Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1) (26 page)

Wednesday, 5 September 2012, 6:00 PM

Laine opened her front door and stood there in shock.  No words came from her mouth as she stared at her visitor.

"Hello, Laine," Wyatt Ferrell said, "You look surprised to see me.  May I come in?"

Laine didn't know what to do.  She hadn't seen Wyatt for over five years, since before Noelle's birth.  He had been her boyfriend at the time and when she found out she was pregnant, she didn't tell him.  She thought it over carefully and decided that he wasn't the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. 

Before she was too far along in her pregnancy, she 'engineered' a break up with Wyatt and then quietly left Houston where she worked in a forensic laboratory as an assistant.  She quietly applied for the job as a Technical Investigator in Kern County, telling them upfront that she was pregnant.  When she was accepted, she moved to Bakersfield where Noelle was born.  She hadn't seen or heard from Wyatt since that time.  In fact, she heard that he had taken up with someone else and was engaged.  She assumed that by now he was married and had a family.

"What are you doing here?" she said.

"Well, can't you at least invite me in instead of talking here on the stoop?  I've spent a lot of time looking for you over the past year when I found out about your pregnancy.  I'd like to see my child, if you don't mind."

"You have no claim on Noelle, Wyatt.  She's my daughter.  You can't prove she's yours."

"Oh, yes, I can.  In your line of work I'm sure you've heard of DNA," he said with a smirk on his face.

Laine thought about the situation in which she found herself.  She knew he was right, but she also knew that she shouldn't deny Noelle the right to know her bio father.

"Look, Wyatt, we need to talk before I let Noelle meet you and I also need to talk to her.  Why don't we meet at Mimi's Cafe at 7:00 PM and we can discuss this.  I'm just shocked to see you right now and I need time to think."

"Where's Mimi's located?  I'm not that familiar with Bakersfield.  I'm staying at the Marriott on Truxtun Avenue."

"Mimi's is on California Avenue, past the highway.  You can ask someone at the hotel how to get there.  It's not that far from downtown."

"Who're you talking to, Mama," Noelle said as she tugged at Laine's skirt.

"Just an old friend, Noelle, go back inside and I'll be there in a minute."

"Hello, little lady," Wyatt said as he extended his hand to Noelle.  "How are you this fine sunny day?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," Noelle said as she ducked behind her mom.

"Go back inside, honey, I'm almost finished here," Laine said and was happy when Noelle did as she was told.

"She's lovely," Wyatt said.  "I can't wait to get to know her and tell her who I am.  You know, Laine, it was selfish of you to keep her to yourself.  She has a bunch of relatives who have to right to know about her."

"Wyatt, just go now and we'll talk at Mimi's.  Noelle has a whole new life here and I have someone in my life I care about.  I don't want you to show up here and cause a lot of problems for us.  I'll call my babysitter and meet you at Mimi's."

"OK, 7:00 PM, Mimi's Cafe.  Then, we'll have a serious discussion."

When they were seated at Mimi's Cafe and had placed their orders, Laine said to Wyatt, "How did you know where I was living now?  It's been over five years since I left Houston."

"Believe it or not, there was an article in the newspaper about a serial murder case here in Bakersfield that caught my eye.  I read it and, low and behold, there was your name.  I ran into one of your girlfriends a couple of days later and mentioned that I read about you in the paper.  She was surprised because she hadn't heard from you since you left Houston.  However, because she was a little miffed at you for sneaking away like you did, she told me that you were pregnant when you left."

"Who was it?"

"I'll never tell.  Anyway, what difference does it make since you simply dumped all of your old friends?"

"I guess it doesn't matter."

"So, why didn't you at least discuss your pregnancy with me instead of just breaking up and running away?"

"Wyatt, we talked about getting married and starting a family, but you always said that your career left no room for children.  You made it abundantly clear that you, and your job, were the most important things in your life.  When I found out I was pregnant, I thought about what life would be like if we did, indeed, get married because I was pregnant.  I didn't like what I saw.

"I had no intention of getting an abortion and I didn't want to stay in Houston and be a single mother.  So, I decided to come to California and make a new beginning for myself and my baby."

