Where Darkness Resides, page 17
She searched the casita as George watched. He didn’t want to interrupt her because he knew she needed to concentrate to be on top of her game. The casita was nearly impeccable. It was in stark contrast to the neighboring casita she previously examined with Daniel where everything was strewn everywhere. That casita was a total mess. Seeing this casita the same way it was when she stayed there gave Pamela some hope.
Walking into the bathroom, Pamela remembered soaking in the oversized, rectangular tub and the fresh rose petals floating on the water. Soft jazz played in the background. Daniel shyly fed her some grapes with his eyes partially closed. He didn’t want to do it, but she insisted he leave the terrace where he was enjoying the view and give her food while she bathed. She was hungry after all and knew he would comply after putting up a fuss. She shook the memory from her mind and focused on what was important at that moment.
She walked to the bathroom sink. She picked up a toothbrush and razor blade lying on the countertop and examined them.
“These are Daniel’s,” she said as she showed them to George. “I remember his brand.”
She omitted letting George know she also saw these identical hygiene products in Daniel’s master bathroom many times before.
He won’t understand, she convinced herself although she suspected both George and Virginia were aware of her unusual obsession with Daniel due to her work requirements.
“I don’t think he left willingly,” George reiterated. “The entire casita looks exactly how it would be if Daniel was still staying here.”
He knew his boss wanted to see it for herself even if he’d previously described the scene to her when they were in the lobby. Although Pamela completely trusted her investigators, this particular assignment was too personal for her to let them handle it on their own. She needed to be involved in every step of the process even if it annoyed them. George understood and accommodated her in every way he could without taking offense to her decisions.
Once she finished searching the entire casita, Pamela stood in the middle of it, lowered her head, and rested her chin on her closed fist. She then shut her eyes and concentrated intensely. She could faintly smell Daniel’s cologne, his body sweat, and the salty air sweeping in from the coast. Her mind pictured the closet she recently examined. All of Daniel’s dress clothes he packed for the trip were neatly hanging on the rack. Not one was missing. Even all of his shoes were in the closet. Something seemed out of place, but she couldn’t remember exactly what. Then it dawned on her.
“His beach sandals. They’re gone,” Pamela exclaimed.
She rushed into the bedroom area of the casita, searched under the bed, and opened up the dresser drawers.
“One of his swim trunks is also missing,” she added with a smile. “He must have gone to the beach.”
The thought gave her relief but was immediately followed with concern. Her smile instantly became a frown. George noticed it.
“I know what you’re thinking,” George said. “The waters are a little hazardous this time of year. Crashing waves are normal making the rocky coastline even more dangerous. You don’t really think…”
“No. Daniel’s a great swimmer. However, he prefers to just relax and enjoy the ocean view. I doubt he would have gone into the ocean especially if it was high tide or there were crashing waves.”
Although Pamela hadn’t gone to the beach herself when she stayed at the resort, she vaguely knew where it was. She remembered seeing a resort map during her previous stay. She found a resort book on the desk and flipped to the page with the resort map. Looking at the map, she saw how the infamous maintenance road where the mysterious guest was taken away in an Escalade was also near the pathway leading to the beach.
“I think if something happened to Daniel, they would have left through this maintenance road,” she said while pointing to the road on the map so George could quickly locate it.
Pamela remembered the security guard who gave her access to the video feed for the maintenance road when she was looking into the missing captive guest. She called Gerald Ravan so he could expedite access to the video feed to determine if something also happened to Daniel.
“Thanks, Gerry. I appreciate it,” she said before hanging up the call. “He’s having one of the guards bring us any relevant video,” Pamela told George as she walked onto the terrace. “Can you feel the breeze?”
The warm, Caribbean air swept through her long blonde hair almost causing it to float away from her neck. She was relieved if only for a moment. Before long, a knock at the door disturbed her peace.
“Thank you, sir,” George said after receiving a Manilla envelope from the resort employee.
He closed the door and headed towards Pamela. She seemed oblivious to his presence. He wanted to let her enjoy the moment a little longer but knew time was of the essence. Nudging her with the Manilla envelope, Pamela finally awoke from her self-induced trance.
“Sorry, George.”
She grabbed the package and opened it. Inside was a USB drive which she assumed had a digital copy of the video feed. Also inside was an eight-by-ten photograph of a black Escalade on the maintenance road. The photo was clearly captured from a video feed. This time the Escalade’s license plate was visible.
34 HIGHWAY 18
San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Same Day
“Hermano, it’s good to see you again,” George said after tightly hugging his long-time friend, Alberto. “I’m impressed. You still look good.”
George eyed Alberto up and down as if he was checking out a lovely woman in a classy bar on a Friday night. Alberto was used to this irksome treatment. For whatever reason, George’s expressions of brotherly affection no longer disturbed him. Once he realized years ago George was sincere and only intended to make Alberto feel young again despite the passage of rough years, he no longer objected to George’s antics.
“You’re looking good too if I may say so myself,” the older Puerto Rican male expressed with a beaming smile. “I haven’t seen you in a while now. What brings you to my island?”
