“And?”
Vanessa piped up. “Everyone comes back clean except the head gardener. He has an arrest for peeping, but the charges were dropped.”
“Well, let’s go at him hard. See if you can shake something loose. Anything else?”
“We haven’t interviewed the owner, because he’s been out of town, which is also his alibi.”
“Okay, we need to strong on this. I want you two all over Orchid Village. At least we can let this sucker know we’re serious about finding him.”
“Yes sir,” they said in unison.
The heat had just turned from simmer to boiling with the discovery of a third body. Summer was hot in West Texas, but not nearly as hot as working in Homicide when people were dying.
********
As Jason drove, Vanessa read from the forensic report. Most of it they already knew, but she did see something interesting.
“The tape found on the man in the river is a generic match to the tape used on Mrs. Rogers. The method of restraint is the same in all three cases.”
Something was bugging Jason.
“Why do you suppose the killer took the first victim away from the complex, but the not the others?”
Vanessa thought about it. “Maybe he was nearly caught the first time, and decided removing them wasn’t worth the risk.”
Jason wasn’t convinced. “Maybe.”
They arrived at the office of Orchid Village to find a silver Cadillac CTS parked in an employee spot. Jason saw it first.
“Maybe the owner is finally back in town.”
They got out and went inside. Somebody was yelling in the manager’s office. “Then find out!”
Jason stuck his head in the door. “Are we interrupting something?”
Steve Jaffe looked up from his desk. The man who had been doing the yelling turned toward Jason, annoyed at being interrupted.
“Can we help you?”
Steve Jaffe cleared his throat. “Marcus, these are the two detectives I was telling you about.”
Marcus Winston immediately dialed down his temper.
“Oh.” He extended his hand. “Marcus Winston.”
Jason sized him up as he shook his hand. Medium build, less than six feet tall, receding gray hair. Jason guessed him to be in his early sixties.
“Detective Jason Strong.” he nodded over his shoulder. “That’s my partner, Detective Layne.”
Winston nodded at her. “Detective.”
Jason was curious about all the yelling, but their first task was to interview the owner.
“Can we have a few minutes of your time, Mr. Winston?”
“Of course. Let’s go back to the break room.”
Jason and Vanessa followed Marcus Winston back to the same place where they had met the gardening crew. The two men each grabbed a chair while Vanessa pulled out her notebook, and leaned against the wall.
Jason started the questioning. “Mr. Winston…”
“Marcus, please.”
“…Marcus. I gather you’re familiar with the deaths in your complex?”
“Of course. It’s terrible. Have you got any leads?”
Jason ignored the question and pushed forward with his own.
“Your manager told us you were out of town when each of the deaths occurred.”
“That’s right. I’m building another complex in Austin, and I’m gone a lot of the time.”
“And is there someone who can verify you being there?”
Marcus Winston hesitated before answering. “Am I a suspect?”
“No, just routine procedure.”
The owner looked skeptical, but answered the question. “Yes, my secretary.”
Vanessa jumped in. “Her name?”
“Norma…Norma Waters.”
“And the phone number?”
“It’s my office number. 555-0956.”
Vanessa wrote it down.
Jason watched Marcus as he spoke. There was no reason to suspect this man of such ugly crimes, but Jason felt he was holding something back. “Do you have any idea why these people in your community would be targeted?”
Marcus shook his head in apparent disbelief. “I can’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt these elderly folks.”
Jason stood up, indicating they were done. Marcus stood up with him and they shook hands.
As the detectives left, they passed Steve Jaffe, still at his desk. Jason noticed something he hadn’t seen previously. A cowboy hat hung on a hook behind the manager.
“That your hat, Steve?”
“Yeah, I got used to wearing them on the family farm. Never really gave it up.”
“No kidding. Ever rope a calf?”
Steve looked confused. “Well, sure. I grew up on a cattle farm. Why?”
“Just curious. Do you know where I can find Jose Jimenez?”
“Yeah, I believe he’s mowing by the back gate of the property.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Steve stood up. “Jason?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know when they’ll release the two apartments being held as crime scenes?”
“No, I don’t. I’ll find out and let you know.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
The detectives left and got in their car. Jason told Vanessa about his conversation with Steve Jaffe.
She was intrigued, but skeptical. “A lot of people in this part of the country grew up on cattle farms.”
“True.”
Driving to the rear of the complex, they spotted Jose riding a large mower. They parked by the curb and walked over to stand in the path of the head gardener. For a moment, Jason wasn’t sure Jose was going to stop.
Finally, he idled the mower, glaring at the detectives. “What?”
Jason could barely hear over the mower. He gestured for Jose to shut it down.
The gardener let it run for a minute longer, before reaching down, and shutting the mower off. He repeated his question. “What?”
Jason was prepared this time for the gardener’s attitude.
“We’ve been looking into your past, Jose. It seems you had a run-in with the law a few years ago.”
