Page 22 of Her Last Whisper
Slowing her vehicle as she neared the area, Katie could see the first responders and crime scene unit were already there, which made parking tight. She had no choice but to park farther away and then walk, which gave her a little time to try and compose herself before working her first official homicide crime scene with a detective she had never met before.
Standing with the driver’s door open, she clutched the side of the car to steady herself as the breeze chased up the dust from the larger vehicles ahead of her, dredging up a long-buried memory.
The heavy dust mixed with scorching heat was something that was always difficult to deal with, but you had to forge ahead no matter what. It was forever in your eyes, mouth, and lungs. All of us were exhausted—even Cisco seemed tired as he kept the grueling pace towards a small village that had been known to be on our side. We passed a little girl and her mother preparing food in a big metal pot outside their house. It smelt delicious and I smiled as the little girl pointed at Cisco as we passed.
My eyes locked with the mother and I felt her gratitude spur me on. But something made me look back before we turned the corner. Then came the explosion. In an instant, mother and daughter were gone…
Katie blinked in shock, gulping back the memory she had packed away so neatly in her past. Her boots felt like they were filled with lead, but she forced herself to reach for her small field notebook and a pair of latex-free gloves; she had a job to do.
Weaving around several vehicles, she finally reached the small number of deputies that had assisted in securing the scene, and now were busy keeping bystanders away from the area. Katie recognized Deputy Windham among them, and when their eyes met, he made his way over to her.
“Detective,” he said with a serious expression.
“Is it really her?” she asked, though she already knew the answer.
He looked somber. “I’m afraid so.”
“I’m here to assist Detective Hamilton.”
“Oh course, he’s over there.” The deputy pointed in the direction past the morgue van.
“Thank you,” she answered in a voice calmer than she felt.
As Katie neared the crime scene, she was shocked to see that the body was still in its original position. She had expected it to be already loaded into the van. She swallowed hard, knowing she would have to see Amanda Payton’s body up close. The reality of the situation knotted her gut as she remembered reassuring Amanda that she would have patrol drive by her home to keep her safe.
Katie focused on the tall man with dark wavy receding hair talking to one of the deputies. He was in his mid-forties, she guessed, and was dressed better than most of the detectives. He looked in her direction. His expression was somber as he watched her approach.
“Detective Katie Scott?”
“Yes. Detective Hamilton?” she replied.
“Bryan.”
“Nice to meet you.” She shook his hand. It was firm, the strong handshake of someone trying to assert their claim.
“I know all about you,” he said, clearly not amused that he had to wait for a rookie detective to arrive to supporthiscrime scene.
“And what’s that?” Katie countered, wanting to get everything out in the open so that they could get on with the investigation.
“You found those missing girls single-handedly. At least, that’s what the sheriff said,” he taunted.
“Nice of you to say, but I certainly wasn’t alone.”
“That’s not the way I heard it,” he mumbled.
Katie changed the subject. “I hope that I’m not overstepping. I was told that I’d be assisting you on this case.” She tried to be diplomatic and keep her voice even.
“The sheriff explained the situation,” he said and walked back to the body. “You knew her?”
“I met with her just yesterday to talk about her kidnapping case and to see if I could get more information.” She tried to keep her voice steady as she followed him over to the edge of the scene and allowed herself to glance quickly at the body for the first time. Amanda was naked, her beautiful, lithe body facedown in the grass. Katie didn’t flinch, aware that everyone around was watching her closely.
“She was definitely afraid that this… might happen,” Katie managed as the image of the smiling mother and child in Afghanistan flashed through her mind. She looked away from the crime scene and was relieved to see John on his knees organizing evidence containers, waiting for the go-ahead to begin processing the scene—waiting on her to do her job.
“Well, let’s get started. I assume you’ve done this before?” Bryan asked.
“What’s your procedure? I can tell you what I see and then we switch positions,” she said.
“Be my guest.” He pulled a small wire-bound notebook from his inside jacket pocket to jot down notes. “After you…”
