MAX ZINN - OLIVE GROWER

 MAX3 - MAX AND OLIVE GROWING

On Saturday, I write fiction. This is the third episode of Max Zinn.  He is the grandson of (name) Camposi from Matusi, Italy - world famous olive grower and world-famous Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

*****

Carlos Perez guided the sheriff’s squad car through the gate and into the olive orchard.  Max Zinn had remained by the body and flashed the flashlight from his iPhone towards the squad car.

“Over here,” Max yelled.

With Carlos leading and Max yelling and waving his light, the squad car came directly to the tree with a dead man.

Max said, “We didn’t touch anything.  So, our fingerprints shouldn’t be on the body.”

Since this was a murder, the coroner examined the body and death with the sheriff's deputies.  

Michael Waldron was the coroner and, with gloves on, carefully started the examination of the body.  Since the body was lying face up with a bullet hole in the head, he told Julia Gomez, who was taking notes for the sheriff’s office.  “Preliminary findings - the man died of a gunshot to the head.” 

Michael thrust his temperature probe into the man’s chest over the heart.  He said, “Approximate time of death, 3 to 4 hours ago.”

Taking out his tape measure from his bag, he handed an end to Julia.  She went to the feet of the body and held the end of the tape measure there.  Michael pulled the tape taut and told Julia, “Five feet, ten inches.”  

He said, “Probably a Hispanic male, maybe about 40 years old.”

*****

Meanwhile, Max, Carlos, and the other deputies looked for the bullet on the ground.  Max’s iPhone flashlight was bright and caught a metallic image on the ground about ten feet away.  He pointed that out to Deputy Jose Hinojosa. Jose had a bag for evidence and, with tweezers, picked up the item.  Yes, it was a bullet. Was it recent?  It wasn’t rusty. It was on the grass and soil.  Jose yelled to Julia, “We have a bullet”.  Julia wrote that down.  Two bullets on the ground wouldn’t be expected, but Max encouraged the group to keep looking. 

Looking up from his body inspection, Michael said, “You might find the spent shell.  That might help the police know where the shot was fired. You already know where the bullet ended after exiting the body.”

Max stopped suddenly.  “I smell something. EVERYBODY STOP for a second”.

Walking towards the body, Max saw the dead man's empty container.

“We thought he was picking olives, but if this is really Juan Garza, he would have known that the olives weren’t ripe for picking.  No, he was here to put some kind of poison on the trees.”

Max picked up the container and sniffed.  “Yes, there was something nasty in here.”

Turning to the sheriff’s deputies, Max said, “Can you take this to your crime lab and figure out what he had in here?  It might be some form of e-coli or anthrax contamination.  Wear your gloves and treat it with care.”

Then Max asked Carlos, “Can you smell anything unusual?”

Carlos, “Yes, I’m getting a faint smell of a vinegar-type aroma.  We must rope off this area to keep the staff out.”

Max thought of Louise Larkner and said, “We have an olive grower expert who is a professor at the University of California at Davis.  She might be helpful as she is a pro at Olive Diseases.  We use her as a consultant, and I think she might be able to help.”

Deputy Jose Hinojosa said, “We have access to state experts, but if they aren’t available, I’ll note that Louise Larkner at UC Davis could be a resource.

Coroner Michael Waldron was done with his initial analysis.  When they turned the body over, the back of the head was split open from the bullet.  He had searched the body and found some relevant materials.  

The person’s driver's license was in his billfold.  It listed him as Juan Garza, with an address.  Deputy Hinojosa would check the state records for other crimes with Juan Garza.  He had a Mastercard credit card in his billfold (as Juan Garza) and 45 dollars in cash. Additional pockets didn’t have any significant materials.  Cigarettes in a pocket with matches; tissues in another pocket.  Keys with what seems to be a car key, a house or apartment key, and what might be a mailbox key.

Waldron said they would run a toxicology analysis back at the lab to test for drugs and alcohol.  

The sheriff’s staff, wearing medical gloves, loaded the body into a bag to take to the lab.  Deputy Hinojosa indicated he would see if Juan Garza was married, and if so, he would find his wife and family. 

Deputy Hinojosa asked Max and Carlos how Juan Garza could have entered the olive grove.

