Page 92 of The Fragile Ones
“It’s been stormy, but bearable. Why?”
“We’re bracing for really bad weather here. High winds, possibly up to seventy miles per hour with major flooding. Highway 9 has already been completely blocked with several trees down…We’re preparing for high flooding right now across the county.”
“When do you think you could send someone here?” Her heart skipped at the realization that they were trapped. “Only way in or out is Highway 9.” She tried to sound calm, but she wasn’t.
“Just sit tight. There’s not much you can do with a big storm. Stay inside and stay safe,” the sheriff ordered.
“Okay, I’ll call you in the morning…”
As if on cue, a horrendous triple boom of thunder accompanied by several close flashes of lightning bombarded them, and the electricity went out. The only light in the room was the flickering fire. It cast an eerie glow on McGaven’s face as he stared at her.
“Uncle Wayne? You there?” Loud static was the only thing she heard.
“Gav, can you dial out?”
He tried. “Nope, there’s no signal.” He sighed with irritation.
“No signal on mine either. He said there is a massive storm getting ready to hit for the next two days. The road is out. Pine Valley is preparing for major flooding and they can’t get here until maybe tomorrow. There’s nothing we can do right now but sit it out.”
He studied Katie. “What’s wrong?”
“We’re stuck here, and so might be the killer.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Wednesday 0430 hours
Katie tossed and turned the entire night, her mind racing. Was she missing the clue that would break the case wide open and expose the killer? Faces flashed through her mind as frequently as the booming above the rooftop. Sheriff Osborne. Officer Mason. Darren Rodriguez. Robin Mayfield…the faces just kept revolving.
Her mind wandered to the discovery of the bodies of Tessa and Megan. The film crew. Matt Gardner, the director who was so suspicious of her call. Butch Price, the grip and all around grunt, who was overly interested in the discovery of bones at Silo. And the others…Then Officer Mason, possibly moving around the swing area within the last two weeks…
Katie sat up in bed. It was useless to try and sleep. Her room was cold and Cisco had nestled into the other side of the bed to keep warm next to her. She flung back her bedding and wrapped a blanket around her. With her feet touching the icy floor, she hurried to the living room to discover that the fire had burned down to embers. She placed a couple of logs on the hearth, the flames beginning to spring up again as heat slowly filtered into the room.
McGaven was sleeping under several quilts on the sofa. He suddenly said, “Can’t sleep?”
Katie turned in surprise. “You neither? The storm?” she asked, but knew it was the case.
“I love the storm. No. I keep going through everything in my mind—this town—everything since the discovery of the two girls.”
Katie sat down, trying to warm up. “Me too.”
“We need to find the chief,” he said.
“And fast.” Katie got up. “Grab something to eat from the fridge and let’s go find him.” They couldn’t wait any longer, storm or not. She went to her room to change and get Cisco geared up.
After waking up Betty, Katie was able to get the location of the chief’s home. She assured Betty everything was okay and told her to stay inside and not open the door to anyone—not even someone she knew.
They decided to take Katie’s Jeep because it handled better in the conditions and was narrow enough to get through slim spaces. Cisco paced and kept his head in between Katie and McGaven—he was ready for anything.
“I like Betty,” said McGaven.
“I do too. I hope she’ll be okay.”
“Did you see that .45 she had?” he laughed. “She’ll be just fine.”
It was still dark and most of the streetlights were out. The only light came from the Jeep’s highlighting of the rain pounding the road.
Katie drove slowly, creeping down the street where Chief Osborne resided. Inching by the large homes with pretty gates and driveways, both Katie and McGaven scrutinized the houses and cars. About halfway down, they spotted a moderate-size home up on a hill with large manicured bushes giving almost complete privacy from neighbors. There was a mountain of dirt on the side of the house, indicating that there was some type of landscaping in progress, and in the driveway was a patrol SUV for Rock Creek, and a gray truck.
