TIED TO MURDER (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE Book 5)

by John C. Dalglish

  Vanessa was finishing with Mr. Davis. “Why did you decide to check on Mrs. Rogers?”

  “Ruth never missed our weekly card game and we hadn’t heard from her. I came to make sure she was okay… That’s when I found her.”

  Vanessa and Jason exchanged glances. Jason sat down next to Willie.

  “This card game, is it regular?”

  “Every Wednesday.”

  “The same group?”

  “Yes. Me, Ruth, Fred Murphy, Tonya Jensen, Ruby Pryor, and her sister, Grace Caldwell.”

  “Was everyone else at the card game?”

  “Everyone except Fred. He’s visiting his granddaughter in Florida.”

  Vanessa had been writing names and notes as fast as she could. She looked up.

  “Have you called your friends?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Can you call them now?”

  “I guess. I don’t know how I’m going to tell them about Ruth, though.”

  Jason felt for the man. Delivering news like a friend’s death was very difficult under the best of circumstances, but a sudden death like murder was the worst.

  “I’d like to ask a few questions of each of them. Can you call them and ask all of them to come up to the crime tape? I’ll meet them there, and I’ll tell them.”

  “Thanks, Detective, but it’d probably be easier coming from me.”

  “Okay. Tell them to ask for Detective Strong, and I’ll bring them here.”

  Willie pulled out his cell phone and pushed a number. After a few moments, someone answered.

  “Tabby, it’s Willie.”

  Jason and Vanessa watched as he moved his head up and down.

  “I know, Tabby. I’m with the police now.”

  More waiting, and Jason could tell the person on the other end was very agitated.

  “Tabby…Tabby, listen to me. Are the others with you?”

  This time Jason could hear her positive reply. Willie plowed on before she could get started rambling again.

  “Okay, bring everybody to the end of Fox Tail. Tell the officer at the police tape to call Detective Strong.”

  The pain on Willie’s face ate a Jason. How did you tell a close-knit group one of their own was gone?

  “Yes, Tabby. Detective Strong, and bring everybody.”

  He hung up and looked at the detectives.

  “They’re still at the clubhouse. She said less than five minutes.”

  Jason excused himself and went to meet the rest of the group.

  Chapter 4

  Vanessa watched Jason leave before turning to Willie.

  “Will you be alright for a few minutes?”

  “Yes, I’m okay.”

  “Good. I’ll be back shortly.”

  Vanessa got up and went back into the apartment. She found Doc Davis packing up his case to leave. Bright flashes from the forensic tech’s camera bounced off the walls.

  “What’s the early word, Doc?”

  Doc Davis snapped his case shut.

  He looked at least sixty-five, with just a ring of gray hair around his head, and extremely pale skin from too many days in the basement morgue. Nonetheless, retirement was a dirty word around the Chief Medical Examiner. He weighed on the heavy side of two-hundred-fifty pounds, and his knees groaned as he stood.

  “Suffocation, likely. No sign of strangulation, so she was probably tied first, then the bag was put over her head.”

  Vanessa shivered inside at the thought of the poor woman struggling for her last breaths.

  “Any sign of rape?”

  “Not that I can see here. Underwear still on, no obvious bruising around the genital area, but I can’t say for sure until autopsy.”

  “What about time of death?”

  “The air conditioning was probably so cold to try and throw us off, but I’d be surprised if T.O.D. was more than forty-eight hours ago, probably less.”

  “Thanks, Doc. I’ll fill Jason in.”

  Doc Davis nodded and Vanessa went back outside to find Jason. He was standing on the lawn, watching Willie tell his friends the news. Vanessa walked over to him. “How’s he doing?”

  “Okay, I guess. I don’t think Willie is a stranger to death. My guess is he has a military background.”

  “I spoke with Doc Davis. He thinks she was tied first, and then the bag put on her head. Suffocation, not strangulation. No sign of rape, and he puts the T.O.D. at less than forty-eight hours.”

  Jason nodded.

  Willie turned and waved at the two detectives. They went over and Jason took a seat, while Vanessa stayed standing. She took out her notepad.

  Jason started with the woman who introduced herself as Tabby.

  “I’m very sorry for your loss. I know answering questions right after news like this is hard, but we need whatever information you can give us.”

  She nodded stiffly. “I understand.”

  “Your full name is?”

  “Tonya Barbara Jensen. I live in Building A, on Dancing Doll Drive.”

  “When was the last time you saw Ruth?”

  “I haven’t seen her since our last card game, but I talked to her Monday morning. She seemed fine.”

  Jason asked each member of the group about the last time they saw or spoke to Ruth Rogers. Finally, he directed his last question to all of them.

  “Does anyone have any suggestion who might want to hurt your friend?”

  They shook their heads in unison.

  Jason stood up and Vanessa nodded at him. They were done.

  The two detectives left the friends to mourn their loss, going back into the apartment to have a final look around. Someone had finally turned the air conditioning off, and it was now slightly above meat locker temperature inside.

  Jason made sure the tape, the garbage bag, and the box it came from, were all safely bagged and tagged for evidence before they left. Vanessa followed him to the door.

