The Body on Ortega Highway (2 page)

They jump out of their car and are relieved
to find the door to the office is still open. Their vet is very
particular about closing hours. Clarissa tells the receptionist
that they’re here to pick up Gumbo and asks, “Was he a good
boy?”

The tired-looking lady says, “We had three
Jack Russell Terriers in here over the weekend. All they did was
jump, jump, jump. I told the attendant to take Gumbo out on a very
long walk.”

“We’re sorry. He’s just an excitable boy,”
Ron says.

“He’s no different from any other JR. It
comes with the breed,” the lady says.

“Can we see him, please? We’ve really missed
him,” Clarissa says, feeling somewhat guilty for being a bad “Mom”
who has a misbehaving child.

The receptionist makes a phone call to the
back of the office and says, “Gumbo’s parents are here to pick him
up.”

A lady in the waiting room with her toddler
hears this and starts laughing.

Clarissa says, “We childless couples tend to
go a little overboard when it comes to our fur-children.”

The lady says, “Our dog is like a member of
the family, too.”

They hear a bunch of commotion when the door
to the back room opens. Gumbo sees them and comes running towards
them like a bull in a china shop, with the vet’s assistant
desperately trying to keep hold of his leash. Clarissa and Ron run
to greet him and Gumbo pees all over the floor in his
excitement.

Clarissa says to the assistant, “So
sorry.”

The girl says, “It happens all the time.
Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you,” Ron tells her as he puts on
Gumbo’s harness and leash.

Gumbo practically smothers them both with
kisses. The little toddler laughs and says, “Can I pet your
dog?”

Clarissa says, “Sure. He likes people. Other
dogs are another story.” As she says this, another assistant brings
out the little girl’s dog and Ron swoops up Gumbo, fearing a
melee.

When Gumbo leaves the office, he stops to
smell and pee on every bush he can find. Ron shoves him in the car,
closes the car door, and feels exhausted.

“Isn’t he fun?” Clarissa says, laughing. On
the ride home, Gumbo sits on Clarissa’s lap with the sun hitting
his face, and falls fast asleep, just like a gentle little lamb.
When Ron nears their house, Gumbo wakes up like a light bulb has
been switched on and starts howling. He climbs over both of them,
frantically going back and forth to each side window. He even tries
to climb on top of the dashboard. He can’t wait to patrol the
perimeter of “his” house to make sure there’ve been no intruders in
his territory while he’s been gone. A possum had been giving him a
lot of grief before they left, and he wants to see if it’s still
out in the backyard. When Ron pulls into their driveway and opens
his car door, he tightly grips Gumbo’s leash as the dog shoots out
of the car like a bullet. Ron opens the front door and lets him
loose.

Ron says, “Tell me again why we have a Jack
Russell?” he says, with exhaustion.

“Because they have such personality?”

“That’s one way to look at it,” he says,
laughing and plops down on the sofa.

“It’s so stuffy in here,” Clarissa says, and
starts opening windows.

Ron says, “I guess it’s too late to pick up
our mail at the post office.”

“Yep. Afraid so.”

“What do you want to do for dinner?”

“I’m tired and I just want to relax tonight.
I don’t feel like going to the store.”

“Do you want me to order a pizza?”

“That would be great.”

Clarissa stays behind while Ron drives over
to the Pizza Hut, and starts going through her email when the home
phone rings.

Clarissa picks up the phone and says,
“Hello?”

“Hello, ma’am. I’m sorry to bother you. I’m a
student at Chapman College and I’m calling to ask if you’d help me
with a brief survey I need to do for my Sociology Class?”

“I don’t know. I’m really busy right now. How
many questions do you have?”

“I only have a few. Please, ma’am. It’ll only
take a few minutes of your time. I’d really appreciate it.”

“Okay. But make it short.”

“Really? That’s great. Let’s get started
right away,” he says, rifling through some papers.

“Okay. Shoot,” Clarissa tells him.

“Okay. Let me get my piece of paper. Okay.
Here we go…I’m not going to ask for your name or where you live.
That’s personal.”

“Good.”

“I’m kinda awkward at this kind of thing,” he
tells her.

