Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1)

by Renee Benzaim

  "OK, Sarge. I was dreading that I would get a call like this."

  "I know. It's difficult. The Sheriff, as well as the Mayor, are getting worried about a general panic. This will just make it worse. First thing Monday morning, let's have a meeting and see where we stand."

  "Right, so for now, I'll call Tom and then head out to the crime scene. There isn't a lot of day light left. We'll probably have to bring in portable lights and a canopy to keep the crime scene secure overnight so Laine can finish her work in the daylight."

  "I'll make sure someone brings out the lights and canopy right away, as well as extra patrol units to start talking to the neighbors. There are a few houses close by where they can start, but that's about all that's in the area. It's not a well-traveled road."

  "OK, I'm outta here. We'll regroup on Monday morning."

  Annie called Tom to meet her at the crime scene and then headed out. The sun was just about ready to set and she knew the crime scene would be difficult to process.

  * * *

  When Annie arrived at the crime scene, Deputy Coroner James Schillings, was already there examining the body, which was laid out flat on its back like the other two. They had erected a canopy over the victim and were already using the portable lights.

  There were no bindings around her wrists or ankles, but there were marks that would be analyzed more fully by the pathologist at the morgue.

  "Hey, Deputy Schillings" Annie said as she cautiously approached where he was working.

  "Hi, Annie. This looks like a carbon copy of your other two ladies. Lividity is fixed and rigor mortis is almost fully set. She's probably been dead between 12 and 18 hours. There are blowflies swarming around, but no eggs as of yet.

  "I've done a cursory exam of the front of her body. Like the other two, she has pierced ears and the left earring is missing. Maybe it's here somewhere, maybe not. It appears she was transported in some kind of rug or heavy blanket and there are fibers stuck in the feces on the back of her hips. We packaged all the fibers for evidence.

  "When I examined the back of her body, I didn't find anything remarkable except for the fibers and the somewhat fresh feces, which probably resulted from her sphincter muscle relaxing when she died. There wasn't much, which indicates that she probably hadn't eaten in a few days.

  "I'm going to take her to the morgue now so the forensic pathologist can do a more thorough exam. You can pick up the samples of her blood and urine and other bodily fluids at the morgue to send off to the tox lab in Philly.

  "Note, of course, that she also has several bites on her lower torso which appear the same as the ones we've seen before. I won't be surprised if they're black widow bites and we find 13 of them. Whoever is doing this is one sick SOB."

  Tom arrived in time to hear the deputy's recount of what he found and began taking his photos.

  "Annie," he said, as he shook his head. "I don't look forward to going back over and telling Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz that we've found their daughter. I don't look forward to taking Mr. Ortiz to the morgue to identify the body." He shook his head in disgust and turned around to return to his Jeep.

  Annie followed slowly, obviously distraught about this turn of events. The identity of all three victims was now known, but they didn't have a reason why these women were being targeted by this person. What was the connection with the spiders?

  When she caught up with Tom, she said, "Do you think we should talk to the pet shop owners again? We've talked about doing this before. Maybe they've had time to think about this situation and will remember something else."

  "Yeah, that's a good idea, and the Army/Navy Surplus Stores also. Monday, you can take the pet shops and I'll go to the Surplus stores. Maybe we'll be lucky. They'll have heard about this victim by then and it may shake up their thinking."

  "Sarge wants us to come in early Monday morning so the three of us can review all three cases and see what we can figure out. The autopsy will most likely be Monday morning also. We can go out after that," Annie said.

  They walked over to where Laine was standing with Jesse, waiting for Deputy Schillings to move the body so she could start her crime scene investigation.

  "Hi Annie, Tom," she said. "I won't be able to get a lot done tonight, but there are deputies who are going to stay here and keep the scene secure. We'll be back at first light to do a thorough search. I'll look around tonight and see if I can find boot prints or tire tracks, and whatever is obvious under the lights, but that's about all I'll be able to do."

