"Ashes to Embers"
"Embers to ashes, that's how it should be.
You'd think by now my heart would know, and it could set you free.
The things I've tried, the tears I've cried, I guess there's no doubt
You'll always be a fire I can't put out."
~"A Fire I Can't Put Out" George Strait~
CHAPTER 1
"Lamar Pettybone, I know you can hear me!" The four foot eight inch tall woman shook with anger as she stabbed at the intercom button at the security gate of the California ranch that belonged to private investigator Matt Houston. Lamar had worked for the Houston family first in Texas and then moved to the ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains when Houston bought it.
Matt had just ridden up to the barn on Jasper, the buckskin stallion that he had been training for the last couple of months when his cell phone rang. "Yeah, Babe?"
"We have a visitor at the front gate…actually Lamar has a visitor." CJ's voice conveyed both annoyance and humor.
"Oh God - not Beulah again?" The PI shook his head as Lamar looked up at him, a fearful expression on his face. Sighing, he answered. "Okay, just turn down the volume on the intercom for right now and I'll go take care of it…er, her…you know what I mean. 'Bye." He heard his wife's laughter on the other end of the line as he hung up.
"Houston, I'm sorry…" Lamar began apologizing.
"It ain't your fault your fault you're so irresistible, pard." Matt winked at Bo, his other ranch hand, as Lamar began spluttering. "C'mon Jasper – this oughta be a good test of your training." He turned the horse and trotted down the driveway to the gate which was nearly three quarters of a mile from the house. As he drew within a couple hundred yards he could hear the grating voice of the corpulent female. Beulah Pettybone aka Richardson, Scales, Henderson…Matt couldn't remember the rest of the names that she had acquired over the many marriages that she had undertaken. Lamar had been either her second or third husband, the PI wasn't sure which, and Beulah had been Lamar's fourth wife. He grinned as he thought back over the years. Even when he was a kid he remembered hearing tales around the bunkhouse on the Texas ranch about Lamar and his choice of wives. Every time Matt heard the song "All My Exes Live in Texas" he automatically thought of his ranch hand and laughed.
Drawing nearer he could see that Beulah hadn't changed in the slightest – she was still just as round as she was tall. At least she's consistent. When she spied him, the former Mrs. Pettybone began fussing at the cowboy.
"So that little weasel can't come down here and talk to me himself, huh?" She stood with her hands on her hips.
"Afternoon, Miss Beulah." Matt touched the brim of the white straw cowboy hat he wore. "Lamar isn't here."
"Yes he is…don't you lie to me, Mattlock Houston! I saw him when he was drivin' up the road a few minutes ago. He got past your fancy gate here." She reached up with both hands, the fingers of which reminded the cowboy of sausage links, rattling the iron bars on the security gate that had been put in after an attempt on not only Houston's life but that of CJ, their daughter Catey Rose, and the two unborn boys that CJ was now carrying.
"Miss Beulah, y'all are divorced: why not just leave it that way?" He leaned forward, his arms resting on the saddle horn.
"Because divorcin' him was the biggest mistake I ever made." That's when the water works started. "He's my one true love – my soul mate. That Gypsy woman down at the fair told me we were meant to be together forever."
"Well maybe she saw somebody who looked like Lamar, you reckon? Maybe she didn't have her glasses on when she looked in that crystal ball. Y'all used to fight like cats and dogs all the time. I really don't think gettin' back together with him is gonna help anything."
As she continued to sob Beulah blew into an oversized bandana and the cowboy couldn't help but think of a few rodeo clowns he had seen in his time on the circuit. "But why can't he at least invite me in where we can sit down and talk about it?"
"Well now, that's probably 'cause the last time he did you darn near killed him – he ain't a big person, Miss Beulah."
"Why I would never hurt him…intentionally."
Houston was trying so hard not to laugh and instead acted like he was coughing. Jasper's ears had been flicking back and forth as he listened to the two and he now pawed at the ground impatiently. When Matt managed to get himself under control he shook his head. "Miss Beulah, he just doesn't want to talk. Maybe you should give him a little more time to think about it, whatcha say?"
"You could open the gate and let me talk to him."
"No ma'am - right now he's got work to do. Why don't you go on back to Texas and talk to the Gypsy lady some more…or better yet find another one. Maybe she'll find you another fella."
"Okay…" She turned back to the beat up pickup that she was driving. "But would you put in a good word for me?"
"I can try."
"Alright." With that she backed out of the drive and left headed east, Matt hoping whole-heartedly that she would take his advice and look elsewhere.
