CHAPTER 2

"Hey, wake up. We're at the Gonzalez's house." Wylie shook his buddy.

"Alright." Matt sat up and put the hat back in place as he rubbed his eyes.

"Here…" Handing over a cup of coffee, Chuck received a grunt for an answer and watched as Matt swallowed about half of it in one gulp before getting out of the SUV. As the pair walked up to the front door, the PI yawned again. Waiting for the door to be answered he spoke. "So why were you up at 4:00AM?"

"There was kidnapping that Hoyt called me in on."

"What happened?"

"It wasn't a kidnapping. The girl and her boyfriend took off for Seattle. She didn't want her folks to know that they were getting married."

"How old was she?"

"25." Matt grinned as he saw the look on his friend's face. "Hey, it ended good; that's the most important thing."

"People never cease to amaze me." Chuck shook his head as the door was opened by a man of about fifty. "Mr. Gonzalez? Detectives Wylie and Houston – Sheriff's Department. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Sure…" The man held the door open for them. "Come on in." He led the way back to the kitchen where his wife and the two little girls were sitting at the table. "Nita, these men are detectives with the Sheriff's Department."

Both Matt and Chuck had removed their hats when they entered the home. "Please have a seat. Would you like some coffee?" Mrs. Gonzalez had obviously been crying.

"That would be great. Thanks." Matt looked over at the two little girls who were staring curiously at the pair. "Hi. My name's Houston." He held out his hand to the older of the two.

"Adriana." The girl shook his hand and the younger held out hers to the man.

"I'm Michaela."

Matt shook with her. "So you're Elena's daughters?"

"Yes sir." Adriana looked down at the untouched plate of eggs in front of her.

"Well, we're trying to find out what happened to her. Do you know of anyone that she was having a problem with?"

"Well…" Adriana looked up at her grandmother who nodded as she set the cups in front of the two detectives.

"Tell them anything you know."

"There was a guy that came to the door a few times. The first time he came she opened the door and talked to him for a few minutes, but after that she wouldn't go to the door."

"Do you know what his name was?" Matt took a sip of the coffee.

"No, she never said. But he looked kind of familiar. I think she might have gone out with him after she and Daddy got divorced."

"If we had a picture of him do you think you would be able to pick it out?"

"Yes."

"What can you tell me about him?" The PI pulled out his notebook.

"He's tall – not quite as tall as you, and he has kind of brown hair."

"Okay…" Matt jotted down the information. "How old do you think he is?"

"Not as old as you…" She blushed. "I didn't mean it like that…"

Houston gave a little laugh. "That's okay. So how old do you think I am?"

"I don't know…thirty?"

"I like this girl." Matt gave Mrs. Gonzalez a wink. "You just made an old man happy, darlin'. So maybe this guy is about what…maybe your mom's age?"

"I think so."

"Alright. What about a car?"

"He had a van." The two girls exchanged a look.

Michaela spoke up. "It was ugly." She wrinkled her nose.

"Brown." Adriana nodded. "It had a lot of dents in it and ladders on top."

"Uh huh…" Matt continued to write. "Do you remember anything else?"

"He smelled…weird." The older girl shrugged.

"What kind of smell?"

"Well…kinda like a gas station but something else, too. I don't know what it was."

"And his hands were dirty." Michaela chimed in again.

"Okay. Anything else?"

"No." Both girls shook their heads.

"Well you two have been a lot of help and we sure do appreciate it. We're gonna catch this guy, okay?" He watched as both nodded sadly.

"Grandma, can we be excused?" Adriana looked to her grandmother.

"Sure, honey. Go ahead." After the girls were gone the grandparents sat down at the table.

"Do you have any idea who this is that they're talking about?" Chuck looked between the two.

"No…I know Elena went out every once in a while but not very often. Those two girls were her life." Mr. Gonzalez shook his head sadly. "She didn't deserve this."

"Nobody deserves that." Chuck looked at the picture that the man held of his daughter.

"Had your daughter mentioned anything about him showing up?"

"Not that I remember. Elena didn't scare easy. She went through a lot with her husband before they broke up and it changed her. She was a lot more self-confident than she had been before they had their troubles."

"Ma'am, do you mind telling us what those troubles were?" Matt took another sip of coffee and looked at her over the top of the cup.

"He used to go out to the bars all the time, drink up the rent money, the grocery money…and then stay gone for days at a time. She got fed up and divorced him – said she couldn't do any worse on her own." They got quiet for a minute as she took the picture from her husband. "Gavin is working in Afghanistan right now. We finally got a phone call through to him a couple of hours ago. He's not coming home." She began crying again. "We told him we want custody of the girls and all he could say was he would sign the papers."

