“I sent all of the evidence from the crime scene to the lab,” Magon said.
“You mean back to the lab?” Lindsay said.
“No, I mean it was never processed,” Magon answered.
“And this guy is in prison?” Lindsay commented.
“That’s why I sent it. The testimony at the trial about the evidence doesn’t match the evidence,” Magon said.
“Did Edmunds have a public defender?” Kragen asked.
“No, his parents hired an attorney, but this was his first murder trial,” Magon said.
“And he never had an outside source process the evidence?” Lindsay said.
“You would think Edmunds would have won an appeal based on his attorney being incompetent,” Kragen said.
Lindsay interrupted, “This is a small town and none of the lawyers really have any experience with this kind of crime.”
“That, and the fact that we have come a long way in the technology department,” Magon said.
“How long until you get the results back?” Kragen asked.
“I’m not sure,” Magon answered. “Obviously, this isn’t a priority since someone has already been convicted.”
Chapter 55
Charles Davenport rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 4:20 in the morning. He had been tossing and turning all night. He had awakened from a bad dream. Charles seemed to be plagued with them lately.
He got up from the bed and went into his study. He gazed at the family pictures around the room. His thoughts had been about his son David lately. He felt regret that he hadn’t taken David’s interest in the family business more seriously. David had always been the smart, innovative child. He was never a whiner, like the other two. David had drive and loved to solve problems. Charles wondered why he hadn’t taken him more seriously the day he came and talked to him about making changes in the family business. David had been right when he told him that his brother Chip was taking money from the business. He was also right about his sister Carol not knowing anything about the business. He had the diminished family business that proved that David was right on all accounts. Over the years, Charles had sold off many acres of the family land to cover the business losses.
He looked at a picture of the boys together. David had always been a hard worker. Charles was always proud of David. He looked just like him. Chip on the other hand was always so self-entitled. His mother spoiled and coddled him. Charles had always thought that Chip was a little soft. Chip didn’t look at all like David or Carol. His brown hair was a contrast to David and Carol’s blonde features. Charles used to joke that he looked more like he was Marty’s kid than his own.
Charles thought back to the day that David had showed him the papers. Charles was ashamed that his father had told his favorite son about the indiscretions from his youth. Until that day, Charles had no idea that his friend, Marty, had killed Letty Carlson and the baby. He felt betrayed by the fact that Marty had slept with Letty at all. Marty had been married to Darla at the time. Darla was a wonderful woman and yet, Marty fooled around on her. It seemed sometimes like Marty always wanted what Charles had. Charles wondered why he had remained friends with Marty after that. He remembered that he started distancing himself from him, but somehow Marty always ended up back in his sphere. When David had been murdered, Marty had been an invaluable resource. He kept their family updated on what was going on with the investigation. He helped them in family court. Charles remembered how bereft he was. He had walked around in a daze most of the time. It took him weeks to pull himself out of bed. He remembered how Marty had been there for them; especially Elizabeth. Marty and Elizabeth were able to get Charles out of his fog and fired up when it appeared the police were looking in the wrong direction.
Charles dwelled on that for a moment. The wrong direction; that was what Marty and Lizzie would tell him. He could hear Lizzie’s voice in his head, “This is all about Shelly and the drugs. Don’t let those cops go on a tangent. Someone has to pay.” How many times had she told him that? How many times had he complained to the Chief of Police about that Davis guy bothering him about Bing Taylor? Lizzie always made such a fuss about the Dorans. She didn’t want them to see Jeremy. Shelly’s parents were as bad as she was and she got their son and grandchildren killed. Charles loved the energy and passion that his wife had. He had always loved that about her, but sometimes, when she made up her mind, that passion bordered on hate.
Charles yawned and headed back to bed. He thought about his hatred for the Dorans. He was getting too old to hold grudges and hatred. They didn’t serve him anymore. As he lay awake staring at the ceiling, he decided that he would call Jeremy that morning and apologize for being so rude to the investigator the boy had hired. He also decided that it was time to extend an olive branch to the Dorans. They were Jeremy’s family and that made them his by extension. If Lizzie didn’t like it, she’d have to get over it.
Chapter 56
Lindsay met Jeremy Davenport at the property in Shandon the following morning. She smelled the earthy fragrance of freshly plowed soil.
Jeremy met her at the car. “It looks a lot different than it did the last time you were here,” he commented.
“It certainly does. It looks barren out here without the house and barn,” she said.
Jeremy pointed to a new trailer that was on the property. “We are working out of there for now.”
Both of them turned to see the dust from Detective Kragen’s car, which was coming up the driveway. “I asked him to come along and see your grandfather,” Lindsay commented.
“It’s alright,” Jeremy responded. “I called my grandfather this morning and he is on his way out.”
Kragen joined Jeremy and Lindsay and they walked towards the trailer. Jeremy told them that he had called Charles Davenport that morning and asked him to come out and talk to them. They were deep in conversation about the letter when someone tapped on the trailer door.
Jeremy answered the door. “Come on in. You know everyone, right?”
Charles entered the trailer and said hello. Kragen started, “Have you seen this letter before?” he asked Charles.
