Read Online FIRST ONE DOWN: A Paul Sutton Novel by R.J. Belle - Free Book Online
Authors: R.J. Belle
Tags: Fiction
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again. Having virtually nothing to go on, Sutton got out of the car and headed to the end of the block. He decided he was going to do this the old school way and just start knocking on doors to see if anything shook out.
By the time Sutton had knocked on every door up the street side opposite Nate's house and made his way half way down the street on Nate’s side, he had come up with zilch. Feeling discouraged and a bit weary, he walked back to his car. Opening the trunk, he pulled a cold bottle of water out of a yellow cooler he kept there. He closed the trunk, leaned back against it and took a couple of small sips. Looking back at the other side of the street towards Nate's house, he noticed a woman in her front yard watering some shrubs that separated her property line from that of her neighbors. He pulled back a few more swigs of water, ran his hand through his unruly hair and began walking towards the woman.
"Good morning ma'am," Sutton said.
"Morning officer," the woman said, looking Sutton up and down.
The woman walked towards the side of her house and turned the water off at the spigot before walking back towards Sutton.
"Ma'am, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Sure, fire away," she said with a questioning expression on her face.
"Did you live in this house in 2009?" he asked, pointing in the direction of her house.
"Yes, my husband and I bought this house twenty something years ago."
"Do you recall if you were home on Christmas Eve in 2009?"
She thought hard for a moment and then answered, "Yes, I was. My son was home from college to visit that year, and we had several family members over for an early Christmas dinner. Parking was a nightmare. The street was packed, and the rain was coming down like the devil."
"Do you recall anything out of the ordinary that night? Any people milling around that didn't belong to this neighborhood? Anything at all come to mind?"
"Only the red car that I called you guys about," she said her tone full of accusation.
"Red car, ma'am?"
"Yes, the red sports car. Jesus, I gave you guys the plate number. When you didn't come, I called again and by that time I was worried that the woman sitting inside might be in trouble," she said, her tone becoming tight.
"The woman, ma'am, can you describe her please?"
"I told you, she was young looking, with short, curly blonde hair and she kept rolling down her window and peering through some sort of goggles at that house," she stated, motioning to Nate's house.
"Goggles, ma'am? What type of goggles?" Sutton asked.
"Don't you guys know anything?" Exasperated she held her hands up to her eyes as if she were looking through a set of binoculars, "These kind of goggles, you know, to see far away things."
"And you called this in to whom, ma'am?"
"You guys!" she practically screamed at him while pointing to the Crown Vic he had parked across the street.
"Ma'am, can you tell me the number that you called us at?"
She stomped off towards her house and went inside briefly. When she returned, she was carrying a small book of the White Pages. She flipped it open to the San Diego Sheriffs Encinitas station non-emergency line and tapped her finger at the number, "This number! I called you at this number and you never came!"
Sutton thought he was going to fall over. What the hell, how had they missed this in the initial investigation, he thought to himself.
"Thank you ma'am, and I apologize for the call delay. Christmas Eve is a very busy night, and we are always understaffed. Thank you again," he said and hurried back to his car.
Sutton fished his cell phone from the mess of paperwork he had on the passenger seat and rapidly dialed Ryan's number. He didn't wait for Ryan to say hello, "Ryan, you are not going to believe this. I just found us a witness. Get me the address to the Sheriff's station in Encinitas."
"What the hell are you up to Sutton?"
"Man, just give me the damn address," Sutton barked.
"That gut is going to give you
By the time Sutton had knocked on every door up the street side opposite Nate's house and made his way half way down the street on Nate’s side, he had come up with zilch. Feeling discouraged and a bit weary, he walked back to his car. Opening the trunk, he pulled a cold bottle of water out of a yellow cooler he kept there. He closed the trunk, leaned back against it and took a couple of small sips. Looking back at the other side of the street towards Nate's house, he noticed a woman in her front yard watering some shrubs that separated her property line from that of her neighbors. He pulled back a few more swigs of water, ran his hand through his unruly hair and began walking towards the woman.
"Good morning ma'am," Sutton said.
"Morning officer," the woman said, looking Sutton up and down.
The woman walked towards the side of her house and turned the water off at the spigot before walking back towards Sutton.
"Ma'am, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Sure, fire away," she said with a questioning expression on her face.
"Did you live in this house in 2009?" he asked, pointing in the direction of her house.
"Yes, my husband and I bought this house twenty something years ago."
"Do you recall if you were home on Christmas Eve in 2009?"
She thought hard for a moment and then answered, "Yes, I was. My son was home from college to visit that year, and we had several family members over for an early Christmas dinner. Parking was a nightmare. The street was packed, and the rain was coming down like the devil."
"Do you recall anything out of the ordinary that night? Any people milling around that didn't belong to this neighborhood? Anything at all come to mind?"
"Only the red car that I called you guys about," she said her tone full of accusation.
"Red car, ma'am?"
"Yes, the red sports car. Jesus, I gave you guys the plate number. When you didn't come, I called again and by that time I was worried that the woman sitting inside might be in trouble," she said, her tone becoming tight.
"The woman, ma'am, can you describe her please?"
"I told you, she was young looking, with short, curly blonde hair and she kept rolling down her window and peering through some sort of goggles at that house," she stated, motioning to Nate's house.
"Goggles, ma'am? What type of goggles?" Sutton asked.
"Don't you guys know anything?" Exasperated she held her hands up to her eyes as if she were looking through a set of binoculars, "These kind of goggles, you know, to see far away things."
"And you called this in to whom, ma'am?"
"You guys!" she practically screamed at him while pointing to the Crown Vic he had parked across the street.
"Ma'am, can you tell me the number that you called us at?"
She stomped off towards her house and went inside briefly. When she returned, she was carrying a small book of the White Pages. She flipped it open to the San Diego Sheriffs Encinitas station non-emergency line and tapped her finger at the number, "This number! I called you at this number and you never came!"
Sutton thought he was going to fall over. What the hell, how had they missed this in the initial investigation, he thought to himself.
"Thank you ma'am, and I apologize for the call delay. Christmas Eve is a very busy night, and we are always understaffed. Thank you again," he said and hurried back to his car.
Sutton fished his cell phone from the mess of paperwork he had on the passenger seat and rapidly dialed Ryan's number. He didn't wait for Ryan to say hello, "Ryan, you are not going to believe this. I just found us a witness. Get me the address to the Sheriff's station in Encinitas."
"What the hell are you up to Sutton?"
"Man, just give me the damn address," Sutton barked.
"That gut is going to give you
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