Dead By Dawn

by Juliet Dillon Clark

  “Your wife died in a car accident. Is that correct?” Kragen asked.

  “Yes, she was run off the road. We assumed it was by a drunk driver,” Van Buren said.

  “You assumed? Was anyone arrested?” Kragen asked curiously.

  “No one was arrested,” Van Buren stammered. “I don’t understand what all of this has to do with my wife.”

  “Nothing. I was just curious.” Kragen let Van Buren think.

  “I think I have enough for now.” Kragen rose from the chair to leave.

  “You think that Bing did this?” Van Buren asked.

  “I don’t know what I think yet,” Kragen said.

  Chapter 23

  Kragen’s next stop was San Luis and Charlie Davenport. Elizabeth Davenport was pleasant and showed him into the study. Her husband rose from behind his desk and shook Kragen’s hand. Elizabeth sat on the couch next to Kragen.

  Kragen looked at her. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I think this should be a conversation between me and your husband. Would you excuse us?”

  Elizabeth glared at him. She started to rise and her husband stopped her. “Detective, anything you have to say can be said in front of my wife.”

  “Okay. As you probably know, we found Letty Carlson’s body at your father’s ranch in Shandon,” Kragen said. “I know that you were friends with her.”

  Elizabeth snorted. “Is he talking about that tramp you dated in high school?”

  Charles spoke to her. “Elizabeth, she was a nice woman. There is no need to call her names. She’s dead.”

  Martin spoke to Charles. “So you do know who I’m talking about.”

  “Of course. She was my high school sweetheart,” he said.

  “Did you keep in touch after high school?” Kragen asked.

  “Some, here and there. I would see her when I came home from school sometimes.” he answered.

  “Did you know she had a baby?” Kragen inquired.

  “I heard that she had and that she wasn’t married,” he said. “That was scandalous news back then.”

  “Did you know who the father was?”

  “No, I don’t know,” Davenport answered.

  “Did you know Bing Taylor?” Kragen asked.

  “I grew up with Bing. His family lived on our ranch,” Charles said.

  “Do you think Bing could have been the father?” Kragen asked.

  “I don’t think so. He and Letty were always friends, but Letty liked a different type of man.”

  “What kind of man?” Martin asked.

  “She liked more sophisticated men than Bing. Bing was a good guy and all, but no future. Letty liked moneyed men,” Charles said.

  “Were you living around here when she had the baby?” Kragen asked.

  “Yes. Elizabeth and I were finishing college. We moved back to my dad’s ranch,” he said. “This was a small town then. You know the rumor mill.”

  “Was there anyone rumored to be the baby’s father?” Kragen asked.

  Elizabeth and Charles looked at each other furtively. Charles finally spoke. “No, we didn’t hear anything.”

  Kragen looked at both of them closely. Why had they just lied to him? “Why do you think those bodies were buried at your father’s ranch?”

  “I don’t know. Everyone knew that no one lived there,” Charles answered quickly.

  “What do you mean by everyone?” Kragen asked.

  “Well, all of the locals knew the place was deserted.”

  “But, Letty wasn’t local. It had to be someone from this area who knew about the abandoned ranch,” Kragen said confidently. “Who knew from here?”

  Charles didn’t answer right away. “Well, anyone who worked on the ranch.”

  “Your dad’s ranch?” Kragen asked.

  “Oh yes, the ranch hands all cleared brush at the other place once a year,” Charles answered.

  “So Bing Taylor would have known about the place?” Kragen said.

  “Yes. He would have,” Charles answered.

  “What about your friend Van Buren?” Kragen asked.

  “He knew about the place. I don’t think he was ever there,” Charles said.

  “Are you sure?” Kragen asked.

  Charles averted his gaze and looked over at his wife while he answered, “No, he’s never been there.”

  Martin sat still for a moment. He could have sworn that Davenport just lied to him again. “Your friend Judge Van Buren thought that Bing Taylor might have killed Letty. What do you think?” Kragen threw that out there to see what would happen.