“Yes, David showed me these papers shortly before he died,” Charles answered.
“Did you know that Marty did this?” Kragen asked.
“I didn’t know until David showed me the letter,” Charles answered.
“Why didn’t you go to the police?” Kragen asked.
“I thought about it,” Charles sighed. “David and I discussed it.”
“Did anyone else know?” Kragen said.
Charles thought for a moment, “I told Elizabeth about it.”
“Grandma knew?” Jeremy asked in disbelief.
“Yes, your grandma knew. She was the one who begged me not to do anything that would drag our name or Marty’s through the mud,” Charles answered.
“Anyone else?” Kragen asked.
“David showed the letter to Marty’s wife, Darla,” Charles said. “I think he gave her a copy of her own.”
“Is that why you kept trying to buy the land from my dad?” Jeremy asked angrily.
“No, that was your grandmother,” Charles said. “She kept pestering me about getting that property to protect our family name.”
“Can you arrest the Judge?” Jeremy asked Kragen.
“I don’t think we can. There isn’t enough evidence,” Kragen said.
Lindsay interrupted. “Charles, do you remember Darla’s sister Cammie?”
“I do. I remember after Darla was killed that she was sure that Marty was involved,” Charles said. “She and Darla were both nice people.”
““Cammie says that Darla thought that whoever killed Letty, may have been involved in your son’s murder,” Lindsay said.
Charles paled at the mention of David’s death. “I have to get some air.” He walked outside the trailer. He put his hands on his knees and bent over like he was going to throw up. Charles took a couple of deep breaths and started w
alking. “Jeremy, show me around this place. I haven’t been here since I was a teenager,” he said and started walking.
Everyone looked at each other. Jeremy walked after his grandfather. “You can see where we plan to plant the grapes. The land is already prepped,” Jeremy said. “The root stock will be here next week and we can continue work.”
His grandfather nodded. “What about the wine tasting room?”
“Up toward the front of the property,” Jeremy said and pointed to a spot that wasn’t plowed. “I have the plans in the trailer if you want to see them.”
“Are you going to live out here?” Charles asked his grandson.
“I think I am going to put the house on the side of the property down by the stream,” Jeremy answered.
“I forgot there was a stream out here,” Charles said with delight. “Show me where you’re going to put the house.”
Charles started to reminisce, “I hated this place as a boy. My father used to make me come out here with the ranch hands and clear brush for fire season.”
Jeremy laughed, “Manual labor doesn’t suit you.”
“It did back then. I worked at my father’s ranch too. I preferred working in San Luis to here. The heat is God-awful during the summers.”
All four of them walked to the spot where Jeremy wanted to put the house. “Oh, I forgot about the car that’s down here,” Jeremy said.
“Car?” Charles asked confused.
“There’s a car down in the stream. It looks like it’s been there for years,” Jeremy said. He took them to the spot where the car was.
Detective Kragen stared at the red car. “We need to get this out of here,” he said.
“I kind of like it here.” Jeremy commented.
Kragen looked at Jeremy and spoke again. “This car may have been used in a crime. Have you touched it?”
“No, I thought someone abandoned it here,” Jeremy said in a bewildered tone.
“What are you thinking Taylor?” Lindsay asked.
“This stays right here,” Kragen said to all of them.
Lindsay looked at Charles and Jeremy. They nodded their assent. “Understood,” Lindsay said.
“The Judge may have been involved in Darla’s accident,” Kragen said.
“Why would he kill Darla?” Charles asked.
Lindsay answered,”From what Cammie told me, he was going to get more from her death than he would with her alive and blackmailing him.”
Charles spoke, “Do you really think Marty killed my son and my grandchildren?”
“I think you are going to have to take a hard look at that possibility,” Kragen said.
“I have been like a brother to that man,” Charles said, his voiced cracked with emotion. “Why would he do this to my family?”
“You never considered this when David was killed?” Lindsay asked.
“No, it never crossed my mind. Marty was so helpful to me and my wife after he was killed,” Charles said. “Besides, they caught the guy who did it.”
“The man that was convicted has always said he didn’t do it,” Lindsay added.
“How many times have you heard that?” Charles said. “If you listen to the bleeding liberals on TV, everyone in prison is an innocent victim.”
“What about Bing Taylor? Do you think that Marty could have hired him to do this?” Lindsay asked.
Charles was silent again. “I always wondered about him disappearing about the same time. That Davis guy asked questions about him,” he said.
“Davis said that you complained about him to his superiors,” Lindsay commented.
“I did that.” Charles said. “My wife kept telling me that someone had to pay for this. She was convinced that ranch hand did it.”
“Any particular reason why?” Kragen asked.
“The drugs,” Charles answered.
“You agreed with her?” Kragen asked.
Charles paused and thought for a moment. “I was in such a daze, I think I went along with her,” he said. He rubbed his chin. “I was in a state of shock.”
“How do we prove any of this?” Jeremy said.
“That’s a good question,” Lindsay said.