The gardener leapt off the mower, causing Vanessa to take a step back. Jason didn’t move.
“The charges were dropped! I was innocent!”
Jason kept his voice level. “Still, considering what the charges were, and looking at what’s going on around here, you make a pretty good suspect to me.”
The lieutenant wanted them to stir things up, and Jason figured making Jose nervous would do the trick.
“I got nothin’ to do with those people dyin’! Nothin,’ you hear?”
Jason shook his head, a concerned look on his face. “I don’t know, Jose. You’re not giving me an alibi, and you’re not helping yourself by coming up with some information for me. You wouldn’t answer any of my questions the other day. I figure, a guy in your position would rather cooperate than make himself look bad.”
The gardener was clearly flustered, but he stuck to his story. “I don’t know nothin.’ I wasn’t around when those folks died. I was at home.”
Jason wasn’t sure if the gardener was lying, but he wanted Jose to think he was suspicious of him.
“Okay, Jose.” He shook his head doubtfully. “We’ll be in touch.”
The gardener climbed back onto the mower as Jason and Vanessa walked back to their car. Vanessa let out a chuckle.
“I wasn’t sure he was going to stop the mower before hitting us.”
“I know! I thought we were going to be ‘mowed down’! Get it mowed...”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “I get it. So, do you think we ruffled his feathers?”
“I’d say so. I just hope it makes him nervous enough to give us something.”
Chapter 10
They arrived back at the station in the late afternoon.
Jason wanted to verify Marcus Winston’s alibi. He dialed the number the condo owner had give
n Vanessa.
“Hello?”
Jason noticed the informal answering of the phone. “Norma Waters?”
“Yes. Who’s calling?”
“Ms. Waters, my name’s Detective Jason Strong. I’m with the San Antonio Police Department.”
“Yes, Detective. Marcus said you might call.”
“Ms. Waters…”
“Please, call me Norma.”
“…Norma, are you in the construction office at this time?”
There was a pause before she answered. “Uh, no. Why?”
“I hoped you could look at the office calendar, and verify whether Mr. Winston was in Austin on the dates in question.”
“He gave me the dates you were interested in, and I was able to confirm he was here.”
Jason didn’t like the feel of this conversation at all. Something wasn’t right.
“He was there on all of the dates?”
“Yes. All of them.”
“Okay, I appreciate your time. I won’t bother you further.”
“No bother, Detective. Goodbye.”
The phone clicked in Jason’s ear, and he looked up to see Vanessa watching him. “She verified he was there?”
Jason put the phone down. “She did, but there’s something not kosher about her statement.”
“How so?”
“Didn’t Winston say he gave us the office number to call Norma Waters?”
“I believe so, why?”
“She answered it like it was a personal phone. And said she wasn’t at the office.”
Lieutenant Patton called them into his office, interrupting Jason. “How did it go out there today?”
Jason brought the lieutenant up to speed, and when he was done, John Patton stood up. He grabbed a cloth, and as he spoke, he erased the whiteboard at the end of his office. “Patrols have been increased through the complex, and they’ve been told to be very visible, using spotlights, etc.”
He turned and looked at Vanessa. “Okay, let’s put this case on the board and see what it looks like. Give me the names of the deceased in order of discovery.”
Vanessa listed them off. Ruth Rogers, Darrel Patterson, and Fred Murphy. The lieutenant wrote them down. Without turning around, he asked for the next piece of information.
“Cause of death in each?”
“Same,” Jason answered. “Suffocation by a plastic bag taped over their heads.”
“And no sign of a sexual attack?”
“None.”
The lieutenant rubbed his hand across the top of his head.
“Okay, let’s see if there are any lines to be drawn between these victims, besides where they lived and how they died.”
Vanessa, as was her habit, raised her hand to speak. Despite the stress he was under, John Patton smiled. “Yes, Ms. Layne?”
She smiled back. “I think we should add the name of Willie Davis. He wasn’t killed, but he was targeted, and any connection of the cases would probably include him as well.”
To signify he agreed, John Patton wrote the elderly man’s name on the board.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s start with demographics. They’re all elderly, but that doesn’t set them apart from the rest of the community. It may, however, be tied to the motive.”
Jason copied the notes on the board into his notebook as the lieutenant continued. “Neither race nor gender seem to be significant, since they vary from victim to victim. Three men, one woman. One black, three white.” He rubbed his head again. “What about location? Are they all from the same building?”
Jason got out his map of Orchid Village.
“Two of the victims lived on the same cul-de-sac, but Patterson and Davis both live on different streets, on the opposite side of the complex.”
“What else? Were they all friends, acquaintances, enemies?”
“Two of the victims were friends, and knew Willie Davis, but Darrel Patterson was not part of their circle.”
“What about money? Were they wealthy?”
Vanessa shook her head. “Hardly. In fact, Patterson was renting his unit.”
The lieutenant dropped heavily into his chair.
“Renting? I thought those were condos?”