"Worthless…" Mr. Gonzalez took his wife's hand. "But it's better for them like this. They don't need him around…he never took care of them anyway."

"I'm glad they've got you." Chuck reached across and patted the woman's hand.

"Where did she work?" Matt looked to Mr. Gonzalez.

"At a plastics company out on Industrial – Harper Plastics."

"Alright." He jotted the information down. "Here's my card. If you or the girls think of anything else you let us know." Matt circled the cell phone number and handed one of his cards across as did Chuck. "If y'all need anything…anything at all – you let me know."

The pair left and headed to look for Richard Womack, the husband of the second victim. He had left word at the Sheriff's Department that he was staying at the Creekside Inn not far from the home that he had shared with his wife. Yawning again, Houston spoke. "So the guy who kept bugging Elena drove a brown van with dents and ladders. Maybe he's a painter…or a plumber?"

"Could be." Chuck shook his head. "How could any man not want to claim those two girls?"

"He's not much of a man from what they told us. The kids are better off not having to deal with the likes of him."

"True. Thank God for small favors I guess." The cop drove along in silence for a minute and then began chuckling.

"What?"

"Not as old as you." He laughed.

"Chuck?"

"Hmm?"

"You and I are the same age – shut up." Matt reached over and smacked him as he started laughing again.

They arrived at the Creekside Inn and after speaking to the manager went up and knocked on the door to 214. It was answered after a minute and the pair identified themselves. "Mr. Womack, I'm sorry about what happened. We wondered if you had any idea who might have wanted to hurt your wife." Chuck watched as he sat down on the bed, his head in his hands.

"No…Liz was…" He smiled sadly. "Liz was just the sweetest girl on the face of the earth. We bought the house about six months ago. I've got about a year left on my hitch and spend more time deployed than in port. We talked it over and decided that we wanted to live here…" He motioned to the door that he had left propped open. "She found the house, and sent me an email with all the details on it. When I came back off deployment we went and looked at it. In a week, we were new homeowners and moving stuff in there. Liz was so excited, you know? Like a little girl playing house. She couldn't wait to start painting and decorating."

"Had she mentioned having any problems with anyone – a neighbor – anyone like that?" Matt was leaning against the doorframe.

"No, she had made friends with some of the other folks on the street and got a job at the diner a few blocks away. She was just…happy."

"What about former boyfriends? Had she ever had a problem?"

"No."

"What was the name of the diner that she worked at?" Chuck took over again.

"The Bay Breeze."

"Okay, well…" He pulled a card out of his pocket as did Matt. "Call either one of us if you think of anything or hear anything from somebody else."

"Alright." Womack stood up and shook their hands. "I just…I don't know what to do now. Liz was all I had…"

After getting back into the SUV both men were quiet. "Damn." Matt looked out the passenger window. "I can't imagine…" He didn't finish but just shook his head.

"I can't either. Hell, Lisa and I have been together since high school. I sure as hell hope to never find out."

"Uh huh. You got that right." They traveled the short distance to the diner and found the owner, Harvey Loomis, working the grill in the kitchen.

"Do you boys mind if I work while we talk? We're short without Liz here." His expression changed and it was obvious he was very upset.

"Yes sir." Matt was standing to the man's right and watched as he expertly plated an order of eggs and bacon, setting it up for one of the waitresses to pick up. Spinning the wheel that held the orders he began all over again. "Do you know if Liz was having any problems with anyone – a man maybe?"

"No, not Liz. She was just a sweet girl…so proud of that house she bought with her husband. They were planning on starting a family when his time was up with the Navy." Lewis continued to cook. "She was a great help here. Sure made some good tips. Not everybody has the personality and the talent to do what these girls do. You gotta be on the ball."

"Yes sir." Matt exchanged a look with Chuck. "Well we don't want to bother you while you're busy, but when it slacks up if you could ask the ladies if they know of anything that might help us out on this we'd sure appreciate it." After being assured that he would, the pair left him their cards and went back out to the SUV.

"Alright…" Chuck let out a sigh. "Let's try Harper Plastics where Elena Gonzalez-Antigua worked." He put the vehicle in gear and pulled out of the parking lot of the diner. "I sure hope we can get a DNA hit off of those sunflower hulls."

"Yep." Matt settled back in the seat again and caught a twenty minute nap while Chuck drove them to the plant.

"C'mon, Sleepin' Beauty, rise and shine." He shook his friend who woke up with a grimace on his face. "What's the matter?" Matt got out of the SUV and slowly stood up, popping his back and letting out a sigh of relief. "Uh huh – that old age is catching up with you."

