Page 39 of The Whispering Girls
“Or where anyone could crash…” said Katie. “Let’s check out the barn. Did you get a photo of the cabin?”
“Yep.” McGaven then took several pictures of the barn structure and more of the general area and landscape. It had been overgrown, but there were signs it had been partially mowed.
Katie went into the barn followed closely by Cisco. The two huge doors were wide open and secured by two large blocks of wood. It appeared they had been there for quite some time as they had heavy dirt on them and splintered ends.
The fleeting thought of how she was supposed to be on a two-week vacation, not working, entered her mind. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be somewhere relaxing and not investigating a murder. But here she was in the moment—looking for clues and a killer.
“You okay?” said McGaven.
“Yes. If I’m not, you’ll be the first to know…”
“After Cisco,” he said and smiled.
Cisco’s ears perked up and he stared at McGaven.
Katie appreciated people caring about her, but sometimes it made her feel inadequate and unable to do her job. She pushed her vulnerable feelings aside and examined the interior of the barn. It wasn’t what she’d expected.
“Wow,” said McGaven mirroring Katie’s thoughts.
“This is the most organized I’ve ever seen a barn…”
“The time it must’ve taken.”
“But think about the time you would save when everything had its place,” she said.
The detectives were mesmerized by the meticulous organization on the walls. Every single tool such as wrenches, screwdrivers, handsaws, outdoor shears, and even larger items likechainsaws, brooms, and shovels were hanging on the walls with an outline around them so you would always know where they went.
“Gives new meaning to being organized,” he said.
Katie nodded. “Look here.” She pointed to an area where wound-up rope once seemed to be kept.
“And here,” said McGaven. “Looks like two large screwdrivers and cutting shears are missing. I guess they could be somewhere else.”
Katie looked at her partner. “Someone who spends this much time organizing isn’t going to leave tools lying around somewhere else.”
“See your point.”
“Devin told me things were missing. And this seems to match up with what he said.” Katie made another once-over and took a few photos. “The way I see it, he either told me as information or he told me to throw the investigation off track.”
“You think Devin is the killer?”
“It’s not likely, but we have to treat everyone as a suspect. I don’t see the killer being someone from out of town—it’s someone who knows this area or has ties to it.”
McGaven remained quiet, looking around, but everything inside the barn was visible and nothing appeared to be hidden.
“Although…” she said.
“What?”
“Devin does know the area and obviously he knows the trails well… The killer knew where to leave the bodies…”
The detectives took another couple of minutes to check if there were storage areas or even a secret room. The barn proved to be nothing more than what it was used for—there wasn’t anything sinister or out of place.
Cisco barked from the yard.
Katie knew that particular bark; it meant something serious.She hurried outside where Cisco was standing with his head down, pawing at the ground.
“Cisco,” she said softly, “Zurück.”
