Dead By Dawn

by Juliet Dillon Clark

  “I looked at the file. There was obviously more than one killer,” Lindsay said.

  “Andy tried to get the guy to give up the other killers,” Davis said.

  “I saw there was a confession in the file.”

  “I never felt good about that confession,” Davis commented. “Edmunds was a minor and his attorney thought he could get a reduced sentence if he was tried as a juvenile. He confessed and made a deal with the D.A. for five years jail time.”

  “So his confession was part of the plea agreement?” she asked.

  “Yes, but the judge didn’t like it. He threw out the plea agreement and ruled that he should be tried as an adult,” Davis said.

  “So the confession was used against him at the trial?”

  “Yes,” Davis said. “The confession doesn’t include accomplices.”

  “I read it. He confesses, but the confession doesn’t look like it matches the evidence,” Lindsay said.

  “That’s what I thought,” Davis said.

  “Why didn’t you bring this up at the trial?” Lindsay asked.

  “The higher-ups decided that Small’s theory was what we were running with. I was told to toe the party line,” Davis said.

  “A good defense attorney should have been able to create reasonable doubt,” Lindsay commented.

  “The key word in that sentence was good,” Davis said. “We rarely had murders in this town. No one had much experience with them, the prosecution or the defense. It was a crap shoot.”

  Chapter 9

  Terri Doran Martin agreed to meet Lindsay at the Paso Robles Park. She was a slight woman; a little over five feet tall with dark hair, cut to her shoulders. Her green eyes were a striking contrast to the dark hair. She was dressed in blue jeans shorts and a tank top.

  “I’m not surprised that Jeremy is bringing all of this back up,” she said. “It’s nice to see that the Davenports weren’t able to completely brainwash him,” she added in a snide tone.

  “I’m surprised you live here after what happened to your sister,” Lindsay remarked.

  “Well, that was a lifetime ago,” she said. “I haven’t seen Jeremy for a couple weeks. How is he?”

  “He’s fine. You don’t keep in touch?” Lindsay asked.

  “We do and we don’t. After the Davenports took him, we hardly got to see him at all. It wasn’t until he became an adult that he contacted my mom and dad. I think that was when he found out he had relatives beside the Davenports,” she said.

  “I heard about the custody battle. Your family wasn’t granted any visitation?” Lindsay asked.

  “Yes they were, but every time my parents went to court to enforce it, the judge sided with Davenports. They finally just gave up,” Terri said. “I know that Jeremy has visited my parents recently. My dad only has a couple months left,” she said, as tears formed in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry Terri,” Lindsay said.

  “It’s okay. It’s actually good that he’s in contact with them. My understanding is that they are in the process of transferring ownership of the ranch to him. I am going to be the head winemaker out there when he is ready,” Terri said.

  Well, he certainly hadn’t shared that tidbit of information with her when he hired her. “Does he want to live there?” Lindsay asked in disbelief.

  “No, he wants to follow his mother’s dream and start a winery,” Terri said. “He double-majored in college: crop science and agribusiness management. Jeremy told my mother that the Davenports are angry at him because he didn’t want to take over their business.”

  “Do the Davenports know about the land transfer?” Lindsay asked.

  “No. Jeremy is not going to tell them until everything is finalized,” Terri said. “You know, you should really be talking to my parents.”

  “Could you arrange that?” Lindsay asked.

  “No problem. Where can I reach you?” Terri asked.

  Lindsay gave her the cell phone number. “How far is it to Fresno from here? Two hours?” she asked.

  Terri looked perplexed at the question. “Oh, my parents don’t live in Fresno anymore.” She laughed at the mistake. “They live with my sister and her husband in Palos Verdes. My mom and dad live in their guest house. Dad’s getting better medical treatment in Los Angeles.”

  “Is that why Jeremy moved?” Lindsay asked.

  “Yes, they are putting all of the legal documents together and Jeremy decided he needed a couple months away from this area. I think he rented a place in Manhattan Beach for the summer,” Terri said.

  “The Davenports think he is working down there,” Lindsay commented.

  “That was probably the only way he could get himself out of town. Old man Davenport can be quite a bully when he wants to be,” Terri said in disgust.

  “You know quite a bit about what he’s up to,” Lindsay commented. “Did you know that he thinks his sister Kelly may still be alive?”

  “I think we all secretly want to believe that she is. You’re saying that Jeremy is actively looking for her?” Terri questioned with surprise.

  “Yes. He had an age progression done on an old photograph. He was following a woman that he thought might be her,” Lindsay said.

  Terri was looking down at the ground. “That’s sad. I hope he doesn’t get hurt.”

  “The good news is that I live in Los Angeles. The sooner I can talk to your parents, the better,” Lindsay said brightly. She was trying hard to shift the mood. “So what do you do for a living up here?”

  “I work as a winemaker for one of the small vineyards out here,” Terri said with a smile.

  “I used to visit here as a child. It sure has changed over the years,” Lindsay said.

  “That it has,” Terri said. “I am looking forward to my brother getting the winery up and running.”

  “Doesn’t it take several years to get the grapes to the point that you can make wine?” Lindsay asked.

