Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1) Read online

  Soft dirt bordered the edges of the vineyard, but turned to nothing more than dust during the hot, dry weather of August. The man figured the slight breeze would easily obliterate any tracks from his tires and boots.

  However, earlier this night an irrigation water main broke and a small section along the edges of South Fairfax Road flooded before maintenance could come and shut off the valve.

  Later, when the man drove the SUV over the wet spot, one of the tires of his vehicle left a clear track in the mud.

  * * *

  As he pulled away from the vineyard, he felt elated by the way things had turned out. Vindication arose in his chest and his face was flushed with excitement.

  I need to stay in control, he thought. The last thing I want is to draw attention to myself and have some bored deputy wired on donuts and coffee pull me over.

  During the nine days Gabby was his guest, he searched the news each day. Nothing turned up about a missing person who fit her description.

  He mused about what kind of clues the crime scene people would find. He couldn't think of anything that would lead them to him.

  The only 'evidence' I left on the body are the 13 spider bites, he thought, as giggling overtook his body. I think that will keep them guessing for a while.

  He parked his SUV at the side of the house and entered the kitchen. He grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and went back outside to the patio. After a while, he descended the stairs to the basement to see how it looked.

  "Hmmm," he said out loud as he looked around and took a healthy chug of his beer. "She didn't leave much of a mess. I can hose down the feces and pee and we'll be open for business."

  He cleaned up and checked his stock of black widow spiders. He collected them periodically from the fence that surrounded his property. Many bushes and trees housed all sorts of creepy crawlies. Nevertheless, his luck at finding black widows worked out the best around the many faucets that dotted the property. Rarely did he fail to find at least one good-sized black widow. They stayed alive for a long time when he put them in pint-sized Mason jars with holes punched in the lid. They loved the flies and beetles he fed them and rarely did one die.

  Another close-by source was the chain link fence that surrounded the grocery store within walking distance of his front yard. They always had a lot of trash stacked along the fence line and the garbage bins were seldom emptied before they overflowed onto the ground. Spiders loved all that wet, gooey trash.

  For many years, he had collected black widow spiders and photographed them. At first, he hated any kind of spiders, and they truly frightened him. However, as long as he didn't touch them, he didn't have a problem.

  He liked to line an old beer flat with a piece of light colored foam rubber, put two black widows inside, and cover the flat with a clear piece of glass. Then, he set the box on his table, straddled it with his tripod, and took macro photos of the two spiders as they fought one another. He always rooted for one or the other, and seldom did his 'champion' lose.

  Sometimes his friends came over and they would have 'widow fights', just like cockfights, and everyone would bet on their champion. Whenever he collected a good selection of large, healthy 'widows', he would put out the word. He never failed to have a crowd, but it was a select group and they all knew to keep their mouths shut.

  He chose spiders that he could tell apart and let each person take a good look at them while they were still in their jars. Then, he put them in the same set up he used for his photograph sessions, and let them fight it out. Eventually, one would triumph, money would change hands, the beer would flow, and everyone would enjoy his famous barbecue. After his guests left, he crunched the winner to smithereens. Five fights became the standard for an evening's entertainment.

  Now, of course, he had a better use for his pets.

  Tomorrow night, after dark, he would go looking for another guest to keep him, and his pets, company.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Monday, 13 August 2012, 5:43 AM

  The luscious piece of Pecan Pie floated just inches away from Annie's mouth. She could smell the sugar-sweet goodness of the warm pie mingled with the contrasting aroma of ice-cold pure vanilla ice cream.

  She groaned as an irritating noise kept distracting her, skewing her aim. Finally, the dream was completely ruined and reality returned. She realized there was no pie, no ice cream, just the insistent ringing of her telephone.

  She glanced at the clock on her nightstand as she switched on the bedside lamp. 5:43 AM. The sun wasn't even up yet.

  It certainly isn't someone calling to invite me to breakfast, not at this hour, she thought. She reached over and picked up the handset.