"Jasper, ya done good, buddy." He patted on the horse's neck before turning him and slowly riding up the driveway as he pulled out his phone to inform CJ that it was safe to turn the volume on the intercom back up. "And if you'll bring Catey outside I've got a surprise for her." A few minutes later as he started across the patio to the back door of the house, CJ stepped out with their one year old daughter. "Okay, Lady Bug, Jasper says you can come for a ride." The stallion was nickering at the girl and nuzzling as CJ picked her up and handed her to Matt. Catey sat up on the saddle in front of her dad and posed for a couple of pictures that CJ took of the pair before they headed down toward the barn atop the stallion.
Sheila Wentworth - the nanny for Catey Rose - pulled up in her van just as the two were halfway to the barn. "Has he got that baby with him?"
"Yep." CJ smiled proudly as she watched them go. "Jasper is done with his training. If Matt didn't trust him one hundred percent Catey wouldn't be up there."
A short time later, father and daughter were walking back up to the house, Catey riding on her dad's shoulders and talking a mile a minute while Matt just smiled and nodded, occasionally getting a word in on the conversation. As they got to the patio and he set her down on her feet his phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his shirt pocket, reading the text message from the instructor of his Fire Chemistry Class. A big smile spread across his face and he put the phone back. "Was that a message from your girlfriend?" CJ had just stepped out to put some chicken on the grill for their supper.
"No ma'am – my sexy girlfriend is right here." He walked up behind her and began nibbling on her ear – a turn-on that the pair shared – as he rubbed his hand on her belly that contained the twin boys that she had been carrying for about four months. "That was from Doc Marks – I aced my final."
"Congratulations!" CJ turned and put her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly, much to the displeasure of their daughter who immediately tried to get between the pair causing them to laugh.
After finishing supper, Matt was in the midst of giving Catey a bath and doing a funny little voice for her rubber ducky when CJ came into the bathroom with his cell phone. "Hon, it's Sheriff Martinez."
"Hewwo? Ahem, uh, hello?" Matt had forgotten to drop the duck's voice, sending the sheriff into a fit of giggles.
"Oh, dear Lord! Now is not the time for laughing." She straightened up. "Houston, we could use some help down here. Please tell me you can come down."
"Yes ma'am." He stood up, wiping bubble bath off of his arms. "Sorry about - you know. What's going on?" He left CJ to finish the bath and headed into the bedroom to pack a bag.
"Something that should be right up your alley: we've had three fires now that the Fire Marshal says are too similar to be coincidence. They're up to their eyeballs in the everyday stuff and when I mentioned you he asked if you would be able to help them out."
"He does know I'm not officially a Fire Investigator yet, right?"
"He does."
"Okay, well…" The PI looked at his watch: it was almost 7:00. Knowing how quick a fire scene could deteriorate he decided to head on down to Houston. "I'll head on down that way as soon as I can get the plane in the air. Where do I need to meet with him?"
"Here at the station. And I've assigned Chuck to help you. It wouldn't hurt for him to learn some of what you know about fires."
"Ma'am, I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but I'll sure do my best. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Thanks, Houston. We appreciate it. Just do me one favor…"
"Yes ma'am?"
"Don't use that funny voice when you question someone, okay?"
"Yes ma'am. Promise." He hung up the phone and began packing his bag as CJ walked into the room with Catey still wrapped in her bath towel. "Gotta go help out down there with what look like some arson cases."
"Okay…I would come with you, but Catey and I both have checkups tomorrow."
"I'm sorry, Babe." He stopped packing. "I was going to go with you."
"Nonsense – it's just a checkup. At least for me. Miss Catey here gets a few shots." The little girl reached out for her dad.
Leaning toward her he got a kiss on the cheek. "Lady Bug, I've gotta go to Texas. You be good and take care of Mama and Miss Sheila for me, okay?"
"Okay." She watched as he finished packing the bag, his holster and gun going in on top of his spare bulletproof vest. "Daddy be good."
"Yes ma'am. Love you – both of you." He kissed Catey again, then pulled CJ in for a hug and more extensive kiss. "Don't overdo, Babe. I'll call you when I get there okay?"
"We'll be fine. You just be careful – and don't forget to wear that vest, Cowboy. Love you." After another kiss, he zipped up the bag and put it over his shoulder and went down the hallway, running into the nanny as he entered the kitchen.
"Gotta go to Texas. Keep an eye on 'em for me, will ya hon?"
