Page 2 of The Whispering Girls
Cisco immediately stopped and stood in position. His eyes fixed at the door.
With her gun down at her side, but ready if she needed it, Katie said, “Who is it?”
There were soft cries. “Please…” said a female voice. “I…I…need your help.”
Katie’s first thought was that someone was trying to bait her as a ruse to get her to open the door, but that was her cop way of thinking. Everything wasn’t always the worst-case scenario.
She turned the doorknob and opened the door. A teenage girl, who looked to be about seventeen to eighteen years old, stood there staring at Katie, her eyes wide. The girl wore jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a jean jacket. Her fur-lined leather boots were laced up to her knees. Her long blonde hair was braided and gently laid over her right shoulder. She had several piercings on her ears and wore a leather choker with unusual beads.
“What’s wrong?” said Katie glancing around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else.
“Please help me…” The girl eyed Katie’s gun. “Please, I saw your car…There’s a…” The teen was clearly distraught and had obviously seen something.
“I’m Katie. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
“I found a woman in the woods. She needs help.”
Katie’s interest heightened, but she still wasn’t sure if the girl was making complete sense. “Where?”
“She’s just a ways. Please…you need to come and help.”
Katie glanced back to where Cisco waited. “What’s your name?”
“TJ.”
“Okay, TJ, show me where this woman is.” Katie grabbed her phone and keys from the small wooden table by the door. She wondered why the girl hadn’t called the police for help. Katie slipped the Glock in her waistband. “Do you have a phone?”
She shook her head.
Katie thought that was strange, that a teenager didn’t have a cell phone—or at least didn’t want Katie to know she had one.
“Please hurry,” said TJ as she began to walk down the gravel driveway.
Katie closed her cabin door and locked it, leaving Cisco behind. She wasn’t sure what was going on, so she decided not to bring the dog. It was one less thing to worry about.
“This way…” the girl said.
Katie had to jog to keep up as they weaved their way around trees and across overgrown areas. The brisk morning brought out a strong aroma of oak and pine trees, pushed around by the slight icy breeze. Katie made a mental note of the route they took, as the trees and winding areas began to all look the same.
They moved through the wooded area for less than ten minutes before TJ abruptly stopped, her arms at her side. It was as if her feet were glued to the forest floor.
Katie could see that she was shaking and her eyes were filled with tears.
TJ then raised her arm slowly and pointed. “There,” she barely whispered.
Katie looked to where she indicated and instantly sucked in a breath. She blinked twice to make sure she was really seeing what she thought she was.
About twenty feet away was the body of what appeared to be a woman hanging in a pine tree, her feet barely a foot abovethe ground, the body swaying slightly. Katie could see bright pink nail polish on her toes and fingers. It was clear by the condition of the body and its disturbingly pale-bluish color that the woman seemed to have been dead for a while, more than a couple of hours. She was dressed only in pale-pink panties and a thin white T-shirt, and there was a brown burlap sack over the woman’s head.
The rope around her neck made an eerie creaking sound against the branch as the body rocked back and forth.
TWO
Tuesday 0815 hours
Katie’s instincts and law enforcement experience kicked in. She quickly assessed the surrounding area since it was officially a crime scene. She scanned the areas where the killer could have brought the body and the ways they could have exited. A barrage of questions rapid-fired through her mind.
How far did the killer bring the body?