"Kinda reminds me of Indiana Jones…" Matt continued to stretch as they went across the parking lot toward the large metal building.

"How's that?"

"It's not the years - it's the mileage." Popping his back again, the PI stood up a little straighter as his buddy just shook his head. Flashing the badge as he walked in the door, Matt looked to his left and found a receptionist. After explaining the reason for their visit, he was directed to the Human Resources office and met with Janice Walters.

"I'm afraid I don't know much about Mrs. Gonzalez-Antigua, Detective, but I can let you talk to her supervisor."

"Any information we can get would be helpful." He nodded as she paged the man. A few minutes later a long, tall man of about forty walked into the office looking rather grumpy.

"Sal, these detectives want to talk to you about Elena Gonzalez-Antigua."

"What about her?" He looked at his watch and then the two men in front of him.

"We were wondering if she happened to mention any problems that she might have been having with anyone?"

"No. The only things we talk about in this shop are the jobs that we're working on…there isn't any time for socializing on the clock." He gave both men an angry glare.

"Maybe she said something when she was on her break possibly?"

"I wouldn't know – I don't socialize with my employees."

"Uh huh…well, did she socialize with any of her co-workers – off the clock of course?" Matt didn't like Benevides and seriously doubted if anyone who worked there did.

"I wouldn't know. If that's all…"

"No sir, it isn't. I'd like to talk to her co-workers."

"Not on company time you won't."

"Sal, I think under the circumstances we can shut down for a few minutes while…"

"You're not the one who'll get written up if production isn't up to standards." Benevides cut her off.

Walters stared at him for a minute, picked up her phone and dialed a few numbers then told the party on the other end that she wanted the eastern line shut down so that the employees could meet with detectives working on Elena's case. "Thank you, Mr. Harper." Hanging up, she gave Benevides a wicked grin. "Shut it down and have them report here." Grumbling, the supervisor left, making sure to slam the door behind him. "Sorry about that. Would you fellas like some coffee?"

"I could sure use some. Thanks." Matt and Chuck sat down at the table that they were directed to and one by one, Elena's co-workers entered and were questioned. None had any idea about Elena having problems until one older lady made her way into the office.

"I might know something that could help you." She went on to explain that Elena worked at the station right next to hers and they often managed to sneak in a few words of conversation when Benevides wasn't looking. "She told me that some man had been following her in the grocery store a week or so ago. She had gone out with him once."

"And she didn't report it to the police?" Chuck took a sip of the coffee as Ms. Walters refilled Matt's cup.

"No, she said she felt kind of sorry for him."

"Did she say what he looked like?"

"No."

"Do you know which grocery she went to?"

"No, I'm sorry I can't be more help. That's all I know."

"Ma'am, you've been a big help. Can we get your name and number in case we need to speak with you again?" The detective jotted down the information. "Thank you."

The rest of the interviews were of no help and after thanking the Human Resources manager, they left. Getting back into the SUV, Matt pulled out his laptop and found Elena's house on Goggle Maps. "Alright here's her house on Candy Street and the nearest grocery is the Penny Pincher over on Market." He pointed it out to his friend.

"Let's go try it." Chuck dropped the vehicle in gear as Matt's phone rang.

"Hey Babe, how's it…uh oh. Somebody's not happy." He could hear Catey Rose crying in the background.

"No, she's not. I promised her she could talk to you after she got done at her checkup."

"Okay." He waited and could hear as CJ put the phone on speaker. "Hey Lady Bug."

"Daddy…" Catey was still crying but it was obvious that she wanted to talk. "Don't like shots."

"Well that makes two of us. You know what makes 'em better?"

"What?"

"A little bit of ice cream and a nap."

CJ spoke up. "I just happen to have some ice cream in the freezer. Do you want to try it?"

"Uh huh." The one year old was still sniffling but had quit crying. "Daddy, where are you?"

"I'm in Texas. Want to tell Chuck hello?" He hit the speaker button on the phone. "Go ahead."

"Hi, Unka Chuck."

"Hey there, Miss Catey Rose."

"Got shots."

"Well your dad's right – ice cream and a nap will fix that right up."

"Okay. Love you, Daddy."

"Love you, too, Lady Bug. Call me later after your nap and tell me how the ice cream worked, okay?"'

"Okay. 'Bye." With that she was gone and CJ was back on the line.

"Even a visit to Cricket and Jasper didn't work. That was the first thing I tried. How's it going down there?"

"Slow." He told her what they had.

"Well good luck with it. Think you two can keep each other out of trouble?"

