Direct Evidence: A Letty Valdez Mystery

By C.J. Shane

Private investigator Letty Valdez takes on a new case, but within minutes, the new client is shot and killed outside Letty's office. Letty sets off on a search to find the murdered client's teenage son. She becomes a target as she recovers a kidnapped infant, stops a serial rapist, uncovers a cybercrime, and deals with a vengeful criminal who wants to do her harm. Letty is backed up by her investigator trainee, Frankie Miranda, and her favorite man, Dr. Dan Ennis, who more than anything wants to keep Letty safe. Direct Evidence is a stand-alone novel and fourth in the Letty Valdez Mystery series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rope's End Publishing
• Release date: Feb 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781951524197

C.J. Shane

C.J. Shane is an Arizona writer and visual artist. She has worked as a journalist, academic reference librarian, ESL teacher, and freelance writer. She exhibits her artwork nationally and internationally. She is the author of eight nonfiction books and numerous magazine and newspaper articles. She is the author of the Letty Valdez private investigator series: Desert Jade (2017), Dragon's Revenge (2018), Daemon Waters (2019) and Direct Evidence (2022).  A second mystery series, the Cat Miranda Mysteries, includes Kissed (2020), Fair Play (2021) and The Broken Pot (2022). Desert Jade, Dragon's Revenge, and Kissed were all Finalists for Best Mystery-Suspense, New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards. Shane's mystery books often have a romantic subplot.

Book preview

Direct Evidence

A Letty Valdez Mystery

C.J. Shane

Copyright © 2022 C.J. Shane

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Published by Rope's End Publishing

hardcover: ISBN: 978-1-951524-17-3

paperback: ISBN: 978-1-951524-18-0

e-book epub: ISBN: 978-1-951524-19-7

e-book formatting by bookow.com

Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks go to graphic designer Lynne East-Itkin for the cover, to Diane C. Taylor for proofreading, to Bookow for excellent formatting, and to my ARC team for reading and reviewing.

Letty Valdez Mysteries

Desert Jade 2017

Dragon's Revenge 2018

Daemon Waters 2019

Direct Evidence 2022

Cat Miranda Mysteries

Kissed 2020

Fair Play 2021

The Broken Pot 2022

Table of Contents

1 A New Client

2 Two Deaths

3 Lost

4 Found

5 Following Up

6 A Morning Jog

7 Austin

8 Puzzle Pieces

9 Discoveries

10 Quinceañera

11 Conner

12 Runner Reed

13 Questions

14 The Advisors

15 Changes

16 Trouble

17 More Trouble

18 A Better Idea

Thank you from the Author:

About the Author:

1 A New Client

Letty Valdez stared at the sign over her office door. Valdez Investigations the sign read. Some of the paint was starting to peel, and the sign looked a little faded. Facing to the south into the sun was the problem, Letty decided. The early-summer southern Arizona sun was just too much for paint to survive for very long. She decided to bring a ladder and some paint from home and touch it up a little. But that would have to be in the early morning. The days were already hot, and she didn’t want to be out there on a ladder in the midday heat. She unlocked the door and entered.

Hi Letty, Frankie Miranda looked up from his computer in the front office.

Hey, Frankie. You’re here early.

Yes. I wanted to finish this report for you. I have a jam-packed day at school today.

Oh, yeah? What’s happening? Letty sat down in the chair next to his desk.

Frankie Miranda had been with Valdez Investigations almost six months. He was in the early phase of a three-year process to earn his private investigator license. Letty was both his employer and his mentor in the licensing process. He also was a student working on his bachelor’s degree.

Same old, same old. Homework and tests. Homework and tests. I go to Mr. Zhou’s gong fu class every Monday evening. It’s my favorite class, even better than my computer classes, which I like a lot. But I don’t get any college credit for martial arts, unfortunately.

Maybe you’ll end up a martial arts expert as well as a computer whiz.

I wish. This is the first time in my life I feel like maybe I could defend myself. I think that will be important when I become a private investigator. Oh, hell. It’s important now. Small guys like me get picked on a lot. Mr. Zhou has taught me so much.