"Still, I think you could have given me the benefit of the doubt, Laine.  When faced with the prospect of fatherhood, I might have had a change of heart."

"I doubt that it would have been sincere, Wyatt.  Anyway, I did what I thought was best at the time and I haven't regretted my decision.  We have a good life here, I love my job, and Noelle is very well-adjusted.  I've been seeing someone that Noelle is very fond of.  We don't need you coming here and stirring things up and confusing her."

Wyatt didn't say anything for a couple of minutes as he picked at his dinner.  "Well, Laine, I hate to burst your bubble, but I intend to be a part of Noelle's life.  She's my daughter, too.  If I have to take the matter to Court, I will.  I've done quite well with my real estate development company and I'm considering opening a branch office here in Bakersfield so I can be close to Noelle.  If you don't want to be a part of my life, that's your decision, but she definitely will be."

"If you cared about her at all, you would go back to Houston and leave her alone," Laine said.

"No, Laine, that's the easy way out for you and your life.  That was always a habit of yours - the path of least resistance - but it won't work now."

Laine was close to tears and gathered her things so she could leave.  She couldn't just sit there and think about what life would be like with Wyatt back in it.

Wyatt saw she was preparing to leave and didn't try to stop her.  "You'll be hearing from me about this again, soon, Laine, have no doubt about it.  If you need to reach me, you know where I'm staying."

On that note, Laine left the restaurant.

Thursday, 6 September 2012, 11:30 AM

Annie entered Your Petz and found Eddie behind the counter.  A big grin spread on his face when he saw who it was.

"That was quick," he said.  "I didn't expect to see you so soon."

"You sounded so excited on the phone.  I couldn't wait to find out what you had to tell me.  Besides, we need all the leads we can get, so anything anyone comes up with we follow up on immediately.  Tell me what has you so excited?"

"Haha," he said.  "I was just about to close up and go over to Starbucks - again - for a coffee.  They have great Pumpkin Scones this time of year.  Will you join me?  You need to be sitting down when I tell you about your 'spider man'."

"Oh, OK, if you insist.  I am kind of hungry and I love their Pumpkin Scones."

Annie and Eddie walked over to Starbucks and after they ordered and found an empty table, she looked over at him expectantly.

"A man came into the shop this morning dressed about the same way you described the man the truck driver said he saw in Pumpkin Center, and he matched the picture you showed me the last time you were here.  He had a very impressive black widow tattoo on his back and it was plain to see through his mesh tank top. 

"He said he was looking around for some closely-woven bamboo cages like people keep crickets in to bring good luck into their homes.  I told him I didn't have anything like that in stock, so we looked in my catalogs to see if we could find anything suitable.  He found one model he liked and then told me he would come back to order ten of them if he couldn't find anything local.

"I asked him about his tattoo, and that got him to laughing.  He said it was a foible - his word, not mine - that he exercised in his wild and woolly youth.  Since he was required to dress more responsibly during the day, he flaunted the tattoo when he wasn't at work."

"What does he do?  You are keeping me on pins and needles," Annie said.

"Are you ready for this?  Here's his business card."  Eddie handed a nicely engraved card to Annie and she gasped and clasped her hand to her throat when she read it.

"Professor of Forensic Entomology at Bakersfield College?  I don't believe it," Annie laughed.  "Actually, I do believe it because I recognize his name, Alistair McDougall.  I bet Laine DelMonte, the Chief of our Technical Investigations office, knows of him.  I can't wait to tell Detective Weston.  He will be floored."

"Well, everyone is strange.  It's like sometimes you hear about people who are well-respected pillars of the community, but they go to San Francisco on the weekends and ride with groups like the Hell's Angels.  There's no telling what people do beyond their public persona.  The professor certainly doesn't fit the image he projects in his spare time and when he opened his mouth to speak, his Irish accent was a complete surprise."

"We'll have to talk to him.  He was in the same restaurant as Gabriela Lozcano on the day we assume she was abducted, and maybe he'll remember something.  We can't rule him out as a suspect, either, both because of his interest in bugs and his proximity to our victim."

