DEATH STILL (Det. Jason Strong (CLEAN SUSPENSE) Book 7)

by John C. Dalglish

  Once inside, the two detectives stopped at the front desk, but when no one appeared, Jason went up to one of the tellers.

  “Is the manager in?” He showed his badge.

  The young lady appeared flustered by the badge and started scanning the lobby for help. “Jessica? Is Mr. Knowles in his office?”

  Jason turned to see who the teller was talking to. A middle-aged woman in a black business suit, her blonde hair in a bun, stood up and came over to where the two detectives stood.

  “Is there a problem?”

  Jason shook his head. “No. I just need to talk with the bank manager.”

  “My name is Jessica Short. I’m an assistant to Mr. Knowles, can I help?”

  Jason pulled his badge back out. “I need to speak to someone who can verify the whereabouts of Jeffery Childs yesterday.”

  “I can get you his timecard. Is that what you need?” She started back toward her desk, the detectives in tow.

  “Actually, the time card will help, but I need someone with personal knowledge of where he was.”

  Vanessa took a quick look at her notes. “Mr. Childs told us he was in meetings most of yesterday. Can you verify his statement?”

  Miss Short had stopped in the middle of the lobby. “Well, yes I can. I was in the same meetings, along with Mr. Knowles and several others. We broke for lunch around one, and reconvened forty-five minutes later.”

  Vanessa was writing. “And Mr. Childs was in with you the whole time?”

  “Yes, I don’t recall him ever leaving.”

  “You’re sure?”

  Miss Short was obviously offended. “Of course I’m sure! I’ll get the time card.”

  Vanessa folded up her notebook while the assistant went in search of evidence to her reliability.

  Jason grinned at his partner. “Way to piss her off.”

  Vanessa laughed. “Just doing my job.”

  *******

  Marcus got back to his place in late morning after picking up a newspaper. He’d stayed up last night, replaying the events of the day before, so he’d allowed himself to sleep in.

  He made some coffee, buttered a piece of toast, and sat down at the kitchen table. It was actually a card table set up between the bed and the small cooking area, but it served the purpose.

  Sipping his coffee, he read the headlines. His handy work covered the front page.

  Too bad, no picture of my art.

  He laughed, knowing the public wasn’t ready for art like he was perfecting. He moved his toast out of the way and spread the paper out on the table. Finding the classified ads, he uncapped his black marker and started to read.

  He was only interested in one section.

  REAL ESTATE: FOR SALE BY OWNER

  There were usually several columns of homes listed, but the new postings were always at the end, and he let his finger glide down the list until he came to the first ad he didn’t recognize.

  That one didn’t appeal to him, neither did the next two, but the fourth ad looked to be a possibility. He circled it. Three more ads down, he found his second candidate. He circled that as well. The next ad showed promise and he made a third circle.

  Then he pulled out a worn city map. Checking the first ad, he ran his gaze across the surface until it stopped on the street name. His pulse picked up. Marcus repeated the ritual for the second and third ads, getting more excited each time, before finally writing the addresses on a separate piece of paper.

  Tomorrow, he would start his latest photo shoot, looking for his next lovely subject.

  *******

  Outside the bank, Jason waited for Vanessa to collect the time card. Sitting in the car with the A/C running, he flipped through the file of interviews done by the canvassing officers. Several addresses were noted as Resident not home. The people who had been home didn’t provide anything solid to follow up on.

  The car door opened and Vanessa got in. She waved a copy of the time card. “Unless our victim was killed before eight in the morning, the husband is not our guy.”

  Jason handed her the file and put the car in drive. “Do you want to grab some lunch before going back out to the neighborhood for interviews?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Chapter 3

  At least one day a week, lunch meant Stumpy’s Bar-B-Q. Jason and Vanessa found they had mutual cravings for the pulled pork, potato salad, and foamy root beer. Today was that day, and after they ordered, they took a booth by the window. Vanessa studied Jason.

  “You seem to be holding up pretty well.”

  He gave her a sideways glance. “What?”

  “For a new dad, you seem to be holding up well.”

  “I assume you’re referring to the lack of sleep.”

  Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Duh! Isn’t that all a new parent can think about for the first six months?”

  “It’s an act. Most of the time, I’m actually asleep.”

  “Doesn’t seem to affect your detective skills.”

  He grinned. “Suggesting what? I normally sleep through my work?”

  “If the shoe fits…”

  They laughed as the food arrived. As usual, once the pork was delivered, eating began and talking ceased.

  *******

  After lunch, they spent the afternoon crossing off addresses on their list. Still no new leads and Vanessa was getting frustrated. “Somebody must have seen something!”

  They’d just gotten back in the car and Jason was looking at the list. “Only one left.”

  Vanessa shrugged. “We might as well get it over with.”

  They got back out of the car and crossed the street. The last address was a two-story brownstone, with red shutters and a red front door. Jason lifted the heavy brass knocker and rapped twice. A small dog began to yap incessantly from somewhere inside.

  After several minutes, the door opened a crack, and an elderly woman with bright blue eyes looked around the edge. “Yes?”