  "Well, do the best you can, Laine," Tom said. We'll talk to you Monday afternoon to see what you came up with. Right now, we've got to go break the news to Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz."

  * * *

  At 9:00 PM Sheriff Mick Quinn walked up to the bank of microphones that were set up on the podium, in the courtyard just in front of the Courthouse on Truxtun Avenue.

  He wasn't surprised to see many out-of-town media crews in the crowd, along with the locals.

  Sergeant Collins, Deputy Coroner Schillings, Tom, Annie, and Jesse stood behind him.

  One of the out-of-town reporters said loudly towards the podium, "If each person who speaks could please spell their name, that would be helpful."

  Sheriff Quinn just nodded, and cleared his throat.

  "I'm Sheriff Mick Quinn - Q U I N N. The first thing I'd like to do today is offer my condolences to the family of the latest victim, as well as to the families of the two women found previously - Gabriela Lozcano and Carmen Gutierrez.

  At approximately 6:30 PM, dispatch received a 911 call from an anonymous male caller who said that he had spotted a body in an orange grove off Pepper Drive, south of Breckenridge Road. He called from a pay phone and declined to leave his name. We are, at this point, analyzing the phone call to see if we can find out who called and talk to him. After making the discovery, the caller didn't enter the crime scene and didn't stick around to talk to the first responders.

  "We won't, of course, have the name of this victim for you today, but we can say that it is a young, Hispanic woman. Until we have a positive identity and have notified the appropriate family members, we won't be able to tell you her name. The autopsy will be Monday morning at 9 AM."

  "So, you can't tell us if this is the latest missing girl, Maria Ortiz?"

  "No, I can't comment on that."

  "Do you think the caller was responsible?"

  "There's no way to know that at this point. We just want to talk to this person."

  "Sheriff, did she have spider bites on her like the other two?"

  "The forensic pathologist will be releasing information on any wounds on the body in a day or two. At this point, he's barely had time to examine the body at the morgue, let alone do a thorough examination."

  "Sheriff, Sheriff..."

  "Yes, Stella."

  "Do we have a serial killer loose in Kern County? People are starting to panic."

  "Stella, I can't answer that question at this time. When we have more information from the morgue examination, we'll update you. That's about all I can tell you at the moment.

  "Please, be responsible in your reporting. Keep in mind the feelings of the relatives and friends of these young women."

  Sheriff Quinn turned and left the podium.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Sunday, 2 September 2012, 11:00 AM

  Annie lay in bed with a heavy heart. She just didn't have the motivation to get up and go to the kitchen to brew some coffee. Three girls were dead and it was her responsibility to find out who did it and put them in prison. So far she had failed to do so. The visit to the parents of Maria Ortiz had been heart breaking and she didn't think she could handle another such notification.

  She finally got up and wandered into the kitchen, but she didn't have much of an appetite and nothing sounded good to her.

  When the phone rang, it startled her. She almost didn't answer it until she saw it was Jesse.

  "Get dressed," he said as soon as she greeted him.

/>   "How do you know I'm not already dressed?" she said.

  "Because it's Sunday, Sarge made you take a day off, and you have too much time to think. You're blaming yourself because you don't know who this creep is."

  "And getting dressed is going to change all that?" Annie said.

  "Well, unless you want to go to Bagels & Blenderz in your PJs, I think being decently clothed would be a good idea," Jesse said.

  "Why Bagels & Blenderz?" Annie asked.

  "I think it's safe to say that you probably haven't eaten breakfast, or even had coffee. You're probably standing, barefoot, in your kitchen looking around and nothing sounds good. How am I doing so far?"

  "Are you peeking in my window?" Annie said, perking up a little.

  "No, but I am coming over immediately. You can decide if you want to go on a run along their running track or on a bike ride along the Kern River Parkway Bike Trail. Dress appropriately for whichever one you choose. Bye. . ."

  Annie hung up the phone and decided it was as good a way as any to spend some time. She was guilty of neglecting her exercise, so a good run would do her a world of good.