Before George could respond, Alberto’s eyes spotted Virginia standing next to George.
“And the lovely lady, who is she?” Alberto seductively inquired as he stepped forward, reached for her hand, and gently pecked the back of it; squeezing a little to emphasize his admiration.
“Why thank you,” Virginia gleamed, unsure why his prowess took her off guard.
She was not easily impressed with pickup lines after having heard so many silver-tongued devils flatter her as part of the job. There was something about his handsome looks and Latin charm which mystified her. To the casual observer, Alberto’s piercing hazel eyes were the obvious culprit. Many women were captivated by them and unwittingly succumbed to his desires.
George watched the pageantry as if it was a sort of mating ritual he was very accustomed to.
“Alright, alright. We know you’re a charmer,” George said as he separated the two. “But seriously, we’re here on official business.”
Alberto stepped back, flicked his black, wavy hair, and turned to George.
“My apologies. Please, let me know what you need. I am at your service.”
“No worries, Al. I just need a favor. You owe me from the time we were in Havana.”
“I do!! Oh yes, I do. Did he ever tell you about Havana?” Alberto asked Virginia who unexpectedly blushed. “We were in-country on a very secret covert operation. I mean only the top brass knew….”
“Now, you know you’re not supposed to talk about any of that with anyone,” George said as he glared at Alberto only half-seriously. George loved recanting stories from their youth in the military but only to service men and women, not civilians. He never told civilians what branch he served in or whether he was in the special forces like Pamela. He kept that and how he met Pamela a secret even to his fellow private investigator, Virginia.
“Well, I can regale you some other time if you’d like?” Alberto teased Virginia hoping she would bite at the invitation.
George gently nudged her. Virginia simply smiled instead of answering. Alberto took the hint.
“We’re just here to find some information about a vehicle. That’s all. A black Escalade,” George said while showing Alberto his cell phone containing a photo of the captured video feed.
“I see,” Alberto responded while he entered the license plate number into the police computer system to identify the vehicle’s owner. “Looks, like a mister Johnny Lozado owns the vehicle.”
“Johnny Lozado? That name sounds familiar,” George said.
Seeing Alberto’s puzzled look, George mouthed something to him so Virginia couldn’t hear.
“Let me double-check if it’s the Johnny Lozado you are thinking of.”
Alberto punched a few more keys on his computer and then said, “Yes. It’s definitely him. His photo came up on my computer screen. And I know that face. I will never forget it.”
“Well, the boss isn’t going to like that,” George remarked.
Wanting to ensure they were being thorough and not sleeping on the job, Virginia asked, “Can you check if the Escalade had a GPS tracker installed?”
She smiled to soften her request. He definitely took the bait.
“Sure, let me see.” After a few more clicks on his keyboard, Alberto said, “Looks like this model has a factory GPS installed but the purchaser requested the dealership remove it as a condition of the sale. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with that.”
“What about CCTV? Are you able to track the vehicle once it left the Regal Isabela? Maybe you can find out where it is now,” she subtly suggested.
“I’m not an expert on that. I dabble on occasion when needed of course, but not too often,” Alberto said with a charming smile. This time he sat closer to his computer and intently gazed at the screen while feverishly pushing buttons and clicking the mouse. “There, I found the Escalade at the hotel.”
George and Virginia stepped closer to the screen.
“That’s great!!” George exclaimed and slapped Alberto on the shoulder.
“Looks like the Escalade headed east on PR-2. That’s the highway headed towards San Juan.”
“Yeah, we took that highway when we drove here today,” George acknowledged.
“Can you zoom in so we can see the passengers?” Virginia asked.
The video became a close-up of the black Escalade speedily traveling the freeway. The trio watched looking for any clues of anyone inside.
“All of the back windows are tinted. We can see into the front windows and the windshield,” Alberto said.
“Dammit,” George said. “We can see the driver, a young Hispanic male, but no one else. Pam’s not going to be happy we can’t verify if Daniel’s in the Escalade.”
“I don’t think it’ll deter her. She’ll want us to track it down and see for ourselves…,” Virginia explained. She almost disclosed who they were looking for but stopped herself before saying it.
“Let me check if the Escalade exited the highway before getting to San Juan. I’m going to check if the Escalade reached the interchange.” Alberto switched his view of the CCTV cameras to the one recording the highway interchange. “Yes, it did.”
He pointed to the screen where the Escalade merged into PR-22.
“So far, it looks like they’re heading to San Juan,” Virginia interjected.
“You’re correct. Now, let me see if they made it here.”
Alberto switched to local CCTV cameras looking for the Escalade. The screen rapidly displayed various views of the capital city.
“There it is,” George pointed to a camera feed with the Escalade still driving on a four-lane freeway. “Where is that?”
Alberto looked at the video and replied, “That’s Highway 18. They’re heading south.”
“Can you find out where they went from San Juan?” Virginia asked.
“I can try.”
After clicking a few more buttons and trying other alternatives, Alberto eventually admitted defeat.
“I’m sorry my friends but all of the CCTV cameras south of this point on Highway 18 were down for maintenance. They were being upgraded and tested at the time. I can’t tell if the Escalade exited the highway or continued south.”