"Always. You just be careful down there and tell Madre Rosa hello for me."
"I'll sure do it. See ya." Matt hit the road and worked his way down the twisting, turning canyon road in the Santa Monica Mountains. He hit the speaker button on his phone and voice dialed the plane crew, finding out that CJ had already called and asked them to get the jet ready as soon as possible. Grinning, he dialed the ranch in Houston where he had grown up. The phone was answered by the housekeeper, Madre Rosa, who promised to have one of his cowboys meet him at the airport with a truck when he landed.
Once at the airport, Matt gave the plane the usual pre-flight check and then received permission for takeoff. After he was airborne and free of the traffic near LAX, he checked the time: 7:43. It would take him three hours to get to Houston, putting him on the ground at almost 1:00AM Houston time. Blowing out a breath, he reminded himself that he didn't have a nine to five job like most people.
Ranch foreman Marty Hoffmann and his brother Pat were waiting at the William P. Hobby Airport for their boss when he landed, both looking like a couple of barn owls that had been disturbed during their midday roost. "Sorry to get you boys outta bed." Houston tossed two bags in the backseat of the blue crew cab that was nearly identical to the one that he drove all the time in Los Angeles. The laptop case was nestled in the front passenger seat.
"Not a problem, Bossman." Pat stifled a yawn as he joined his brother in the other truck that they had brought.
"Well crawl back under the covers and try to get a few more hours of shuteye, fellas. Thanks a lot." The PI pulled the holster and pistol out of his bag and put them on along with his badge from the Harris County Sheriff's Department as the two brothers left the airport. As he got into the truck he first called CJ to let her know that he had landed safely and then Sheriff Martinez.
The traffic was fairly light and the trip north to the Sheriff's Department on Baker Street was fairly quick. He pulled into the lot at the side of the building, parked, and headed inside. The clerk on duty informed him that Det. Wylie was waiting for him in his office. Matt turned to the right and went straight to it, noticing that it was much quieter at that time of night than it was during the day. He walked into the office of his childhood friend to find him with his nose buried in the computer monitor. "Not lookin' at dirty pictures are ya?" Matt smiled as a startled Chuck looked up.
"Gees Louise, you're gonna give me a heart attack, man. Get your butt in here." Chuck stood up and the two men embraced. "How's CJ?"
Matt held his arms out making a circular motion around his waist. "She is getting BIG." He grinned. "But I'll deny every word of it if you tell her."
"Are you kiddin'? I ain't sayin' a word to her. Rule number one: don't joke with a pregnant lady about her size. It's a good way to die." The pair laughed. "Come on over and have a seat. Here are the files that Rainerio sent over for you." He stifled a yawn. "Coffee?"
"Yup, you know it." Matt plopped down in the offered chair and propped his feet up as Chuck went out to get the drinks. After checking the dates on the files, the PI started with the oldest first – which wasn't very old: May 12th. The Houston Fire Department had responded to the call of an apartment building fire at 2:17AM. The origin of the fire had been on the third floor of the four story building. All residents had been evacuated safely with the exception of the woman living in apartment 318, where the fire had started. Lorna Renee Gleason, age 27, had been found bound to a kitchen chair and gagged. The ME had determined that she had been alive at the time the fire was started due to the condition of her lungs, but had most likely been unconscious. There was blunt force trauma to the anterior right side of the skull, specifically a fracture of the orbital roof and the orbital floor. Looking at the accompanying pictures, Matt could see that her right eye region had sustained severe damage – certainly enough that it would render someone unconscious. The weapon wasn't readily identifiable. Gleason appeared to have been sexually assaulted but there was no DNA recovered from the body.
"Here ya go, pard." Chuck handed him a cup of coffee which he gratefully sipped on before setting it on the desk.
"Thanks." Flipping back to the information that had been gathered on the victim, he learned that she was a kindergarten teacher at Owens-Perkins Elementary in the eastern part of Harris County. From all that the investigator could gather, Gleason had been highly thought of in her workplace and everyone who knew her was shocked that such a thing had happened with one exception: her sister, Mrs. Angelina Reyes. Mrs. Reyes had told the investigator that her sister had complained about an old boyfriend who had been badgering her. Unfortunately, Lorna hadn't told her sister the man's name and they had no way of knowing who he was.
