Free Dead By Dawn by Juliet Dillon Clark Page B

asked.
     
    “No, we’d never heard of them,” Robert Doran answered.
     
    “What about Martin Van Buren. Do you know him?” “Well, yes we know who he is. He was the judge who dealt with the custody of Jeremy,” Martha Doran snapped. “I don’t understand why you are asking us this.”
     
    “These are names that have come up in connection to the two bodies we found under the house,” he said politely. “So, you didn’t know Van Buren until after the kids were murdered?”
     
    “No, we didn’t,” Robert Doran said in a resigned tone.
     
    “What about a Bing Taylor?” Kragen asked.
     
    Martha and Robert Doran looked at each other and both answered, “No.”
     
    Jeremy rushed into the room and sat down. “I’m sorry I was late. I got caught in traffic.” He reached over and shook Detective Kragen’s hand. “I’m Jeremy Davenport.”
     
    Kragen shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. I was just asking your grandparents if they knew anything about some names that came up in the case. I know that you know Charles Davenport. What about Martin Van Buren?”
     
    “I met him at my other grandparents’ house. He’s a good friend of the family,” Jeremy answered.
     
    “What about Bing Taylor?” Kragen asked.
     
    Jeremy paused and thought about the name. “I think he was a friend of my grandpa’s. I’ve heard his name mentioned, but I don’t remember ever meeting him.”
     
    “Do you know if he worked for your grandparents?” Kragen asked.
     
    “No, I grew up on their ranch. I knew everyone that worked for them,” Jeremy answered.
     
    “Have you ever heard your grandparents or their friends mention Letty Carlson?” Kragen asked.
     
    “No, I’ve never heard that name,” Jeremy said.
     
    “I think that’s all I have,” Kragen said.
     
    “Do you have any idea how those bodies got there?” Jeremy asked.
     
    “At this point, no,” Kragen answered. “You know, I do have another question.”
     
    “Shoot,” Jeremy said.
     
    “Have the Davenports offered any of you money to buy that property?” Kragen said.
     
    Jeremy answered first. “No, not me.” He looked at his grandparents.
     
    Robert Doran said, “No, no one has.”
     
    Martha Doran added, “We heard from our daughter that Charles Davenport tried to buy the property several times.”
     
    “But, after the kids died, he never tried to buy it from you?” Kragen asked again.
     
    “No, he tried to sue us for it, but was unsuccessful,” Robert said.
     
    “This was back in the 70s?” Kragen said.
     
    “Yes, late 70s or early 80s,” Doran answered.
     
    “Was it as valuable then as it would be now?” Kragen asked.
     
    “It was decent farmland but, that was before everyone started planting grapes. So, probably not,” Doran said with a shrug.
     
    “If it is far more valuable now, why do you think he hasn’t made another offer to buy it?” Kragen asked.
     
    “He knows after everything that’s happened, there is no way we would ever sell to him,” Doran said pointedly.
     
    “Has anyone else offered to buy the land?” Kragen asked.
     
    “Recently, no,” Martha Doran said.
     
    “How about not so recently?” Kragen asked.
     
    “There was a corporation that tried to buy the property for years. They stopped bothering us about ten years ago,” Robert said.
     
    “Do you remember the name?” Kragen asked.
     
    “Darcorp,” Robert answered.
     
    “Did they offer a fair price?” Kragen asked.
     
    “The price was more than fair.” Robert said.
     
    “Why didn’t you sell?” Kragen inquired.
     
    Martha and Robert looked at each other. Finally, Robert answered. “We thought that the company was a front for the Davenports.”
     

Chapter 21
     
    Dixon Calhoun had done some checking around and found that Bing Taylor’s younger sister, Beatrice, still lived in the area. The next day, Lindsay made the drive to the Central Coast again. Dixon and Lindsay met Beatrice at her law office in San