  “Back to the station?”

  Jason shook his head.

  “Seems like all this commotion would have the manager of the complex nearby. Let’s find him.”

  *******

  They found the manager in his office at the community building. A tall, thin man with sandy hair, and a good tan, ‘Surfer dude’ was the first thing to pop into Jason’s head.

  He wore a purple Orchid Village shirt with the name ‘Steve Jaffe’ embroidered over the pocket. He looked up from his desk as the detectives entered.

  “Can I help you?”

  Jason displayed his badge.

  “I’m Detective Strong, and this is my partner, Detective Layne. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  Steve stood up, shook Jason’s hand, and gave a nod to Vanessa standing by the door.

  “This must be connected to all the emergency lights over on Fox Tail Court.”

  “It is. I’m afraid there’s been a murder in your complex.”

  Steve sat back down, and to Jason, his shock looked genuine.

  “Murder?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought it was just a medical emergency for one of our residents. Who was killed?”

  “Her name is Ruth Rogers. Do you know her?”

  “Sure, she’s one of our long-time tenants. What happened?”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t discuss details of the case. Can you tell me if Ruth Rogers had any enemies in the complex? Maybe someone she was having a dispute with?”

  Steve shook his head.

  “No, nobody comes to mind. In fact, I’ve never had any problem with her.”

  “Okay. I would like to speak with all of your employees, and anyone else, who is regularly working in and around the buildings.”

  “I’ll need to talk to the owner, but I don’t imagine it will be a problem.”

  Vanessa opened her notepad.

  “Who’s the owner?”

  “Marcus Winston.”

  Vanessa looked up from her pad.

  “One man? I thought a complex this hu
ge would be owned by a corporation.”

  “Well, technically it is, but in name only. Marcus Winston built Orchid Village and still runs it.”

  “How do we reach Mr. Winston?”

  “He’s out of town. A new Orchid Village is being built in Austin,” Steve reached for a card on the desk. “This is his card.”

  Jason took it and gave one of his own to the manager.

  “What about security? Do you have your own security team?”

  “Well, team might be a strong word for it. We have two employees who work the overnight. They watch the gates, and occasionally, they’ll take a spin around the complex in a golf cart. They’re here to watch the office and community buildings more than anything else.”

  “Who was on guard last night?”

  Steve took out his phone, pushed a couple buttons until he found what he was looking for. “His name is Tom Baxter. His number is 555-3424.”

  Vanessa wrote it down and the detectives turned to leave. Steve Jaffe stopped them.

  “Does this have any connection to the missing man from Building C on Striped Tiger Way?”

  Jason turned back.

  “Someone went missing? When?”

  “Last month. One of your detectives was handling the case.”

  The manager went to a corkboard on the wall and removed a card.

  “Detective Jefferson.”

  “Nina Jefferson?”

  The manager nodded. Jason and Vanessa exchanged surprised looks.

  Jason shook his head. “I don’t know if there’s a connection, but I’ll talk to Detective Jefferson. Can you fax that employee list to the number on my card?”

  “Sure.”

  Once outside, Jason pulled out his phone and called the station. Nina Jefferson was off duty and Jason decided that since it wasn’t that urgent, he’d try and reach her in the morning.

  Next, he dialed the number Vanessa had written down for the security guard. He got an answering machine, and left a message for Tom Baxter to call him.

  He looked at Vanessa. “Back to the Bat Cave?”

  She grinned.

  “You can be so hokey sometimes.”

  Chapter 5

  The next morning, Jason was on time for a change, but stopped on the second floor to see Detective Nina Jefferson. He found her at her desk in Missing Persons.

  Detective Nina Jefferson is short and stocky, with rich, dark skin, brown eyes, and curly black hair. Jason and Vanessa had met her when they were investigating a serial killer case. At that time, she was a detective with Austin PD, and they liked her immediately.

  Last year, she had accepted a position with SAPD in Missing Persons, under Lieutenant Sarah Banks, and moved to San Antonio. Her face lit up when she saw Jason coming.

  “Jason! How’s things in the Bat Cave?”

  He smiled. “I take it you’ve already talked to Vanessa.”

  She let a sly grin crease her face.

  “First thing this morning. She made some copies of my file on the missing guy from Orchid Village.”

  “Great. I’ll let her fill me in.” He looked around the office. “How’s life with Lieutenant Banks?”

  “Good. She’s demanding, you already know that, but she has your back. I like her.”

  “Glad to hear it. I guess I’d better go catch up with Vanessa. Take care.”

  Jason hopped back on the elevator and rode to the third floor. He found Vanessa by the coffee machine.

  “Good morning.”

  She offered him a cup. “Late again. Sandy still having trouble?”

  “No. She’s a little better today. I was actually on time today, but stopped to talk to Nina Jefferson.”

  “Beat ya to it.”

  “So I gathered. Learn anything?”

  He followed Vanessa back to her desk, where she picked up a file and handed it to him.

  “Darrel Patterson, seventy-nine, went missing three weeks ago. There’s still no sign of him. He disappeared during the night.” She sat down. “People saw him enter his apartment the night before, but he didn’t show for an appointment the next day.”

