Lizzy Gardner #2_Dead Weight (8 page)

“Didn’t you tell me the other day that Carol’s car broke down not too far from a national park?”

Lizzy nodded. “Mendocino National Forest.”

“Maybe Carol walked there hoping to ind help and then met up with a bad crowd.”

“Detective Roth said they did a thorough search of the area and her body was never found. But two separate witnesses at the time stated that they saw a young woman stranded on the side of the highway who matched Carol Fullerton’s description. One of the witnesses didn’t have time to stop, but he called it in as soon as he reached his destination, letting the police know there was a young girl stranded on I-5. Another witness went to the bother of inding a turnaround to see if he could go back and help, but by the time he got back to her car, she was gone. Fifteen minutes later, he says he passed a Buick and swore that the same girl he’d seen on the side of the road was sitting in the passenger seat. The witness, Mr. Theodore Johnson, has a prior record after assaulting a woman he had been dating. Johnson ended up being their number one suspect. To this day he swears he’s innocent.”

“What about the car Johnson saw her in?”

“Bingo,” Lizzy said, pointing a inger at Hayley. “I don’t think the police ever took Johnson seriously.”

“Why would the guy call the police if he was guilty?” Jessica asked.

“Exactly. That’s why I want you and Hayley to make some calls and use your computer expertise to see what you can ind out about the car Mr. Johnson saw that day. We have a make and model and the first three digits from the license plate. It’s all in the file.”

Lizzy used both hands, palms lat on her desk to push herself to her feet before gingerly making her way to the closet that served as the ile room. After only two days of exercising, her body felt as if it had been hit by a Mack truck.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jessica asked when Lizzy returned with the Fullerton file clutched to her chest.

“Remember that Melbourne guy with the amazing abs?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s my new trainer.”

Jessica laughed. “Are you kidding me?”

“I wish I was.” Lizzy handed the ile to Hayley and then bent over and attempted to touch her toes and stretch out sore limbs. It was no use. She couldn’t even reach her ankles.

Clearly, Melbourne would be the death of her.

Chapter 12

The Helping Hand

Stockton Boulevard used to be a major road that extended through South Sacramento from downtown and was once used during the goldmining era to travel to Stockton and also to various farming areas. Highway 99 replaced much of the boulevard in the sixties.

Businesses were forced to close down and the area quickly deteriorated. Helicopters still circled the area at night and shootings were common, but with new buildings popping up, the boulevard was slowly being revitalized.

Directly off the boulevard was the special needs school, The Helping Hand, where Diane Kramer had worked for years before she disappeared. The school building and surrounding grounds were not a pretty sight.

Lizzy exited her car and followed the yellow brick road. Literally.

Someone had illed missing sections of the cracked cement walkway with pieces of canary-yellow bricks. The fence around the property looked like a patchwork quilt made of chain-link, metal bars, and wood slats. A broken window had been duct-taped together. The only color besides the yellow brick pathway was gigantic neon nonsensical scribbling spray-painted across the front entrance by vandals.

Lizzy didn’t get to South Sacramento often, but when she did, she tended to keep both eyes wide open.

Inside the school building, sitting at the front desk, was a woman with long shiny black hair. Her center part was a cleanly shaved three inch wide strip down the middle of her head like a newly paved street slicing through black tar. The thick frames of her dark-rimmed eyeglasses matched the color of her hair. Her lipstick, on the other hand, was blood red. There were so many shocking elements to the girl that Lizzy didn’t know where to look or where not to look. She didn’t want to be rude and stare, so she shuf led through her purse instead until she found her notepad. “I have an appointment with Lori Mulcher.”

“Th-that would be m-me,” the girl said. Her lip twitched and then her left eye did too, but she didn’t come to her feet or make any kind of gesture that would prompt Lizzy to head to a meeting room or a quiet place where they could talk.

Lizzy held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Lori. My name is Lizzy Gardner. I have some questions I’d like to ask you about Diane Kramer.”