After another long swallow of coffee, Houston got into the technical aspects of the report. There were two points of ignition: the first was the mattress in the bedroom and the second had been a garbage can that had been put underneath the kitchen table. Traces of petroleum accelerant were clearly on the table in the pictures that showed what was left of the piece of furniture. The mattress was nothing more than a mass of half-melted metal springs and ash. The killer had made sure to douse the kitchen area and mattress heavily with the accelerant that had proved to be gasoline. The fire crew that was first on the scene had made note that the door to apartment 318 was not locked when they arrived. The apartments immediately adjacent to 318 – above, below, and either side – had incurred fairly heavy damage as had Gleason's apartment. A portion of a picture of the victim had been found near the table in the kitchen. The bottom half of it had burnt.
Closing the file, Houston opened the second one. On May 15th the fire department had responded to a house fire at 11:38AM. The fire had been noticed by a passing patrol officer who had attempted to make entry to the home but had been driven back by the heat and flames. Once the fire department arrived, the first two firefighters that went into the structure found 28 year old Elizabeth Ann Womack bound to a chair in the kitchen. She had also been gagged and had sustained blunt force trauma to the head. Flipping to the ME's report, he saw that the occipital region of the skull had literally been bashed in. The pictures were gruesome; not only was the body badly charred but pieces of the skull were sticking out of the brain. She had been dead at the time the fire was ignited. "Mmph." He shook his head.
"Pretty rough to look at, huh?" Chuck had been watching his friend's reaction.
"That took a lot of force." He continued reading. Once again no weapon had been identified at the scene. The fire had two points of origin: one point was in the bedroom where the mattress had been doused with what once again tested as gasoline. It had been liberally applied to anything flammable in the room, which included a chair along with what appeared to have been a large collection of magazines. The other point was the kitchen where the victim had been found. A partially burnt picture had been found near the victim, but she wasn't the one in the photo. While the front door was locked when firefighters arrived on the scene it was soon discovered that the back door was not. Some partial prints had been lifted but weren't good enough for an identification.
Matt flipped back to the personal information on the victim. Elizabeth Womack had worked as a waitress at a diner about five blocks from her home. Her husband was in the Navy, stationed on the USS Rhode Island operating out of Kings Bay Submarine Base near St. Marys, Georgia. He had been on a deployment at the time of her death but was now back in Texas on leave. Elizabeth had no other family members nor did her husband. Like Lorna Gleason, she had been sexually assaulted but no DNA had been recovered.
Downing the rest of the cup of coffee, Houston opened the third file and began reading about Elena Gonzalez-Antigua, age 29, a worker at a local plastics plant. The fire had been reported by the alarm company at 1:18AM on May 24th. Like the other two victims, she appeared to have been sexually assaulted, gagged, and tied to a chair, and had suffered serious head trauma. Her right temporal bone had been hit with some undetermined object causing a severe subdural hematoma, but she had been alive at the time the fire was started according to the damage sustained by her lungs. Once again the bed had also been destroyed by fire.
Elena was divorced, the mother of two young girls ages six and nine who had spent the night at their maternal grandparents' home to celebrate a cousin's birthday with a sleepover. The ex-husband had a solid alibi: he was working as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan. The grandparents had been interviewed and had absolutely no idea who would have attacked Elena.
Closing the file, Matt tossed it onto the desk with the other two and rubbed his eyes. It was almost 4:00AM. "Couple of hours before sunup." He yawned. "How long have you been here?"
"I got here about ten – been off the last two days."
With a smirk the PI replied, "You're always off. So who is our contact at the Arson Bureau?"
"Wendy Chao. She called me right after I got back and said that she would meet us at the Gonzalez-Antigua scene at 6:30."
"Well…" The PI looked at his friend. "Let's go get something to eat."
"Suits me." The pair left the building and headed to a nearby Waffle Hut. After placing their order, Matt took a sip of coffee and looked across the booth at his friend. "So how are Lisa and the crew doing?"
"Fat and sassy. School is almost out and they've been making plans." The detective rolled his eyes. "What about your crew?"
"Fine. And I've got some news for you." He told Chuck that he and CJ had filed to adopt Tomás.
"So you mean to tell me that in just a few months you're gonna have four young'uns runnin' around on that ranch." He laughed and shook his head.
"Four kids in a couple of years of marriage ain't too shabby, is it?" The PI laughed.
"Well congratulations. Tomás sounds like a good kid. I just feel sorry for him having to put up with you on a regular basis."
"Uh huh." Their orders were brought to the table and the pair continued to chat over breakfast. When they were done, they swung back by the Sheriff's Department so that Matt could collect the gear from his truck before meeting Wendy Chao at the last crime scene. They had only been there a couple of minutes when an SUV from the Arson Bureau pulled in behind them on the street.