  "Avants."

  "Detective, this is Sgt. Collins. Sorry to wake you. There's a body in the middle of a vineyard out close to Lamont. It's now your case."

  "That's OK. I didn't need the calories anyway."

  She sat up, now fully awake.

  "What's that?"

  "Nothing. Can you repeat what you said?"

  Annie knew the phone call wouldn't be good news when her boss called her this early and her fears were justified when Sarge repeated her message.

  "What do you know at this point?" Annie said.

  "As they walked to work, two farm workers spotted what looked like a body between the rows of grape vines. They were on South Fairfax Road, between DiGiorgio Road and Buena Vista Road. It's an area where a lot of young and mature vineyards are planted. They walked far enough off the road to see it was a body. They say they didn't touch anything, just immediately went back to South Fairfax Road and flagged down a passing pick-up truck. The driver called 911 from his cell phone."

  "Who's en route?"

  "Deputies Hermosillo and Baker took the 911 call and are the first responders. Deputy Hermosillo checked the body and determined it was deceased. He then called it in. Deputies Jones and Kamaguchi, Laine DelMonte and the forensics team, and a Deputy Coroner are all on their way. Dispatch called the DA's office and they are sending someone, but I'm not sure whom.

  "Deputy Baker established the crime scene perimeter and started her log. The deputies are now talking to the two witnesses and the truck driver.

  "OK, I'll call Tom and be en route shortly."

  "Good gracious," Annie murmured to herself as she hung up the phone, jumped out of bed, and dressed as fast as she could. Her Glock 9mm went into the holster at the middle of her back, covered by a lightweight linen jacket. She tucked her back-up piece, a .32 Beretta, into her messenger bag.

  She tied her long, curly auburn hair into a knot at the nape of her neck and hurried out her front door. It wouldn't take her long to get from East Bakersfield to the Lamont area. She had a murder to solve.

  * * *

  When Annie arrived at the scene, she saw three patrol cars, an unmarked unit, Deputy Coroner James Shillings, the Technical Investigations van, a Deputy District Attorney, and the unmarked vehicle used to transport bodies to the morgue.

  The two men who spotted the body were being interviewed separately by Deputies Jones and Arturo Melendez, who both spoke fluent Spanish. Deputy Kamaguchi was talking to another man standing by an old pick-up truck.

  Tom pulled up in his Jeep Cherokee a few minutes after Annie.

  "What do we have, do you know yet?" he asked.

  "I haven't checked out the scene yet. I just got here. Sarge said the two men thought they saw something between the rows of vines and, upon investigation, found a presumed dead body."

  Before they entered the crime scene, Annie stopped to talk to Deputy Hermosillo.

  "You were the first one on the scene, correct?" she said.

  "Yes," Deputy Hermosillo said. "I approached the body to determine if it was deceased. When I could find no pulse, I called it in and Deputy Baker immediately set up the perimeter. It appears to be the body of a young Hispanic female."

  "And no one else except Deputy Coroner James Schillings has entered the crime scene at this point?"
>
  "That's correct. Mike, from Technical Investigations, is waiting for your go-ahead to start taking his photographs. Deputy Schillings is taking photos now and videotaping the scene and body."

  "That's great. Mike can come in as soon as Deputy Schillings says it's OK."

  Deputy Baker, with the help of Deputy Christine Nielson, had already sealed off the area and designated a pathway for everyone to follow to the site of the body. Deputy Baker stood at the entrance to the site and logged in and out anybody who crossed the yellow tape. Only those with business at the site were allowed to proceed and, so far, the only ones she let walk the 20 feet to where the body lay were Deputy Hermosillo, and Deputy James Schillings, the Deputy Coroner.

  Tom and Annie checked in with Deputy Baker and walked along the designated path.

  Annie could see the flash from the camera as Deputy Schillings took photos.

  Annie called back to Mike Everett, "Mike, it's OK for you to come and start taking your photos now."