Carlos replied, “We have combination locks on our six gates, all with the same combination.  We didn’t change them after we fired Juan, so I assume he knew how to get in.”

Hinojosa asked, “You fired him, so he wanted revenge, " which seems to be the logical explanation.  But we’ll look at other avenues as well.  Do you know if he had other enemies that might want him dead?” 

Max looked at Carlos.  Carlos answered, “I don’t know if he had other enemies.”

Hinojosa then asked, “Do you two have good alibis?  You could have staged this to get rid of a problem.”

Carlos and Max looked at each other.  They hadn’t thought of this.

Max answered, “Most evenings, Carlos and I walk through the olive grove.  I have an unusual talent for detecting strange aromas.  I smelled something rotten in the direction, and we walked here. Let’s see.  We could check with our cook when we left the cafeteria and when we called 911 to report the body.  I guess that it could allow for a little casual walk.  I don’t own a gun, or really, I don’t own any guns.  Carlos might have a gun for chasing squirrels out of the orchard, so you can check it out if you have to.  And, if you need to, come back in the morning when you can see better. Maybe there will be more cues that pop up then. I know you must search, but Carlos and I are innocent”.

*****

A woman waited for word on Juan Garza in an apartment in Durham, California.  Where was he?  He said he was going out for a beer with the boys, but that was several hours ago.

A person waited for word on Juan Garza in another apartment in Durham, California.  But this person was waiting to hear that the bastard was dead.

*****

Max and Carlos got a cola in the employee lounge after the sheriff’s group took the body and left.  

Max was mussing, “Why would Juan Garza want to sabotage our olive grove?”

Carlos answered, “Plain and simple. I fired him, and he wanted revenge.”

Max answered, “Okay, but why would somebody kill him - in our olive grove?”

Carlos replied, “I don’t know.  I know he had a reputation as a ladies man.”

Max asked, “Was he married?”

Carlos said, “I’m pretty sure he was married, but I don’t think that was a deterrent for Juan not to see other women.  He thought he was a hot Latin Lover.”

Max said, “So, a jealous wife?”

Carlos said, “Maybe.”

“Or a jealous lover?”

“Maybe”.

Max changed the subject.  “Do you think he was there to pick olives?”

Carlos, “No way, Juan knew the olives weren’t ripe.  I think he had some kind of disease or pesticide in his bucket.”

Max asked, “Did Juan relock the gate after he came in?”

Carlos said, “Actually, no. He put the lock back on the gate but didn’t close it to lock it.  It would look locked, but he could escape the gate again quickly.”

Max asked, “Do you think the murderer came with him or was watching him and came in the gate after him?

Carlos thought for a second.  “I think the murderer came with him.  You heard us open the gate.  It squeals.   He would have heard the gate open if somebody was watching him but wasn’t with him.”

Max agreed, ‘You’re right. That might help the sheriff.  Maybe somebody in town saw Juan and the other person together.”

Max continued, “But why would the friend shoot him in the head in our olive grove?”

Carlos shook his head, “I have no idea.” 

*****

At about four in the morning, Max woke suddenly from a dream.  He sat up in bed and said to himself, “Yes, I have to check that.” Usually, Max slept with his window-darkening shades drawn. But Max got up and opened his shades.  It was still dark, but he wanted to be up in the early light.  Then he went back to bed and fell asleep.

***

Max rolled over about 6:30 a.m. There was light coming in his window.  Still groggy, he first thought, I never leave my shades open - and then he woke up with a start. He jumped out of bed, used the restroom, pulled on his pants and boots, threw on a shirt, and was out of his house in about five minutes.  He stopped for a take-out coffee at the employee's lounge. The morning manager, Maria, was getting things ready and was surprised to see Max come in.  

Maria asked, “Wow, you’re up early.”

Max answered, “You missed all the excitement last night, Maria.  There was a man shot on our property.”

Maria gasped, “What? Who?”.

Max answered quickly, “I’m sure Carlos can fill you in - but I want a cup of coffee to go.  I have something to check on.”

Maria quickly poured hot coffee into a styrofoam cup for Max.  She warmed him, “It's super hot.  I just made it.”.