  “Yes, we are buying in grapes and marketing it under our own label to get going,” Terri said. “There is some construction that needs to take place on the ranch.”

  “I don’t know much about wines,” Lindsay admitted.

  “I’ve been doing this for years,” Terri said. “I went to school at Cal Poly a few years after my sister. I planned to work for David and Shelly when I graduated.”

  “The best laid plans,” Lindsay said and her voice trailed off.

  “It’s okay. I did it any way. I’d like to think my sister is up there looking down at all of us and very proud that we moved on.”

  Chapter 10

  Lindsay went back to the Inn and packed her things. She decided to take Interstate 5 home instead of the 101 Freeway. She wanted to stop at the ranch again. Heading the Range Rover out Highway 46, she drove slowly and took in all the sights. There were several wineries and old ranches that had been there forever, and to her surprise, a new water park. The water park looked like fun. She and her sister had ridden their bikes out to the one on Adelaide Road when they were kids. That park was a big swimming pool tucked into a campground. Paso Robles was so quaint back then.

  She turned into Shandon and drove up to the ranch house, now that she wasn’t technically trespassing. This time, she was interested in walking the fields. She went out behind the barn and looked. There were broken posts and lines of wire where the grapes had been planted so long ago. Most of the land was now covered with weeds. She walked around the fields, having no idea what she was looking for or hoped to accomplish. She noticed the neighbors out here all had grape vines growing on their properties. It seemed like David and Shelly Davenport would have been one of the first people out here to decide that grapes were a good investment. What a shame their dream came to an end so abruptly. Lindsay turned around and headed toward the house. She saw movement to one side of the barn. Had that been a person? She no longer carried a gun, now that she was off the force. She suddenly felt scared to be out in the barn area by herself. She heard footsteps running up the drivew
ay. She turned and started to follow. A teenager jumped into a car a sped away. By the time Lindsay got out to the road, he was long gone.

  She got into her Range Rover and took a couple deep breaths. Her adrenaline was pumping. She had to calm down. She took a drink of the bottled water from the console. It was just a coincidence. Just kids playing around. That’s all it was, she convinced herself. She got back onto Highway 46 and headed home.

  Chapter 11

  At home, Lindsay’s mother, Helen, was in the kitchen unloading groceries. “Hi honey,” she said when she heard Lindsay come in.

  “Hi Mom!” Lindsay gave her mom a hug. “Where’s Evan?”

  “He’s asleep. We just got back from the grocery store. I wasn’t sure what time you were going to get back, so I got stuff to start a pot roast in the crock pot,” Helen said. “How was your trip?”

  “It was fine. Do you remember the Davenport murders?”

  “Not really. Are they the same Davenports that have the farm land in San Luis?” Helen asked.

  “As a matter of fact, they were related. Can I ask a favor, Mom?”

  “Sure. What do you need?”

  “Can you watch Evan this afternoon while I run up to Manhattan Beach?”

  “No problem. Go do what you need to do,” Helen answered.

  Lindsay had already called Jeremy Davenport on the way home and arranged to meet him at his apartment. She headed out the door and up to the beach. Jeremy’s apartment was in Hermosa Beach, about a block from the water. She had to circle the block three times before she finally got metered parking near the Green Store. Jeremy’s apartment was a block from there. She had to walk down and alley to get to the back of the duplex he lived in. His place was nice. It had a large patio in front with a table and chairs. He had potted plants that looked like he had just planted them. The pots were bursting with bright colored impatiens. Jeremy invited her into the spacious two bedroom apartment.

  “Nice place,” Lindsay said.

  “It’s okay. I can walk to the beach.” He went over to one side of the living room and pointed towards the beach. “I have an ocean peek. If I stand right here I can see the water.”

  She went over to where he was standing and took a look at the sliver of water that could be seen from that vantage point. “I talked to your aunt Terri yesterday,” she said.

  “Good, it sounds like you are making progress,” he responded casually.

  “I’m confused about some things,” she stated.

  “Like what?”

  “Well, I thought you told me you moved here for a job,” she said.

  He paused and thought for a moment. “I don’t think I did. I believe you heard that from my Grandma Davenport.”

  “Why does she think that?” Lindsay asked suspiciously.

  Jeremy sighed. “I don’t like lying to her. She is so obstinate sometimes, she leaves me no choice.”

  “That’s a copout,” Lindsay said flatly.

  “I’m sort of working down here. My other grandparents are here and we are working out a deal to start a winery on my parent’s old property,” he said.

  “Terri told me that. Couldn’t you do that from up north?” she asked.

  “Not really. Grandma and Grandpa Davenport know everyone up there. They are going to be pissed off at me when they find out what I’m up to,” he said.

  “Why?” Lindsay asked.

  “They want me to go into their family business. Grandpa is trying to retire. He tried letting my aunt and uncle run the business, but he thinks Uncle Chuck is a buffoon and Aunt Carol doesn’t have a lick of sense when it comes to business,” he said.

  “This is the same business he wanted your father to run?” she asked.

  “Yes, the same. My father’s independence hurt my grandparents. They felt like he owed them. They are the same with me,” Jeremy said.