  A couple of minutes later she was ready, and when she heard Jesse honk his car's horn, she went outside to meet him.

  "Good morning," he said with a smile. "You sure look different in running clothes," he laughed.

  "Yeah, well, I feel different in running clothes," she said with a grin.

  After a light snack at the shopping center, they set off running with the thought of returning to Bagels & Blenderz for a nice lunch when they finished.

  It was a gorgeous day and as they ran alongside each other Annie begin to realize just what a terrific and thoughtful guy Jesse was.

  Maybe I've misjudged him, Annie thought. Maybe I'm transferring other people's bad karma onto Jesse. Maybe I should quit resisting him and just go with the flow.

  She kept running, deep in thought. The problem is if it doesn't work out where does that leave our friendship? But, maybe it would work.

  An hour or so later, when they returned from their run, they poked around Trader Joe's and some of the other shops in the same shopping center as Bagels & Blenderz and then went in and ordered lunch.

  Jesse hadn't said much while they were running, but now that he saw the relaxed look on Annie's face, he said, "See, Annie, that didn't hurt and I bet you feel a whole lot better. I've enjoyed our time together today and would truly like to be with you more. But, you already know that."

  Annie looked over at Jesse and smiled. "You know what, Jesse, I think maybe that could be arranged."

  A look of surprise washed over Jesse's face, but he didn't push his luck. He just smiled and reached out and took Annie's hand.

  * * *

  Sunday. . . God willing and the creek don't rise, I'm going to indulge in a little pampering of myself the rest of today, Annie thought as she stripped off her running clothes and headed for the shower.

  When she came back into her bedroom, CeCe, the fluffy white cat who had adopted Annie a couple of years ago rubbed himself against her legs and purred contentedly. She reached down and scratched him between his ears and he was in cat heaven.

  Annie was in the habit of leaving her bedroom window open at night, as she preferred the natural air, however warm, to artificial air-conditioned air. The scent of the flowers from her garden, mingled with the scent of the flowering herbs she planted by her kitchen door, drifted into the room, pleasantly scenting the air.

  Her bedroom was her sanctuary. Most of the colors were soft. She had off-white walls and throw rugs on the oak plank floors, creamy yellow pillows on the comfortable chair for reading, and bamboo plants on the mantle of the white-painted brick fireplace. She didn't burn wood in her fireplaces. Instead, she had soapstone wood-burning inserts installed. They kept her cozy in the winter and were much cleaner.

  Annie padded barefoot down the hall to her kitchen and started a small pot of espresso coffee in the little pot a friend had brought her from Morocco. It only made enough coffee for one cup, but it was the best coffee she ever tasted. She couldn't buy a cup of coffee that she enjoyed more.

  Soon, the rich aroma of the coffee filled her house and she poured a cup. She returned to her bedroom and went out through the French doors to her deck.

  After doing a few preliminary stretches to loosen her muscles, she settled in a padded lounge chair to enjoy her coffee.

  She sank back, CeCe at her feet again, took a few deep breaths, and several sips of her coffee. She felt totally at peace with her world in spite of the serial killing investigation she was leading.

  Then, the jarring ring of her cell phone pulled her out of her reverie.

  She went inside and grabbed her phone. When she saw the caller ID, her first instinct was to let it go to voice mail, but that went against her nature and upbringing.

  "Good morning, Mama," she said, forcing a smile into her voice as she headed back to the deck, phone in hand.

  "Hi, sweetie," her mom said. "You know, the funniest thing happened. . ."

  "What funny thing, Ma?"

  "We were watching the news last evening and, all of a sudden your papa shouted 'Look, there's our Annie on TV' and, sure enough, there you were standing next to that handsome single partner of yours while some officer or something was talking about some serial killings there in Bakersfield."

  "Oh, you saw the clip of the latest press conference. It's our case, that's why we were there."

  "Honey, I hate to be critical, and I know TV can make you look bad, but you really looked tired and beat down. Have you been taking care of yourself?"

