Page 44 of Little Girls Sleeping
Rick went to the crate and began picking up the empty beer cans. “What do you mean? Like arguing or abuse or something?”
“Anything,” she repeated.
He shook his head. “No, nothing like that. Although their habits were something else.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked at her as if sizing her up. It made Katie uncomfortable, but she remained steadfast in her position and her authority for asking questions.
“I’m not one to judge, but they were rather promiscuous, and they weren’t afraid to experiment.”
“Promiscuous meaning sexual relations with other people outside their marriage? Did one of them have an affair?”
He laughed. “I’m sorry. I meant swingers; you know, wife swapping.”
“The Comptons?”
“The Comptons and the Stanleys. I think that was their name,” he said.
Katie remembered the way Mrs. Stanley had spoken of Mr. Compton. “And you know this because…” she pushed.
Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, alerting her that there was a text message waiting.
“Everyone knew. Look, it wasn’t a secret. They liked to act out with the curtains open. You can ask any of the neighbors,” he suggested.
“What about Chelsea?” asked Katie, still trying to push away the image of the two couples dancing around in the front living room for all the neighbors to witness.
He shrugged. “I only saw her a couple of times, leaving the house and walking somewhere.”
“One more thing. Did you ever see anyone hanging around or taking a particular interest in the Compton house or Chelsea?” She waited patiently and studied him as he answered.
“I’m sorry, Detective, I didn’t notice anything like that.”
“Okay, Mr. Darren. Thank you for your time.” She turned to leave the way she’d entered. “Just a friendly reminder. No discharging of weapons in the town’s limits. It’s best to be at least one hundred and fifty yards from a roadway, building, or large body of water if you don’t want deputies dispatched out here.”
“Will do,” he said with a smile.
Katie nodded at him and walked briskly back to her car, though not before noticing that Rick drove an oversized tan truck.
Once she was behind the wheel, she looked at her phone. The message was from Denise in the records division, and it read:Good news.Confirmation ID on second body. More information at morgue.
Twenty-Six
Katie hated the morgue; a stainless-steel tomb with spotless polished floors. It emitted a specific scent from the cleaning fluid used, and nothing positive could be said about it. It fouled the mood of any detective, but it was a place to find answers.
She shuddered.
She had seen her fair share of dead bodies from her two years on patrol at the Sacramento Police Department, and in Afghanistan. More than one was too many.
She knew from Denise that Detective Templeton had already been to the morgue and left again. The preliminary autopsy report was sent to all the detectives working the case, but Katie wanted to hear the findings direct from the person who’d examined the body: the medical examiner, Dr. Jeffrey Dean. Though she didn’t know much about him, and had never been introduced to him, she hoped he wouldn’t treat her any differently from any other homicide detective in the department.
As she walked through the main entrance carrying her small notebook, her boots with their two-and-a-half-inch heels clipped the tile flooring. She didn’t see anyone at first, and she felt conspicuous with her noisy footsteps echoing. The deserted area oozed an extra creepy vibe, so she tried to keep her mind on what the findings from the bodies might be.
Where was everybody?
As she rounded a hallway corner, she found herself face to face with Deputy McGaven. He towered over her and intentionally blocked her path. It was easy to see that he was angry.
She stopped abruptly in front of him. She knew she had to deal with the consequences of ditching him at the coffee house, but she didn’t want to engage in that conversation here.
