Page 31 of Pretty Broken Dolls
“Of course, but…”
“Maybe it’s best for us to just be friends. You never know who you’re going to meet around the next corner.” He watched Katie closely.
“True. But I think being open and honest is the best way to go, no matter where it takes you.”
“Katie?”
She turned to look at John.
“Everything okay? I may be out of line here, but it seems that something is troubling you.”
“You know, it’s these damn cases. It’s been extra stressful with the states cases and then two in our jurisdiction. It’s quite a balancing act.”
He nodded. It was clear that he knew something was up, but he was patient and wouldn’t push his friend.
Katie pulled into the west entrance once again and was amazed how much less threatening it felt than it had yesterday. The fences, the livestock areas, and the carnival rides seemed old and outdated, as if they were long forgotten from another time.
John jumped out and unlocked the double padlocks, opening the large gate. Katie drove inside and he closed the gate behind them.
Cisco whined and ran back and forth across the backseat.
“Take it easy, Cisco,” she said. “Soon, I promise.”
John got back in. “Where did you want to go?”
“I know that there were quite a few sets of footprints around the livestock area and the perimeter, but I want Cisco to start a search where the body was, or ended up at, and work backwards, hopefully finding out how the killer entered and where they went.”
“Sounds good.”
“Finding a murder weapon would be nice,” she said with skepticism.
John nodded in agreement.
Parking the Jeep near the fence area, Katie got out with a rolled-up map in her hands and examined it to get an overview. She wouldn’t let Cisco out until she had a feel for the area; the wind speed, sounds, and any potential distractions.
John maintained a respectful silence while Katie worked, letting her get on with her job. It helped that he was also a veteran and was a Navy Seal; they had a mutual understanding of their experiences and skills.
Katie stood still for a minute, closing her eyes, to get a feel. She could hear traffic in the distance, some birds chirping in a nearby tree, a soft scraping sound that reminded her of a rusted metal sign swinging in the wind, and she could feel the breeze on her face.
She walked back to the front of the Jeep and unrolled the map of the Sequoia County Fairgrounds. “Okay,” she said. “There are four major entrances and exits at each corner: north, south, east, and west where we entered. I noticed that there had been some recent construction, but I didn’t see it yesterday.”
“You’re looking for where the killer entered.”
“Yes.”
“It would have to be by a car or truck,” he said, scanning the map.
“But I’m not sure that they drove all the way to the Ferris wheel.”
“Most people couldn’t carry a body very far.”
“But they could have forced the victim to walk to the Ferris wheel and get in a car. That was where she bled out.”
John nodded and studied the sections of the map. “There are some emergency exits near the food areas.”
“I noticed that. I know it’s a big area, but it’s really no different than searching in the woods.”
“The search teams have been all over— won’t that be a problem? And the night security guard, but he keeps to these areas, except when he does the rounds every hour or so.” John pointed to an employee rest area near the restrooms.
