole collection of coiled vessels.
"For the moment, if we're done here, I have a suggestion. Noelle, do you think your Mom will let us all go to John's Incredible Pizza? Hmmm? Or maybe Chuck E Cheese?"
"Oh, oh, Mom, can we go to John's Incredible Pizza? Please. I love to go there. There are so many games and things to play."
Laine laughed. "Well, it's not the most nutritious place to eat, but they do have plenty of different buffets to choose from. I say, let's get outta here and go eat until we pop."
Within ten minutes, they were cleaned up and out the door, on the way to an afternoon of pizza gluttony.
* * *
After their incredible pizza, Tom drove Laine and Noelle back to his house so she could collect her car.
"It was fun today," Laine said to Tom as he walked her and Noelle to their car. "Noelle just loved messing with the clay and you're really good with kids."
"Yeah, Noelle is a great little girl. You can be proud of how she's growing up."
"Thank you. It hasn't always been easy, but she's the center of my life."
Tom paused, and turned to Laine. "Listen, Laine, I enjoyed today very much. I was wondering if we could see each other again, maybe go out to dinner or something?"
Laine hesitated a second before she answered.
"I'd like that, Tom. You're a special kind of guy and I'd enjoy spending more time in your company."
"Hey, what about me? I like Tom, too," Noelle piped up.
Tom and Laine laughed.
"Of course, I want to see more of you, too, little lady. You're a lot of fun to be with. Look at all the games you won at John's Incredible Pizza. I have to have a chance to try again, right?"
"Right," Noelle said as she ran to the car and got in.
"Well, the boss has spoken," Laine said. "Thank you for a wonderful day, Tom." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"My pleasure, Laine, and we'll plan something soon. I'm looking forward to spending more time with the both of you."
"Me, too. Bye for now."
Laine left and Tom stood there for a moment. "I hope I'm not starting something I'll regret later," he said as he walked back up the path to his front porch.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Saturday, 1 September 2012, 5:00 AM - 7:00 AM
The man yawned and stretched as he woke up. Ahh, he thought. It's time to take my latest guest to her final resting place. She's practically dead already, so it's not fun anymore.
He already knew where he was going and it was a little further than the last two ladies. This time he had picked out a beautiful orange grove on Pepper Drive just south of Breckenridge Road. There were some houses nearby. but he didn't anticipate anyone observing him at this time of day.
After a quick breakfast and cup of coffee, he went down to the basement to look at Maria. For all intents and purposes, she appeared dead. She had already had her 13 spider bites so there was nothing left to do. With a pillow, and little resistance from Maria, he smothered her.
He laid her on a rug on the floor and rolled her up for transport. He didn't need any mess in the back of his SUV.
After checking outside to make sure no one was
around, he carried Maria up the stairs and put her in the back of his SUV.
His main concern with this site was that there was a lot of soft dirt along the roadway so he really didn't want to drive on it and leave tire tracks. In addition, he wore slip on shoes so he could take them off and walk into the orchard in his stocking feet. That should give them pause, he thought.
When he arrived at the site, he was glad to see that no one was about in the house nearby or the orchards. "I guess they're all taking the weekend off," he said out-loud. "What do you think, sweetheart? Are you going to be lonely? Will they find you soon?"
He stopped his vehicle down the street from the house, being careful to stay on the black top. He slipped out of his shoes and carried Maria into the orchard, about three rows up from the roadway. He unwrapped her and laid her nude body on her back in the soft dirt next to the trees. He had removed the rope from her ankles and wrists and the duct tape from her mouth before he left his house. "Bye, my dear," he said as he turned to leave. "I hope you're in a better place now."
He returned to his vehicle, still noting that no one was around, made a u-turn, and went home.
* * *
Here we go again, Annie thought when her phone rang at 7:00 PM and the caller readout said it was Sgt. Collins. I don't know if I can deal with another body. This whole thing is getting out of control and we don't have a decent lead.
"Hello."
"Good evening, Detective Avants," Sgt. Collins said. "I'm afraid I'm going to ruin your evening. Another body has been found in an orange grove off of Pepper Drive, south of Breckenridge Road on the east side."
"Am I right to assume that the body is probably that of our latest missing person, Maria Ortiz?"
Sgt. Collins expelled a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid that's what it looks like, Annie. The first responders had a photo of Maria in their unit and they said it appears to be her. One of them confirmed she was deceased, called it in, and then they roped off the area. A Deputy Coroner, Deputy DA, and Laine and her crew are heading that way. I'll let you contact Tom, OK?"
Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1) Page 19