  “Tell me about the deal with your other grandparents,” she said.

  “Kind of the same thing they had going with my parents. They own the land that the winery will be on. They are fronting me the money for the grapes. They’ve already helped me buy the stock to start the crops. We are going to start remodeling the house next week, so I can live there while we are building the operation. I should be able to move in about two months from now,” he said.

  “I’d like to talk to your grandparents about their recollections of the time around the murders. Can you arrange that?” Lindsay asked.

  “I think I can. They are spending a great deal of time at UCLA medical center right now. Grandpa Doran is undergoing chemotherapy. I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

  “Isn’t it going to be weird living in that house after all that has happened?” she asked. She was curious as to why he would want to do something like that.

  “Yes, it will be. It’s a short term plan. We are waiting for permits for a new home to be built on the property as well as those for the wine tasting room. You don’t just hang out a sign and become a winery. The grapes take several years before they produce. This is temporary,” he said.

  “I understand. That place is creepy. I don’t think I would be so brave in your situation,” she said.

  “It’s not bravery on my part. It’s almost like a mission that I need to accomplish. I need to finish my parents’ dream,” he said.

  “Terri told me that you didn’t see the Dorans when you were a child. How did you all reconnect?” she asked.

  “I was always curious about my parents and what had happened. I have been researching all of this since I was a teenager. I didn’t know I had another set of grandparents until I was sixteen. I overheard Grandpa Davenport arguing with Uncle Chuck,” he said.

  “That must have been a surprise,” she said.

  “Not a good surprise. I was angry. I confronted my grandfather about it. He told me they were bad people and they had gotten my parents killed,” he said.

  “You didn’t believe that?”

  “If I had been five years old, I probably would have believed it. I was growing up and I knew how manipulative Grandma and Grandpa could be when they didn’t get their way. I had witnessed them in action with other family members,” he said with a shrug.

  “So you went looking for the Dorans?” she asked.

  “I found out where they were and contacted them discreetly. That’s when I found out about the court battles to keep them away from me. Typical Grandpa,” he said.

  She thought for a moment and wondered if she should tell him about the homicide detective she met with. “What did your grandparents tell you about your parents’ death?” she asked instead.

  “They told me that my mom was mixed up in drugs and some bad people killed her and dad because of it,” he said.

  “You believed that?” she asked.

  “At first I did. It was the Davenport line. Uncle Chuck and Aunt Carol parroted the same story to me,” he said.

  “But, then something changed?”

  “Yes, my mother’s family changed my mind. They told me that the cops didn’t find any evidence that this was a drug-deal-gone-bad.”

  “Did you confront the Davenports about that?” she asked.

  “I did. But, I lied to them and said I did research on my own. I didn’t want to drag the Dorans into it,” he said.

  “How did they react?”

  “Oh, my grandpa was mad. He had to be taken to the hospital. He got so upset; the doctors thought he had a heart attack. My grandmother made me feel so guilty. I never brought it up again.”

  “Jeremy, I’m willing to take this case but, I’m worried about getting paid,” Lindsay said changing the subject.

  “Don’t worry about it. The Dorans are going to pay your bill,” Jeremy said.

  “Do they believe that Kelly is still alive?” Lindsay asked.

  “They want to find her if she is. I think my grandfather would like some closure before he passes,” Jeremy said.

  “I will take the job,” Lindsay said.

  Chapter 12


  Lindsay called Dixon Calhoun to find out what she could about the fire at the ranch in Shandon.

  “We don’t know much,” he said. “The ashes are still too hot for the arson investigators to get in and see what’s going on.”

  “So it is arson?” she asked.

  “They think so. But, it is all speculation right now,” he said.

  “You know, I stopped by there on the way home yesterday. I was spooked by someone and when I went out front, a car sped away from the property.”

  “Did you get a description?” he asked with interest.

  “No, he was too far away,” she said.

  “When we were there, it looked like a local kids’ hangout. Maybe you caught someone there who wasn’t supposed to be there,” he said.

  “Maybe.” She pondered that for a moment. “I spoke to the Dorans today; Shelly Davenport’s parents.”

  “Did they have anything interesting to say?” he asked.

  “Actually, a couple of things. They didn’t feel like the police investigated very well,” she said.

  “You met the guy who led the investigation. Did he give you that impression?” Calhoun asked.

  “No, he did the best job he could. Although he did mention that he was met with many obstacles. He thought that Daddy Davenport was pulling strings behind the scenes,” she commented.

  “They have a lot of clout around here.”

  “He also told me that he wasn’t sure that the man that was convicted was involved,” Lindsay said.

  “Really?” Dixon commented.

  “The Dorans also told me that David inherited that property from his grandfather and that David’s dad tried to buy it from him. They said that he offered them five times the property’s value to get it back,” she said.

  “That doesn’t sound like very good business,” Calhoun said in a perplexed tone.

  “No, it doesn’t. Is there anything special about that area that would cause someone to want the land so badly?”

  “Not that I know of. It’s all farmland. Currently, there are grapevines for as far as you can see out Highway 46. It was alfalfa before that,” he stated as a fact.