Max grinned, “Just the way I like it.  Thank you, Maria.”

He jogged to the barn, grabbed an all-terrain vehicle - and headed toward the south end where the murder occurred. 

But he didn’t go to the murder site. He went to the bee hive near the site.  

And it was as he expected.  There was no bee activity.  No bees flying around.  There were some bees on the ground - dead. 

“Yup,” he said to himself and returned to the house.

He entered his office, grabbed his laptop computer, and texted Louise Larkner.  He thought she might not be up and going yet, but this will be waiting for her when she gets on her phone or computer. 

Here is his text:

“Hi, Louise.  This is Max Zinn.  We had a murder on our property last night.  The dead person is a former employee we fired two years ago for stealing.  He also had a bin of something we suspect is poison.  The Butte County Sheriff's office took the bin for analysis last night (it was about midnight). 

I woke up this morning with bees on my mind.  I investigated, and the beehive nearest the murder seems to have died.  I doubt it is a coincidence, but I’m unsure if that can be proved. It’s out of your field of expertise to see if some poison that was to be used to harm the olive grove could also kill bees.

The authorities are trying to find suspects.  Seemingly somebody that he knew came with him and shot him.  

Let me know what you think.  I’ll be out checking the other olives in the area.  We might need you to find an antidote for whatever was used. 

*****

Yesenia Garza was changing for work.  She had gotten Miguel off to First Grade.  She was a paralegal in Durham.  There was a firm knock on the door.  She yelled, “Just a minute,” as she pulled up her skirt. 

She looked out the peephole and saw a man in a uniform. ‘Oh no,’ she thought as she opened the door.

Deputy Jose Hinojosa asked. “Are you Mrs. Juan Garza?”

Yesenia nodded, but the knot in her stomach tightened.

Deputy Jose Hinojosa introduced himself. “I’m Deputy Jose Hinojosa from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.  I’m sad to say that your husband died last night.  His death is still being investigated.  Can I ask you a few questions?”

Yesenia nodded - the knot in her stomach had tightened in her throat now.

The deputy continued, “When did you last see your husband?”

Yesenia coughed. She looked blankly into the face of the deputy.

Jose repeated himself, “Ma’am, when did you last see your husband?”

Yesenia still stared blankly, “Juan is dead?”

Jose answered, “Yes, he is dead, and I need your information. When did you last see your husband?”

Yesenia said, “Dead?”

Jose answered, “Yes, dead.”

This time Jose paused.  He thought, ‘This woman just lost her husband; give her some time.’

Yesenia was quiet for a minute.  She would have to call Jose’s parents, his two brothers, and his sister, then arrange a funeral and explain to Miguel that Daddy wouldn’t return home. 

Yesenia found her voice, “How did he die?”

Jose answered slowly, “The authorities are still investigating his death.”

Yesenia’s brain was spinning again, ‘I’ll have to call my dad, mom, and brothers.  I must let my boss know; Miguel’s teacher must know. When can we have a funeral? It will take some time as two of his brothers are in Mexico. Maybe we can get my cousin, Father John, to perform the funeral.’

Jose coughed - to get her attention.

Yesenia answered, “You wanted to know when I last saw him.  It was last night at about 7:00.  We had finished dinner.  It was still light out, and he said he was going to the bar for a beer with Lorenzo. He kissed Miguel good night and kissed me - and left.”

Jose asked, “Which bar would he go to?”

Yesenia answered, “The Empire Bar.”  

Jose continued, “Who is this, Lorenzo?”

Yesenia, still in a fog, “A friend of Juan.”

Jose asked, “What is Lorenzo’s last name?”

Yesenia answered, “Oh, Hernández.  He works with Juan at Durham Coop Olives.”

Jose decided that he would need to return in a few days when the shock had worn off”.

Yesenia asked, “Where is his body? I think Brusie Funeral Home will do the funeral.”

Jose Hinojosa smiled at Yesenia, “Thank you very much, Ma’am.  What is your name?  We might need to ask you more questions in a few days.”

Yesenia repeated, “Where is his body?”

Jose said, “Sorry, Ma’am, it is still being investigated. 

*****’

End of part III of Max Zinn - Olive grower