  “I think that’s a possibility,” Elizabeth Davenport responded too quickly.

  Kragen was surprised that she answered the question, but let it pass. “Any idea why your dad left that farm to your son?” Kragen asked.

  “None. He left his entire estate to me except for that property,” Davenport said.

  “Why did you try so hard to get that place back?” Martin asked.

  “It should have been mine,” Charles said firmly.

  “It was an abandoned farm. There must be some reason that it was so important to you,” Kragen stated.

  Elizabeth jumped in again, “We had a buyer for the place. She was offering us a lot of money for it.” Her hand rose to her mouth as if to bring the words back in.

  “Who was the buyer?” Kragen asked.

  “I don’t remember. Do you dear?” Elizabeth said after she regained her composure.

  “No, I don’t. It was a long time ago,” Charles said.

  “This buyer came along after your father died?” Kragen asked.

  “I guess so. My dad never mentioned it to me when he was alive.”

  “So, it sounds to me like someone knew those bodies were buried there and tried to get the property,” Kragen hypothesized out loud. “What do you think?”

  Elizabeth answered, “I suppose that could be.”

  “Did you continue to get offers after your son died?” Kragen asked.

  Charles answered, “I wouldn’t know. We didn’t own the property then.”

  “But you sued the people who did. Isn’t that correct?” Kragen inquired.

  “Yes, but that was a matter of principal,” Charles said. “That land rightfully belonged to my family, not theirs.”

  “Your decision to sue had nothing to do with the bodies buried there?” Kragen asked pointedly.

  Charles Davenport was starting to get tense. “That ranch had been in our family for several years. My father bought it when I was a young child. It belonged to us, not the Dorans. That’s why we sued them. I don’t know anything about the bodies that were there.”

  “I understand,” Kragen said calmly. “Did you know the man that was convicted of killing David?”

  “Of course not,” Charles answered. “We were told that it was a drug deal that went bad.”

  “You think that Edmunds killed them over drugs?” Kragen said.

  “That’s what the police told us,” Elizabeth answered.

  “Bing Taylor worked as a ranch hand with Edmunds,” Kragen commented.

  “I was the one who recommended Bing to my son,” Charles volunteered. “He knew his way around that ranch.”

  Chapter 24

  Lindsay called Taylor Kragen to see if he was able to get any information. “Lindsay, you know I can’t include you in the investigation,” he said.

  “I know that. These bodies have me side tracked from my client’s original request. I guess it’s the cop in me. I’m always up for solving a good puzzle.”

  “That’s the rub. Once you’ve got the detective bug, it’s hard to get rid of,” Taylor answered.

  “Do you think these two cases are related?” Lindsay asked.

  “We seem to have many of the same players,” Taylor commented. “Have you ever had a moment when you just know someone is lying to you?”

  “Yes; intuition. Who lied to you?” Lindsay asked.

  “I’m pretty sure the Davenports’ did.”


  “Anything you can share?”

  “I think he lied about knowing who the father of Letty Carlson’s baby was, for starters,” he answered slowly.

  “What else?” Lindsay asked.

  “His wife mentioned that they’d had a buyer for the ranch after his father died. But they lied about not knowing who the buyer was.”

  “They didn’t own the ranch then,” Lindsay said.

  “I know that. They say that’s why they were trying to buy it,” Kragen said and paused. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “What doesn’t?” Lindsay asked.

  “Why would the potential buyer go through the Davenports’ and not directly to David to buy the ranch?”

  Lindsay thought about that for a minute, “Do you think maybe David knew the buyer and he wanted to remain anonymous?”

  “That’s a good possibility. I think that the person trying to buy the property knew that Letty Carlson and the baby were buried there,” he said.

  “You know, the Dorans said that someone approached them about buying the ranch after David’s and Shelly’s deaths.”

  “Can you see if you can find out who?” he asked.

