Page 8 of The Whispering Girls
Katie put the address into her phone: 1216 Timber Road.
“C’mon, Cisco,” she said.
The jet-black dog hurried to the front door, not missing a step. He breathed heavily at the doorknob.
Katie tucked her Glock into the holster underneath her sweater and jacket—just in case. She checked her phone and was surprised she hadn’t received a text message from her uncle—or anyone else. She thought at least her partner, McGaven, would have checked in with her by leaving a funny message. But her phone was quiet. She supposed everyone was giving her rest and privacy.
Katie and Cisco climbed into the Jeep. Cisco stood in the back seat behind Katie, staring straight over her shoulder. His tail wagged and every few minutes he let out a whine.
The little bit of snow that had come down earlier was now melting. The roads were completely clear and the onlyevidence of the previous flurries was spotted along the tree branches.
It took about ten minutes before she came to the downtown area. She passed a couple of trucks with single drivers and one utility van. The traffic was nonexistent compared to what she was used to in Pine Valley. The main street was scattered with a few stores and was about a mile long with adjacent side streets where the grocery, hardware, and supply businesses were located. She decided to stop and get some groceries just in case the weather hit harder overnight.
When Katie was back behind the wheel, her GPS told her to turn onto a gravel road and then travel farther west. The longer she drove the more rural the area became. She had just passed the five-mile marker, which was near a hiking trail entrance. There were no other cars parked. She wasn’t sure what she would find, if anything, but she wanted to get a sense of what had attracted the killer to use the densely wooded area to dump a body.
After making sure the Jeep was secured and locked, she and Cisco headed to the trail. Cisco trotted about five feet ahead, stopping once in a while to sniff something of interest. She tied the dog’s leather collar around her waist in case she needed it.
Katie looked at her phone, which amazingly had a signal, and which showed that she was close to the described location. But it wouldn’t give her the exact coordinates. Either way, she estimated they were near the site.
Katie slowed her pace, then stopped and surveyed the area, wondering how different the forest was from fifteen years ago. In the article there weren’t any details about the crime scene, just that a woman had been murdered. No name. No details of the scene. No cause of death. No mention of any suspects and so forth. Just that it was a cold case. The article seemed to be a mishmash of information, and most of it not informative.
The air was cold and the bitterness of it stung her face, but the wind was so slight as to be almost perfectly still. The forest area around her was quiet—too quiet.
Katie noticed that Cisco had stopped and was staring straight ahead. His body was tense, unmoving, looking with intensity at what appeared to be nothing.
Katie’s arms tingled. She thought she had heard something, but then dismissed it. It wasn’t because of anything she saw, but rather, something she sensed. She looked around a few minutes, but was satisfied it was a combination of the cold weather conditions and that she was surveying an area that was once a crime scene.
“Cisco…” she said.
The dog hesitated, but then turned, wagging his tail as he approached Katie.
She took another few minutes to look around. It was definitely an overgrown area, but the walking path had been kept clear—most likely by the county for hikers. She didn’t have anything to go on and there wasn’t anything obvious she could scrutinize and she couldn’t even identify the exact location. Katie sighed. The clouds blocked all the daylight. The temperature seemed to drop more, making her shiver. Maybe it was a stupid idea, trying to fill her boring days with something she could sink her teeth into, such as a cold case.
“C’mon, Cisco.” She headed back up the trail as Cisco effortlessly trotted ahead.
That’s when she heard it…a soft whisper in the wind, “Katie…”
Katie spun around with her hand on her Glock, expecting to see someone, but there was no one there. She continued to take a slow three-hundred-sixty-degree scrutiny of the forest. There was nothing.
Cisco had moved close to her. She felt his warm body at theside of her left leg. His body language had changed, becoming vigilant. She took a few more minutes until she was satisfied there was no one there.
Katie took a breath and continued toward her Jeep. One thing was for sure, she had definitely heard her name. She was not imagining it.
FIVE
Tuesday 1135 hours
Katie sat in her Jeep across from 1216 Timber Road, where veterinarian Jack Thomas had his practice. She watched and waited as the police chief and a van left, leaving only a large specialized truck that had compartments and a covered bed. She assumed the vehicle belonged to the vet.
Cisco was sniffing the grocery bags hopefully. “Leave those alone,” she said fondly.
For some reason, as she looked at the warehouse converted into a veterinary hospital, everything about the crime scene and the victim weighed heavy on her mind. She wasn’t sure if it was because now she had nothing to do, no place to go—and a homicide victim left next to her vacation cabin had piqued her interest. Her curious mind kept pushing the strangeness of the entire situation: TJ coming to her door, the town so small that the local veterinarian was the crime scene technician, the body stored in the vet’s refrigerator waiting to be picked up by the county medical examiner’s office.
Cisco whined and poked his head towardKatie.
“I know…I know…” She scratched the big dog’s ears. Katie knew Cisco was bored too, also not used to having so much downtime. She opened her door and stepped out. “I’ll be right back,” she told him.
Katie crossed the street and walked to the vet’s office. She didn’t realize how big the old warehouse building was—it even had a second story. From what she could tell, the office was all downstairs. She noticed there was attractive landscaping, neat and tidy, the blooming plants dormant due to winter approaching. There was also a fenced-in area with tables that were stacked against the building for the winter. There was a modern staircase leading up the left side. She wondered what was up there. One thing at a time, she told herself.
