Page 70 of Little Girls Sleeping
McGaven assisted John, pointing out their route and the evidence discovered.
Several patrol officers kept watch at the front of the house, while others searched the back couple of acres and spoke with neighbors to find out whether they had seen or heard anything.
The daylight had dwindled and it had turned dark outside, making Katie feel vulnerable. She swallowed more than necessary, trying to keep the familiar creeping anxiety at bay while not showing to others that something was terribly wrong. An overwhelming sense of vertigo reared its ugly head, causing her vision to distort and the hush of conversations all around her to appear jumbled. She hated that sensation more than anything else.
She pulled her legs up onto the sofa as Cisco made himself comfortable next to her. Vivid thoughts and images held her mind hostage. The broken lock on the front door. The message sprayed on the wall in her private room. Knowing that someone had spent time inside her house, destroying her things and leaving such an evil message, socked her in the gut.
“Katie?” John stood in front of her holding several evidence bags. His expression was solemn; it was clear that he was extremely concerned. “You okay?” he asked.
“Yes, fine.” She tried to smile.
“I think we’re done here. I wanted to apologize…”
“Apologize? For what?” she asked.
“I had Jamie and Don dust for prints all around your office, since that was where the perpetrator spent a lot of the time. There’s black dusting powder left behind. We don’t have time to clean it up right now.”
“Oh,” said Katie. She figured she would have to clean the walls anyway and repaint. “Don’t worry about it.”
“There wasn’t a lot of evidence left behind; we’ll see what we can come up with at the lab. I’ll let you know anything we find that might help.”
“Thank you,” she managed to say.
The forensic supervisor hesitated, and then said, “I couldn’t help but read your flow charts and profiling for the investigation. Pretty impressive work, Detective Scott.”
“I guess the person who broke in here doesn’t share your opinion,” she said.
He chuckled. “I guess you’re right. Take care of yourself, and I hope you’re staying somewhere else tonight.”
Katie smiled as she watched him leave through the open front door and walk to the forensics van. He looked back once toward the house.
“He’s right,” said Sheriff Scott.
“About?”
“Your presentation of the investigation details was quite impressive.”
Katie remained quiet, thinking about how she was going to proceed now. Her concentration was shattered, and she would have to watch her back until the killer was apprehended. This new burden was almost too much for her to manage.
“You’re not staying here tonight,” her uncle said.
“I’ll be fine. Nobody is coming back tonight. Not after this big show of cops.” She tried to make it sound like it was not a big deal, when in fact it was terrifying. The house felt like a haunted shell.
“I’ve already talked to Claire and she’s made up the spare room for you and Cisco,” he said adamantly. “A couple of days of rest should be in order as well.”
“There’s no way I can take time off. I have work to do. Dena Matthews is still missing.”
The sheriff sighed, but surprisingly didn’t argue with her.
“He’s ratcheted up his anger,” Katie said. “Especially after I found his special place. See how quickly he left another body. I’m more worried about Dena than about my safety.” She watched her uncle’s reaction. She knew he wanted to drag her out of the house, but that he also respected her opinion.
“Okay,” he said. “This is how it’s going down. If you stay here tonight, I want an officer staying with you, just until we have a security system installed tomorrow.”
“But—”
“Anda new heavier front door with a solid lock. Not this quaint farmhouse door.”
“Don’t you think—” she began.