  “I’ll work on it,” she said. “Anything else I can do for you?”

  “Maybe. When I talked to Davenport and Van Buren, they both pointed to Bing Taylor as the father of Letty Carlson’s child. I can talk to Bing Taylor’s sister. She’s local. Do you think you can run that by Letty Carlson’s brother?” he asked.

  “Yes. I’ll take care of that,” she answered.

  Chapter 25

  Jeff came home from work that night and asked about the case over dinner. “It’s going okay. A lot of the same people seem to be involved in my case and the case that Detective Kragen is working on,” Lindsay said.

  “How’s Jeremy taking all of this?” Jeff asked.

  “He is focused on getting the vineyard up and running. The police just released the crime scene yesterday. When I gave him an update today, he was working on hiring workers to start working the ranch,” she said.

  “What about the burned out structures?”

  “The house was a total loss. There’s just debris to haul away. The barn only partially burned. I think he has to go through some of that and figure out what’s salvageable.”

  “Is that where the cool, old tractor was?” he asked.

  “Yes. Dixon wanted to buy it from him. Jeremy thinks that it would make a nice piece to keep around. I think Dixon was disappointed,” she said.

  “Do you think all of this is connected?” Jeff asked.

  “I don’t really know. It’s intriguing, but my main focus here is to find out if Kelly Davenport is alive or not,” she said. “I want to go see the man convicted of the murders and see if he will tell me where she’s at.”

  “When Kelly was taken, what was the motive for those killings?” Jeff asked.

  Lindsay laughed. “You are always such a lawyer,” she said. “Whoever committed the murders tried to make it look like drugs were the motive. The detective I talked to said as much, but he was never fully on board with that theory.”

  “Why not?” Jeff asked.

  “The amount of drugs found was small and the detective I spoke with wasn’t sure that Edmunds was involved,” she said.

  “So how did the motive become drugs?” Jeff asked, bewildered.

  “It kind of became the party line, I guess. Drugs were found, but when the police asked about involvement, it came from David’s family. Everyone just kind of ran with that,” she said. “The detective I talked to said that there were a lot of politics surrounding the murders. He felt like he was being pushed in a particular direction by his partner and the D.A.”

  “So, drugs may not have been the motive after all?” Jeff said.

  “My sense is that it was not,” Lindsay said. She started thinking about what the motive could have been and hit a dead end.

  Jeff ’s voice shook her out of deep thought, “Hey, how about some paddleboarding tomorrow?”

  “That sounds great. Should we go out to Malibu?”

  “I was thinking Newport Beach.”

  “Why so far?” she asked.

  “Do you remember Clay Higgins?”

  “The old surfer dude you used to represent?” she said playfully.

  “I’m not so sure he would appreciate being described that way,” Jeff said playfully. “But, yes. His kids started a stand up paddleboarding camp for kids and their grand opening is tomorrow. I thought we could go get some exercise and make an appearance.”

  “Sounds good to me. What about Evan?” she asked.

  “We could take him.”

  “Then we’d have to take turns,” she said. “That’s okay. There’s a party going on. We’ll manage.”

  Chapter 26

  Mule Creek State Prison, Ione California 2010-Barton Edmunds was notified that he had a visitor. He met Jim Alberts in the visitors lounge. Edmunds was serving three consecutive life sentences for the murders of Shelly, Dayna, and David Davenport. He had escaped the death penalty because it wasn’t an option in California when the murders occurred.

  Edmunds was a lanky man. At six feet tall and one hundred and ninety pounds, he was solid muscle from working out in the yard everyday. His head was shaved. The lack of hair accentuated his piercing blue eyes. He had a pleasant smile that he used infrequently. He had been in prison for thirty two years for a crime that he claimed he did not commit. From his perspective, there wasn’t much to smile about.

  Shelly and David Davenport had been murdered on their farm in Shandon, California in 1977. Dayna was found later, murdered at a different location. Edmunds had come to work in the morning and found the bodies. His boss, David Davenport, was usually out working in the barn when the hired help arrived at 6 a.m. every morning.