They drank their coffee and ate their delicious Pumpkin Scones in silence for a few minutes.

"You know, Detective Avants. . ."

"Please, call me Annie," she interrupted.

"Annie, then.  I've really enjoyed meeting you and this was a pleasant interlude.  If you're not in a relationship with someone, or would even be interested, I'd like to call you some time so we can have dinner together.  If you can't, that's fine, but I had to ask.  I couldn't let you just walk out of here without saying something."

Annie paused for a minute to think about what he said.  Normally, she didn't get personally involved with the people she met while working on a case.  Nevertheless, this man was just someone they interviewed because of his line of business and he wasn't a suspect or anything.

"I'd like that, Eddie," Annie said with a warm smile.  She put down her napkin and started to rise.

"Well, I'd better be going.  I have to get back to the office and let Tom know about these latest developments and then we'll have to go see the bug professor. "

They were both laughing as they left Starbucks and headed back to Annie's car.

When Annie returned to the office she was glad Tom was there.  She silently handed Tom the Professors card, without telling him why.

"Who's this," Tom said, frowning at the card.  He didn't recognize the name.

"Well, Tom, here's a more casual picture of the Professor," she said as she put the drawing of the 'spider man' in front of his face.

"You've got to be kidding," Tom said.  Annie explained what Eddie Dobbs told her and they both had a good laugh. 

"I think I'll go visit the good professor in the morning and see what he has to say," Tom said.

Friday, 7 September 2012, 4:30 PM

Annie hung up her phone and looked across their desks to where Tom was reading a report.

"I just got a call from the DAs Forensic Lab and they say they matched dirt samples on the bottoms of the boots we got from Charley Adams to the samples Laine took at the crime scenes.  They said they also found tomato residue on the bottom of one of the boots."

"Tomato residue?" Tom said.  Something nagged at the back of his mind.

"That's what they said," Annie replied.  "They also said it was embedded between the two dirt samples from Laine, so it was picked up after Gabriela was dumped, but before he discarded Carmen's body."

"Did they find any useful fingerprints on the boots?"

"No, they didn't.  Everything was smeared and they couldn't get any decent impressions."

"I think I'll give Charley Adams a call," Tom said, "and see if he's been anywhere where he might have stepped into tomato gunk, although the times don't fit for him to have picked up the residue.  He didn't get the boots until the morning of August 22nd, after the estimated time Carmen was put in the cornfield.  If the residue was already embedded in the boots, he most likely wasn't the one who walked in it."

"Well, it won't hurt to ask him," Annie said.

"Something is nagging at the back of my mind," Tom said.  "I remember something about a pile of tomatoes on the ground, but I can't remember where.  It'll come to me."

"Think about where you've been and maybe you'll remember," Annie said.

A few minutes later Tom hung up the phone after calling Charley Adams.

"Well, Charley was no help.  He doesn't remember walking in any tomato residue or even being anywhere where there might have been some."

"The lab said there was quite a bit and it was only on the right boot," Annie said.  "Try not to think about it too hard, it'll come to you sooner or later.  It might not even be important."

"Did you enjoy your visit with Professor McDougall this morning?" Annie smirked.

"Yes, I did.  He's quite the character.  He didn't remember seeing Gabby and Stetson at Los Arcos on the 3rd.  He said he just goes to Pumpkin Center because there's little chance he'll run into one of his peers or worse, a student.  Besides, he likes their food.  We'll have to eat there sometime."

Annie picked up her brief case and purse as she got ready to leave for the day.

"What are your plans for tonight, Tom," Annie asked.

"Ummm, I thought I'd go over to see Laine and Noelle, see if they wanted to go to Baskin Robbins for an ice cream or something."

"Are you going to call her first, or just pop in?  It might be better to call ahead."

"Nah, I'll just stop by.  It's just a casual thing.  I don't want to make it into something more than it is."

Annie laughed and Tom frowned.

"What's so funny," he said.

"You are," she said.  "But, that's OK.  Proceed at the pace that you are comfortable.  Just don't forget the story of the Tortoise and the Hare," Annie said.

"Yeah, right," Tom said as he walked out of the room.