Zhou Liang Wei, a former Beijing police inspector, had formed an unexpected informal partnership with Letty last year when he came to Tucson on an Interpol-related job. Together he and Letty had stopped a human-trafficking and weapons-smuggling scheme across the Mexico-U.S. border. Zhou became Letty’s friend, her martial arts teacher, and an adopted Tucsonan when he fell in love with, and married, Letty’s friend Jade Lopez. They recently became the parents of a baby boy.

Yes, Zhou’s a wonderful teacher. He’s patient but very demanding. So what about your college classes?

First, I go to the University of Arizona to take my intensive class in biology. Then I go over to Pima Community College West Campus where I’m finishing my English lit class. Next I start an advanced accounting course at Pima, and then I’ll take object-oriented programming and a class in UNIX at the university.

Letty had no idea what object-oriented programming or UNIX might be. Something to do with computers.

I guess it gets stressful going between two campuses.

Yeah, but I won’t have to do that for much longer. I’m very close to finishing my associate degree. Then I’ll be at the University of Arizona full time. But first I have to write a final paper for my lit class about why I hate Mr. Darcy.

Letty chuckled. So was that the assignment? ‘Why I hate Mr. Darcy?’

"No. Not exactly. The teacher made us read Pride and Prejudice. I’m supposed to write about it." He grimaced.

Not a fan of Jane Austen?

Nope, not a fan. All that nineteenth-century English stuff, and the way they talk and all the emphasis on proper manners. So stiff. Ridiculous. And it’s a romance. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head no.

Letty smiled. Look at it this way. Women had very few opportunities back then. It’s not like they could have a career or even a decent job. Marriage was their only option. Basically marriage was an economic arrangement. Women got three meals a day and a roof over their heads. Men got a housekeeper and a woman to produce children so he could keep the family name going. Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters turned all that on its head. They wanted marriage to be about love. That was a radical idea at the time. Maybe you’d find it more interesting if you wrote about Austen’s social criticism. She’s known for what they call ‘social commentary’ about the British class system and the inferior position of women.

Frankie’s look had changed from a grimace to thoughtful. Yeah, writing about how screwed up their society was back then sounds a lot more fun.

But you have to admit. A lot of women think Colin Firth was a real hottie in his film role as Mr. Darcy, Letty grinned.

The grimace returned. Thanks, but no thanks. Social criticism sounds way more interesting. I’ll look into that. How do you know all this, Letty?

I read a lot, especially in high school. Or it’s more accurate to say that I always read a lot until recently. Dan kind of keeps me busy these days.

Ah, you found your own Mr. Darcy, Frankie grinned. So how is Dr. Dan? Frankie referred to Letty’s sweetheart, Dr. Dan Ennis.

He always has something he wants us to do together. He keeps telling me that I need to relax and have fun. She sighed. He’s right, I guess. I don’t really know how to have fun.

Frankie nodded. Yeah, he seems like the kind of guy who would have plans for you. He paused. I have the same problem. We both need to have a little fun. You and I grew up too poor to be goofing off. I say let Dr. Dan have his way about that. Yeah, Letty. Have some fun.

Letty looked down at the papers on Frankie’s desk. She didn’t really want to talk about Dan. She was crazy about him, and the feeling was mutual. Dan told her every day how much he loved her. He said he needed to say that because it was true, and also because she hadn’t heard it enough in her life. It embarrassed Letty to talk about her love life. But even worse, she still had lingering fears that Dan’s knowing her and loving her would put him in danger. After all, he had been shot and nearly killed in his attempt to protect her from a deranged gunman. She took a deep breath.

Okay. Let’s get busy here, she said. What did you find out about the sporting goods company and its financial records?

When Frankie came to work for her, he told her about his enthusiasm for computers and software and also for problem-solving. He said he wanted to eventually go into the field of computer forensics where he would specialize in cybercrimes. Letty thought that was a good idea, although she didn’t know all that much about cybercrime. She figured Frankie would lead the way on that. He’d proved himself to be really smart, honest, and reliable. So she began taking on clients with problems related to Frankie’s interest. These clients very often had problems that involved the theft of money or of property. And their company’s office computer systems were frequently the key to solving the crimes.