"There she is now." Chuck and Houston got out and walked back to meet Ms. Chao, a thirty-something year old woman with short black hair and a big smile. After the introductions, Matt collected his clipboard and the three took a tour of the damage.
"She was found here in the kitchen…" Wendy pointed out the general area. "Our fire bug used the trash can under the kitchen table routine just like in the fire of May 12th. I did find something strange, though." She opened up a folder and showed the detective a photo that she had taken on her first visit to the scene. "It looks like this might have been in the trash can when he started the fire. I found it on the floor over here under the table." Matt knelt down near the area. "It's a picture of the victim."
"So it probably blew out of the can. Looks like he put quite a bit of fuel on the floor here…" He looked at the char on the wood flooring and stood back up. "It looks to me like the gasoline had time to soak into the wood some…" Houston walked toward what was left of the bedroom. The splash marks from where the gas had initially come into contact with the carpet and flooring underneath were clearly visible. Next he walked back to the kitchen and examined the door leading to the back yard. "Was this unlocked before FD got here?"
Chao nodded. "It was. It's been dusted but nothing usable was on there." She watched as the PI carefully went down the back steps and out into the yard. It was obvious that fire crews had been through the area. In his short amount of time working with the Fire Marshal's office, Matt had become accustomed to the usual boot impressions left behind by fire fighters. Very slowly he began working his way out away from the house, scouring the ground. Chuck and Wendy watched as he knelt down, spreading his hand out across something before slowly standing back up and cautiously taking a couple of steps further away from the house, stopping again, then turning back to where he had previously stopped and setting his pen down on the grass. Once more he turned away from the house and went toward the back fence that bordered a small alley that ran behind the property. The fence line was overgrown with shrubbery. Carefully looking at the fence to make sure that he wouldn't disturb anything, Matt easily jumped it and crouched down, removing a small camera from his shirt pocket and taking pictures.
"Looks like he found something." Chuck and the investigator from the Arson Bureau carefully made their way over to him. "Whatcha got, bud?"
"I've got some tracks that go from these bushes out to where I dropped my pen – look about like a size 11 – men's. And…" He pulled an evidence bag out of the clipboard's interior as well as a pair of tweezers. "…I think our suspect might like sunflower seeds." He picked up quite a few hulls that littered the area. After handing them over to Chao, he stood back up and popped his back, making his friend wince. "Seems to me that he waited here for a while. Do we know what her schedule was that day?"
"No, but we can sure find out." Chuck pulled out his notebook.
"What about the neighbors – have they been interviewed?"
Chao nodded. "Nobody saw her come in that night, but then they weren't really looking for her."
Houston nodded. "I'm gonna walk up this way and see if I can find anything else."
"I'll take the other direction." Wendy hopped the fence and carefully made her way up toward the opposite end of the alley and Chuck called to speak with Elena's boss.
Stopping about ten yards from where he had found the sunflower seeds, the PI knelt down and once again began taking pictures. Chao turned when she reached the end of the alley and walked back to where Houston was still squatted down, taking samples of what appeared to be oil that had leaked onto the dirt alleyway.
"So maybe our guy parked here, walked down to the bushes and waited for her, huh?" She knelt down next to him and labeled the evidence bag as he began snapping photos of the tire tracks that were there.
"Maybe. 'Course it could have been something totally unrelated. These don't go on down the alley. Whoever was parked here must have backed out." He shrugged.
"Nice finds." She gave him a big smile. "I wasn't too sure when Sheriff Martinez recommended you to my boss, but you seem to know your stuff."
"I've got a lot left to learn about fires." Matt shook his head.
"You've got a knack for it. You'll do just fine."
After parting ways with Chao, the two went back to their vehicle. "So, what do you want to do next?" Chuck slid behind the wheel of the SUV as Matt took the passenger seat.
"Well, I'd like to talk to some folks: Angelina Reyes, Richard Womack, and Elena's parents for starters." Matt suppressed a yawn.
"How long have you been up?" Chuck pulled out his notebook and looked through for addresses and phone numbers.
"Since 4:00."
"As in 4:00AM yesterday morning?" The detective looked at his friend who yawned again as he nodded. "You're getting' too old for that, pard."
"Bite my old." Matt eased the seat back and got comfortable. "Wake me up when we get there."
"Well, yes sir, Mr. Houston, sir." Chuck laughed as his friend grunted and pulled the ball cap down over his eyes. In no time, he was snoring lightly.