Page 108 of Her Last Whisper
It surprised Katie that there were still so many trees in the area: they hadn’t burned, fallen down or been removed.
“This is good,” she said. “There’s visibility for this block. And if anyone comes near, Cisco will alert us.”
“He’s not coming with us?”
“No. I don’t know what kind of condition the houses are in and I don’t want Cisco in the middle of something that might go sideways. Some are burned down completely and others most likely have significant damage. Officially, he’s just a ride along.”
McGaven gave her a concerned look.
“Don’t worry; I’ve still got the remote if there’s an emergency.”
They exited the vehicle, leaving behind a very restless dog.
“Okay, how do you want to do this?” she asked.
Walking around the car to the trunk, McGaven popped the lock and flipped it up. “We’re going in prepared.” He divvied up flashlights making room with the crowbars, extra magazines, and made sure his service weapon was ready.
“Okay, Rambo,” she said, trying to lighten the situation, but in reality, she wanted to calm herself down.
“I’ll take that as a compliment. The easiest thing to do is I’ll take one side of the street and you take the other. You know,” he said, “they say this place is haunted. There have been many accounts of people seeing ghosts.”
Katie rolled her eyes in disbelief. “People see what they want to see.”
“Okay. But a couple of the deputies saw some weird stuff around here.”
“Maybe they did,” she said flippantly. The last thing she needed to hear about was some demonic spirit, most likely someone sneaking around trying to scare people.
McGaven smiled. “You never know what you’re going to find.”
Katie took an overall survey around the area.
“What do you think?” he said. “It’s only two and half houses each.”
Nodding in agreement, Katie said, “You’re right. That’s the best way to handle the searches. If we can’t find anything here, then we’ll reassess.”
“Okay,” he said and headed to the first house on his side of the street.
“Hey,” Katie said. McGaven turned around. “Anything doesn’t seem right, you wait for backup. Check in every ten minutes and keep your cell phone open to the walkie-talkie mode.”
“Ten-four.”
Sixty-Two
Katie walked up to the first house along a broken walkway still with remnants of caution tape; the house had been at one time charming and inviting. The front door no longer existed and several large pieces of burned plywood were the only things covering the main opening and windows on each side.
She looked down the street and behind the house. There were remnants of the other burnt structures, leaving only the cement foundations.
Before entering the house, Katie used her flashlight to search the front and backyards to see if there had been any recent activity, but they were bare and there were charred impressions of walls and porches. The upper windows were broken out, most likely from juveniles partying and throwing rocks.
It struck Katie as odd that there weren’t any signs of graffiti or areas that had empty liquor bottles. The area would be a prime place for teenagers or gang members to congregate, but it seemed to lack their typical signatures.
Walking back to the front door, she carefully tugged at one of the loose pieces of plywood on the right side of the door frame. The sound of the screech of the long nails pulling away sent an eerie echo traveling down the street. She wondered if McGaven had heard it, but she was sure he had his own obstacles. She glanced across the street and saw the quick streaks of light from McGaven’s flashlight bounce around inside the house.
Katie directed her flashlight inside and peered through the illumination from one side to the other: A large living room and open kitchen with small dining area on one side to the stairs leading up to the next level.
She entered the house with her gun ready but not directed. Standing at the threshold gaining her bearings, she saw the carpet had been removed and the appliances smashed and scattered around the adjacent rooms. The interior had a stagnant moldy smell mixed with smoke, but nothing that would make her gag. She was surprised that smoke still permeated the interior.
First looking around the living room walls, she was alert to seeing anything that appeared as if it didn’t belong or might indicate a false room. She swept the entire downstairs area before she ascended the staircase, which still had some remnants of well-worn carpet attached to each stair.