The girl’s right shoulder jolted upward and Lizzy had to stop herself from jumping back. Clearly, Lori had a severe tic. The young woman began to grimace. Both of her eyes twitched. She made a yelping sound right before she stood. Her hand lung out and smacked Lizzy in the chin and nose.

An elderly woman sitting at the desk behind Lori Mulcher gestured for Lizzy to take a seat in one of three plastic chairs by the entrance.

Lizzy took a seat, and then found a tissue in her backpack and used it to dab her nose. It was bleeding. Damn. She packed her nose with tissue and bent her head back to stop the bleeding. She pretended to admire the popcorn ceiling, which was clearly a health hazard.

Lizzy knew she only needed to be patient with Lori. She’d had a friend in high school with Tourette syndrome who had the occasional lailing limb and a mild facial tic. Lizzy always defended her friend, making sure the girl knew she could relax around her.

It wasn’t long before Lori collected herself and led Lizzy to a private of ice. Lori didn’t talk about the bloody nose; there was no reason to, and they both left the incident in the past where it belonged.

“Are you working with the police?” Lori asked, her stutter hardly noticeable.

Lizzy waited for Lori to sit before she illed the lone chair in front of the severely scarred wooden desk. “No,” Lizzy said in answer to her question. “Diane’s sister hired me to look into the matter. I was told that you and Diane were close. Is that true?”

Lori shrugged. “We saw each other every day, if that counts for something.”

“Did you two ever go to dinner or lunch together?”

“Are you asking me if we’re lesbians?”

“No,” Lizzy said, although the girl now had her wondering just that.

“Andrea, Diane’s sister, told me that you and Diane were best friends.

That’s all. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Clearly, Lori Mulcher was not happy answering questions about Diane, which struck Lizzy as odd. “I don’t mean to be rude,” Lizzy said, “but I was under the impression that you and Diane were close friends. If that’s true, then I would think you would want to help me and her sister find her.”

“If Diane was my friend, don’t you think she would have called me by n-now?”

So that was it. Lori was angry with Diane for running off. “That’s true, Lori, but this is exactly why Andrea is worried about her sister. I know Diane was depressed, but why would she leave her good friend and a job she loved?”

“Who told you sh-she was depressed?”

“That’s the story going around, you know, because of her weight.”

Lori waved a hand through the air as if that was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. She grimaced, too, and Lizzy readied herself for an episode, but nothing happened.

“She didn’t care about her weight,” Lori said, “not until she joined that stupid online support group.”

For some reason Lori Mulcher thought Diane had abandoned her and she was pissed off. “What support group are you talking about?”

“I never thought Diane would leave like this. She really cared for these kids. They need her. I need her.”

Lori shook her head and when she stopped her monstrous silver hoop earrings kept going. She still hadn’t answered Lizzy’s question.

“At least a half dozen students,” Lori said, “stop by the of ice every single day to see when she’s coming back.”

“Was this Diane’s office?”

Lori nodded. “Still is.”

“Mind if I have a look at her computer?”

“Go ahead; everyone else has.” Lori stood and headed for the door.

“It’s up and running. Ten minutes is all I can give you though.”

“Thanks.”

“And one m-more thing—”

Lizzy looked her way. “What’s that?”

“Sorry about the nose.”

Lizzy smiled. “Not a problem.”

The second Lori left the room, Lizzy began to search through the files on Diane’s computer. She would love to take the computer with her but it was obviously school property. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the Oyen Digital 1TB portable hard drive, described by customer reviews as “fast, reliable, and sexy,” and plugged in the USB

cable. The software came loaded on the mini hard drive so it could operate automatically, saving the iles to the drive while she looked around.

Her ten minutes were up and the lady sitting behind Lori’s desk looked through the open door at her.

Lizzy waved. “Almost done.”

The woman stood and reached into her drawer, pulling out a bag lunch. She came to the door. “My name’s Arlene Ruiz, but most people call me Lena. I overheard part of your conversation with Lori and I think you should know that Diane was de initely obsessed with losing weight. Like most of us, the harder she tried to lose weight, the more she gained. I tried to help her, even got my friend who owns a gym downtown to allow Diane free access. She would go for a week or two and then that would be it until next time.” Lena Ruiz shook her head and said, “Poor girl.”