  Vanessa opened her badge. “Ma’am, we’re with San Antonio PD. Do you have a minute?”

  The woman stared at the badge for several seconds before being apparently satisfied of its authenticity. “Is this about poor Mrs. Childs?”

  “Yes, ma’am. May we come in?”

  The silver-haired woman stepped back and swung the door wide. “Yes, of course.”

  The two detectives moved into the foyer, waited while the small woman shut the door behind them, and then followed her into the living room. She wore a white housedress covered in pink and blue daisies. White slippers muffled her steps on the hardwood floors. She gestured at a couch. “Please, sit. Would you like some tea?”

  Jason remained standing, taking out his notepad. “Not for me.”

  Vanessa took a seat on the couch and held up her hand. “Nor me, but thank you.”

  The lady settled into a floral Queen Anne armchair. “I was out of town yesterday, but of course, it was all over the news. Shocking.”

  Vanessa liked the lady immediately, partly because she looked like her own grandmother, and partly because she exuded warmth. “May I ask your name?”

  “Estelle Muller.”

  “May I call you Estelle?”

  “Of course, dear.”

  “I know you said you were out of town, but is it possible you noticed anything unusual prior to yesterday?”

  “Like what, dear?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Different people in the neighborhood, cars you didn’t recognize, couples having arguments.”

  “Well, let me see.” The elderly woman closed her eyes, her eyeballs moving back and forth, as if playing a movie on the inside of her eyelids. After a couple minutes, she opened her eyes and refocused. “Nothing really comes to mind.”

  Jason started to put away his notepad. Estelle cocked her head to the side. “Except…”

  Vanessa leaned forward. “Except what?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t call it unusual, but several cars were coming and going from the Childs’ home last we
ek.”

  “Several? Do you mean one after another?”

  “No. One each day, three or four times last week.”

  Jason interrupted. “Why did you say it wasn’t unusual?”

  “Because, dear, their house is for sale.”

  Jason, who had stopped putting his pad away, now folded it closed again. Vanessa remained curious.

  “Did the same car visit more than once?”

  “No dear, I don’t think so. Always a different color, although they seemed to look the same.”

  Vanessa’s pulse quickened slightly. “Do you know what model they were?”

  Estelle giggled at Vanessa’s question. “Goodness no, dear! I’m not up on the new cars, they just looked similar to me.”

  Vanessa sat back, doing her best to hide her frustration. “Was there anything about the cars you can remember?”

  Estelle closed her eyes again, and when she opened them, there was a glint of recognition. “Actually dear, there was one thing.”

  Vanessa leaned forward again, pulse racing again. “What was that, Estelle?”

  “They all had a sticker on them from a rental company, but I don’t remember the name.”

  “What color was the sticker?”

  “It had yellow in it.”

  “Hertz, was that the name? Hertz Rent-a-Car?”

  Estelle hesitated before slowly shaking her head. “No…no, I don’t think that was it. It had a money name, I think.”

  Vanessa looked at Jason, searching her mind for car rentals with yellow in their sign. She could see he was doing the same.

  Jason snapped his fingers. “Dollar Rent-a-Car?”

  Estelle clapped her hands together like a child playing a game, and pointed at Jason. “That’s it!”

  “Did you see the people driving the cars?” Jason asked.

  “Not really, but I think it was a man each time.”

  “Would you recognize him?”

  “Oh no, dear. I never saw him for very long, I’m not even sure it was the same man each time.”

  “What about the days? Do you know which days you saw him?”

  Again, she shook her head, quicker this time, tossing her silver hair back and forth. “I can’t remember which days.”

  Vanessa stood while Jason finished scribbling his notes.

  “Thank you for your help, Estelle.” The detective laid a card on the coffee table. “We’ll let ourselves out. Call us if you think of anything else, will you please?”

  “Of course, dear.”

  *******

  Back in the car, Jason looked at his notes. “Either Melissa Childs was having an affair with someone from out of town, or our killer was using multiple vehicles to disguise his identity.”

  Vanessa wasn’t so sure. “Those theories both assume it was the same man each time. We don’t know that for sure.”

  “There’s one way to find out. How many Dollar Rent-a-Car stores are located in the city?”

  Vanessa grunted. “What do I look like, the Chamber of Commerce?”

  “No, you look like the one holding the smart phone while I drive.”

  “Oh.”

  *******

  Vanessa found only one Dollar Rent-a-Car in the greater San Antonio area, located at the airport. Jason made a beeline for the rental agency, hoping they were about to get their first big break in the case.

  San Antonio International Airport was located on the northern edge of the city. A vast complex of twenty-six hundred acres, serving over eight million passengers a year, Jason made a point to avoid the area whenever possible. Regardless of the time of day or night, it seemed to be perpetually surrounded by a traffic jam.

  Today was no different, and after taking thirty-five minutes to make a fifteen-minute trip, they pulled onto the Dollar Rent-a-Car lot. Located on the south edge of the airport, just off the Connolly Loop, the Dollar lot was behind the Thrifty Car Rental lot. From what Jason could tell, they were one in the same.

