Page 7 of The Whispering Girls
“Hmm.”
“I can see you’re in good hands. If you don’t need anything from me, I’ll let you conduct your investigation,” she said.
Officer Banning returned to the area.
“Make sure you submit your report,” said Chief Cooper.
“Report?”
“Of how you came to find the body.” He handed her his business card.
“Of course. It was nice meeting you both.” Katie turned to walk away. “Oh, do you know TJ? She was shaken up. You might want to make sure she’s okay.”
“Can’t say I know her, but don’t worry, I’ll be asking around. I think I know how to do my job.”
“Does ‘the Woodsman’ mean anything to you?” she said, thinking of what the girl had whispered over and over.
“Nope. Should it?”
Katie shrugged.
“And I’ve never heard of any teen around here named TJ,” said Jack. He seemed to be watching Katie with curiosity.
Katie thought that was strange since the town had barely five hundred residents and she had assumed the girl was a local out in the woods for a walk. She thought small towns were more likely to know a lot about each other’s business. She turned and left the crime scene—the image of the young woman hanging in the tree burned into her memory.
FOUR
Tuesday 1135 hours
Katie had just finished unpacking her things and cleaning up the kitchen. She kept trying to put the homicide out of her mind. It wasn’t her case and it wasn’t her responsibility.
Cisco followed her around the cabin, whining once in a while. He wanted to make sure she didn’t forget about him.
Though Katie initially didn’t want to get involved in the homicide investigation, it was, after all, the type of case that was her expertise. Maybe she could just check out some things as she wrote her report. She sat down at the kitchen table with her laptop computer and quickly powered it up, deciding to grab another cup of coffee before sitting down again. The crime scene buzzed through her mind.
Cisco whined once more and then curled up at Katie’s feet.
In order not to forget what happened, Katie typed up her report from the time TJ knocked on her door to the time the police arrived. She found an email for the police department and sent her report and contact information.
She then began checking out the town of Echo Forest. She didn’t know exactly what she was looking for but wanted to try to get a feel and understanding of the area. She also checked out the website for the police department. She didn’t find much, but it did refer to Chief Beryl Cooper and his bio stated that he had grown up in Colorado working as a police sergeant for Colorado Springs Police Department. He then moved to Echo Forest five years ago after being appointed to the position of chief.
Katie continued to scroll through the site, but it was mostly highlights and not much substance. She let out a sigh. Maybe she’d have better luck with the so-called Woodsman.
Typing in this name, and ignoring all the results about hunters and lumbermen, she found a ton of information including movies, books, and various blog articles that were based on a type of mythical monster that stalked people, namely children, in forests. There were artistic renderings and people’s accounts, which seemed to cross over into other countries.
She then narrowed the search to the specific area and across three surrounding counties. After scrolling through several pages, she found an article from almost fifteen years ago written by local newspaperThe Pine Conethat featured “the Woodsman.” There wasn’t much to the article, but it did say a woman was found dead about five miles from where Katie was staying. The case had remained unsolved and the article suggested that something powerful had murdered her. The commentary inferred that something in the forest had killed her—and it had then gone on to cite “the Woodsman.” The article wasn’t very helpful; it was more from the writer’s point of view. Katie couldn’t find anything about local folklore or any evidence related to the cold case. It was all too cumbersome to try to pinpoint what she was looking for. It frustrated her.
Katie leaned back in the chair and took a sip of coffee. There was nothing glaring or conclusive, butshe found it troubling that TJ had been so terrified of what was most certainly a well-spun tale. It could have been stories she had heard growing up—or, though unlikely, it could be something more.
“Well, Cisco…what do you say? Should we go on a hike and check out the location of this cold case from fifteen years ago?”
Cisco immediately jumped up, wagging his tail.
She dropped the location into her phone and hoped the spotty cell signal would be available when they got there. Even if she found nothing, it would still be nice to get out for some fresh air.
Before closing her laptop, Katie decided to check out something. She typed inJack Thomas, veterinarian, Echo Forest, California.
A simple website popped up. It showed some stock photographs of cute dogs and cats. There was an image of an older warehouse with a sign out front: “Thomas Veterinary Clinic.”
