“Don’t hurt me! Please!”
Norman produced a large zip tie formed into a loop.
“Put your hands through.”
Keeping her eyes fixed on the gun, she complied. Norman cinched the zip tie tight.
“Sit back and don’t do anything stupid.”
Chapter 5
Frank watched his friend tee off. They kept a standing golf date at Oak Valley Golf Course on Sunday afternoons. It was just nine holes but the only thing that kept them from it was rain and Dallas Cowboy games.
“Nice drive.”
“Thanks.”
Frank teed his ball up, took a couple practice swings and hit. His ball started out straight but quickly took a hard right turn. Frank groaned.
“That’s the third slice today.”
His friend shook his head.
“You’re getting your hips through ahead of your hands.”
“I know, I know.”
Frank stuffed his driver back into his bag and they both started walking, pulling their carts behind them. To Frank, this was the best part. A invigorating walk in beautiful surroundings.
His friend’s ball was sitting nicely down the left side of the fairway but Frank’s was deep in the woods to right. He pulled out his pitching wedge and started whacking at the tall grass and leaves. He had already lost two balls today and he wasn’t about to lose another. After searching for several minutes, he spotted the white ball sitting on a patch of brown grass.
“There you are!”
He was about to line up his shot when a glint off something caught his eye. The sun through the tree branches was reflecting off something about thirty yards away. There was a shape there, too. He carefully walked over a fallen tree and up next to a big oak tree. He found himself staring at something his brain didn’t seemed able to process. It was something hideous among all this beauty.
Like a fuzzy TV that suddenly clears up, he saw a woman propped against a tree, naked and holding a wine glass. There was dried blood on her chest. Frank staggered backwards, falling over the downed tree. He got to his feet, and without taking his eyes off the woman, backed out onto the fairway.
His friend called to him.
“Frank? You okay?”
Frank turned to face him.
“Call 911!”.
****
Jason was spending his Sunday at home, working on one of the numerous projects that the new house needed. Today, it was painting the guest room and Sandy was helping by doing the trim. He rolled the pale green she had chosen onto the walls, trying not to spray paint everywhere. His pager started to vibrate on the table in the center of the room. Sandy groaned.
“Noooo…we’ll never get this room done.”
Jason laid the roller in the pan and went over to look at the pager.
“Sorry, honey. Got to check in.”
He left the room and retrieved his cell phone, punching the speed dial for the station. Vanessa answered.
“Homicide.”
He was surprised to hear her voice.
“What are you doing there?”
“ Hey, Jason. I came into to pick up something and the call came through.”
“What call?”
“There’s another victim.”
Jason groaned.
“Wineglass?”
“Afraid so.”
“I’m on my way.”
****
Jason picked up Vanessa at the station and they headed out to the crime scene. It was in the northwest section of San Antonio, at a golf course on the fringe of Canyon State Park.
“Two crime scenes in close proximity to the park.” Vanessa was thinking out loud. “Leads you to think he either lives near the park or it’s in his route from one place to another.”
“Sure or he's just comfortable with the national forest area from previous experiences there.”
Jason stopped the car at the entrance to the golf course parking lot. Two police cars were parked nose to nose, blocking entrance. The car on the left backed up to let Jason pull in. After parking, they got out to find an officer standing with his arms crossed and shaking his head at Devin James.
Devin James is a reporter for the San Antonio News. Black, easily six three, balding and a cynical mind that he concealed with a wide smile. Jason could tell he’d been spotted.
The reporter stopped pestering the officer and walked, or rather limped, directly towards the detective. He had a pronounced limp but the one time Jason had asked about it, James brushed it off.
“Detective, nice to see you again.”
The reporter ignored Vanessa. They had a feud going back to before Jason made it to homicide. Vanessa had never told him the details and he had not pried. Jason didn’t mind Devin but he remained guarded around him.
“Devin, You playing golf today?”
“Very funny, Detective. Actually, the scanner said there’s something much more interesting going on here than just putt-putt.”
The lieutenant had been able to keep the first girls death under the radar, but this one was going to be different.
“They just called us out here, I don’t know anymore than you do.”
“Okay if I tag along?”
“Nope.”
The officer that had been shaking his head at the reporter, pointed at an electric golf cart parked behind him. The two detectives walked over and got in.
The officer got into the cart in front of them and turned to look at them.
“I'm supposed to lead you out to the seventh hole. The crime scene techs are there. They took their van down a service road.”
Devin had followed them to the carts. Jason gave him a big smile.
“Sorry Devin, duty calls.”
“Come on, Detective. Give me something.”
Jason pretended not to hear and stepped down on the gas pedal. The officer led the way, heading down the far side of hole #1, cutting across #4, and through some woods, until they could see the yellow crime tape flitting in the breeze.
They pulled up and got out as the medical examiner was walking back to his van. It was one of Doctor Davis' assistants. Jason caught up with him.
“What have we got?”
“Gunshot wound to the chest. She's been out here about a week. We're done with photos and forensics is done with evidence collection. We'll bag her when you guys are done.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Vanessa had already gone over by the body and Jason followed her. Instead of examining the victim, she was staring out towards the forest. Jason left her alone while he made some notes.
Naked, no clothes or belongings found in the area, gunshot to chest at scene. Propped up against tree, bloodstained wineglass in her hand. Victims hair color, eye color and approximate height match previous two crime scenes.
When he was done, he walked over to where she was standing. He tried to figure out what she was focused on.
“What are you looking at?”
“I'm trying to place the previous crime scene. Wasn't it maybe 500 yards that way, across the woods?”
Jason followed her sight line.
“Yeah, I think you're right.”
At first they seemed much farther apart because they had arrived at the first crime scene from the other side of the forest, but they appeared to be much closer if you drew an imaginary line between the two.
“We need to have a complete search of the area between the two scenes.”
Vanessa agreed.
“Yeah. We can walk it but it might be better to bring in cadaver dogs. If there's a crime scene we haven't found, we don't want to be traipsing all over it.”
Jason nodded.
“Good Point. I'll talk to the lieutenant in the morning.”
Jason signalled they were done with the body and the techs started to wrap her up. Jason and Vanessa got in their cart and went back to the parking lot.
They found Frank in the clubhouse bar. He had regained his composure with help of several beers. Jason sat on one side and Vanessa stood on the other. Jason smiled at Frank.