Well, it’s like this, Frankie started. Someone has been skimming money from the company’s bank account nearly every month. The amount each month is never over five hundred dollars. Sometimes it’s as low as three hundred or maybe four hundred and ninety. But it adds up. In the last two years, nearly ten thousand dollars disappeared. And this company isn’t all that big, so ten grand is a substantial sum. He pointed to an open spreadsheet on his computer screen.

Yes, the client, Jim Richards, told me that he had this feeling something was wrong. His accounting department people gave him spreadsheets every month to sign off on. The accounts always seem to balance. No losses. There just never was as much money there as he thought there should be.

He’s right. Ten grand is nothing to ignore. Frankie nodded.

Any idea who might be the culprit? Letty asked.

I have it narrowed down to two people who had access to these accounts. I think I know which of the two is skimming money. I’m looking for patterns now to see exactly when the skimming occurred, who had access, and who was online at that time. We’ll need to see what this person did with the money she took. If I can find an account, like in another bank where the money was transferred, that would be evidence of a crime.

Letty smiled. Good job, Frankie. By the way, are your summer classes mostly in the morning?

They will be, once I get past Mr. Darcy. The bio and accounting classes are both in the morning.

I’m thinking about cutting back some this summer. I would come in early and leave around two in the afternoon. You’ll already be here by then, and we can touch base. Then you stay until maybe four and close up a little early. Letty didn’t mention that Dan’s schedule in the local hospital’s Emergency Department for the next four months would have him at work early, starting at five in the morning. He would get off work around the same time as Letty if she followed this new schedule.

Sounds good to me, Frankie said. "I just have to write my Pride and Prejudice paper first."

Remember, think about social criticism. Your teacher will be impressed with that, and I think you will, too. Letty smiled. Go ask the university reference librarian for help finding what you need. Reference librarians are good at finding shortcuts to good information.

I will. Thanks for the idea, Letty.

Letty stood and headed for her inner office. I have a possible client coming in a few minutes.

New case? What’s it about

The woman…her name is Barbara Thompson…she said in our phone conversation that her teenage son has disappeared. She doesn’t know if he just decided to take off and didn’t tell anyone, or if something happened to him. She wants me to find him.

Is there any reason to think he might have been abducted?

She didn’t mention anything specific. I think she just mainly wants to know that he’s okay.

At that moment, the outer door opened, and a middle-aged woman walked in. Letty sized her up in an inconspicuous manner. She was maybe in her late forties, medium height, a little chubby, dressed in expensive clothing, with plenty of makeup and styled, tinted hair. She took her sunglasses off and perched them on her head. A worried look was on her face, maybe because her first glance was at Frankie. She got stuck there staring at him a little longer than was considered polite—a look of confusion on her face.

Letty couldn’t help but smile. Frankie was a small man, maybe five-six at most. He was dressed in a t-shirt and worn jeans, with tattoos visible on every inch of uncovered skin except his face. He had a porkpie hat on his head and two days’ worth of stubble on his chin. He did not look like a private investigator nor did he look like an office receptionist.

Mrs. Thompson? Letty asked.

Barbara Thompson’s head jerked up at the sound of Letty’s voice. She looked at Letty, eyes wide. Yes. Miss Valdez?

Letty nodded. Please come in. She stepped into her inner office and sat down behind her desk. She gestured to Mrs. Thompson to sit.

So, your son has disappeared? How long ago was this?

Barbara Thompson frowned. Just three days ago. He hasn’t contacted me.

Let’s start from the beginning. What is your son’s name and how old is he? Letty found a notebook and a pen.

Jase. Jase Stenson. He’s seventeen. We have different last names because my first husband, Ted Stenson, was the father of both Jase and his older brother Greg. Ted was in the military. He was killed early in the Iraq War. My husband now, Ed Thompson, is Jase and Greg’s stepfather.

