California Learnin'

The plane jetted down the runway, bumping along. AJ sat on the flight from Orlando to LA lost deep in thought.A part of him wanted to tell the plane to stop and let him off. He had a bad feeling about this trip. His mother always told him that he should follow his gut instinct. He usually did. But for some reason, the curiosity to find out about Cassandra's past, or whoever she was, made him ignore the voices in his brain telling him that he was treading on dangerous ground. Even Marcus had tried to talk him out of it, but he wasn't successful. He sat beside AJ now, fast asleep. AJ tried to find a reason why Cassandra would steal a dead girl's identity. He went through a hundred different theories. Maybe Cassandra was really Cassandra Woodland and never died. People faked their own deaths all the time. If she had, why was a question he couldn't answer -- yet. Maybe California would bring him some answers.

It was 2pm the next day before he and Marcus set out. AJ had done some more research before leaving Orlando and was armed with all the addresses he planned to visit. His first stop was in a rather seedy-looking area of South Central LA. "I don't like this man," Marcus muttered as he drove down Mariposa Avenue. "This area gives me the chills."

"I got my disguise on," AJ said, looking at himself in the mirror. He was dressed in torn, dirty jeans, a t-shirt that looked like it hadn't been washed in months, a jean jacket, and he was wearing a dark-brown wig, dark sunglasses, and had shaved all his facial hair. The last thing he wanted was someone to recognize him as a Backstreet Boy.

Marcus glanced at AJ. He did look like a hoodlum with his clothes, wig, and his assortment of tattoos. "Just be careful, man. I don't want to be carrying no corpse back to Denise."

"Hey, this is it!" AJ shouted suddenly, looking out the window at a small brown house. "9060 Mariposa Avenue."

Marcus stopped the car and AJ got out. "Wait right here," he ordered, smiling shakily.

Marcus shook his head and watched AJ. He loved the boy like a son and worried about him constantly. AJ was a very determined individual and Marcus had learned a long time ago that it was best to just let AJ do what he had to do. Marcus just made sure he was always there to watch his back.

AJ rang the doorbell and looked around. Two Mexican kids were playing ball next door. They stared at him suspiciously. A woman opened the first door and peered at him. "Ja?"

AJ hoped Mrs. Delgado spoke English because his Spanish wasn't that great. "Hola. Me llamo Alejandro. Yo necessito preguntate, umm... questions para Juan."

Mrs. Delgado laughed slightly. "Is ok. You can speak Engleesh. You're Spaneesh is no that good." She smiled and opened the door. "Are you friend of Juan's?"

"Y..yes," AJ replied quicky. "We used to go to UCLA together, but I left after three months to go study abroad and stayed in Europe for a few years. I just got back and someone told me that he was murdered. I'm really sorry."

Mrs. Delgado looked upwards. "Si, been six years now, but it's hard for me to believe he's gone. He was such a good boy. Wanted to be doctor."

"I hope I'm not gonna cause you more grief by asking this," AJ said kindly, "but can you tell me what happened to him? Someone told me his girlfriend found his body."

Mrs. Delgado's expression turned sour. "Si, Diana. All we know is he was killed, con...I mean, with a knife sometime between minight and 8am, when Diana found him. No one saw anything and if they did, they no tell the poleece."

"Did you like Diana, Mrs. Delgado?" AJ asked, noticing her expression.

"Me no.. I no like her. She was no good for my Juan. Made him take drugs. He told me this. He wanted to leave her, but she was very...how do you say...in control of him."

"Do you think she had something to do with his death?" AJ asked quietly.

Mrs. Delgado's head shot up in surprise. "Si, yes. I...I always believe that Diana killed my Juan. Too many things....too many unanswered questions."

"Any idea where she is now?"

"She left UCLA two weeks after Juan's murder. People tell me she was suffering greatly because Juan was gone and she couldn't study no more." She uttered a noise born of scorn.

"Do you know anything else about her? Where she's from? Her parents? Anything?"

Mrs. Delgado shook her head. "She never talk about her familia. Said her mother was killed in accident and she never knew her father. She lived in dorm, too."

AJ thanked her. "Again, I'm sorry about Juan. You'll see him again someday."