  The two detectives got out and went into the small office. A young man with short, brown hair and a white pressed shirt came up to the counter. His nametag identified him as Nathan. “Can I help you?”

  Jason showed his badge. “I’m Detective Strong, and this is my partner, Detective Layne. Is the manager in?”

  “No, he’s off today. I’m the assistant manager, can I help?”

  “We’re investigating a murder, and we think our suspect may have rented a vehicle from your Dollar agency.”

  Nathan’s brown eyes grew three sizes. “A murder! Dang, that’s creepy.”

  Vanessa took out her notepad. “You have no idea.”

  Jason smirked at his partner before turning back to Nathan. “We’re looking for a man who may have rented the same model of car, three or four times last week.”

  A flash of recognition lit up Nathan’s face. “That would have to be Mr. Turner.”

  “Mr. Turner? Why do you know his name so quickly?”

  Nathan suddenly looked a little scared, as if he’d said something wrong. “Uh…well…we get a lot of people in and out of here, but rarely do we rent to someone four days in a row.”

  “Did Mr. Turner tell you what he needed the cars for?”

  “He said he had clients to take out to dinner and his own car was too small.”

  “Did he park his own car here?”

  “No. He came on the shuttle from the airport.”

  “Do you know his first name?”

  “Doug, I think. I have his license and insurance copies attached to his rental agreements. Do you want to see them?”

  Jason most certainly did. “Please.”

  Nathan turned and opened the top drawer in a four-drawer filing cabinet, fingered through some papers, before pulling out a set of sheets stapled together. “Here it is. At least, this is the last one.”

  Jason took the collection of papers and flipped through them, handing the copies to Vanessa when he was done. “Did he use the same ID each time?”

  Nathan nodded.

  Vanessa was staring at the copy of the driver’s license. “Did he look like this picture?”

  Nathan looked over her shoulder at the picture. “Yeah, sort of. I mentioned he had changed a lot, and he said it was an old picture.”

  “Could you describe how he looks now to a sketch artist?”

  “Sure, I guess. That would be cool.”

  Vanessa grinned at her partner. “Cool, indeed.”

  Chapter 4

  Marcus was up early the next morning. He’d hardly slept at all last night, too excited by the project he would start today.

  He stood in front of the mirror examining himself. Everything had to be just so. Navy blue checked tie, white collar shirt, blue slacks, and black penny loafers. He ran his hand through his brown hair, which he kept short, and checked his teeth with that ridiculous grin that exposed all the teeth at once.

  Confident his smile was perfect, he straightened his tie for the fifth time and simultaneously examined his fingernails in the mirror. Finding them trimmed and spotless, he decided he was ready. Marcus figured looking up ‘businessman’ in the dictionary would lead to a picture of him.

  Picking up his keys, Marcus headed for the door. He’d rented the red Ford Fusion, currently parked in his driveway last night. He would return it after today’s chores.

  Once in the car, he pulled the list of homes for the day out of his breast pocket. The first on the list was less than ten miles from his place, located on the city’s north edge.

  He took a deep breath and started the car.

  Today is going to be a good day, I can feel it.

  *******

  Jason arrived at the station just before eight the next morning. Vanessa was waiting for him at her desk. “I have a present.”

  Jason pulled out his chair and sat down. “Oh, goody! Please share.”

  Vanessa slid a piece of paper across the desk. Jason picked it up and studied it. He was looking at their suspect, or at leas
t a representation of their suspect, as recalled by the young man at the car rental agency.

  Jason laid it on the desk, pulled out the driver’s license picture from the case file, and put it next to the sketch. “Mr. Turner has lost weight, hair, and a double chin since his driver photo was taken.”

  “Yeah, I know. Quite a transformation.”

  “Well, it’s probably safe to assume the sketch is closer to our suspect than the license photo, especially since the license came up as a fake.”

  Vanessa couldn’t help herself. “Nothing gets by you, does it?”

  He was about to fire off his own one-liner when they were interrupted by Lieutenant Banks. “You two got a minute?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” they replied in unison, and got up to go into her office.

  Sarah Banks sat behind Lieutenant Patton’s desk. Tall, with green eyes and dark brown hair she kept close-cropped, her height seemed to be the only thing she had in common with John Patton. To Jason, it seemed she was always on guard, always serious and to the point. Little of the relaxed camaraderie he found with John could be found in Banks. He figured it came from being the only female lieutenant in the department.

  She waited until they were seated. “I talked to Lieutenant Patton today. He’s hoping to be released for light duty next week. He’s still getting some physical therapy for his walking. As you know, the bullet messed up some tendons in the leg.”

  Jason had been in touch with his boss and knew he wasn’t a hundred percent, but hearing he may be back soon was good news. “Awesome. He hadn’t mentioned coming back so soon.”

  Vanessa let out a small laugh. “He probably thinks the place is falling apart without him!”

  Jason noticed Banks glance sideways at Vanessa. “I’m sure he knows we’re in good hands with you, Lieutenant.”

  Vanessa suddenly realized what she had implied. “No offence, Lieutenant.”