Page 15 of If She Remembered
She was waiting on the front porch when DeMarco's sedan pulled into the driveway, its headlights cutting through the darkness of the suburban street.Kate felt a familiar flutter of excitement in her chest as she walked toward the car, the same anticipation that had driven her through decades of cases.She slid into the passenger seat and the familiar scent of DeMarco's car – a mixture of coffee, leather, and the faint trace of the vanilla air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.
"Thanks for coming," DeMarco said as she backed out of the driveway."I know this isn't exactly your problem anymore, but I didn’t want to leave you out of it."
"No worries at all,” Kate said, settling into her seat and buckling her seatbelt.“I’m glad you called.Now…fill me in.”
***
By the time they arrived at the Rodriguez home, DeMarco had given Kate all the details she'd gathered from the initial responding officers.Another victim who had opened his home to a child in need to a safe space, and killed by what appeared, at first glance, to look like a heart attack.
The house was a modest two-story colonial in a neighborhood that had seen better days, with small front yards and driveways barely wide enough for one car.Police vehicles lined the street, their red and blue lights creating an intermittent light show against the neighboring houses.It all looked quite foreboding in the gloom created by streetlights and a pitch-black night.
The home's front door stood open, spilling warm light onto the small concrete porch.Kate could see uniformed officers moving around inside, their radios crackling with periodic updates.A woman in her forties sat on the front steps, wrapped in a thick bathrobe and talking quietly to a female officer who was taking notes.
"I’m assuming that's Maria Rodriguez," DeMarco said as they approached the house."She's the one who found him...the daughter."
Maria looked up as they approached, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy from crying.She had dark hair pulled back in a loose ponytail and the kind of exhausted expression that came only from grief and loss.The officer standing with her, a young woman with short blonde hair, stood up as Kate and DeMarco showed their credentials.
"Agent DeMarco," the officer said."Thanks for getting here so quickly.And you must be Agent Wise."They all shook hands as the officer said: "I'm Officer Jenkins.Ms.Rodriguez has been very cooperative, though understandably shaken.She's already given us her statement twice, but she's willing to go through it again if you need her to."
Maria nodded as she looked to the agents.Kate crouched down next to Maria, bringing herself to eye level."I know this is difficult, and I know you've already told your story.But would you mind walking us through what happened tonight?Sometimes fresh ears pick up details that others might miss."
Maria wiped at her eyes with a tissue that had clearly seen heavy use."It's okay.I understand.I…God, it still doesn’t even seem real.Maybe the more I tell it, the more real it… it…"
She stopped here to catch her breath and stifle a sob.
"Take your time," Kate said gently.
Maria took a shaky breath and bit nervously at her bottom lip."I've been staying here with Dad for the past few weeks with my kids.We had to leave our house because of...problems with my husband."She wiped at her eyes again."Dad said we could stay as long as we needed to.He was so good to us.Even with his health issues, he didn’t even hesitate to take us in."
"So you’ve been living here?"Kate asked gently.
"Yes.I had put the kids to bed around nine, and Dad was watching TV in his chair like he always does.But when I went back out to talk to him… he was… was…”
"Where were your children when you found him?"DeMarco asked.
"Upstairs sleeping.I had just put them down.And when I realized what… what had happened, I called my friend right away, and she came to get them.She's a good friend….very close.My kids call her Aunt Trista.I didn't want them to see their grandfather like that."Maria shook her head."They've been through enough already with everything that's been happening at home."
Kate studied Maria's face, noting the exhaustion that seemed to go deeper than just tonight's tragedy."You mentioned your father had been having health issues.What kind of problems was he dealing with?"
"His heart, mainly.He had a heart attack two years ago, and since then, he's been on all kinds of medications.Blood thinners, cholesterol medicine, beta blockers."Maria paused."And lately he'd been really stressed about us being here.Not that he didn't want us – he was happy to help – but he was worried about having enough space, about being able to take care of us properly."
"Had he seemed particularly stressed recently?"Kate asked."More than usual, I mean?"
Maria considered this."I guess it stressed him out the two times my husband came by.He'd get pretty worked up about that, but in the end, it all sort of relieved itself.Also… he kept talking about maybe needing to find us a bigger place, somewhere more permanent, just in case we all needed to stay together for a long time.He felt bad that the kids had to share the small upstairs bedroom, and he was worried about me sleeping on the couch."She looked down at her hands."I kept telling him it was fine, that we were grateful just to have somewhere safe to stay, but he was the kind of man who wanted to fix everything for everyone."
Kate and DeMarco exchanged a look.The stress of suddenly having his daughter and grandchildren living with him, especially under difficult circumstances, could certainly have contributed to Victor Rodriguez's anxiety levels.
"Would it be alright if we took a look around?"Kate asked."Just to get a better sense of what happened?"
"Of course.The police already said it was okay."Maria stood up, pulling her robe tighter around herself."Do you want me to show you around, or would you prefer to look on your own?"
"We can manage," Kate said."Why don't you stay here with Officer Jenkins?We won't be long."
The interior of the Rodriguez house was clean but dated, with furniture that looked like it had been purchased in the 1990s and carpet that had seen a stain or two.The living room was small and cluttered with the accumulated possessions of a long life: family photos covering every surface, stacks of books and magazines, a collection of ceramic figurines on the mantelpiece.
Victor Rodriguez lay on the floor of the bathroom, his body positioned as if he'd done his best to catch himself on the sink when he fell.He was a thin man in his seventies, wearing a cardigan sweater over a white undershirt and brown slacks.His face was surprisingly peaceful.
The coroner's assistant stood inside the bathroom, taking notes with his phone.He was a younger man, dressed in scrubs and sneakers.He looked up as they entered and said, with little to no emotion, "Looks like a straightforward cardiac event.No obvious signs of trauma or struggle.We'll know more after the autopsy, but I'd guess his heart just gave out."