“It’s okay. What’s your first question?”

“Okay. Here we go. Can you tell me if you’re
a college graduate?”

“Yes. I have a Bachelor’s Degree.”

“What’s your major?”

“Criminal Justice.”

“What school did you go to?”

“UCI”.

“Did you like college?”

“Yes, I did.”

“That’s interesting. Give me a second while I
jot this down. Okay. Next question: can you tell me what your
favorite TV show is?”

“Let me think. I liked ‘True Detective’. It’s
an HBO series.”

“I saw that. Wasn’t Matthew McConaughey
amazing?”

“Woody Harrelson was good in it, too.”

“I know. I know just what you mean. I was
sorry when the series ended.”

“Yeah. It’s too bad the actors aren’t coming
back for the second season.”

“I know.”

Clarissa is starting to ask herself why she’s
having this long conversation with a stranger. She thinks, ‘Maybe
because I’m looking back fondly on my own college days?’ Wanting to
hurry along the college boy’s survey, she asks, “What’s your next
question?”

“Let’s see. Here it is. How many siblings do
you have?”

“I’m an only child.”

“So am I.”

“That’s nice. What’s your next question?”

“Hmm... Let’s see…Where’d you go on your last
vacation?”

“I went to Savannah.”

“Savannah? You’ve got to be kidding? I’ve
always wanted to go there. Especially after reading ‘Midnight in
the Garden of Good and Evil’.”

“My cousin works for Grey Line Tours in
Savannah. She leads an entire tour focused around the book and
movie.”

“You’re kidding? A whole tour?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“I’d love to go on that.”

“You should go there sometime.”

“I think I will. Especially now that I hear
you talk about it.”

Clarissa is starting to feel uneasy. She
wonders, ‘Is this guy flirting with me?’ She tries to get the
survey over with as soon as possible and asks, “What’s your next
question?”

“Are you married?”

“Yes. I just came back from my honeymoon,”
she says, emphasizing ‘honeymoon’.

“Did you go to any place special?”

“We went to Savannah.”

“Wow! That’s so awesome. Is this your first
marriage?”

“It’s my second.”

“How old were you for your first?”

“I was 18.”

“That’s really young.”

“I know.”

“I’m married, too,” he says, apparently
trying to relate to her.

“Good for you.”

“So, speaking of marriage…do you believe in
premarital sex?”

“Your sociology teacher wants you to ask
people that?”

“Yeah. I know. It’s kinda embarrassing.
Sorry.”

“I don’t know what to say… I suppose,
premarital sex is fine if you love the other person.”

“Really? That’s awesome.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. So, anyway…how old were you when you
lost your virginity?”

“You’re getting way too personal here.”

“I know. I know. This crazy teacher. Why does
he make us do this?”

“I don’t think it’s very appropriate.”

“Neither do I. Believe me. I’ve had people
hang up on me.”

“I’m not surprised. Well, I think it’s time I
hang up now, too.”

“Oh. Wait. Please. One last question and then
I’ll let you go. I promise.”

“I don’t think I want to continue,” Clarissa
says, guardedly.

“Please? It’s just one more and I’ll let you
go.”

“Okay. What is it?”

“Have you ever watched X-rated movies?”

“That’s it,” Clarissa says, slamming down the
phone. She shudders and walks to the front door, making sure it’s
still locked. She looks out the living room window to see if anyone
is lurking about. ‘I wish Ron would get home soon,’ she tells
herself.

*******

Later, when she tells Ron about the
disturbing phone call, he says, “I can’t believe what some teachers
ask their students to do.”

Clarissa says, “I don’t think it was a real
survey. I think he was just making things up so I’d trust him, and
then he could eventually start bringing up sex--which was his goal
in the first place.”

“You think he wanted to talk dirty with
you?”

“Yes. I think he did.”

“Well, he better not mess with my girl,” Ron
says, and gives Clarissa a big hug before they start eating their
pizza.

Chapter Four

Early the following morning,
Clarissa’s cell phone starts ringing to the tune of Elvis
Costello’s “Watchin’ the Detectives.” She reaches over to her end
table and answers, “Detective Santy speaking.”

