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

by John C. Dalglish

  Banks managed to keep an expressionless look, despite what Jason sensed was some tightening in her jaw muscles. “None taken. Any chance we can solve the Childs murder case before your old boss comes back?”

  Jason handed her the sketch. “We got this yesterday from a guy at Dollar Rent-a-Car. He’s had contact with our prime suspect, and described him to our artist.”

  “Do we have a name?”

  “Yes. Doug Turner, but it’s a fake.”

  Banks handed the sketch back to Jason. “What makes him our prime suspect?”

  “We believe he was seen at the victim’s house on four different occasions, each time with a different vehicle, which turned out to be rentals.”

  “Okay. What’s next?”

  Vanessa answered. “We thought he may have done this before, or is preparing to do it again. We planned on visiting car rental agencies, beginning with the airport, and showing the sketch around.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The phone on the lieutenant’s desk rang and she pushed the speaker button. “Banks.”

  “Yes, Lieutenant. This is Leonard Davis, I’m looking for Strong and Layne, have you seen them?”

  “They’re sitting in front of me.”

  “Oh, good. I have the results from the autopsy on Melissa Childs.”

  “They’re getting a pad out now, go ahead.”

  “Based on the stomach contents and the level of rigor at the time of discovery, I put time of death at mid- to late morning. There was no indication of rape.” The sound of some papers being ruffled carried through the speaker. “I did find a hair on the body. It’s been sent over to Doc Josie, but that was the extent of the trace evidence.”

  “Is that everything, Doctor.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll send a copy of the report up to your detectives.”

  “Thank you.” Banks pushed the disconnect button without waiting for a goodbye. “How does that information square with your case?”

  Jason looked at Vanessa. “That clears the husband.”

  “Yeah, he was in meetings at the T.O.D.”

  Lieutenant Banks looked from one detective to the other. “Well, I guess you’re going to the airport?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Keep me in the loop.”

  ********

  Marcus pulled into traffic on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, went six blocks, and turned onto Redlands Lane. At the end of the road sat a large, split-level ranch home with a For Sale by Owner sign in the yard.

  Just one car in the driveway meant there was a chance the woman of the house was home alone. He parked by the curb, checked his tie in the mirror, and got out of the vehicle.

  A winding concrete path, through grass needing mowed, led up to the large oak front door. Marcus reached up and pushed the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door opened.

  A young woman in her late twenties, still dressed in pajamas, stood in the open doorway. “Hi, can I help you?”

  Marcus tried to control his breathing as his heart started to pound. The petite brunette looked at him with bright green eyes, and Marcus started to envision her in his photos.

  “Yes, I saw your sign. I was wondering how much the house is?”

  “Oh. We’re asking a hundred and eighty thousand.”

  Just then, two toddlers scampered up. They stood behind the woman, peering around her from the hallway, curious about the visitor.

  Marcus gave her a broad smile. “Oh, okay. That’s more than I was looking to spend.”

  “Well, we might consider an offer.”

  “No, thank you. Have a nice day.” Marcus was walking back to his car before the woman even had a chance to close the door.

  Back in the rental car, disappointed at the turn of events, he crossed the address off the list.

  Marcus had a few rules he stuck to when it came to his hunt. Number one is no kids, a lesson he had learned the hard way. They presented a variable he couldn’t control, and the risk was unacceptable.

  He started the car and headed for house number two on his list.

  Chapter 5

  There are no less than seven car rental agencies at the San Antonio International Airport. Jason and Vanessa had already been to three of them with no luck. No one remembered seeing the man in the sketch, and most said they saw too many people to be sure anyway.

  Jason knew they were fighting long odds, but there wasn’t another lead for them to follow. Besides, if someone had repeated the pattern of several rentals in the period of a week, surely even these busy people would notice.

  They went into agency number four. The Enterprise Rent-a-Car on Highway 281, just west of the airport. Vanessa carried the sketch up to the desk while Jason looked around the place. When a young lady dressed in the green and white Enterprise colors came to the counter, Jason joined his partner. She had her badge out, showing it to the clerk.

  Vanessa handed a photocopy of the sketch to the twenty-something girl whose nametag identified as Nancy. “Does this man look familiar?”

  She stared at it a long time, turning it slightly sideways, even cocking her head in one direction, and then the other. Finally, she looked at the detectives. “Kinda.”

  “Kinda? You mean he’s kinda familiar?”

  “Yeah, he looks a little like this guy we rented several cars to last month. I’m not certain, though.”

  “Did he rent the same model each time?”

  “I think so. I think it was an Impala.” The clerk turned and leaned through a set of double doors. “Jerry, come here!”

  A few moments later, another twenty-something with red hair joined the three of them at the counter. Nancy handed the sketch to him. “Do you recognize this guy?”

  After looking at it for a few moments, Jerry shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

  Nancy looked over her co-worker’s shoulder, pointing at the face. “Look at the eyes. Doesn’t it look like the guy who rented the Impalas four or five days in a row?”

  Jerry cocked his head to one side. “Yeah, I guess it kind of does look like him.”

  Jason got out his notepad. “When was this exactly?”

