Redwood Violet

by Robin Mahle

  “Katie, welcome. Come on, I’ve got a place already set up for you.” Susan moved around her desk to shake the hand of her newest assistant.

  It was a pleasant surprise to find that she would be given an office. This wasn’t exactly a promotion and she certainly hadn’t been given a raise. Since the department was shorthanded, she assumed space must be plentiful and this was close to Susan’s office, which was probably the real reason for the upgrade.

  Susan handed over a flash drive. “The meeting starts in an hour. Why don’t you have a look at the files, then meet me in the conference room. I’d like you to sit in on this one and meet everyone. You’ll be taking minutes as well.”

  “Okay. Thank you.” She took the flash drive and loaded it up on her computer.

  An hour later, Katie was the first one to arrive in the conference room. Everyone involved with the Thompson case would be there; from the police detectives, to the District Attorney’s office, and the supervisor in charge of the case for the Advocacy Group. It was their second meeting and was the first one in which Katie would be involved.

  Her nerves were on edge as she sat waiting patiently, pen and paper in hand.

  The second to arrive was Detective Marshall Avery of the San Diego Police Department. He introduced himself and extended his hand to Katie. It appeared weathered beyond what she assumed his years to be. His face was lined, more from stress, she thought, than from age.

  “Katie Reid. Nice to meet you.”

  “Are you with the courts?” the detective asked.

  “No, I work for the Advocacy Group. I’m going to be assisting Susan with any help she might need.”

  “Great. Welcome aboard, Katie.”

  Soon after, the others arrived and the meeting began. Katie was more than a little intimidated, but soon began to feel at ease as she learned more about the team. Her supervisor, Susan, acted as the liaison for the DA and Police. She was responsible for working with the child psychologist and helping Detective Avery with gathering background information on the neighborhood, teachers, and so on.

  The DA’s office rep was Eric Jennings, who seemed less interested in the case than in ensuring his office maintained its appearance.

  The Thompson case was a difficult one. As the conversations went on, Katie learned that Isabelle had a history of hospital visits, thanks to her mother. Child Protective Services had been called in several times, but Isabelle was never taken away. Two weeks ago, she went missing. The mother appeared on television, begging for her return, proclaiming her innocence. Search parties were formed, but the eight-year-old girl had not yet been found.

  The Victim’s Assistance department was appointed by the DA’s office to help the police in the case. A child advocate was often appointed in these cases to accompany the police on school visits. It wasn’t uncommon to have discussions with classmates and teachers. The advocate’s job was to ensure the safety and well-being of any other children that may need to be questioned.

  At the end of the meeting, Katie understood why Susan warned that this would be a difficult case. It had become clear that Isabelle was abused, but it was as of yet unclear if her mother was involved in the girl’s disappearance.

  It would be Katie’s job to review statements and write summaries to submit to Susan. It was a minor role, but enough to give her access to Detective Avery. He would know how to help her find the answers she sought.

  “Detective Avery,” she called, following him into the parking lot.

  He turned around. “Yes, Katie?”

  “Have you ever worked on an unsolved case?”

  “You mean, like a cold case?”

  “I think so, yes.”

  “No. I don’t usually get assigned cold cases. They’re a sort of special division in the department. My job involves active cases. Why do you ask?”

  “I was just curious. If I wanted to know something about a case that was opened about twenty years ago, where would I go?”

  “I would suggest contacting the police department where the case would have been filed. I’m not sure it would have a cold case division. I suppose that depends on the size of the department. But, they would at least have someone who was likely familiar with the case and could possibly help. I can tell you that they would probably not discuss anything with you unless you had pertinent information.” Detective Avery paused, appearing to consider her questions. “Is there something you’d like to add?”

  Katie wasn’t about to tell him the real reason. Who knows if it would cause a problem with her work here? Defense lawyers could dig up anything and if they thought someone who had been abducted as a child worked on this case, they might try to call some sort of prejudice and have the case dismissed.

  “I was thinking about getting more involved in forensics, maybe going back to school.”

  “That’s great.” Detective Avery opened up his car door. “Good luck, I hope it works out for you. In the meantime, glad to have you on our team.”

  He drove off, leaving Katie standing alone in the parking lot. She was a little disappointed at his abrupt departure, but figured there would be more opportunities.

  * * *

  At the end of the busy day, Katie gathered her things and stood at the entrance of her new office. This is where I’m supposed to be. She turned off the lights and headed out to meet Spencer for dinner at the Fish House Restaurant downtown. She could hardly contain her excitement and couldn’t wait to tell him about the meeting. For the first time, she felt truly fulfilled with her work. It had a purpose before and she didn’t want to dismiss that, but this was something different. Working on this case meant she was playing a part in helping to find young Isabelle.

  The valet helped her out of her car when she arrived at the restaurant. This was one of her favorite places to eat. At the entrance, beautiful sconces with dancing blue flames flanked either side of the heavy dark wood-plank doors. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimly lit interior, but she managed to spot him and he waved her over.

  When she walked towards him, he stood up to greet her with a kiss.

