She nodded and walked back into the dining room.
Vanessa put away her notepad. “Should we see what Colt has to say about his sister’s story?”
Jason nodded. “If we can get him out of his room.”
Destiny came into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
Jason waited for her to turn around. “Destiny, we were wanting to speak to Colt. Has he come out yet?”
She shook her head. “He’s pretty depressed.” She held up a can of beer. “I was just getting this for him.”
Jason wasn’t sure the beer would help. “Can you tell him we would like to speak with him?”
“Of course. I’ll be right back.”
She disappeared across the dining room, returning less than two minutes later. “Colt asked if it could wait. He doesn’t feel up to it right now.”
Jason looked at Vanessa, who shrugged. He nodded. “Tell him we understand. We’ll talk with him tomorrow.”
“I will.”
She turned back to leave, but Jason stopped her. “Destiny?”
“Yes?”
“How would you describe the relationship between Colt and Natasha?”
Her face darkened. “Not good, I’m afraid.”
“Do you know why?”
“Yes. It had to do with Colt dropping out of school. She didn’t approve.”
“Thank you.”
She gave a half-smile and headed back to the bedrooms.
Back outside, Jason checked the time. 5:15. “I owe you Stumpy’s, and everyone is at Splashtown. Feeling hungry yet?”
“Yes—”
His phone rang, and he held up one finger. “Hold that thought.”
He answered. “Detective Strong.”
“Jason, this is Noah Hatcher.”
“Hey, Noah.” He pushed a button on his phone. “You’re on speaker. What’s the news?”
“I’m about to begin the autopsy on Janet Ellard. I thought you and Vanessa might want a heads up.”
Vanessa scowled, prompting Jason to smirk at her. “Perfect. We’ll come by.”
“Okay. See you then.”
Vanessa was already opening the car door. “It’s not fair!”
He had to laugh. “Life’s not fair.”
“Look.” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “Unless it comes with a side of Stumpy’s onion rings, I’m not interested in your proverbs about life right now.”
He started the car without another word.
*******
When Jason and Vanessa stepped off the elevator in the basement of the precinct, they first turned right and went into the forensic lab. They handed off the Unisom pills and the protein powder to be tested. Then, crossing the foyer, they entered into the office of Coroner Noah Hatcher. It still felt strange to Jason whenever he saw the new name on the frosted glass door.
In the chilly confines of the morgue, Noah stood alone at the head of a gurney, his eyes focused on the hanging scale next to him. His curly brown hair poked out from beneath a surgical skullcap decorated with a jalapeno pepper print in red and green. He spoke into the overhead mic as he worked.
“Liver—two pounds, eleven ounces.”
He lifted the organ out of the scale and examined it carefully, turning it over several times while staring through a magnifier.
Jason cleared his throat.
Noah glanced over, smiled when he spotted them, placed the liver back in the scale, then shut off the mic. “Hi, Jason. Hi, Vanessa.”
They approached the table, Vanessa stopping next to Noah.
Jason went to the far side of the bed. “Hi, Doc.”
Janet Ellard’s body was on its back, her torso opened up in the traditional ‘Y’ incision. Jason noted that many of the organs were already removed. “How’s it going, Doc?”
Noah shrugged. “So far, everything presents as asphyxia and respiratory arrest due to upper airway edema. I imagine that when I remove the skull cap, I will find hypoxic encephalopathy.”
Jason nodded while listening attentively. Vanessa had been watching her partner and laughed. “Don’t let the stare fool you, Doc. He has no idea what you just said.”
Jason scoffed. “Oh, as if you do!”
Noah grinned at both of them. “My fault. She suffocated due to a swollen throat. Her brain tissue will reveal coma from lack of oxygen resulting in death from the discontinuation of life support.”
Jason made a note. “Exactly what I thought you said.”
Vanessa snorted.
The fact that they could joke while standing next to a corpse reminded Jason of how the business of homicide changes you. “Does that mean her death was from natural causes?”
“Yes and no.”
“One or the other would be great, please.”
“The mode of death from a physiological standpoint is a natural progression, but the cause of that progression remains undetermined.”
“Have you seen anything to suggest what the cause might be?”
“No. The heart is slightly enlarged, but that could be attributed to the epinephrine she was given by the paramedics. The liver, which I was just examining, does seem to be abnormal in appearance, but I don’t know if it’s significant or not.”
Vanessa peered over the edge of the scale at the liver, as if she might see something. “The thing is Doc, we might be piling insult on top of injury with the family if this turns out to be a natural death. Your report is the only way we can determine whether to move forward or shut the investigation down.”
“I understand. I wish I could give you more, but I’ll have some of the tests done and a preliminary report in the morning.”
Jason put away his notepad. “Well, we just dropped off some items to be tested for a foreign substance. If they find something, it might make all our jobs easier.”
Noah agreed. “No doubt about that. Always easier to find something if you know what you’re looking for.”
“We’ll leave you to it then.”
Jason and Vanessa retreated back out into the foyer and took the elevator up to the third floor. As they stepped off in homicide, Jason’s phone rang.
He looked at the number and smiled before answering. “Hey, you.”