  “Let me find the his contracts.” Nancy went to a file cabinet, searching through it for several minutes, before coming back with a folder. “David Murphy was his name.”

  Jason took the folder and pulled out the copy of the man’s driver’s license. He showed it to Vanessa. “Same photo as the first license.”

  Jason looked at the dates of the rentals, jotting them down, before giving the file back to Nancy. They didn’t match this crime, but it was definitely worth looking into.

  “Can I get a copy of that, please?”

  When Nancy returned with the copy, he laid his card on the counter. “If you ever see this man again, call us immediately.”

  Outside, Jason and Vanessa returned to their car. Jason drove to the next rental agency while Vanessa thought aloud. “That leaves two probable scenarios. One, it’s the same guy, and for some reason he didn’t kill in this instance. Or two, there’s a homicide we don’t know about.”

  “I vote for number one.”

  *******

  Marcus got on the 1610 loop around the city, traveling west toward the next address on his list. The second home was on a dead end, backing up to an open field. He spotted the sign in the yard immediately.

  Parking in the driveway, he examined the house and yard more carefully this time. Marcus was sure he’d missed a sign of kids at his last house and didn’t want a repeat here. Satisfied no toys or bikes were on the property, he straightened his tie, ran his hand through his hair, and got out of his car.

  The home was a two-story manor. Red brick construction, large windows flanked by decorative metal, and muted landscaping gave the home an old English feel. Marcus didn’t see a bell, so he rapped the horse head knocker three times.

  It took several minutes, but eventually the door opened slightly. A woman Marcus guessed to be around sixty peered at him t
hrough the open crack. She spoke in a soft, almost whisper-like tone. “Yes?”

  Marcus smiled widely. “I was inquiring about your home for sale.”

  The woman was barely visible from the behind the door.

  “My husband is asleep. You’d have to talk to him.”

  “When would be a good time to call him?”

  “Mornings, when he gets home from work.”

  “Oh, does he work nights?”

  She looked alarmed, probably because she had given away some information she didn’t want to share. “Yes.”

  “Okay, I’ll call him. Thank you.” He walked back to his car as the woman closed the door quietly behind him.

  Once in his car, he crossed the address off the list. Rule number two, he didn’t work at night. Too many people moving around the neighborhoods, but more importantly, the lighting was bad for his photos.

  Marcus looked at his watch.

  Time to call it a day and do more hunting tomorrow. Not such a great day, after all.

  He started the red Fusion and headed for the rental car agency.

  *******

  Jason and Vanessa had hit the three remaining rental agencies by the airport, all with no success. They arrived back at the station shortly before five in the afternoon. A note on Jason’s desk told him to contact Doc Josie.

  ‘Doc Josie,’ officially Dr. Jocelyn Carter, was the head of the Forensic Science Department. Short with curly, brown hair and black wire-framed glasses around blue eyes, she looked like the classic college professor.

  Jason picked up the phone and dialed the Forensic Department, located in the basement of the precinct. It rang several times, and Jason was about to hang up, when Doc Josie picked up. “Forensics.”

  “Hi, Doc. This is Jason; I had a note to call you.”

  “Hey, Jason. Yeah, I’ve got the forensic report on Childs.”

  Jason sat down, pulling a piece of paper toward him. “Shoot.”

  “Okay, first the hair found during autopsy. It had a root to it and we were able to get a DNA profile. I ran it through the system, but didn’t get a hit.”

  “Dang.” He looked up at Vanessa who was standing and watching. He mouthed ‘no match.’

  Doc Josie continued. “Secondly, we tested the blood on the razor blade, hoping our guy had cut himself, but only found the victim’s blood. And lastly, my techs didn’t find any unidentifiable prints.”

  “What about the rope?”

  “Both the rope and the razor blade were generics, probably bought at Wal-Mart or a dollar store. We can match them to others you might find, but on their own, they won’t be much help.”

  Jason finished making his notes. “Not much, but at least we have a DNA profile to use against a suspect.”

  “Yeah, how’s the search going?”

  “Not great, but we do have a composite we’re working with. Can you pull DNA from a sketch?”

  “Uh, no. I’ll work on it, though.”

  Jason laughed. “Just thinking outside the box.”

  “I’m thinking you should be locked in a box!”

  He could hear her laughing when the phone went dead. Jason brought Vanessa up to speed on what they had before he suggested they call it a day.

  She let him know she agreed by heading for the door. “Goodnight.”

  Chapter 6

  Marcus slept late the next morning. There was no point in getting up early with only one house to visit. He had to wait for everyone to go to work before showing up. He was on his way by ten.

  The house first on the list today was located on the south side of the city, not far from Kilroy Lake, on a cul-de-sac. He followed the Connally Loop around to Palo Alto Road, south to Moss Spring Drive.

  Following Moss Spring back to where it made a loop, he found the home by the For Sale by Owner sign. The street wasn’t busy, almost a rural road, but inside the city limits.

  The house itself was a single-story rambling ranch that seemed to have had numerous additions built onto it over the years. White tile roof contrasted with the red adobe brick. There wasn’t a tree in the yard, but the grass was the greenest in the area, obviously watered often.