  On September 3, 1977, the farm was quiet when Edmunds arrived. There were two other ranch hands that worked for the Davenports, but Edmunds was low man on the totem pole and ended up working the holiday weekend, while the others took it off.

  On this morning, Edmunds observed that the Davenports’ car was in the driveway, but there were no signs of life. He went into the barn and started the daily routine of feeding the chickens and horses. When he finished with the horses, he decided to knock at the back door and find out what his boss had for him to do. There was no answer. Edmunds started to get a bad feeling. The Davenport household was usually in full swing by 6:30 a.m. Shelly would bring the men coffee and the girls would be following their mother or playing on the swing set in the back yard. Today there was silence.

  Edmunds walked to the front door and knocked. To his surprise, there was no answer again. He thought he could hear the baby, Jeremy, crying. He knocked again. He went to the window where Jeremy’s room was. He could definitely hear the baby wailing. He ran back to the front porch and peered inside the large plate glass window that adorned the front of the farm house. He could see what looked like a leg and a foot sticking out from behind the chair in the living room. He tried the door. It was locked, so he tried to use his shoulder to break the door down. He wasn’t strong enough. He ran to the barn and got a hammer from the tool bin. Edmunds then beat on the doorknob at the front door until it came loose. He forced his way into the house and found David face down on the living room floor, covered in blood. Edmunds called out to Shelly and the girls. There was no answer. He went to the kitchen and saw Shelly’s body lying on the kitchen floor. Part of her head was missing. He knew she was dead. He ran back through the living room and down the hall to the baby’s room. He hadn’t realized that he had run through the blood on the floor from David Davenport’s body and tracked it down the hall. He found the baby and checked the other rooms. The girls were gone and no one else was in the house. Edmunds tried the telephone in the kitchen. It was dead.

  Edmunds took Jeremy and drove to the property nearest the Davenports’ house. Anita Carlson answered the door and gasped at the man with blood on his shirt. She immed
iately saw that he had Jeremy Davenport in his arms. He told her to call the police. The Davenports had been murdered.

  Chapter 27

  When the police showed up to the crime scene at the Davenports, the lead detective, Andy Small took charge of the scene. Andy had been a homicide detective for four years. Detective Small was balding slightly and about ten pounds overweight for his five-foot-ten frame. Detective Small surveyed the crime scene and zeroed in on Barton Edmunds.

  He immediately had Edmunds transported to the Paso Robles city jail for questioning. Edmunds was left there for hours while Small and Detective Paul Davis looked over the scene. The two detectives concurred that there were four sets of distinct footprints at the scene. The bag of marijuana was processed. They also put an APB out for the two missing girls. Small noted that the front door of the home had been broken into.

  Back at the station, Edmunds’ clothes and shoes were taken for processing. Edmunds was questioned for hours without the presence of an attorney or the notification of his detention to his parents. Barton Edmunds, age 17, explained that he had gotten to the property at 6:00 a.m. for work. He told the police that he looked through the front window and saw a leg and foot sticking out from behind the chair. Edmunds told them that the house was locked so he broke in. He also told them that he found Jeremy in the bedroom and tried the phone, but it was dead, so he went to the neighbor’s house.

  Detective Small didn’t believe Edmunds’ story. He pressed him through out the night about the whereabouts of Edmunds’ accomplices and the two missing girls. Edmunds insisted that he didn’t know what Small was talking about. Finally, at 5:00 a.m. the following morning, Barton Edmunds was allowed to call his mother and let her know that he was under arrest.

  Small put Edmunds in a cell with another prisoner until his parents arrived. Samuel Mitchell, also known as Singing Sammy the Snitch was in the jail cell with Edmunds. Singing Sammy would later testify that Edmunds confessed the whole thing to him. Of course, he did this with a promise from the police that his drug charge would disappear.