The Water

by Nancy Jackson

  She stood up and walked over to her dresser and dug in the top drawer she used for a catch-all. Half hoping she wouldn’t find what she was searching for, she almost gave up, but then there it was. The card that SAC Bracket had given her four months ago.

  The card contained the name Irene Lee, LPCC, her address and contact info. As she stood looking at the card she wondered how could she share the dirty things she’d done in her life with another person? And she felt just that, dirty to the core.

  She tapped the card on her other hand as she turned from the dresser. Taking a deep breath, she reached for her phone and dialed the number on the card. Soon a voicemail recording came over the line. Of course, it was after hours. She hung up, not sure what to say. She would call back tomorrow — maybe.

  Out of desperation she grabbed her swimsuit and decided she would go to her neighborhood pool. She could feel the desperate pull inside herself to stop trying to deny the old habits and urges. She hoped that actively doing something else would fix it.

  She dressed quickly, almost in a panic to force the old behaviors aside. She found herself shoving random things in her old canvas tote, a book, sunscreen, a towel, headphones, and what else? Her old straw hat.

  Just as she was rushing out the door she thought she had a six-pack of tall boys in the fridge. The debate on whether to grab it or not didn’t last long. It was only beer, right? What could it hurt?

  Chapter 6

  “We have another body,” said Randy first thing the next morning.

  How many times in this job were those words the first thing I’ve heard in the morning, thought Carrie. And this was a second body which always changed things. It shifted the focus of the investigation away from a purely personal motive to a broader one.

  “I hate to ask, but is it Jenny?” Carrie didn’t want to know but had to.

  “No, it isn’t Jenny,” said Randy.

  A wave of relief washed over Carrie. Relief, not so much for Jenny, but that Carrie didn’t have to feel the pain of losing this girl she had come to know and feel compassion for. She was rooting for Jenny somewhere down deep inside.

  “Where at?” Carrie asked.

  “Eagle Lake,” replied Randy.

  Carrie searched in her mind for recognition. Eagle Lake, she muttered to herself. “I don’t know where that is,” said Carrie.

  “It’s a little man-made lake between Reno Ave. and NE 4th Street in Del City.”

  “Oh wow, that’s close to where the other one was found.”

  On the drive out to Eagle Lake, Carrie spent the time searching the internet for information on the lake.

  “It says here that lake used to be called Thompson Lake, but they changed the name over to Eagle Lake when the city of Oklahoma City bought it. The city cleaned it up, and it is a back-up water supply for OKC should Lake Thunderbird go dry. Lot’s of fishing, crappie, and some bass, catfish too,” said Carrie.

  Can’t be too big. Probably like a big pond,” replied Randy.

  As they pulled into the park area, they could see the usual cluster of law enforcement on the far edge of the peninsula in a small cove. The pavement ended about midway, so Randy had to park and walk the rest of the way.

  “So once again we have to walk quite a little distance from where a person could park, to where the body was found,” said Carrie.

  “Are they lured to this spot, or carried, or drug out here against their will?” asked Randy.

  “I don’t see any drag marks. Cami was petite. She could have been carried.”

  Mike and Rick stood next to the body of another young girl. Her hair was black and lay disheveled and muddy around her head. Both high heels were off and scattered to the side as if lost in a struggle.

  Quick nods were exchanged between them. “I’m assuming this is not where she was found,” said Carrie.

  “No. She was half in the water. The coroner’s crew pulled her out. She was face down again. This time we found a small purse over to the side.” Mike pointed back about twenty feet from where they’d come.

  “ID?” asked Carrie.

  Mike shook his head. “Condoms, lipstick, and a compact mirror.”

  “No money?” asked Randy. Again Mike shook his head.

  “Two girls, petite and drowned,” said Rick.

  The forensic team bagged the shoes and added them to the tub of other bits of debris and samples they had found, including the girls purse. Carrie reached into the tub and brought out the clear bag with the purse inside.

