Page 57 of Little Girls Sleeping
He saw her standing there but didn’t immediately greet her. There was something about his intensely blue eyes and his manner that intrigued her. For his part, he seemed to have assessed her in a few quick moments, taking care to observe her face and demeanor.
“Hi, I’m Detective Scott,” she said at last, in an effort to break the weird silence.
“John Blackburn,” was his response.
“Is this a good time to talk about the Compton and Myers cases?” she asked, noticing that her voice was higher than usual.
“Of course, Detective,” he replied, walking to a closed door. “I take it you’ve never been to the forensic division before?”
“I’m that transparent?” she said, trying to lighten the stilted mood.
For the first time, he cracked a small smile. “This way,” he directed, and opened the door, which led into a large examination room with four white tables. Two of them held the coffins; each had been meticulously taken apart and inventoried. The other two contained the girls’ clothes, the teddy bears, and some miscellaneous pieces of fabric.
The room was dim except for the overhead lights, and large magnifying glasses were attached to each table. A strange hum buzzed from the light sources, giving Katie a dull headache.
She was mesmerized by the organization of the evidence, perfectly set in viewing order.
“This really is your first visit,” Blackburn said, watching her reaction.
“Yes, the only official area I’ve been to previously has been the morgue.”
“Well, you’re in for an education.” He walked to the first table. “But from what I’ve heard, it wouldn’t surprise me if you excel in this area as well.”
Katie thought that was a strange comment coming from the forensics supervisor. It made her a little bit nervous and slightly self-conscious as she realized what a rookie she really was.
She put down her notebook and quickly pulled out her notes.
“Here, let me take a look at those,” he said and took the pages from her. He quickly read over them, nodding a few times. “Well, I can see you actually paid attention to my reports.”
“Of course,” she asked. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“Detective Templeton doesn’t seem too interested in them. But that’s been his usual M.O. when working cases. Not the easiest guy to chat with.”
Katie laughed, even though she knew it was unprofessional. “I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. I’ve been dealing with him for a while now. It’s just a shame that his arrogance and ingrained insecurities are now directed at you.”
“You know about that?” she asked.
John Blackburn smiled. It was genuine, making his entire face light up. “Of course. Everyone knows about how you put him in his place. Don’t be so surprised, Detective. You were the one who found the bodies, remember. An amazing feat. And that must really frost his balls.”
“To say the least. I don’t think I have many friends around here,” she said quietly.
“Don’t sell yourself short. You have more than you think.”
Katie smiled and retrieved a pen to make notes. “Okay, take me through the coffins.”
She moved to the first table, standing to the right of the supervisor, and waited patiently for him to give her the overview.
“Well, there is the obvious,” he began. “These coffins were specially made—hand-crafted by someone who took great care in constructing them. You won’t find anything like these through the usual means. Each one was made for a specific girl.”
“How so?” she asked.
“They aren’t exactly the same dimensions; the one for the Myers girl was three and three-quarter inches longer and one quarter inch wider.”
“Was the wood from the same source?”
“Yes. From what we can tell from the grain and consistency, it was from the same oak tree.” He moved to a computer behind them. “Take a look.” He navigated to a page that showed the wood from the two coffins magnified two hundred times. “You can see they have varied characteristics, making them unique.”