  Jason flipped through the file. “Any forensic information?”

  “Nope. No sign of forced entry, and the doors were locked when police showed up to do a wellness check.”

  Jason sat down at his own desk.

  “Any prints?”

  “None, at least none that were unaccounted for.”

  “Any sign of a struggle?”

  “No. Nina believes he either went with someone he knew or was coerced by a weapon.”

  Jason closed the file.

  “So nothing to help our case?”

  “Afraid not.”

  Their lieutenant came up while they were talking and handed Jason three sheets of paper.

  “These just came in on the fax.”

  Lieutenant John Patton was a big man. He worked out regularly and was in tremendous shape. Balding, he liked to claim his hair had moved to his eyebrows and moustache, both of which were unruly.

  Patton had hired Jason and was more than just his lieutenant; he was a friend.

  “How’s things coming on the Orchid Village case?”

  “Not much to go on right now. This list of employees gives us a place to start. We’ll go interview these folks. Maybe someone saw something.”

  “Good. Keep me up to date. Those of us here in the Bat Cave don’t like being left in the dark.”

  Vanessa laughed aloud, then caught herself. Jason glared at her.

  “Yes, sir.”

  When the lieutenant walked away, Jason stared at Vanessa.

  “You’re having fun with this, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, I kinda like being Batgirl.”

  Jason laughed, both at her and at himself.

  “Come on, Nut-girl. We’ve got interviews to do.”

  *******

  While Jason drove to Orchid Village, Vanessa went over the list of Orchid Village employees that had been faxed over.

  “Maintenance chief is Gary Doan, thirty-seven, been with Orchid for five years. He has two men who work under him. Both men with the company less than a year.”

  She flipped the page.

  “Head gardener is Jose Jimenez, forty-two, been with Orchid for eight years. He has three men and two women on his crew, and they appear to have been with Orchid almost as long as their boss.”

  Jason turned into Orchid Village and parked at the community building.

  “I called ahead and the manager said the landscape crew always eats lunch together about this time each day. He said we could talk to all of them at once.”

  They got out of the car and went inside the main building. They found Steve Jaffe sitting in his office.

  “Hello, detectives. The landscaping crew is in the lunchroom. It’s this way.”

  The manager led them through a set of double doors into a brightly lit room. Tables lined one side of the room with vending machines glowing along the opposite wall. A sink and microwave were at the far end.

  Steve introduced them before excusing himself.

  “Detectives, this is Jose Jimenez and his crew. They’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.”

  Jose didn’t get up. In fact, nobody moved. Jason took a seat at the table while Vanessa stayed standing, her notepad out. Jason started with the head gardener.

  “We want to thank you for taking time out to talk to us during your lunch.”

  Jimenez didn’t look up.

  “Didn’t seem we had much choice.”

  Jason and Vanessa exchanged silent looks of surprise.

  “Did you hear about the events of last night?”

  “If you mean Ruth Rogers dying, we heard.”

  “We were hoping one of you may have seen or heard something.” Jason looked from one crewmember to the next. “Did you notice anything unusual in the last few days?”

  “Nope,” Jimenez answered, while nobody else said anything. In fact, Jason noticed th
ey kept their eyes averted from his.

  “How about your crew, did any of you see anything unusual?”

  “They didn’t see nothin.’” Jimenez again.

  Jason was getting impatient.

  “I’d like them to answer for themselves.”

  Jose Jimenez stood up, staring down at the detective.

  “Look, we know how this works. Some white lady gets killed, and the first ones you suspect are the Mexican gardeners. Well, we didn’t see nothin,’ and we don’t know nothin.’ We answered your questions. Now can we finish our lunch in peace?”

  Jason stood, matching the man’s stare.

  “Nobody is accusing you, or your crew, of anything. We’re just looking for help finding a killer. I don’t know where you get the idea you’re a suspect because you’re Mexican, but if you can help me catch a murderer, I don’t care if you’re an Eskimo or an elephant. Are we clear?”

  Jimenez sat back down.

  “Yeah, we’re clear.”

  Jason took out a card and threw it on the table.

  “If you think of anything, call us.”

  Jimenez grabbed the card and tossed it at the trashcan in the corner. It fluttered to the floor.

  Jason walked over and picked up the card. Vanessa put her pad away as her partner walked back to the table. He set the card down, out of the reach of the chief gardener, and repeated his previous statement.

  “If any of you think of something, call us.” He stared at Jose, daring him to pick up the card again. This time the gardener ignored it, and the two detectives left.

  *******

  Next up was the maintenance crew. Steve Jaffe told them where the crew was working, and the two detectives decided it was close enough to walk. Vanessa said it for both of them

  “Mr. Jimenez certainly has issues.”

  “I’ll say. Probably got a couple illegals on his crew. He may just be protecting them.”

  “Yeah, or he’s hiding something darker.”

  “That’s a distinct possibility.”

  Jason looked around them as they walked.

  “This place is huge. It’s not until you walk around that you really feel how immense it is.”

  “Yeah. It’s pretty impressive.”