  It was a small hard shelled evening bag with sequins in various colors. Many were gone and the black satin fabric underneath was worn and frayed. Her little bit of glamor, thought Carrie as she laid the purse back down.

  The body was loaded onto the gurney and into the body bag. Carrie reached down with a gloved hand and brushed the girls wet soppy hair gently away from her face.

  She’d been pretty, very pretty. Long dark lashes rested on her pale ghostly white cheeks. Her red lipstick was smeared from her mouth across her face, and there was a little dark mole on the side of her face just under her left ear.

  Randy stood beside Carrie taking notes as usual. Mike and Rick walked around and stood on the other side of the gurney. Rick and Randy had daughters, and even though this affected Carrie and Mike, the concern the other two felt was more acute.

  “So,” Carrie began, “now there are two. Do we push to follow a personal lead on Cami?”

  “Mike and I will follow up on the park and the surrounding area to see if we can find her family. We need to find them for notification reasons if nothing else.”

  The bag was zipped and the dark-haired petite girl rolled away toward the van. She’s leaving in peace, but how did she arrive, and who brought her here, wondered Carrie?

  “I want to talk to Gus, now,” fumed Carrie. She didn’t know if this was one of his girls, but it was possible.

  Back in the car, Randy suggested they go back yet again to Pride’s. “Let’s see if she or Jenny know this girl too.”

  Jenny was still in bed when Randy pulled their SUV up to the curb in front of Pride’s. However, Pride was up and watching Wheel of Fortune when she heard the knock on the door.

  “Good morning Pride,” said Carrie.

  “Is it?” asked Pride. Cops coming to her door were never good.

  “No, not really. Can we come inside?” asked Rick.

  They were once again led into the small dim living room. As Pride made her way back to her chair, the one with the large dip in the center where the cushion had long since given way to years of pressure, sat down, and flipped off the tv.

  “Jenny said you came by yesterday asking more questions,” said Pride.

  “We did. She was very helpful,” said Randy.

  Carrie pulled out her phone and opened the picture of the girl they had found this morning. “We have another girl,” said Carrie. She was respectful of the fact that this could again be a very painful moment for Pride. “We’re hoping you might help us identify her.”

  Pride shut her eyes and attempted to prepare herself for what she was about to see. She hoped with everything in her she would not know this girl. She then looked at Carrie and nodded reaching out for the phone.

  The face in the picture would not look like what Pride would remember. It lacked vibrance and animation. Pride stared at the photo for what seemed to Carrie, an eternity. Her face did not reveal recognition.

  Pride handed the phone back to Carrie. “I’m not sure. It’s possible I may have seen her, but she hasn’t come around here that I remember. Jenny may know.”

  Carrie nodded. “Where is Jenny?” Carrie asked.

  “She’s in bed. I’ll go get her.” Pride pushed hard on the arms of the chair to help push herself up. Once standing, it took her a minute to move forward. Carrie wondered about her health and the difficulty it seemed she had moving. Maybe she should have gotten Jenny instead of bothering Pride.

  There were muffled voices from the other roo
m and soon Pride came back with Jenny in tow. She was wrapping herself in a thin threadbare robe and her hair was a matted mess.

  Jenny sat on the edge of the sofa that seemed to be her spot, and looked at Randy and Carrie with sad eyes, but said nothing.

  “Jenny, we have another picture for you to look at.” Carrie hated this. This girl’s prints were not in the system either. If there was any other way to get a quick ID, she would.

  Jenny nodded and reached out for the phone. She held her breath until the phone was in front of her. The look on her face told Carrie she knew her, but gave her time to comment.

  Jenny just stared at the phone. Finally Carrie asked, “Do you know her?”

  Jenny once again nodded and then handed the phone back to Carrie. “Her name is Amanda. We called her Mandy.”

  “Was she one of Gus’s girls?”

  “Yes.” Jenny’s voice was barely above a whisper.

  The first thing Carrie did when they arrived back at the office was to run a search in their system for Gus. It didn’t take long. He had a long list of priors. She printed out his sheet and motioned for Randy as she stormed towards the door. She was on a mission.

