Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1)
Read Cause of Death (Det. Annie Avants Book 1) Online
Authors: Renee Benzaim
CAUSE OF DEATH
Det. Annie Avants Series #1
By Renee Benzaim
KINDLE EDITION
Copyright Renee Benzaim (2013) All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law, or in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, contact: emailto:[email protected].
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance of fictional characters to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Many members of my family have worked as sworn personnel in Law Enforcement over the years. I would like to dedicate this book to them:
My Dad
William Russell Dyer
My Brothers
Barry Dyer
Spencer Dyer
My Nephew
Larry Copenhaver
My Niece
Medora Rechtfertig
My Daughter and Son-In-Law
Stefani & David May
Brothers-in-Law
Bob Copenhaver
Harry Sivesind
When law enforcement personnel investigate a death, there are many things to consider once the death has been confirmed.
However, let's look at a definition for death before we continue. Death can be broken down into two definitions, as explained by Joseph L. Giacalone (
Cold Case Squad Blog
) retired NYPD Homicide Detective:
1. Death occurs with the cessation of spontaneous heart and breathing functions without the use of any mechanical devices, and;
2. Brain death occurs with an irreversible loss of cerebral function.
There are then three items that have to be determined. They are as follows:
1. Cause of death can be defined as an injury or disease that produces a physiological derangement in the body that results in death;
2. Manner of death explains how the Cause of Death came about. There are five classifications that are easy to remember with the acronym NASH U. They are Natural causes, Accidental, Suicide, Homicide, or Undetermined;
3. Mechanism of Death is the physiological derangement by the Cause of Death (injury or disease) that resulted in the death. For example, if a person's COD was an injury such as a knife wound, the Manner of Death would normally be considered a Homicide, and the Mechanism of Death could be exsanguination (bleeding out).
Every death case gets treated as a Homicide until proven otherwise.
The Medical Examiner, or Coroner, is the only person who can sign off on the Cause of Death.
NOTE
: At the end of the story, you will find a comprehensive Cast of Characters and several favorite recipes from Annie and her friends.
Friday, 3 August 2012, 8:00 PM
The young woman walked alone along Taft Highway and turned north onto Wible Road. She stretched her legs and swung her arms from side to side as she took deep breaths of the early evening air. It felt good to move again after the ride from San Diego to Pumpkin Center, which was just south of Bakersfield. The temperature was cooling down and the slight breeze felt nice against her skin.
It surprised her when Stetson, the truck driver who picked her up just outside of San Diego, offered to buy her dinner when they stopped in Pumpkin Center. He parked his rig at Mikul's Truck Stop and they walked along Taft Highway to Los Arcos Restaurant.
"This is very kind of you," Gabby said. "I was so thrilled to get a ride all this way. Dinner is an unexpected treat."
"It's my pleasure, Gabby. I like this restaurant," Stetson said. "I eat here whenever I get a chance. It will be nice to have company for a change."
They entered the restaurant and the waitress placed chips and salsa on the table and then handed each of them a menu.
"All the food here is good," Stetson said. "Order whatever you want."
There was so much to choose from and the smells in the restaurant were reminiscent of Gabby's mother's kitchen, which she hadn't been in for over 13 years. Gabby could hear the pots and pans clanking in the kitchen, just like at home. It brought back bittersweet memories and made her more determined.
As they ate their food, Stetson looked at her and said, "So, you like Mexican food, huh?"
She looked at him with a mouthful of shrimp taco and said, "Uh, no. I'm just hungry. I prefer Thai."
He gave her a strange look and she swallowed quickly and started to laugh. "I'm just joshing you," she said. "I love Mexican food. My mom is the best cook in the world and I miss her cooking." She looked down at the food on her plate - Shrimp tacos, Mexican rice, and refried beans. She had ordered more than she could eat, but the temptation was so great.
While she and Stetson were driving along the highway, en route to Pumpkin Center, she told him a little bit about her past life.
"I came from a big, loving Hispanic family. Unfortunately, I was seduced as a young teenager by the supposed power of the gangs. Against the pleas and wishes of my family, I became one of the 'girls' who hung out with the gang members. Eventually, I drifted to San Diego. That was 13 years ago and I've lost track of where my family is living now.
"My life in San Diego no longer holds any attraction for me. After being alienated from my family for 13 years, I made the decision to find them and try to make up for all the pain I caused when I ran away at the age of 15.
"I made many bad choices during the years I was away from my family, and paid dearly for them. Now, I hope I can make everything right with them and get my life in order."
Gabby sat thinking for a couple of minutes. Stetson could see it was difficult for her to talk about her past and all she missed in the intervening years.
Gabby lifted her head and continued. "A little searching on the internet turned up the profile of a woman I believe is my sister. She's married and lives in Roseville, and that's the last information I have on her. That's where I'm going to start. I saved up enough money to last for a while, but was economizing by hitch hiking.
"I was afraid to try to contact her ahead of time. I was afraid she would tell me to stay away. I'm just going to show up on her doorstep and hope for the best."
Gabby and Stetson finished their meal and stood outside Los Arcos Restaurant saying their good byes. Then, Stetson headed back to his rig to get some sleep and Gabby walked in the opposite direction. She planned to go into Bakersfield and find a room for the night so she could shower and rest for her journey the next morning. She decided to finish her journey by bus since it wasn't that much further. She wasn't familiar with Bakersfield, but the waitress at Los Arcos said Wible Road was the closest way into town, so that's where she headed.
Darkness was falling, so it pleased her when a Ford Explorer slowed down and stopped next to where she walked. This stretch of Wible Road didn't have many buildings, mainly just dusty fields that stretched to the housing developments that began further up the road. A pleasant looking man stepped out of the driver's side door and smiled as he spoke to her over the hood of the SUV.
"Hey there, could you use a ride? I'm going into town and it's getting dark out here," he said.
She paused for a moment. She was enjoying her walk, but it looked like it would take a long time to find a motel and she was getting tired.
"OK, thanks a lot. I'm getting tired and I have a busy day tomorrow. I'm heading into town to find an inexpensive motel where I can spend the night. Do you know of one that's not out of your way?" she asked.
He walked around and opened the passenger side door, from the outside, which she found a little strange, but she didn't give it much thought.
"Yes, I know just the place for you to spend the night," he said as he helped her up into the seat.
After he closed the door, she noticed that there was no way to open the door or window from the inside passenger seat.
Well, that explains why it was necessary for him to walk around
, she thought. A little glitch of fear started in the pit of her stomach and grew when he abruptly made a u-turn and headed back towards Taft Highway.
"Hey, I need to go into town to find a motel," she said.
He didn't answer her.
She began to get scared and couldn't get her door open, no matter how hard she tried. She was trapped.
"Let me out, just let me out, and I won't say anything," she said. She could feel the panic rising in her throat, as he turned left when they got back to Taft Highway. Maybe if she screamed someone at the Sonic Drive Inn would hear her. She opened her mouth to yell, but he reached over and punched her against the side of her head. She was momentarily stunned when her head hit the window with a loud thunk.
"Shut up, bitch," he said.
She begin to pound on the door again and scream, hoping someone would hear her. He pulled a gun out of the pocket in his door. "If you don't shut up, I'll kill you here and now."
She shut up.
"Where are you taking me?" she said, tears streaming down her face.
"You'll find out soon enough," he said. "Now, just keep your dirty fuckin' mouth closed or I will shut it up for you."
She kept quiet. Wherever they were going, and whatever he had in mind, she hoped there would be an opportunity to escape. That's all she could do for the moment - hope.