“Hi. Just wanted to let you know we’re on our way home.”
“Kids have fun?”
“Oh, yeah. All three are asleep in the back.”
“Even Kasen?”
Sandy laughed. “He was more worn out than our two. He zonked first.”
“Okay. Well, it looks like I can get away shortly. You want me to bring home Pizza?”
“Perfect. Is Vanessa there?”
“Yes.”
“Does she want to pick Kasen up at our place or have me drop him off?”
He cupped the phone. “Kasen. Drop off or pick up at our place?”
Vanessa grinned. “Did you say something about pizza?”
Jason smiled and uncupped the phone. “She’ll pick him up at our place.”
“Okay. See you soon. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
He hung up, then glanced over at Savage’s office. “Let’s bail before the lieutenant gets back.”
Vanessa hit the elevator button. “Copy that.”
Chapter 5
The next morning, Jason found Vanessa at her desk, staring at her computer screen. He stopped next to her and checked her coffee cup. “Refill?”
She smiled. “Please.”
He got them coffee, then came back and stood beside her. “Here.”
“Thanks.” She paused to sip it.
“What are you doing?”
“Running Robert Davis through the system.”
“Natasha’s boyfriend?”
“Yeah. Something was off with that guy.”
Jason went over and sat at his own desk. “He couldn’t get away from us fast enough, that’s for sure.”
Vanessa held her cup in both hands and leaned back in her chair. “Interesting.”
“
Do tell.”
“Mr. Davis has an extensive criminal history.”
“Such as?”
“Drug arrests, fraud, felony stealing.”
“I could see why Janet wouldn’t want him around if she knew about his record.”
“Oh, she knew. In fact, she reported him to the police for breaking into her office.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. “Was he arrested?”
“Yes, but the charges were later dropped.”
“I wonder what he was after when he broke in.”
She shook her head. “Doesn’t say.”
“Well, like I said before. If this thing blows up, we definitely want to talk to Mr. Davis.”
Vanessa looked up. “Speaking of which, Hatcher said we could come down for the preliminary autopsy report any time.”
“Well then. Now’s as good a time as any.”
They each polished off their coffee, then made their way to the elevator.
Noah Hatcher was in his office when they arrived, and while the morgue by necessity remained the same as Doc Davis had left, the same could not be said for the office.
Leonard’s clunky old wooden desk had been replaced by a chrome and black minimalist version, and the filing cabinets had been painted black, eliminating the faded gray from before. The clock behind the desk was see-through Acrylic with silver numbers and black hands. The desk chair was white leather.
Jason tapped on the doorframe. “Hey, Doc.”
Noah looked up from his typing. “Oh, hi. Didn’t hear you come in.”
“You have a report for us?”
“Actually, yes. I was just making some additional notes on it.”
“Let’s cut to the chase, then. Natural death or foul play?”
“Yes.”
Jason scowled. “What?”
Noah smiled at his own joke. “Well, it’s both and it’s neither. The blood work confirmed the cause of death as asphyxia, but it did nothing to clear up the manner of death. Nothing can be found to indicate exactly what prompted the anaphylactic episode in Mrs. Ellard.”
Vanessa groaned. “What about stomach contents? Anything undigested in her system that could be poisonous?”
Noah shook his head. “Her stomach was empty. Not surprising considering she vomited.”
Jason sighed. “Did you hear from forensics on the items we had tested?”
“Yes. Nothing unusual or suspicious.”
“So where does this leave us?”
“For the moment, the death remains under medical investigation, but…”
“But?”
“But if the tissue slides I’ve yet to look at appear normal, the official manner of death will be undetermined and I’ll have to release the body to the family.”
Jason looked at Vanessa. “Undetermined means we can continue with the case if we want, or it can be re-opened at a later date.”
“Maybe we should let Savage make the call.”
Jason grinned. “Sounds like a solid—and safe—idea.”
Vanessa made a washing motion with her hands. “Keeps us clean.”
Jason turned back to Noah. “Thanks, Doc. Let us know if the tissues hold a surprise.”
“You’ll be the first, but I’m skeptical I’ll find anything new.”
“Fair enough.”
They turned and went back to the elevator, riding it back up to homicide. Jason was first off and spied Savage sitting at his desk. “We might as well go right in.”
Vanessa nodded and trailed him to the lieutenant’s door. Jason leaned through the doorframe.
“Got a minute?”
“Of course. Come in.”
Jason grabbed a seat while Vanessa leaned on the doorjamb. Savage finished making a note on his desk calendar then looked up.
“Where are we on things?”
Jason sighed. “Hung out to dry I’m afraid.”
“Explain.”
“While there are several people whose interviews have raised red flags, the autopsy had left us with no real course of action. Hatcher says he will likely have an undetermined death with no clear indication of any wrong doing.”
“So he can’t rule out homicide, but he can’t rule it in either.”
“Precisely.”
“What do the two of you think?”
Vanessa shrugged. “I’m not convinced either way. I know if I was Dale Ellard, and convinced there was no foul play, I wouldn’t want an investigation muddying the waters unnecessarily while I was trying to grieve.”
