Page 16 of Her Last Whisper
Skimming through the report again, Katie read that Deputy Windham stated Amanda claimed she was tied to a bed, and that the man had taken the tape from her mouth but not from her eyes and repeatedly whispered into her ear phrases like, “you want to tell me the truth” and “tell me your secrets” and “the truth.” After the man left, she claimed she yelled for hours to no avail, but she could hear faint sounds of traffic in the distance.
Katie added to the list:
Signature—Bondage. Taped victim’s eyes. Women in distress—at his mercy.
Whispers to victim—to hide identity? Or, part of his fantasy?
Truth? Meaning? Perpetrator’s fantasy? Wanting confessions?
Taken somewhere remote—no one heard her screams. No indication of soundproofing: traffic sounds.
She was found near Basin Woods Development—abandoned housing area slated for tear down and rebuild—county in stalemate over budget. (Further Research)
Kept her eyes covered—Abductor didn’t want his identity known and/perhaps didn’t want to look in her eyes.
Traffic/cars? Rural enough where no one heard screams, but traffic could be heard? (Need Research)
Katie stood with her hands on her hips reading the list. She tilted her head to one side and wondered if it was a crime of opportunity—whether Amanda was selected or just was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Was it someone she knew? Or someone she came into contact with regularly at work, home or in her spare time? As a nurse she’d spend the majority of time at the hospital working shifts, but that hardly narrowed the field with constantly changing employees, patients, and contractors.
Pulling out a county map, Katie estimated that is was approximately five miles from Amanda’s apartment to the hospital. She drew a five-mile radius around the hospital and apartment and studied what was included within; mostly residential areas, shopping malls, and several office buildings. She let out a sigh.
Logging off her computer, she grabbed her jacket and briefcase and headed towards the exit. She peeked into one of the examination rooms as she passed, seeing John deeply immersed, staring into the eyepiece of a microscope, his body completely still. She was going to say goodbye, but decided not to interrupt him.
Out of thebuilding and into her car, she reminded herself of the last known address for Emily Day from her arrest record, which was located at 543 Forest Avenue, apartment #10.
After winding her way through Pine Valley for almost fifteen minutes, she finally took a left turn onto Forest Avenue and found the apartment building at 543. It was pretty with carefully tended shrubs and intricate black wrought-iron fencing. The full bloom of a bright pink bougainvillea climbing up the side of the building was quite spectacular, reminding Katie of an English country garden she had once seen in a magazine. It was beautiful and extremely inviting to anyone who happened to visit.
Katie found a parking space on the street and quickly made her way to the apartment building, the aroma of fresh flowers like a sweet and citrus cup of herbal tea. From what Katie could ascertain, there were eight small apartments on the ground floor and four larger apartments on the second level. The #10 apartment was located upstairs, so Katie took the metal staircase on the side of the building and rehearsed a few things in her mind that she would ask Emily—and Amanda, if indeed she was staying with her friend.
Katie pressed the doorbell. At first, she didn’t think there was anyone home until she heard footsteps slowly approaching. The door opened a few inches and an attractive woman with dark hair peered through the crack. With relief, Katie immediately recognized Amanda Payton from the photograph in her file.
“Yes?” she said quietly as her eyes darted around and then rested on Katie.
“Amanda Payton?” Katie said gently.
The woman’s eyes grew bigger at the sound of her name; it was clear that she had been crying from the smudge of makeup beneath them.
“Ms. Payton, I’m Detective Katie Scott from the sheriff’s office. May I have a moment to speak with you?”
“What about?” she said, though her tone indicated that she already knew.
Katie glanced around. “I think it would be best if we spoke inside. May I come in?”
Amanda stared at her for a few tense moments as if contemplating what to do. Tears welled up in her eyes. “No. I won’t be called a liar again.” She slammed the door shut and locked it.
Katie blinked at the door. It was clear that Amanda was still quite distraught and scared, and that she knew that the sheriff’s department wasn’t exactly on her side. But Katie wasn’t going to walk away. There was something to Amanda’s story, and she was going to try to get to the bottom of it. Taking a breath, she knocked on the door again.
No answer.
She knocked again, harder this time.
“Please, Amanda. I’d really like to speak with you. We can figure this whole thing out—together.”
There was some movement inside, but the door remained shut.
Katie hung her head and tried to think how she would feel if something that terrible had happened to her and the police let her down. “Amanda, you don’t have to talk to me. I won’t force you,” she said. “But I want to help you. And Idobelieve you.”
Nothing.