"Gracias." She smiled. "Good luck to you."

AJ got back in the car. Marcus looked at him. "Where to now?"

"Back to the hotel to eat and sleep. We need to drive down to San Diego later."

*******************

The drive to San Diego took a few hours. Marcus entertained AJ with the history of San Diego. "It draws its name from San Diego de Alcala, a designation credited to Spaniard Don Sebastian Vizcaino who sailed into what is now San Diego Bay on November 12, 1603."

AJ stared at him incredulously. "How the hell do you know this?"

"US history buff," Marcus replied, laughing. "San Diego's actually California's second largest county with a population of approximately 2.6 million."

AJ was still staring at him. "Thanks for the history and geography lesson. Remember to exit off at Sasstaras," he reminded Marcus, looking at a paper in his hand.

Marcus nodded. "Where to after this?"

"We fly from San Diego to San Francisco tomorrow afternoon."

The next day, after six hours of sleep and coffee by the cupload, AJ was ready to go on his next mission. This time he disguised himself as a reporter. He gave Marcus the address -- 10,361 10th Avenue. It was in a reasonably nice neighborhood and AJ was relieved. He rang the doorbell of the two-story white shuttered house and waited. The early afternoon sun was beating down on him and he felt sweaty in his business suit. "Yes?" A man's voice startled him. "What do you want?"

"Hi, my name is James McLean. I'm a reporter from the San Bernadino Tribune and-"

The man, who looked like he was in his mid-20's, cut him off. "So what?" he queried gruffly. "Whatcha doin' all the way here?"

AJ swallowed his nervousness. This was no Mrs. Delgado. "I'm a rookie, if you wanna call me that, and I'm looking for material on my first story. My editor gave me a topic and I need to research it. It's on unsolved murders. I read in an old newspaper about Pedro. I assume he's your brother?"

"Was my brother. If you did your research, you know he's dead. So what the hell do you want?"

"I just need to ask you a few questions about his murder. Maybe I could speak to your mother? I read that she's the one who found the body."

The man opened the door and stepped out on the porch. AJ took a few steps back. This guy was at least 6'3 and a good 300 lbs. He glanced quickly at Marcus, who had alighted from the car and was ready to pounce if need be. "My mother is not here," the man said rudely. "You wanna know where she is? In a home. After she found Pedro's body, she went into what they call emotional shock and she never recovered. Before you ask, my father isn't here. He's at work. What do you want to know?"

"I'm sorry about your mother. I can't even begin to imagine what a nightmare this must be for her -- and your entire family. Did the police ever find the killer?"

He shook his head. "The cops don't know jackshit!" he exclaimed fiercely. "I know who did it. The only fingerprints they found in his appartment were his, the family's, and his girlfriend's. The cops had the place dusted and had the nerve to interrogate us. But they didn't even look for her!" He spat out the last word.

AJ's heart was thumping loudly. "Her?"

"The bitch he was dating for six months. She conveniently disappeared after he was murdered. Left town. No one's seen her since. Coincidence? I think not. She send us a condolence card about a month after his murder, telling us that she got bad news and had to go home. She claimed her father was dying of Cancer."

"What was her name?" AJ asked.

"Darlene. Darlene Lopez."

AJ almost fell over in shock. "Did she say where home was?"

"Uh...damn...I think it's somewhere in Northern California."

"Brentwood?"

"Yea, that's it. How do you know?" he asked suspiciously.

"I have relatives there so it was just a natural first guess." He smiled, hoping this man wouldn't see through his lie.

"Anything else you wanna know? I need to get ready for work."

"No man. Thanks for the information. Should I find out anything, I'll give you a call."

The man finally showed some teeth. "Hey, if you find her, you call me. I'll do what the cops failed to do years ago. An eye for an eye. That's what the Bible says."

AJ didn't even want to know what this man was capable of. "I will. Thanks again and my condolences."

The man nodded and went back inside the house. AJ walked back to the car. Marcus was grinning like a fool. "That big guy got ya little puny self scared?"

He gave Marcus a withered stare, then laughed. "Hell no. He just momentarily shocked me. But I got some very valuable info. Next stop, Brentwood."