The White Angel Murder

37

Jessica heard her phone and hopped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body though no one else was in her apartment. She got to it on the third ring and heard a car horn and traffic in the background.

“Hello?”

“Jessica, it’s Jon.”

“Jon, where are you?”

“I’m here, in town. I need your help.”

“You need to-”

“You tipped me off because you believe me. If you believe me then you have to trust me. I need your help and I can prove I didn’t kill Francisco.”

“Where are you calling from?”

“Payphone at the 7-11 down the block.”

“Okay. Come up. I’ll leave the door unlocked.”

It was only a few minutes later before Stanton walked in to her apartment and announced his presence. She was getting dressed and said she would be out in a minute. He sat down on her couch and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. Before long she stepped out of the bedroom in pin-striped suit pants and a red sleeveless blouse. She wore her holster and firearm and put on a women’s jacket. He knew the firearm display was for him. Just in case.

“I found this,” Stanton said, laying the paper on the coffee table. She picked it up and read it.

“What does it mean?”

“I don’t know. I googled the two address terms. There’s only one place in the state where streets named Montego and Aberdeen intersect. It’s near the Salton Sea. But what I need from you is to check with Eddie in forensics and see if he checked the vent in the bathroom at Francisco Hernandez’s apartment.”

Jessica instantly knew where he was going.

“You think it was placed there after the scene was processed?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “It would be incredibly incompetent for Eddie not to look in the vent and I wouldn’t describe Eddie as incompetent.”

“Okay. Hang on.”

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the police switchboard. She asked for Eddie Bowler and was put on hold for two minutes before a gruff voice answered.

“Yeah?”

“Eddie, this is Jessica Turner, in Cold Case.”

“Yeah, what’dya need?”

“You were the one that processed the Francisco Hernandez scene, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember checking the vent in the bathroom for any foreign material? Specifically a small sheet of paper.”

“I’m sure I did.”

“Would you mind checking?” There was a brief silence. “I know it’s a pain in the ass and I’m sorry. But this is really important to the Chief and he’s on me about it.”

“Yeah, all right. Sit tight.”

Jessica heard keys being punched on a keyboard and the loud exhalations of an annoyed Eddie Bowler. She thought she heard music in the background; Jimi Hendrix.

“Ok,” he mumbled to himself, “Hernandez, Hernandez … hey that was the detective that was iced. The one undercover.”

“That’s him.”

“Huh. Okay, hang on … all right, we did a grid search and … yes, I checked the vent for over twenty inches and didn’t find anything. It tilted at an angle and no one could’ve gotten anything in farther than that.”

“That’s all I needed to know. Thanks, Eddie.”

“Yup.”

She hung up the phone and sat down in a large wicker chair with a blue seat cushion. “Checked the vent for twenty inches and didn’t find anything. So I guess that means it was put there after we left. How would they know you would come back?”

“I don’t know. If they knew that they had to have known I wouldn’t be the one assigned to the case. So they would just somehow have to guess that I would come back and search the bathroom. We were thinking Francisco was killed and then dragged into the living room, but maybe someone came in after and dragged him there and left the note for me.”

“You thinking another cop?”

“Maybe. Honestly I don’t know what to think. I’m feeling burned out.”

“Jon, I do believe you. But I don’t want to lose my career by helping you.”

“I understand. I wasn’t suggesting that I stay here. I just need to go somewhere and sleep for awhile.” He rose to leave. “I’m going to the Salton Sea. I’ll call you afterward. Take the note in to latent prints and have them run it.”

“Do you need me to do anything else?”

“I don’t think there is anything you can do. But thanks. You can’t imagine how nice it is to have someone on your side when everyone else is against you.”

“Yeah, I can.”