  “You look like you had a good day,” he said.

  “It was amazing.” She slid next to him in the curved booth with its high, upholstered back, offering almost complete seclusion. “I learned so much today about how cases are constructed and all the moving parts. It really was a fantastic learning experience and I can’t wait to really get into the meat of things.”

  “That’s great. I was a little hesitant at first, but now that I see how much you enjoy it, I think this was probably the best thing you could have done, Katie.”

  “I think so too, babe.”

  “Let’s order some drinks. Maybe we can talk about our meeting with the wedding planner this weekend.”

  It had slipped her mind. “That’s right. Good, we can finally get those invitations ordered.” She wanted to be excited about the wedding and she was, to an extent. But, maybe with all that happened today, the wedding couldn’t really compare with her newfound interest.

  She led the conversation back to her new job and filled Spencer in on who attended the meeting.

  “Eric Jennings was there?” he asked.

  “Yeah, you know him?”

  “I know of him. I hear he’s not the easiest guy to work with at the DA’s office. I’d stay out of his way if I were you.”

  “To be honest, I don’t think I’ll have much contact with him anyway. But, it is kind of cool that we have something in common to talk about, work-wise, I mean.”

  “Yeah, I suppose it is.” Spencer seemed pleased by Katie’s enthusiasm.

  At the end of the meal, he led Katie to her car and opened the door. “I’ll see you back at home.” Tapping the roof, he signaled his departure, but not before leaning into the open driver’s side window for a quick kiss.

  She turned the ignition and pulled away.

  * * *

  “It’s getting late and I’ve got more depositions early tomorrow mor
ning. You don’t mind if I head off to bed?” Spencer raised up from the couch, stretching his back.

  “Not at all, you go on. I’m going to stay up and catch up on some paperwork for Richard.”

  “Okay, but don’t stay up too late.” A perfunctory kiss followed and he shuffled towards the bedroom.

  It was already ten o’clock and she didn’t know how long she’d last, but she wanted try to get a few things done before going to bed. Keeping up on her other responsibilities was part of the bargain. It wasn’t fair to ask Jennifer to take on too much, especially since she wasn’t getting paid for her extra efforts.

  After finishing her budget updates for Richard, Katie loaded the files from the flash drive Susan had given her. She opened the Child Protective Services files and began reading the history of Isabelle Thompson.

  The social workers had been out half a dozen times to check in on Isabelle; each time the report indicated the need for a follow up. There was no visible evidence of any injuries, but she appeared pallid and thin. The other children in the house, her siblings, never suggested any mistreatment to the social workers. When Isabelle went missing on the morning of April 10th, it wasn’t until the mother came home from work that she reported Isabelle’s disappearance, although she had received a message on her cell phone from the school indicating the child had not shown up. It remained unclear as to why the mother hadn’t acted earlier upon hearing the school’s message.

  The police and protective services arrived at the Thompson home shortly after the mother’s call. The report indicated that the other children were questioned separately, but nothing arose of any material significance. It was also noted that the mother, claiming to have been at work, could not explain the late hour at which she called 911. It was 8 p.m., two hours after her shift was over.

  It was becoming clear that Susan’s cautioning was warranted. Based on the information in these files, anyone would feel a little unnerved at the possibility of who was responsible for Isabelle’s disappearance.

  “Katie, are you coming to bed?” Spencer rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the light in the living room.

  She looked up at the wall clock; it was nearly 1 a.m. “Oh, I had no idea it was so late.” She closed the lid of her laptop and rose from the couch. “Yes. I’m coming. I’m sorry I woke you.”

  She started towards the hall, walking past a near-comatose Spencer. He followed her to their room and shut the door.

  11

  THE SAN DIEGO police station was thick with the frenetic pace of officers, civilian staff, and what she assumed were detainees when Katie arrived there the next morning. She had expected to find only a few cops here and there, exchanging whimsical gibes with one another, but then remembered that this wasn’t a movie.

  Susan sent her to the station to have Detective Avery sign off on some requisitions for the Thompson case.

  “Excuse me,” Katie said to the officer behind the front desk. “I’m looking for Detective Avery. I have a 10:00 appointment with him.”

  “Can I get your name, please?”

  “It’s Katie Reid, from the Advocacy Group, regarding the Thompson case.”

  The office raised the phone receiver and pressed a few buttons. “Detective Avery, there’s a Miss Katie Reid here to see you. She says she has an appointment.”

  Katie watched as the officer nodded his head and put down the phone.

  “You can go on back. Andrews, can you show this young lady where Detective Avery’s office is?” he asked the officer sitting at a desk in what appeared to be a sort of bull pen area.

  “Sure. Come on back with me, miss.”

  Katie followed Officer Andrews through the maze of hallways. They passed a holding room, the break room, and finally arrived at Detective Avery’s office.

  “Thank you, officer.”

  Andrews nodded his head, made a brief gesture of acknowledgement to Detective Avery, and then disappeared.

  “Come in, Katie and have a seat. I understand you have a few things for me to sign?”