  Back in the car, Randy said, “You need to calm down.”

  “I’m calm,” said Carrie, but she was grinding her teeth. “Two bodies in three days and they were both Gus’ girls.”

  “Doesn’t mean he had anything at all to do with it. They make him money so why kill them?”

  Randy was right, but the coincidence just seemed too great to Carrie.

  Gus lived on the south side of Oklahoma City. The neighborhood was run down and unkept. Carrie assumed they were primarily rental homes, whose tenants didn’t care whether someone kept them up or not.

  The home that was listed on Gus’ sheet was sandwiched in between two other homes that looked just like his, the only difference was color. His was green. On the front porch sat two men with scowls on their faces.

  “This should be fun,” said Carrie, as Randy put their SUV in park.

  The two men stood as they approached and crossed their arms across their chests. Were these sentries who guarded the entrance to Gus, Carrie wondered?

  Randy flashed his badge and introduced themselves to the men. The expressions on their faces didn’t change, and they didn’t move. “We’re here to see Gus,” said Randy.

  One sentry tilted his head. They were big men and Carrie didn’t relish a tussle with either of them.

  “Gus ain’t here,” said the one on the right.

  Carrie knew they would have said that whether he was or not. They were here for the sheer purpose of guarding Gus.

  “We don’t want any trouble, but we have to speak to Gus,” said Randy. He was firm and had no plans to let these two prevent them entrance.

  Randy stepped forward and the two men stepped together closing the gap between them. “Gus ain’t here.”

  “Then there should be no problem letting us knock on the door,” said Carrie.

  The two men looked at her as if noticing her for the first time. They were totally unconcerned about her presence. But they should have been, she was determined to see Gus, and was full of grit.

  She stepped forward and shoved herself between them, with Randy following. Once at the front door, she banged hard. “Gus, this is Carrie Border with the OSBI. You need to come out and speak with us.”

  They stood on the porch for several silent minutes. Then just when Carrie was about to bang on the door again, it cracked open. An eye peaked out through the crack.

  Carrie had her badge up in a second so the eye could see. “I’m Carrie Border with the OSBI and this is Randy Jeffries also with the OSBI. We need to speak with Gus.”

  The crack in the door widened and a Hispanic man of about thirty-five opened the door and led them into the front room. It was a ramshackle room with little to no furnishings. The scent of frying chorizo filled the air, and they heard crackles coming from the other room.

  “Did you leave something on the fire?” asked Randy.

  “No. I pulled it off.” But the man casually turned and walked back to the kitchen. Carrie and Randy followed.

  “Are you Gustavo Hernandez?” asked Randy.

  “I am.” The man appeared unconcerned that two OSBI agents were standing in his kitchen. He moved the skillet back to the flame of the stove and was stirring the chorizo in the skillet. He reached over and whipped three eggs sitting in a bowl, then added the eggs to the chorizo.

  “Do you know this girl?” Carrie shoved the picture of Mandy in front of Gus. She saw surprise brush across his face, but in an instant it was gone. He turned to look at her suddenly very serious.

  “Where did you take that picture?” Gus asked.

  “Where we found her body,” said Carrie.

  Was that sadness she saw on Gus’ face? It was hard to tell. She assumed he was practiced at hiding such emotions in his line of work.

  He finished stirring the mixture in the skillet until the eggs were done, then once again removed the skillet from the stove turning off the burner. “Let’s go in here and talk. He motioned for them to walk back into the living room.”

  He gestured to an old sofa and said, “Please sit.” He himself sat in a recliner that looked fairly new. Carrie and Randy sat on the edge of the sofa.

  “Did Mandy work for you?” Carrie asked as Randy pulled out his notepad.

  “What do you mean work for me?” Gus asked in return.

  “Gus we know the arrangement you have with certain working girls. This is no time to play coy with us. We need to find her killer,” said Carrie.