  "Mama, I had a rough day, OK? There's a lot going on right now and we're very busy."

  "Well, sweetie, you know you were raised to always look your best in public. How do you expect to catch a good husband when you look so bedraggled?"

  "I don't want to catch a husband right now, Mama, I want to catch a serial killer before he kills again."

  "Yes, you're right, of course. I just want you to be happy, dear. I saw a program the other day about how a woman's biological clock just keeps ticking away - like that pink rabbit with the drum and batteries? And I know yours is ticking away more and more each day. I despair of ever having a grandchild from you, my baby darling daughter."

  "Mama, we've talked about this before. I have nothing further to add to the conversation."

  "OK, sweetie. I know I'm a bore sometimes, but I'm just your poor mama who wants you to be happy. I'll let you go for now. Your papa and I have to get ready for church. We'll say a prayer for you. I love you, dear."

  "I love you, too, Mama. Give Papa a hug for me. Bye for now."

  Her peaceful day was shot and so was her good mood. Annie was so tired of her mom's constant interference in her life. Her mom didn't know what was best for Annie and she didn't care. She had this pre-conceived notion that Annie belonged 'barefoot and pregnant' in Arkansas stuck away isolated on some farm with a hayseed husband.

  Annie knew she was making generalizations and that her sister's life wasn't that dull and stereotypical. But she resented someone else trying to make her choose a lifestyle that they wanted for her and didn't listen to what she wanted.

  That applied to Jesse as well. She realized she was sucked in this morning on that run because he was being so nice and didn't pressure her. Nevertheless, she knew, deep in her heart, once she made a commitment to Jesse, he would try to mold her into his version of what she should be.

  Maybe she should be thankful that her mom called. Maybe she avoided making a big mistake with Jesse.

  She picked up the phone and called Jesse.

  "Hi, Jesse, it's Annie."

  "Hey, Annie, what's up? I was just going to call you and invite you over for dinner."

  "Well, Jesse, I don't think so. I just got off the phone with my mom and her constant bickering about my life and I realized that I'm definitely not ready to commit to anything. I just get so pissed off when people think they know w
hat's best for me and don't even stop to think about what I want. My family is guilty of this, but I don't think you would be happy if we were in a relationship and I insisted on keeping my independence. I think what you really want is a routine family life and I'm not the one to give it to you."

  "Annie, you haven't even given us a chance to see how a relationship would work. What are you so afraid of?"

  "I'm not afraid of anything, Jesse. I just don't want other people to have expectations from me that I can't, or don't want, to meet. And I can already see that this would happen with us. For example, when I'm in the middle of a case, like this one, I think about it all the time. I don't have time to figure out what to cook for dinner or if your clothes have been picked up from the dry cleaners. And, heaven forbid, if I had children, they would suffer. No, it's not fair to you or to me for us to pursue a relationship. I'm sorry, Jesse. Find someone more suited to what you want."

  With that, Annie hung up and retreated to the sanctuary of her bedroom and wept until she fell asleep.

  * * *

  Jesse hung up the phone and rubbed the back of his neck in frustration, wondering why he was wasting his time on Annie.

  Why indeed, he thought. I think I'm in love with her. Is it too much to ask that she gives a relationship with me a try?

  He didn't know what else to do. In his heart of hearts, he hoped that Annie would change her mind and realize how much he cared for her and that he wasn't going to try to shackle her to a life she didn't want. He knew it would be a challenge, and they would both have to be patient, but he knew it could be done.

  Jesse was aware of the statistics regarding marriages between law enforcement personnel. Most of these marriages ended up in divorce.

  He could understand why. The police officers and Sheriff's deputies saw the worst side of life. Their zeal, until they burnt out, to solve their cases and bring justice to the victims, was unlimited. They really didn't have time for other people or considerations.

  He understood that. His work was similar. Although he didn't spend a lot of time out in the streets, he saw enough of the horrors of crime when he prosecuted someone to sicken him. Moreover, when someone played the system and got off scot free, it incensed him for days afterwards.