Letty nodded her encouragement.

What is his full name? The name on his birth certificate?

Jason Samuel Stenson. Jase is short for Jason.

Letty was writing notes on her notepad as Mrs. Thompson spoke.

Did you report him missing to the Tucson Police Department?

No, I didn’t want make a fuss or embarrass him. Or embarrass my husband.

Has Jase ever taken off like this before?

Once, about a year ago. He got involved with this slutty girl from somewhere, California, I think. She convinced him to run away with her. He was gone about a month. His brother Greg tracked him down and brought him home.

Letty noticed two things from the Barbara Thompson’s story. The girl was slutty, a clear criticism of the young woman. Also, his mother believed that Jase bore no responsibility because the slutty girl convinced him to run away. Letty thought it likely that Jase was quite willing to have sex with the girl, and he was quite willing to run away with her, too. In fact, it may have been his idea.

Greg is older?

Yes, four years older.

Have you talked to Greg about this?

Yes. I called him not long after Jase disappeared. Greg said he hasn’t heard from him.

And Greg had no idea about where he might be?

She shook her head no. Greg doesn’t live in Tucson anymore. He and my husband Ed never got along. Jase doesn’t get along with Ed either. Greg moved to Austin after he graduated from high school. My brother lives there.

What about a girlfriend?

Jase has been seeing a girl from one of his classes last semester. Maybe he ran away with her. Her name is Jimena Lopez. She’s Mexican, she said in a low voice. She frowned. Then her eyes went wide, and she suddenly looked embarrassed. She had forgotten for a moment that she was talking to Letty Valdez, the child of a Mexican-American father and a Native-American mother. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, Barbara Thompson added in a feeble attempt to be reassuring.

Did you talk to Jimena?

No. I don’t have her phone number. But I heard from a friend that she works part time at a grocery store in the Foothills. I called the store. She wasn’t there, but the manager told me she has been coming to work on a regular basis. I don’t know if that’s true or not.

How about friends? Is Jase on a sports team? Does he have teammates? Or maybe a close friend?

Jase is interested in sports, but more as a fan, not a player. He’s always been into computer stuff, too. I couldn’t tell you what he does, but he spends hours on his computer. I asked him once, and he said ‘coding.’ I don’t even know what that means. He plays video games, too. He has a friend who has the same interests. His name is Conner. But I don’t know how to contact him.

If Jase didn’t run away, is there any reason to think he may have been abducted?

A look of alarm came over Barbara Thompson’s face. Oh, my god. Do you think he’s been kidnapped?

No, I’m not saying that, Letty’s voice was calm. I don’t know what happened to Jase. Abduction is one possibility. I’m just asking to cover all the bases.

Oh. Mrs. Thompson frowned. Well, I can’t think of a reason why someone would abduct him.

Letty noticed then that Mrs. Thompson didn’t look at Letty when she said this. In fact, her eyes had shifted to the right, which was a sign of someone either lying or withholding information. I mean, if someone wanted a ransom, they would have contacted me, right?

And you have not been contacted by anyone?

No.

How about your husband? What kind of work does he do?

He’s a financial adviser. He helps people with financial planning and investments.

Is it possible someone contacted him? Maybe at his office?

I think Ed would have told me if he’d been asked for ransom money. The truth is, Miss Valdez, the boys were never very important to him. When I try to talk to him about this, he barely listens. He told me to quit worrying. He said Jase will show up when he’s ready to show up. He didn’t seem a bit concerned. She frowned again. He’s not interested in the boys.

What about a credit or debit card? Did Jase have one? He’s a minor, but sometimes we see minors using a parent’s card.

Yes, he and I shared a card, but really it was for him to use. I use a different one.

Have you checked to see if he’s charged anything on the card?

Oh, I never thought of that. I’ll look at the account when I get home and see if he used it and where he was when he used it.

Letty had been taking notes on everything Barbara Thompson said. Anything else you can think of?

No. I guess that’s not much to go on.

"I’ll need