  The expression on Gus’ face was blank, but his black eyes were piercing. Carrie thought he might be trying to decide just what he should and shouldn’t say.

  “I knew her.”

  “The medical examiner estimated her time of death between two and three this morning. Where were you?” asked Carrie.

  Gus turned his palms up and said, “Right here in my bed asleep.”

  “Can anyone corroborate that?”

  Gus grinned. “No mujer hermosa. You come be mi amante you can corroborate.”

  Carrie’s blood boiled. Usually when a man called you a beautiful woman it was a complement, but from Gus, it made her skin crawl. And she certainly couldn’t stand the thought of being his lover.

  Randy cleared his throat and glanced over at Carrie, prepared to hold her back, but she was still planted firmly on the edge of the sofa.

  Carrie was trying to calm herself down. She hated slime like Gus. After seeing both of those dead women and Jenny’s bruises, she was convinced Gus had killed them.

  “Gus stop playing games. If you don’t want to help us here, we will load you up and take you in for interrogation.” Randy wasn’t playing around. Gus’ black eyes swiveled to Randy and his smile faded.

  “What time did you get home last night?” asked Randy.

  “I got home about midnight. Ask my boys out front,” said Gus.

  “You can bet we will,” said Randy.

  “When was the last time you saw Mandy?” asked Carrie.

  “About three yesterday afternoon.”

  “When was the last time you saw Cami?” asked Randy.

  Gus’ lip snarled and he spat. “La perra.”

  Randy stopped taking notes and Carrie sat watching Gus with keen interest. Calling her a bitch in front of them must mean Gus hated Cami to the core.

  “What did you have against Cami?” asked Carrie.

  “She was una puta sucia,” growled Gus.

  “Unlike your other sucia’s?” asked Carrie. “What was so dirty about Cami?”

  Gus looked away. Carrie was trying to read the emotion she saw on his face, then suddenly she knew.

  Carrie snorted a laugh. “You loved her!”

  Gus’ head shot back around. “You loved her and she turned you down. And you couldn’t bear to watch her go with all those other men.” Carrie was guessing, but could tell by
the look on Gus’ face she’d hit the nail on the head.

  Gus quickly recovered and sat stone faced. Carrie continued, “Did you kill her because she turned you down?”

  Gus did not respond, his eyes boring holes into Carrie.

  Randy suddenly flopped his notebook shut and stood. “Okay, Gus. Let’s go. I’m tired of playing your games and you are looking more and more like our guy. Stand up.” Randy was done with this sorry excuse for a human.

  Fear briefly flashed across Gus’ face and then was just as quickly gone again. “No, no, amigo. I’ll cooperate.” Gus was motioning for Randy to sit back down. Randy and Carrie knew the last thing Gus wanted was to be hauled in.

  “Then start talking,” Randy demanded.

  Sandy surveyed her room. She was finally done and excited to be so. Now she had the entire afternoon open to go help Beth at Safe At Last. She hadn’t felt this much excitement in a very long time.

  Driving to the safe house, it was hard to contain her anticipation. It was located in a part of town she was not familiar with, but remembered the way from having gone there before.

  She exited off of I-35 onto I-40 east and took the first exit which said Scott St/Reno exit. She then went north on Scott Street, then east again, before winding through the neighborhood searching for the nondescript two-story house which was Safe At Last.

  After back tracking a few times, Sandy finally turned into the driveway that led to the back of the house. She locked her door and walked to the house. Why does this neighborhood make me feel so uncomfortable, she wondered?

  She had to be admitted into the house by someone on duty. They had state-of-the-art security and surveillance cameras. Once in, she stored her belongings in a locker she could, and did lock.

  Beth led her to the kitchen where preparations were well under way for lunch. Sandy noticed that Beth seemed distracted. “Are you ok?” asked Sandy.

  “We’ll talk after lunch,” Beth whispered to Sandy.

  They currently had five girls living on the premises and the resident supervisor which was Beth. Lunch was simple, grilled chicken on beds of salad greens.