“Do you think Diane was depressed?”

“Only when it came to her weight.”

“If it was so important to her, why do you think she couldn’t control it?”

“Beats me, but I can tell you this—” Lena looked around to make sure no one was within earshot, “—her sister didn’t help matters much.”

“What do you mean?”

“How can you forget you’re fat if someone keeps reminding you that you are?”

“That’s a good question. Did Andrea tell her sister she was fat?”

“Not straight out, but yes, in her own little condescending way she did. That woman would come by all of the time. Andrea Kramer treated us all as if we were beneath her, always making sure to point out her fancy car and expensive clothes. She thought she was all that.

She would come in here three times a week just to see what Diane had brought for lunch. On her way here, Andrea would stop by the gym I just mentioned, and she would already know whether or not Diane had been a no-show that morning.”

“Sounds a little controlling.”

“A lot controlling. I would have run away too.”

“So you think Diane ran away?”

Lena iddled with the beads on her necklace as she thought about the question. “I did at irst. But after a month passed by, and another, and Diane hadn’t called to see how her kids were doing, I knew something very bad had happened.”

“Do you know anything about the online group Lori talked about?”

She nodded. “Diane talked about the group all of the time. .even tried to get me to join.” Lena Ruiz turned about and went back to her desk where she shuf led through her rolodex. By the time she returned, Lizzy had safely removed the mini hard drive and tucked it inside her purse.

“Here you go,” Lena said. “The group was called the Weight Watcher Warriors.”

“You look great,” Lizzy told her, “but is there any particular reason why you didn’t join?”

Lena shrugged. “Not my thing. I design jewelry in my spare time. I also do a lot of hiking to stay in shape. Besides, I wouldn’t want anyone knowing my weight and telling me what to eat.”

“I hear you.” Lizzy smiled and held up the card Lena had given her.

“Thanks for the help.”

“Not a problem. If you think of more questions or you need any custom-made jewelry, my number’s on the card.”

Chapter 13

Burning Man

For too many hours, Hayley and Jessica had been searching the Internet. Hayley sat at Lizzy’s desk across the room from Jessica.

Hayley typed a few keywords on the computer keypad and watched the computer screen turn black. “This is ass-wipe stupid.”

Jessica didn’t look away from her computer screen. “Why? What’s the problem?”

“Knowing Spiderman is dead has caused Lizzy to lose her edge.”

Jessica cocked her head in the same way a dog might angle its head if someone mentioned the word “walk” or “treat.” Hayley wasn’t sure how she felt about Jessica. She was a nice enough girl, it seemed, but she could be a little dense at times. Like now.

“The old Lizzy,” Hayley explained, “wouldn’t have bothered with the fucking Internet to ind the info she needed. She would have hit the pavement instead.”

“Do you really have to curse so much? And are you serious when you use terms like ‘hit the pavement?’ This isn’t a movie or one of those weekly cop shows. Policemen and women, and investigators like Lizzy, don’t need to ‘hit the pavement’ now that so much information is at their ingertips. It’s not stupid. It’s life in the modern world.

Pretty soon they won’t need to chase after criminals in high-speed chases either. The police will tag a car with a laser-guided GPS

tracking system. Once the transmitter is attached to the fleeing car, the police can track the suspect over a wireless network, then hang back and let the crook believe he’s outrun them.”

Hayley tried not to roll her eyes. She wanted to remind Jessica of the last time Jessica was in a high speed chase. Where was the cool little transmitter then? “So how do they catch the guy using the transmitter?”

“Thinking he’s lost the police, the crook eventually pulls over and gets out of his car. The of icers know exactly where he is and they nab him.”

“Technology de initely serves a purpose,” Hayley said. “But at some point, somebody needs to get their ass out on the street and use physical force to get the bad guys. That’s all I’m sayin’. Let’s go.”

Once again, Jessica looked at her as if she’d lost all sense.

Hayley was already at the door. “If you don’t want to come with me, can you at least lend me your car?”