  * * *

  "Morning, Deputy Schillings, how's it going?" Annie said as she and Tom approached the Deputy Coroner.

  Deputy Schillings looked around at Annie and Tom.

  "Ah, Detective Avants and Detective Weston. Good morning," Deputy Schillings said. "The victim appears to be a Hispanic female in her mid to late 20s. She's been dead several hours, but a more precise time of death will be determined by the forensic pathologist during the autopsy."

  Annie turned to Tom. "Tom, could you call the Sergeant and have her send out any available Deputies to begin canvassing the residences and businesses in the area in the off-chance someone saw something?"

  Tom pulled out his cell phone and made the call. Even though he had been in law enforcement longer than Annie had, he didn't resent the fact that she was usually the lead detective on their cases. He had watched her work for the past two years and was familiar with her record from Mena, Arkansas. His respect for her knew no bounds.

  * * *

  Tom and Annie stood next to Deputy Schillings as he prepared to examine the body after he finished his first photos and videos.

  She was lying on her back and was completely nude.

  "I don't see any obvious signs of trauma," Tom said, as they looked down on the victim.

  "What do you think, Annie?"

  "All I see are what appears to be insect bites on her abdomen and upper legs.

  "I also see no blood around the body and any foot prints left in the dry dust are long gone.

  "Her ears are pierced, but she is only wearing one earring. Where is the other one?

  "I can see the inside of her right arm and I don't see any visible tracks, which doesn't mean she wasn't a user, however."

  Deputy Schillings turned to Annie as he snapped on his latex gloves. "As soon as Mike finishes taking the photos of her front side, I'll begin my visual examination. As you mentioned, Annie, I don't see anything that stands out at the moment except for what looks like insect bites. I can't say for sure what they are, but these vineyards are full of all types of creepy crawlies."

  "OK, Deputy Schillings, go ahead and start your exam so we can turn the body over and take more pictures," Mike said. "I know our sweet southern detective likes to have a lot of photos."

  He always made jokes about Annie's southern accent. She was proud of her roots in Mena, Arkansas, and wasn't one of those 'transplants' who tried their best to lose their accent.

  Deputy Schillings squatted down next to the body and took the temperature, using an external thermometer. "Her body temperature is pretty close to the ambient temperature, so she's been here for a while, exposed to the elements. Look closely at these bites. They interest me.

  "They all seem to be the same type of bite, but they didn't occur at the same time. These two have what we call a large erythema zone and probably occurred within the last 18 hours. Here's one that's recent. It has a large erythema zone also, but isn't as advanced as the other two. Here's a couple that are starting to weep and the bite has started to crater. That can indicate it occurred a couple of days ago. The rest of them appear to be anywhere from two to ten days old."

  Annie squatted next to the body to examine the bite marks.

  "Notice also that some of them have two punctures and some only one," Deputy Schillings said.

  "What type of insect are we talking about?" Tom said.

  "My guess would be a black widow, or actually, several black widows."

  Annie shivered at the thought.

  A Deputy District Attorney walked up and joined the group around the body. When she heard the last comment, she asked, "So, she could have been somewhere where she was exposed to a lot of black widow spiders that attacked her over a period of several days?"

  "That's what it looks like to me. Moreover, she would have been in a lot of pain. If the spiders kept biting her, the pain would continue and intensify. It would have been excruciating.

  "The lab results will show more when we get back the toxicology studies on her blood. Her platelet count would be extremely low."

  "Olivia Xanthopoulus, from TI, is ready to video tape the scene before the body is moved or turned over. Is that convenient for you now, Deputy Schillings?" Annie said.

  "Sure let's get out of the way and let Olivia do her videotaping, and then we'll turn her over."

  As soon as everyone was out of the scene, Olivia started her video tape. She took several overall views of the scene from different angles to get perspective. Then she took close-ups of the front side and especially lower body where the bites were. When she finished, she moved out of the way so the Deputy Schillings could continue.

