Page 84 of The Whispering Girls
Libby looked confused. “What do you mean? Aren’t you investigating the cases?”
“Yes. But we don’t have the forensic lab and the medical examiner’s reports…” Katie watched her closely.
Libby fidgeted in her seat and played unconsciously with her long brown hair. It was clear she knew more than she was telling.
Katie glanced at John, who remained quiet and let Katie keep taking the lead on the questions.
“Who is Carol Ann Benedict?”
Libby’s face looked confused and surprised. “I don’t know…”
“Yes, you do, Libby.”
“No.”
“I thought we were on the same page here. You do want to find the chief and the officers, right?”
“Of course.”
“Who is Carol Ann Benedict?” Katie kept her hard stare on the woman.
The storm outside made more noise against the broken window and partially open door as the wind howled.
“She was well known to the community…”
“Go on.”
“She was… the chief’s…”
“What?”
Libby seemed to be fighting her conscience, unsure what to do.
“Libby, she was chief’s wife, wasn’t she?”
Libby nodded.
“There’s very little information in the news articles and on the internet. What happened?”
“I can only tell you what I know.”
“Go on,” Katie encouraged.
“There had been a big argument between Beryl and Carol. This was before he was the chief.” She paused. “One morning about fifteen years ago a hiker found her body and aninvestigation was carried out. But there were no witnesses. No leads. There was next to nothing in forensics. There was nothing anyone could do. The murderer was never found. Beryl managed to get the town, including the mayor and town counsel, to appoint him sheriff a few months later.”
“So he could continue the investigation officially into Carol’s death?”
Libby nodded.
“When did you start working for him?”
“About eight years ago.”
“Do you know anything more about Carol’s death?”
“No, I swear. Just that she was the chief’s wife and the case became cold.” Libby began to cry.
Katie was frustrated. They had already figured all that out about Carol. There had to be more. Something that would blow the case wide open, that had to do with the murders. Katie knew this was a big piece of the puzzle but didn’t know how it fit.