Chapter 57
Lindsay headed back to Los Angeles. On the drive down Interstate 5, she passed miles of barren farmland. She decided to call Cammie Kent to see if she had looked at Darla’s old papers.
Cammie answered and Lindsay identified herself. “Oh, I thought you would have called sooner,” Cammie said. “I cleaned out the stuff last week.”
“I didn’t think you would get to it so soon,” Lindsay said politely.
“Your visit was a reminder that it has been stored for too long,” Cammie said. “Listen, I didn’t find anything; mostly junk. But, I did talk to my sister’s old boyfriend.”
“The writer?” Lindsay asked.
“Yes.” Cammie said. “He reminded me of something I had forgotten about that might be important.”
“Tell me,” Lindsay said.
“My brother-in-law was quite a philanderer, as you know. He got another woman pregnant about the same time as Letty,” Cammie said.
“Oh geez, any idea who?”
“No, but I know that she was married. Darla knew who it was but kept her mouth shut until the divorce,” Cammie said. “Darla threatened to tell the woman’s husband if Marty didn’t take a settlement and disappear quietly.”
“Did she tell him who it was?” Lindsay asked excitedly.
“No, she wouldn’t tell him who it was,” Cammie said. “I’m sorry.”
Lindsay was disheartened when she hung up the phone. Why did Marty kill one mistress and her child and not the other? she thought.
***
Ray Kanagi called Lindsay when she was crossing the 118 Freeway to get home. “I got a hit on the prints on the paper bag from your crime scene,” he said.
“Tell me something I want to hear,” she said.
“I pulled the thumbprint from a Gerry Michaels in Las Vegas.”
Lindsay felt her stomach clench. “You are sure? Gerry Michaels?”
“I’m sure. It’s a match from his driver’s license,” he answered.
“Thanks Ray. I owe you one,” Lindsay said.
Chapter 58
Back on the ranch, Detective Kragen arranged to have the car pulled up from the edge of the creek and towed to the evidence yard. He called Tony Diaz at the Highway Patrol. “I know this is a long shot, but I just had a car towed into impound that I want you to look over,” Kragen said.
“Is this about the Van Buren case?” Diaz asked with confusion.
“Yes, a red car that was at my crime scene in Shandon,” Kragen said.
“Is there paint transfer?” Diaz asked.
“I think so,” Kragen said.
“Did you run the license plates?” Diaz asked.
“No, there were none. I didn’t want to touch anything. I told the guys at the evidence lot to get the VIN number and report it to you to follow up,” Kragen responded.
“What makes you think this is the car?” Diaz asked.
“I can’t explain everything right now, but Marty Van Buren is a suspect in my case and the red car just stuck in my mind,” Kragen said. “It may turn out to be nothing.”
***
Lindsay was puzzled by the results of the fingerprint analysis. She called Steve Carver. “I submitted the pictures of the prints a while back and forgot about them.”
“This still doesn’t exonerate Barton Edmunds,” Magon said.
“Do you want me to interview him?” Lindsay asked.
“You can interview him in connection with your missing person’s case but not with my case,” Magon answered. “I have to make a decision here about pursuing this claim.”
“If there is an innocent man sitting in prison, you have an obligation to do it,” Lindsay said sternly.
“I am having the other evidence looked at by the lab,” he said. “I’m considering the request.”
/> “I’m going to talk to Jim Alberts and see if he knows anything about Gerry Michaels,” Lindsay said.
“We may have found Edmunds’ accomplices,” Magon said.
“We may have. We know there was more than one killer,” Lindsay said. “Kanagi got me the mug shot for Michaels, I’ll send it over to Alberts today.”
Chapter 59
Alberts was waiting to visit his client at the Mule Deer State Prison. He wanted to give him the good news in person about the evidence being sent out to a lab for review. He was still in his hotel room. The evidence was scattered across the table. This case had become his obsession.
Lindsay called him. “I have some news about the fingerprint photo you sent me.”
“Any news is good news at this point,” Alberts said.
“Well, maybe not. I spoke with Magon earlier and he indicated that he thinks all of this new evidence reveals who your client’s accomplices were,” Lindsay said.
“The truth will come out. There were no accomplices. My client has maintained his innocence since day one.” Alberts said.
“You know they all say that,” Lindsay commented.
“Yes, I didn’t just fall off of the pumpkin truck,” he muttered.
“Anyway, the fingerprint that came back belongs to Gerry Michaels. He lives in Las Vegas.”
“That name has never come up in the investigation,” Albert said in a disappointed tone.
“Well, here’s the deal,” Lindsay said. “It came up before in something else that I was investigating.”
“Did it have to do with Davenport?” Alberts asked.
“It did,” she said. “I want to e-mail you the mug shot of this guy.”
“Can you do it now?” Alberts asked. “I’m seeing him in about an hour.”
“I just hit send. Let me know if you find anything.”
“You’ll be the first to know,” Alberts said.
He hung up the phone and waited for his incoming mail. He opened the photo and peered at it carefully. He had never seen the guy before. It seemed like just another dead end. He pressed the print button on the keyboard. He would show it to Edmunds, but he didn’t have high hopes.
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