  At that point, Tom stepped up and began snapping his own pictures. "My turn," he said, smiling. He was of the old school and liked to have his own information, instead of relying on the 'stuff' other people passed on. He'd even purchased, with his own money, a Nikon D400 Digital SLR Camera to make sure he got the best photos possible.

  All the Deputy Coroners were used to this and it didn't present a problem. You couldn't have too many photos of a crime scene.

  "I'm almost through with the front side," Tom said.

  "Don't rush, Tom, you can keep shooting. Just don't get too close to where the body is lying now when we turn her over, and keep an eye out for anything that might be evidence. As soon as I'm through, we'll take the body to the morgue and the forensics team can do its job here."

  After Deputy Schillings fingerprinted then bagged her hands to protect them, he and Mike Everett turned the body over and Deputy Schillings took his photos and video taped what he needed. Then Olivia did her videotaping and Mike and Tom took their photos.

  When everyone was finished, Deputy Schillings said, "I'll do a sketch of the back side also, like I did of the front side, and triangulate the locations of the bites on her backside.

  "There's something caught in her hair," Deputy Schillings said, as he pulled an evidence bag and a pair of 'pull ups' out of his pocket. "It's a dead black widow spider. Look at the size of that hour glass on its stomach."

  He plucked the dead spider from the victim's long dark hair after making sure he took a good picture of the location, and popped it into the evidence bag. He held the bag close to his nose and sniffed.

  "Hmmm, I don't smell any insecticide, but if this spider was sprayed, it would have died wherever it was at the time. Unless it was already in the victim's hair. Interesting. We'll know a lot more after the autopsy.

  "OK, guys, finish up your photos and video taping. I don't see any other obvious signs of trauma, so we need to get her to the morgue for tests and a more thorough examination."

  "Do you think she died of natural causes and someone just dumped her here? She could be an illegal," Annie said.

  "Why here? This is an out-of-the-way place. And she's young, I'd say no more than twenty-five to thirty years old. Unless she had a genetic defect of some type, there aren't a lot of illnesses or conditions that would cause her death. I'm not ruling out natura
l causes, and I'm not ready to call this a homicide, but that's my first instinct," Deputy Schillings said.

  "Is everyone finished? Yes? OK, we can move the body now and the forensics team can get started on their work.

  * * *

  Chief Technical Investigator Laine DelMonte led the Technical Investigations team. Two other technicians accompanied her, in addition to photographer Mike Everett and videographer Olivia Xanthopoulus. George Neasham and Merilee Travino were out walking the roadway looking for footprints and tire tracks.

  After Deputy Schillings removed the body and he and the Deputy DA left, Annie walked over to where Laine was standing. She had worked with Laine since she came to Kern County and respected and appreciated the thorough job Laine did. Laine wore a white jumpsuit, tied her long, blond hair up, and tucked it under a cap to keep from contaminating the crime scene. She also wore booties and gloves.

  "Hi, Laine. It's going to be a beautiful day, isn't it?" Annie teased.

  "Well, if we didn't have to be here, yes." All of her team now stood by the van waiting for Laine. She turned to her assistants and gave them their instructions.

  "George, carefully walk up a different row until you come to one of the dirt crossroads and see if you can find any usable tire tracks, or other evidence. Then, check any other dirt roads in this field."

  "What did you find Merilee? I saw you marking off a section of the side of the road?" Laine said.

  "When we first drove up, I saw a wet patch along the side of the road. When I checked it out there was one tire print. I don't know if it's pertinent or not, but I secured the area so you could take photos and do a cast."

  "Good job, Merilee," Laine said. "I'll look at it. Mike, go take some photos of the print, OK?

  "OK, Merilee, go up another row on the other side of the crime scene to see if you can determine where the car came in.

  "Mike and Olivia - stay in earshot of George and Merilee for the moment, and if they find something else, take pictures and video, OK?