Vanessa nodded. “So did we, but Grace Caldwell said they were rentals before they were turned into condominiums. She’s a renter, too.”
“And the other victims? Were they renting?”
Jason and Vanessa looked at each other. Jason had meant to talk to Steve Jaffe about the history of the complex, but hadn’t got around to it yet. They didn’t know if the other victims were renters.
They both shrugged.
John Patton rolled his eyes. “Well, let’s find out. It’s mighty thin, but it’s all we’ve got right now. Keep me informed.”
The meeting was over. They stood to leave when Jason remembered Steve Jaffe’s request.
“The manager out at Orchid Village asked if we could release the two units we’re holding as crime scenes.”
The lieutenant thought for a moment. “Not sure. I’ll check with Doc Josie.”
*******
Once outside the office, Jason and Vanessa looked over their notes. Neither one could find a notation about the status of the other apartments. Vanessa offered to call Steve Jaffe, but Jason said no.
“I want to go see him in person. We’ll go first thing in the morning.”
“Actually, you mind making the trip solo?”
“Why? What’s up?”
“I’ve got to take my little man for his check-up in the morning.”
“Sure, no problem.”
She elbowed him in the side. “You’ll be doing the same thing soon!”
He laughed. He was looking forward to it.
Chapter 11
Unlocking the door to her apartment, Tabby went inside and began her normal routine.
First, lock the door handle. Next, turn both deadbolts, one near the top and one near the bottom of the door. Finally, run the chain across the doorframe.
She set her purse down on the table by the door and walked across the living room to the patio door. Pulling back the curtain, she made sure the door was still locked, and the metal pin through the frame was in place.
Satisfied, she went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. The group had gotten together for the first time since Ruth and Fred were found murdered. They tried to keep things light, but it was more about being in each other’s company than it was about cards.
Tabby felt they needed to meet, resume a routine of some sort, and not stay locked up in their own apartments. She didn’t have trouble convincing Willie or Ruby, but Grace had been reluctant. Finally, she had given in to Tabby’s gentle insistence that getting out was for the best.
The teakettle whistled and she reached for a cup. Something came to her nose. A smell.
What is that?
She made her tea, no cream with light sugar, before going and sitting in her favorite chair. She couldn’t put her finger on why the smell was so familiar.
Putting it out of her mind, she sipped the tea, before picking up her needlepoint and going back to stitching the Golden Retriever embroidery she was currently working on.
Getting lost in her hobby, she never heard a thing.
A hand reached around her face, slapping a piece of duct tape over her mouth. Before she could move, a rope looped twice around her and her chair. It pulled tight and she was unable to move.
Panic gripped her as she tried to turn and see who was behind her. Before she could see him, a bag dropped down over her head, and everything went dark.
In an odd moment of calm before she died, Tabby recognized that smell, and knew who her murderer was.
*******
Wednesday morning, Jason drove directly out to Orchid Village from home. Steve Jaffe had been out of town for several days, and Jason was anxious to talk to him. He found the manager in his office.
“Morning, Steve.”
Steve looked up from his
desk and, seeing Jason, stood.
“Detective.” They shook hands. “Any news?”
Steve gestured at a chair in front of his desk as he sat back down. Jason pulled his notebook and took the seat. “No news, but I do have more questions.”
Steve leaned back, apparently unconcerned. “Shoot.”
“Can you tell me the history of Orchid Village?”
Steve looked puzzled. “History?”
“Yeah. We understand the Village was a rental community at one time?”
“Oh, that. I didn’t know what you were referring to.” He sat forward. “Yeah, it’s true. When Marcus started construction on the complex, things were good as far as real estate was concerned. He was nearing completion of the early phases when the Texas market, like the rest of the country, went down the drain.”
Jason remembered how bad things had gotten for folks during that time. Texas, California, Arizona, as well as Florida, were particularly hard hit.
Steve continued. “Anyway, the bank was going to close out the construction loan, cut its losses, but that would’ve left Marcus bankrupt. City leaders didn’t want a white elephant on the San Antonio landscape either, so they and Marcus convinced the bank to continue the financing by converting the units to rentals.”
Jason made several notes. “When did the complex transition to condos?”
“About seven years ago.”
“And how was that handled?”
Steve reached behind him and pulled a piece of paper from the file cabinet. He slid it across the desk to Jason. “This letter was sent out to each renter.”
Jason took the letter and scanned it. The note, on Orchid Village letterhead, proclaimed the exciting news of the transition to condos. Each resident had the opportunity to purchase his or her unit. The letter continued with financing options and other details, which Jason skipped over. Marcus Winston’s signature ran across the bottom.
Jason tried to imagine getting a letter like this in his mailbox. He looked up at Steve, who was watching him. “How did people react?”
“The response was overwhelmingly positive. These units were fairly expensive rentals to begin with, and most could afford to buy their unit. The main draw to the Village had been the amenities.”
TIED TO MURDER (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE Book 5) Page 5