  “Good morning, Detective Avery. Yes, I have a couple of things for you.”

  “Please, call me ‘Marshall.’” He motioned her to sit.

  Katie pulled out a manila envelope from her carrier bag and handed it to him. “Here you go, Detective, I mean, Marshall.”

  Katie watched as he read through the paperwork. He was older than she was, by at least ten years, she guessed. His light brown hair was longer than that of the other officers’; not long, but not crew cut either; more styled. He wore street clothes, a blue polo that was sharply pressed, and khaki pants with a perfect crease down the middle of each leg. It was late April in San Diego; rarely did men dress in suits, with the possible exception of lawyers.

  She noticed his brow furrow with every signature, as if he objected in some way. Katie was just the messenger, so she was not privy to the contents of the requisitions. The detective picked up the newly signed papers, straightened them on his desk, and slid them back into the envelope. When he handed it back to her, Katie finally got a full view of his face. Up until that point, he had only briefly made eye contact with her when he introduced himself. Even as they stood in the parking lot yesterday, he was fumbling with his keys as he spoke.

  His olive skin stood in stark contrast to his light hair and bright green eyes. They were so perfectly green, she wondered if they were contacts. Although he didn’t seem the type of man to wear colored contacts. No, that had to be his God-given color; beautiful in their shade and tired in their appearance.

  “Detective—I’m sorry—Marshall, can I ask how long you’ve been a police officer?”

  Marshall’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the question. “Seventeen years.”

  “So, you must have been what, about twenty then?”

  A hint of a smile crossed his face. “Yes, that’s right. I joined the force when I was twenty. That’s very perceptive of you.”

  “I guess you could say I’m pretty good at reading people. Did you start off as a beat cop, I think they call it?”

  “Sounds like you watch too many cop shows on TV, but yes, most of us start on the streets.”

  Katie felt at ease with the detective and wanted to inquire further about unsolved cases. “I suppose I do watch a few.” She paused briefly. “I was wondering if you knew anything about when a case goes from active to unsolved, and then is filed away. I was curious as to how long it would take and what the criteria would be for a case to be considered cold.”

  “That’s a good question. Typically, a cold case is a murder or other felony that has no statute of limitations. Disappearances or cases where a suspect has yet to be identified could be considered cold cases as well. That just means new evidence could present itself, like DNA. Now that we have this technology, it’s not uncommon for police to re-open a cold case if other forensic or DNA evidence becomes available.

  “A case would probably turn cold if all leads had been exhausted and no new evidence came into play. The length of time would be determined by the officers in charge of the case. They would know the most about it and be able to make that call.”

  Katie was engrossed in the detective’s every word. So much so that she hadn’t realized it was her turn to speak.

  “Katie?”

  “Oh, yes, thank you, Detective Avery. You’ve been a tremendous help.” She gathered her things and made her way to the door.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” He held out the manila folder.

  “Thank you,” she said, slightly embarrassed.

  “Have a good day and tell Susan ‘hello’ for me.”

  “Of course, and thank you again.” She quickly made for the exit.

  * * *

  “Do you have the signatures?” Susan lowered her reading glasses and raised her head above the computer screen, catching sight of Katie as she walked in.

  “Yes. Here they are.” She handed her the envelope.

  “Great. Thank you. I’d like you t
o make a few calls to the school for me. Here are the people I need you to contact.” Susan handed over about a dozen business cards. “There’ve been some students having a difficult time and they’d like us to arrange the counselor to come down again. Could you coordinate that for me, please?”

  “I’ll get started on it now.”

  The coordination effort managed to take up much of the rest of her day. By the time she was finished, she had just enough time to touch base with Jennifer, then she headed out for the day.

  It was nice that the days were getting just a little bit longer. Katie enjoyed watching the sun set on her drive home, instead of it already being dark by the time she left the office. It had a calming effect on her.

  She opened the door to her apartment to find Spencer already home. He was rarely home before 8 p.m. and here it was only 7:30.

  “Hi there. I didn’t expect you to be home so early. I guess we can sit down for a nice home-cooked meal tonight then?” she asked.

  “So, I’ll be doing the cooking?” he replied, greeting her with a kiss.

  “Ha ha, very funny; but hey, if you’re volunteering?”

  Spencer walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “How was your day?” he asked.

  “It was good. I’m really enjoying this work. How about you?” She followed him into the kitchen and grabbed a large pot. “How about spaghetti?”

  “Sure. That sounds good.” He took some meat out of the freezer and stuck it in the microwave. “It was busy today, but since I had gone in early, I was able to wrap things up a little earlier than usual.”

  “So you got your depositions?” Katie filled the pot with water and set it on the gas stove.

  “Yep. It was tedious, but we got what we needed. Oh, before I forget, I’ve rescheduled us to review the invitation proofs tomorrow night, instead of Sunday, if that’s okay?”

  “Yeah, of course; that should be fine.” Katie actually felt a little excited about seeing how the invitations turned out. Megan, the wedding planner, had sent some samples the other day via e-mail. She forwarded the message to Spencer and left it up to him to make the final decision.