Matt shared everything he knew about the case and how it now clearly was related to the attack on Chris. Reggie had called and left a message that the bartender only stayed about 5 minutes after Matt left and said he would be back after he slept some, meaning there was no drawing yet, and the police had little evidence from the alleyway. So, they still had no real leads on Chris' attacker.
In assessing all the people involved in the original case, they found that the only person not fully researched by C.J. was Sheryl Marx. Roy asked, "I wonder why C.J. failed to pull anything on the victim? Surely, she knows she's going to have to question her, on the stand."
Matt took a deep breath, "C.J. knows, she just doesn't want to do it. I know her, she understands its part of giving the defendant a rigorous defense, but it doesn't seem fair. Now that this has happened to Chris, I don't know how she is going to handle all this. She's really taking what happened to Chris personally and she feels responsible."
Roy said, "Well, let's see what we can find out. Maybe it won't come to that and we can resolve this before it goes to trial."
Matt shook his head, "I don't know Uncle Roy, when you look at the evidence, he looks guilty. I really don't like the idea of her being alone with him at all. Even if there are guards right outside the door, it doesn't take long for a man with a history of violence to act. If he's as scared as C.J. thinks he is, he may not be thinking about those guards outside the door and may try to use her to escape or…" he stopped there and rubbed his forehead.
Roy patted his back and asked, "Aren't you torturing her on a daily basis now so she knows how to handle herself with the dangerous types?"
Matt chuckled, "Yea I guess I am. I've actually been pushing her kinda hard lately too. Don't tell her this, but I think I need to slow down our routine. I just want to make sure she can handle anything and I think I'm trying to throw everything at her at once. I just don't ever want to see her hurt."
Roy nodded his head, "I know, but Matlock, there is more to self-defense than physical strength, you have to think faster than you move. She knows how to do that."
Matt said, "I know, you're right. So let's see if we can find out exactly what Kyle Smith did in college and research Sheryl Marx and see if there is anything here that will help us figure all this out.
They clicked more buttons and hacked into Pepperdine's police records and pulled up the name, Kyle Smith. The file was under the category, Sex Offenders. Matt and Roy looked at each other and Matt said, "This could be something." However, when they actually tapped into the original arrest report, Smith was only one of 26 males arrested at the same time for running across campus without clothing.
Matt exhaled, "Streaking with his frat house…great, I don't think this is going to help C.J."
Roy asked, "What about the $20,000? Was it a scholarship perhaps?"
Matt clicked more buttons and tapped into financial aid records and said, "No, it didn't originate at the college." He clicked a few more and found that the deposit was made into his bank account in cash just 5 days ago. "Looks like he just came into it. There's no paper trail at all. We'll have to ask him."
Matt reached over and got the phone and dialed the number on Pepperdine's records for Smith and got his roommate, Brad, "No, dude's out of town. Just won the lottery or something…said he won't be back til next semester. Sorry bro." Matt put the phone down and decided to move on.
They typed in Sheryl Marx into Baby and found a connection to another suspect, Stephen Telso. According to the newspaper clipping, Sheryl Marx performed at Telso's winery just one month prior to the attack, at some charity event using their facilities.
Matt said, "This can't be a coincidence. So, Marx performs at the winery and then Ricardo attacks her 60 miles away after performing in a nightclub. That doesn't make sense. Why not just slip her this drug and attack her there? Why wait and then travel to attack her?"
Roy speculated, "Maybe he didn't have the drug then?"
Matt thought about that, "Maybe….maybe you're right, he wasn't ready to attack her then, or maybe he wasn't working alone and his partner wasn't there." He shook his head. The only tie between Marx and Ricardo was Stephen Telso.
Matt and Roy knew it was an hour drive but decided to pay him a visit anyway. The winery sat on over 1,000 acres. Most of that land was utilized for agriculture, but there was clearly a main house, storage facility, display building with a ballroom, and barn for all the equipment. Somewhere on the property were housing for the workers. All of which was secured with a large iron fence complete with an even larger gate.