  Marcus stopped by the curb, searched for any sign of kids, then pulled into the driveway. Turning his vehicle off, he sat for few minutes studying the home. Even though it was a single-story, the ad told him it had a basement.

  This is the one, I can feel it.

  One more look in the mirror, one more straightening of the tie, and he got out. The West Texas sun cooked the cement and radiated heat, even at this early hour.

  A series of stepping stones led up to a front door flanked by a small cactus garden on one side and a fountain trickling water from a cracked pot on the other side.

  Marcus pushed the bell. After several minutes, he heard a deadbolt turning and his heart started to beat faster. No sound of dogs or kids.

  The door opened, and a slender woman of about fifty stood before him. “Can I help you?”

  Big disarming smile. “Yes. I saw your sign and wondered about the house. How much are you asking?”

  She reached up and brushed brown hair out of brown eyes. “Two-hundred-twenty-thousand.”

  “That’s a good price. How many bedrooms?”

  She stayed near the edge of the door, not opening it all the way. “Four, with two and a half baths. I would let you look but my husband is at work.”

  Husband at work. Perfect.

  “That’s no problem, I understand. Could you show me the property lines?”

  “Oh, sure.”

  She came outside, closing the door behind her, and Marcus followed her out to the street. He liked her yellow blouse and white tennis skirt.

  Tennis is probably how she stays in such good shape.

  When she reached the street, she turned and pointed at a utility pole behind the house. “Our property goes back to that pole on the east and the neighbor’s fence over there is the border on the west. It’s roughly an acre and a half.”

  Marcus, after reaching into his car and grabbing a camera, stared at the landmarks. “That’s a good-sized lot.”

  She started back for the house, and when she was halfway, he stopped her.

  “Would it be alright to take a picture for my wife? We’re from out of town and she’s letting me do the house hunting.”

  She stopped and turned back toward him. “That’s fine, just let me get out of the picture.”

  “Don’t be silly. You’re not going to ruin the shot.”

  Before she could object, he raised his camera, and snapped a shot of the house with her in front. Walking toward her, he extended his hand. “Thank you for your time...”

  “Barbara, Barbara Lind.”

  They shook hands. “Thank you, Barbara. My name is Larry Green, and I’ll be telling my wife about this one.”

  He left her in the yard and got in his car. She was still standing there as he drove away.

  *******

  Vanessa started her day at the fax machine. She’d written up a description of the Childs murder, and was in the process of sending it to all of the surrounding police departments. Attached to the report was a list of the dates supplied by Nancy at Enterprise Rent-a-Car.

  Vanessa hoped someone might be able to match the crime and dates to another case. The last sheet was a copy of their suspect sketch. She pressed SEND and waited for confirmation the documents had gone out.

  Jason came up beside her. “Morning!”

  “Ahhh! You scared the crap out of me!” He obviously enjoyed it a little too much. “When did you get here?”

  “Just now. Whatcha doin’?”

  “I just sent the information on our case to the surrounding departments.”

  “Good. Are you ready to go?”

  She gathered up the documents and headed back to her desk. “Where?”

  “There’s at least two dozen rental agencies still to canvas.”

  Vanessa dropped the stack of papers on her desk
, flopping down in her chair at the same time. “Ugh. Really?”

  “Yup.”

  “Now?”

  “Yup.”

  “Maybe I should stay here and watch the fax machine.”

  “Why, is the fax machine doing tricks?”

  “Very funny.”

  “Let me repeat my earlier question. Are you ready to go?”

  Vanessa glared at him. “You’re a bad man, you know that.”

  Grudgingly, she got to her feet and followed her partner to the elevator.

  *******

  Marcus locked the door to his small apartment and crossed back over to the kitchen table. His camera was already hooked to the printer, and the picture of Barbara Lind in front of her home was almost finished printing.

  He tore the wrapper off the new photo album purchased from Walgreens, waiting for the picture to drop from the machine. When it was done, he picked it up and stared at it for several minutes. Finally, he inserted it into page one and reveled in a rush of adrenaline.

  His newest album had started, and it was only a matter of time until he took the Death Still.

  Slowly, he ran his finger across the photo, touching Barbara’s face, caressing her through the plastic.

  Barbara is such a pretty name, it fits her.

  Closing the book, he turned the spine of the album toward him, and using a permanent marker, wrote in block letters ‘BARBARA LIND.’

  He slid the album into its spot on the shelf next to the album named Melissa Childs. There should be another album on the shelf, but he had been unable to finish the first album and was forced to destroy it.

  Only my completed works can be saved.

  He decided a can of Campbell’s Chunky Soup would serve as dinner. Then some TV, and early to bed. He had another big day tomorrow.

  *******

  Jason and Vanessa arrived back at the station just before five-thirty. They’d managed to check out ten separate rental agencies, all of which turned out to be dead-ends.

  Vanessa dropped into her desk chair, laid her head back, and closed her eyes. She was exhausted from being in the car all day. Jason was about to sit down when he spotted something on her desk. “What’s that?”