“Welcome home, Clarissa,” her boss
says. “Did you have a nice vacation?”

“
Yes. It was great--except
for the part about my cousin getting killed, of course.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

“
You did great work helping
the Savannah police find her killer. The chief in Savannah would
like to get his hands on you; but I said, ‘No way! She’s all
mine’.”

“Thanks. I like it here.”

“
Glad to hear that. Say, I’m
calling to ask you to come in for a meeting in my office this
morning at 9:00. I want to discuss where we’re at with the
investigation of the girl whose was dumped on Ortega Highway. Her
name is Desiree Beauchamp. You may have heard about her in the
news?”

“I read about that. It’s
horrible.”

“
Yeah. We’re really eager to
get this guy. I assigned Detective Vente to this case, but I want
you to take over. It’s way out of his league. Besides, I’d like a
woman to lead, due to the sensitive sexual nature of the crime. I
think her mother and friends would feel more comfortable talking to
a woman.”

“That makes sense.”

“
A profiler from the FBI will
be at the meeting.”

“Okay, ma’am. I’ll be there by
9:00.”

*******

One of the reasons Clarissa
wanted to move to Santa Ana was because it is close enough to work
that she could sometimes walk there. It’s a beautiful spring day,
and she decides she’ll walk to the Sheriff’s Department since
she’ll probably be spending her entire day there catching up. She
and Ron live in the most beautiful neighborhood in Santa Ana,
Floral Park. It’s a little gem of tranquility in a city that’s more
well-known for its barrios and gangs. The birds are signing as she
strolls down Flower St. towards the Civic Center. ‘Life is good,’
she tells herself.

Her office is next to the
jail and there are the usual lowlifes hanging around, bumming
change from the passers-by. When she enters her department,
everyone is happy to see her and asks her about her honeymoon.
After she greets them, she makes her way to her boss’s office and
knocks on the door. Her boss motions her to come inside. Across the
desk from her boss sits an African-American woman who is wearing a
beautiful Kente cloth dress and head wrap.

Her boss,
Lieutenant Emily Harris, says, “Clarissa, this is Jane Tamika.
The FBI has lent her to us for this case.”

“Glad to meet you, Ms. Tamika.”

“Please. No formalities. Call me
Jane.”

“Okay, Jane.”

The
Lieutenant says, “Jane has just been looking through the
evidence to get an understanding of who the killer might
be.”

Clarissa says, “Why did he chop off
her arms like that?”

Jane tells her, “He has a
need for control. Getting rid of her arms makes him feel more
powerful. It’s also easier for him to rape her.”

Clarissa says, “So he did have sex
with her?”

“
Yes. But he must have been
wearing a condom, because we have no DNA evidence of his semen. Her
vagina does show signs of trauma, so he must have penetrated
her.”

“
Have you dealt with many of
these cases where
the limbs have been cut
off?”

“It’s rare, but it does happen.
Sometimes they chop off the legs, too. It’s all about control.”

Clarissa says, “That reminds me of
that movie, ‘Boxing Helena’ where the guy couldn’t get the girl to
give him the time of day until he made her a prisoner by drugging
her and chopping off her limbs.”

Jane says, “You got it. I saw that
movie, too. It sent shivers up my spine.”

Her boss says, “What kind of guy
would do something like this? Who are we looking for?”

Jane says, “It’s usually a
loner-type guy. Someone who’s had a series of unsuccessful
relationships with women. These guys don’t have much
self-confidence. And they like sex. They usually have a lot of
pornography. Women keep turning them down when they ask for dates,
so eventually, they end up not asking at all. The rejection makes
them angry and they feel powerless, so that they feel the only way
they can have sex is by forcing themselves on women.”

“So it’s like being a rapist?”
Clarissa asks.

“Yes. You should look into the
record of sex offenders in the area and see if you come up with
someone like that.”

“
Okay. We will,” Clarissa
says. “Do you think he is a child predator?”

“The fact the victim was 16 doesn’t
necessarily indicate that he is. A lot of guys are attracted to
teenage girls.”