Page 16 of The Fragile Ones
“Damn!” exclaimed McGaven. “This road is brutal in a sedan.”
Katie fluttered her eyes open and saw that the trees were closing in on the roadway. She knew how hazardous these roads leading up the mountain were, even when the weather wasn’t an issue. “There has been more than twelve inches of rain in a couple of days up here.”
“Well, hang on,” he said grimacing.
Katie noticed that the road had deep grooves plowed along the sides, leaving distinct tire marks from the regular and oversized vehicles of the first responders.
“Isn’t this fun…” complained McGaven, as he shifted his weight and repositioned his hands on the steering wheel to keep the car on the road. “So I take it we’re going to crash some kind of party?” he said with sarcasm.
“I wonder if they’ve been able to identify the two bodies yet?” she said, more to herself than McGaven.
The road was beginning to smooth out. McGaven steadied the police car and was able to increase speed. What felt like an hour had only been about fifteen minutes.
Katie had the start of a tension headache after all the bouncing along the road, in addition to the worry of what she was about to experience at the site.
As McGaven made a sharp right turn, he slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the responder vehicles, forensic truck, fire truck, search and rescue SUVs, and a variety of sheriff’s department cars parked in formation along the road.
“Wow,” said McGaven. “It looks like the beginning of some kind of event.”
“More like a very serious crime scene,” said Katie. “I coordinated with the sheriff and then there were more vehicles that came up as well. I guess he wanted to make sure that the area was handled correctly.”
McGaven managed to park along the left side, tucked in between two large pine trees.
Katie exited the car, taking a few moments to steady her nerves and focus on what her job was going to entail.
Take a deep breath…
Leaving Cisco behind, Katie quickly moved toward the crowd looking for Detective Hamilton or her uncle to report to. She didn’t have to search long. Sheriff Scott pushed through the crowd at the sight of her.
“You made good time,” the sheriff said to McGaven, with his characteristic gruffness.
“It wasn’t easy on that road,” replied Katie.
“Sir,” McGaven nodded in greeting.
“As Katie has suggested, go ahead and take the film crew’s statements,” the sheriff ordered McGaven.
“On it,” he said, and moved toward the group of filmmakers who appeared somber.
“Has there been any identification?” she asked, trying to keep her pulse steady.
“We think they might be the two little girls who went missing from Rock Creek two years ago.”
“Rock Creek,” she said, trying to remember if she had read the cold case recently. It was vague to her, but she did remember something about the sisters.
“Yes, Tessa Mayfield, ten years old, and her eleven-year-old sister Megan. The girls walked to a play area near where they lived. And disappeared without a trace. The general description of the girls and the clothing matches the initial report.”
Katie’s heart sank as the image of the little girls she had found buried in specially made coffins after she returned home from her tours came back to her. The thought of another two little girls tossed into a ravine made Katie tremble so much she had to put her hands in her pockets to hide her unsteadiness.
“What do you need me to do?” she asked.
“I need you to search the crime scene,” the sheriff said.
“Why me? I assume Detective Hamilton is here and this is his case, right?” Just as she spoke, she saw John walking up, dressed in mountain-climbing attire. He had been a Navy Seal for almost ten years and the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department was lucky to get someone like him to run the forensic division.
John said, “Did you tell her yet?” His expression was subdued, but there was something about his eyes that told Katie that he was excited.
“Tell me what?”