Chuck spoke up. "Probably not."

"That's what I figured. Just be careful out there, Cowboy."

"Yes ma'am. How was your check up?"

"Everything is fine. No problems."

"Good. Well, you girls be good for me. Love you, Babe."

"Love you, too. 'Bye."

"Bye." Matt hung up feeling guilty that he hadn't been there for Catey but knowing that she would be fine none the less.

"I hate it when the kids have to get shots." Chuck shuddered. "I'm about as bad as they are."

"Me, too." Matt was looking at the wallpaper on his phone – a picture of him holding Catey while Jasper and Cricket had their heads draped over his shoulders posing right along with the father and daughter.

"After we get done at the grocery I want to go check the other two scenes."

"Okay…" He cut his eyes over at Matt. "Do you run like this all the time?"

"Like what?"

"On pretty much no sleep."

The PI yawned. "It seems like it happens more now than it used to…but maybe I just notice it more."

The Penny Pincher Grocery was fairly busy, but the manager agreed to look through the security footage with the two men. Unfortunately, he only had the footage from the last five days. "Let's take a look at it anyway; we might be able to find something." Chuck took control of the computer and armed with a picture of their victim, the two detectives ran through the videos. They found that Elena had come in three days before her death for a gallon of milk. She was in and out of the store in less than three minutes and no one appeared to be following her.

After thanking the manager, the pair left the grocery, hit a fast food burger joint for some lunch, and then went to Lorna Gleason's apartment but didn't come up with any other information. Next on the list was the burnt out home of Elizabeth Womack.

Chuck pulled up in front of what was left of the Womack home on Dallas Street. "Okay…let's see if you can find anything."

"So Wendy got put on another case, huh?" Matt looked over at his friend who had received a phone call from the fire investigator while Houston had been taking a nap earlier.

"Yep." Although he didn't say anything, Chuck had a feeling that Wendy had told her boss that Houston could handle the job. That had been the impression that she had given him on the phone.

Matt pulled out his clipboard and began going over what was left of the home. "Looks like he pretty well did the same thing here that he did at Elena's." Matt knelt down and looked at the flooring in what had been the kitchen. "Looks like it was WBP covered with vinyl."

"WBP?"

"Weather and boil proof plywood…" The PI stood back up. "It's plywood that's constructed with phenolic resins. It doesn't have a melting point – just a decomposing point of 220 degrees Celsius. That's what a lot of folks use underneath aluminum siding. It expands and contracts at about the same rate that aluminum does."

"Ooookay." Chuck followed as his friend carefully picked his way back to the bedroom where once again the mattress was nothing but melted metal and ashes.

Giving a grunt and shaking his head, Matt headed outside and circled around to the back yard. Examining the ground outside the back of the house, he once again was able to pick out the tracks that belonged to the firefighters who had responded to the call. He looked toward the back of the property that backed up to Brays Bayou. Working his way from the back of the home toward the water, he had gone about ten feet when the tracks of the firefighters were no longer visible but others were. "Uh huh." He knelt down and pulled out his camera, taking a picture of a particularly clear impression in the dirt before spreading his hand out over the print. "I believe…" He paused as he pulled up the picture that he had made earlier in the day at Elena's house. "…we might just have a match, pard."

Chuck squatted down and looked as Matt went back and forth between the two pictures. "Yeah, I'd say it is." They followed the tracks back through the yard. Although there was a good bit of grass in the yard, it was obvious that the water level of the bayou had been elevated at some point in the not too distant past and washed away some areas of grass, leaving bare earth behind. They went to the fence and climbed over it.

"He came from the east there…" Houston pointed to footprints that were headed both toward and away from the 75th Street Bridge that crossed the bayou just a matter of yards from the home. Once they reached the bridge, they could see another pile of sunflower husks along with several cigarette butts.

"Seeds and cigarettes…" Chuck knelt down and helped his friend collect some of the husks and butts. "Could be two people."

"It could." Matt stood back up. "Or maybe our boy is trying to quit smoking?"

"Good point. But there weren't any cigarette butts at the Gonzalez-Antigua scene."

"True – but maybe he's gotten past the need for nicotine."

"True."

"Could be either one." Matt shrugged and then labeled the evidence bags before searching around for more signs. The pair traveled under the bridge and came out on the other side at the boundary for the northern bank of Mason Park. "There's a parking lot right there. It's a short walk over to his hiding place."

"Damn." Chuck continued walking toward the parking lot and the two looked around but didn't find anything else. "So evidently he stalks the ladies, and then when the opportunity presents itself – bam."

Yawning as he nodded, Matt agreed. "That's the way it's looking."