Jason nodded. “I agree. Without a clear finding of homicide, I think we’re doing ourselves and the Ellard’s a disservice.”
Savage bobbed his head emphatically. “Good enough for me. Make some final notes and put the file away for now.”
Jason stood. “Yes, sir.”
A call came in on the desk line. Savage held up a finger. “Hold on.” He scooped up the receiver. “Homicide. This is Lieutenant Savage.”
Savage’s brow furrowed. “Whoa, whoa. Slow down for me. Detective Strong is right here. I’m going to put you on speaker so you can talk to him, okay?”
He pushed the button without waiting for an answer. “Now go ahead, Miss Carter. Tell him what you told me.”
Destiny’s panicked voice filled the small office. “I came in to clear up some paperwork and tidy the office and I found a note that says Doctor Ellard was murdered and it says she won’t be the last and that everyone in the office—”
“Destiny, Destiny…slow down. This is Detective Strong.”
“Oh, Detective, I’m so scared.”
“I understand. Take a deep breath for me.”
An audible inhale and exhale came across the line. “I’m afraid.”
“Where are you?”
“Still at the office.”
“Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
“I want you to set the note down if you haven’t already, and don’t touch it again. Go lock the doors and wait for Detective Layne and I. We’ll be there shortly. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Savage disconnected the call. “Skip my last order about closing the file for the time being.”
Vanessa was already headed back to her desk when Jason turned to catch up with her. “Copy that.”
*******
The offices of Doctor Dale and Janet Ellard were located downtown on the corner of Dallas Street and Lexington Avenue. The Victorian-era-style home had been converted during one of the industrial remodels of the central city area. Weathered brick had been covered over by white vinyl siding, but the powder-blue window frames, doors, and trim still held the classic appearance of yesteryear.
The building was located across the street from the Madison Square dog park, a three-quarter acre city park encircled by black wrought-iron fence and equipped with a doggie fountain for San Antonio’s furry friends. Jason parked along the road next to the park. Their presence elicited several dogs to begin barking and announce the detective’s arrival.
Jason and Vanessa trotted across the road to the front door of the office. When Jason tapped on the glass, the door flew open, revealing a trembling Destiny.
“I’m so glad you’re here!”
Jason entered the office and Vanessa followed him, locking the door behind her. Jason donned a plastic glove. “Where’s the note, Destiny?”
She pointed to the check-in desk. “There.”
While Vanessa checked the rest of the office, Jason crossed the lobby that featured polished wood floors and high-arched windows. On the reception desk lay a single sheet of paper, folded in half. Jason lifted it gingerly and unfolded it. The writing, printed in blue ink, used predominately capital letters.
I KILLED DOCTOR ELLARD
SHE DESERVED IT
SHE WONT BE THE LAST
YOU PEOPLE WILL PAY FOR THE EVIL YOU DONE
Jason read it several times. The first thing that stuck out to him was the poor grammar and lack of punctuation, but that could be intentiona
l.
Vanessa appeared at his shoulder. “Office is clear.”
“Okay.” Jason held the note up for her to see.
She read it and looked at him. “What do you think? Legit or sick prank?”
He shrugged and turned to look at Destiny, who was standing in the entryway. “Where did you find this?”
“It was in with mail.”
“Where do you get your mail?”
“Usually, the carrier will bring it to the desk, unless we’re closed. Then it comes through the slot onto the floor. That was with the mail on the floor.”
“Was it in an envelope?”
“No.”
Jason glanced at Vanessa. “Got an evidence bag?”
She nodded and produced a large Ziploc bag. Jason slid the note into it and Vanessa sealed the bag. “We need to get this in the hands of Doc Josie.”
“Yeah.” He looked over at Destiny, who had sat down on one of the waiting room chairs, her arms crossed in front of her as if she was cold. “Does the office have a security system?”
“There’s an alarm system that we activate whenever we close up.”
“What about cameras?”
She nodded. “I don’t have access to them though.”
“Where are they?”
She pointed up over Jason’s head. “That one is for the waiting area, and there are two outside. One over the front door and one in the back alleyway.”
Jason’s adrenaline spiked. Next to DNA, surveillance cameras were becoming the biggest bonus a detective could have in a case. “Who has access?”
“Just Doctor Dale and Doctor Janet.”
“Have you contacted Doctor Ellard about the note?”
“Yes. I called him right after calling you. He’s on his way here now.”
A key turned in the lock and Dale Ellard pushed his way in. He looked considerably better than when they had seen him the day before, with neatly pressed gray pants and a yellow IZOD golf shirt. “Destiny, are you okay?” He caught sight of the detectives. “Detective Strong, Detective Layne. Thank you for coming.”
Jason shook the man’s hand. “Of course sir.”
Ellard looked at Destiny. “Where’s the note?”
Vanessa held the bag out for Ellard to take. “Don’t remove the note, sir.”
He handled it as if it might explode any second. Jason watched his face as the doctor read the note. Ellard’s eyes flared, and Jason sensed some fear.
A TWISTED MIND (Clean Suspense) (Detective Jason Strong Book 21) Page 6