“What about any footage on any highways further south of Highway 18?” George asked hoping they would get lucky with a stab in the dark.
“Unfortunately, that part of the island is the mountainous region with very little traffic. There are no cameras in that area,” Alberto replied.
“You did your best, my friend. We appreciate all of your help,” George stated.
“Your praise means a lot to me, but you know what I want for all my efforts, I want…”
“Of course, I will have the finest bourbon sent to you once I’m back in the States. You earned it.”
Alberto smiled and licked his lips in anticipation of receiving the libation.
“That will definitely do,” he added.
Once the two friends gave each other a farewell embrace, Alberto gazed into Virginia’s eyes with seductive affection. She sneakily placed her business card in his pant pocket. George was none the wiser. Then the two investigators took off in their rental car and headed toward Highway 18.
35 CLOSING ARGUMENT
Phoenix, Arizona
The Same Day
“All right. Please be seated. The record will show the presence of the jury, the parties, and counsel. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. At this time, the attorneys will give their closing arguments. Mr. Clarkson?” the judge announced.
Doug walked to the middle of the jury box and began his closing arguments.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my team would like to thank you for the two-week-long consideration and attention in this case. Also, I’d like to thank our co-counsel for their professionalism and the Court and staff for allowing us to try our case and for putting up with us. I think it’s a very humbling experience to have someone put their life in your hands and rely on your skill and your talent to achieve justice for them. And that is what Selinda and her children have allowed me to do. And it’s humbling, and it’s frightening because you don’t want to let them down.
“You want to make sure that everything comes out the right way because they don’t get a chance in five years or in ten years to come back. This is their only chance for justice right now. Today. And throughout the course of the trial, I may have done something that you all didn’t like, or asked a question that you guys didn’t like, or made an argument that you didn’t like. Or I may not have let opposing counsel speak and objected to their question. But don’t take that out on Selinda or the kids. Any kind of shortcoming I have as an attorney, don’t take it out on my clients.
“Verdict is Latin for seek the truth. And that is what I said in my opening statement, that you guys are the seekers of truth. You are the finders of fact. And I indicated that our case needs to be viewed through a common-sense lens, and that common-sense lens will show that Mr. Weaver was at fault for this crash.”
Doug looked at the jury as they watched him attentively. One or two jurors had their jury notebooks open and were ready to take notes when Mr. Clarkson said something substantive and critical to the case. He took a step closer to the jury box and continued.
“And throughout the entirety of the testimony these past two weeks, the answer has been a resounding yes, consistently. The judge has given you some jury instructions. And before I get into what we discussed these past weeks, I want to talk about one jury instruction, the preponderance of the evidence ⎼ more true than not. It may sound confusing, but it’s really simple on a basic level. We all have seen Lady Justice with the blindfold and the scales that are even. All my clients have to do to fulfill our burden is to ever so slightly change those scales. A grain of salt or a feather will allow us to meet our burden, but we have done more than that these past weeks. We have shown that Mr. Weaver was at fault, clearly.
“Our version of events makes sense because it’s true. Michael McDowell’s account of events matches the physical evidence because it’s true. The defense has tried to manufacture what happened, but Mr. Weaver and Mr. Kominski’s accounts are diametrically opposed to the physical evidence. They have no foundation. And like a house with a bad foundation, it’s going to collapse. The plaintiffs’ case is true. The plaintiffs’ case makes sense from a common-sense perspective.
“You’ve heard from Michael McDowell, plaintiff’s expert reconstructionist, a former detective of the city of Phoenix, seven-and-a-half years investigating vehicular crimes. He testified that Mr. Weaver was traveling faster and was coming up from Mr. Hernandez’s rear; it is undisputed that Mr. Weaver was over the speed limit. Mr. McDowell testified that Mr. Weaver drifted into Mr. Hernandez’s lane, pulling him forward. And then because of the speed differential, the Lexus did a clockwise spin causing Mr. Hernandez to be ejected from his vehicle.”
A photo of the accident scene was displayed on all monitors for the jury to see.
“You’ve seen numerous photos of Mr. Hernandez’s Lexus and the location of the accident. The defense’s own accident reconstructionist testified that a lazy drift takes two or three seconds. It wouldn’t have taken place according to the defense. In his theory, it only takes place with an intentional move, an intentional move to get from one lane to the next but there is absolutely no evidence of that. None. Mr. Sineda, plaintiff’s traffic engineer’s opinion is also clear. There is an offset. If the striping moves, the lane is moving. You saw a picture from Mr. Sineda, who was with the City of Phoenix Traffic Department for twenty—plus years. He took the picture showing the lane in which Mr. Weaver was traveling and you could clearly see the offset.
“We’re dealing with a car collision; we’re not dealing with a plane collision. We see what we see on the road. We’ve all driven. We see from that perspective daily how a road moves, how a road changes. And for all of you that may be photographers or have interests in any kind of photographs or any kind of pictures, it’s clear that the picture on the monitor right now that’s the most realistic picture, not from above. We’re driving; we’re not flying.”