Apparently the winery office was closed and Telso's personal number was unlisted. So they decided they would have to wait until Monday to see him. That might work better anyway, Matt reasoned, as C.J. would have seen Ricardo by then and maybe he will tell her something that will help with their questions for Telso. On the way back into L.A. they noticed a small car parked about 50 yards away from the winery on the side of the road. They noticed it but it appeared abandoned so there was no point in stopping to help.
Unable to see Telso, they decided to go check out Starfire Night Club and its owner, Peter Denton. They pulled up around 9pm and found the club packed this Saturday night. Matt got in easily enough, but it didn't appear Uncle Roy was welcome. The bouncer chuckled as he said, "Old timer…I think this party's just a little too loud for you."
Matt suppressed a smile and simply waved to his clearly unhappy uncle as he went in. He mouthed something to the effect of, 'I'm sorry, but one of us needs in.' Matt had to wind his way through throngs of couples dancing to music he didn't care for even if he could understand any of the words. He had seen Denton's picture and caught the owner talking to a waitress at the end of the bar. He noticed, he slapped her behind as she walked away and she didn't seem like she appreciated that much.
He walked over and asked, "Are you Peter Denton?" He almost had to shout.
Denton turned around and sized up Matt and answered, "Who wants to know?"
Matt answered, "The name's Matt Houston, I was wondering if I could have a word with you. Maybe somewhere a little less loud."
Denton said, "It's kind of busy tonight, what do you want? I don't have time to leave the floor."
Matt pulled out $50 and waved it as he said, "I want a cup of coffee somewhere quiet and you can keep the change."
Denton took it and told Matt to follow him. He took him into his office overlooking the dance floor and stage. "So how do you take your coffee?" He asked as he sat down behind his desk.
Matt answered, "I want to know about the attack on Sheryl Marx."
Denton shrugged and asked, "What do you want to know? It happened right outside in that alleyway there. It was another busy night, didn't hear much, only found out later when the police showed up to collect stuff. Sherrie was already done with her set so I wasn't expecting to see her back in here. You with the tabloids?"
Matt shook his head, "No, I'm not. I'm a private investigator and I notice you have a picture here of you and Sherrie. Seems like you two are close."
Denton pushed down the frame, "What are you really here for?" Now appearing somewhat angry.
Matt leaned forward, "I'm just trying to figure out exactly what happened outside your bar in that alley. It looks like you have a pretty nice view of that stage there and that picture makes the two of you look like a couple. I'm just wondering exactly how Sherrie viewed your relationship."
Denton picked up his phone and called for someone to come in. Matt knew he was calling the big gorilla type bouncers he walked past when he came in, but he wanted to get a response to a potentially volatile question first, "I know your history, you don't seem to handle rejection well, at least not according to your now ex-wife. I am wondering if maybe you approached Sherrie here and she turned your down. Maybe you took matters into your own hands. Pushing her into some guy at the bar, and it wouldn't be too hard to put that guy's prints on a glass since you run this bar. Awfully convenient finding that glass. Seems lucky that the police were able to collect it before anyone tried to wash it."
At that point two rather large individuals came in and the next thing Matt knew he was literally thrown out of the Starfire Night Club. Uncle Roy walked up to him as Matt laid there, rubbing his jaw and simply said, "Interview go well?"
Matt picked himself up, "Yeah, right up until I started asking him questions about his relationship with Sheryl Marx. If it was as busy that night as it is tonight, he could easily slip out and attack her. In fact they sell drinks in there that come in a little vile, I suppose they're shots or something. Anyway, I think we can explain some of the evidence against Ricardo." Matt then took a deep breath, "C.J. is going to have to talk to Sheryl Marx though to get the real answers."
Their final stop was the Nightlife Club as they tried to find the bartender. He had called in to say he wasn't coming in tonight. They found out he was the owner as well as bartender from the nice waitress that served them. "Oh yeah, well, he takes off on Saturday nights a lot of times. He has to come in Monday afternoons to do all the receipts and stuff." She told them.