Page 88 of The Whispering Girls
TJ’s murder seemed to try to replicate Theresa’s, but it didn’t quite make it. The clothes in the garbage can indicated that the killer had hurried and didn’t plan as thoroughly as the first murder. This could mark a clue about his behavior with the psychological process of pausing, deciding, or taking an action. Was the killer lingering to make sure everything was in place at the crime scenes?
Natalie’s crime scene was the most forced. Strangled, no totem, and the sinister words on the wall—it was completely different. She had cuts on her arm and chest. And what was the meaning behind the hospital? Was it important to him? Or was it a way to try to cover up the horror and deaths?
Katie pondered each crime scene and how the behavioral evidence seemed to waver and become forced. It was an unusual combination of homicides.
Crime Scene #1 Theresa Jamison
The first crime scene in Echo Forest seemed to have the most organization. It was thought out down to the details. The body was clean and had a little clothing, indicating that there was some modesty involved. The killer didn’t want the body to be naked. Her face being covered usually meant that they knew the victim or they didn’t want the victim to watch them. Strangulation is a means of death that’s up close and personal, usually indicating the killer knew them in some way—from as a casual acquaintance to someone they had a close relationship with. Hanging the victim is often thought to represent sacrifice. The totem left was the most telling and the most difficult because all the items meant something just to the killer andwhat they were trying to convey. It wasn’t random, it was very specific.
Spiritual significance.
Symbolic.
Warning.
Pine cones have been known to represent fertility, resurrection, and even enlightenment.
Sticks were sourced from the vast and dense forest.
Wild berries were often seen as sustenance or life.
A rock was something heavy or final. Did that pertain to the Woodsman? Was that the final end?
Crime Scene #2 Tamara Jane Lambert, “TJ”
Although this crime scene was organized and planned, it seemed to be less terrifying when you first saw it. It had all the same elements as Theresa’s, but it seemed more hurried and forced. Not something that had been planned down to the last detail. The clothes in the trash appeared as an afterthought, as did the cloth over the head. The area in the field was manipulated to compete with the first scene. The killer was trying to re-create the same thing.
Crime Scene #3 Natalie Renaldo
This crime scene was completely different. Inside a hospital women’s restroom with a message on the wall written in blood: Three down…more to go… The message was ominous but lacked the earlier drama of the first two crime scenes. There was no totem or other clues besides Natalie had been strangled with a written message on the wall next to her.
Katie stepped back and contemplated the three crime scenes.
The hospital seemed to be an important clue, but how? Natalie was a nurse in training. Theresa was getting ready to go nursing school once she saved up enough money. They didn’t know much about TJ except that she had come to Echo Forest looking for Theresa.
Katie turned to McGaven. “We need to find out if Theresa and Natalie knew each other in nursing school. Is there a way to see if they were registered for classes at the same time?”
“On it,” he said. “I can have John oversee the searches when we leave if I haven’t found out.”
“No problem,” said John.
“And we need to have the medical examiner run Theresa’s and TJ’s DNA to know whether or not they are related.”
McGaven looked at his partner. “That could explain a lot.”
“Another important thing, we need more background on Chief Beryl Cooper and his wife Carol Ann Benedict-Cooper. I need to find out about her previous life—anything, family, when they married.Anything,” she said.
Katie had some theories but needed absolute facts before going down that road. Time was of the essence. They had forty-eight hours and counting before the cavalry would descend upon Echo Forest and things got complicated very quickly.
THIRTY-FIVE
Saturday 1100 hours
Katie drove into the driveway at Crane Flooring. What should have taken ten minutes at the most to get there took almost twice as long. It was located in the industrial area, so it was highly unlikely anyone would see them. There were no cars in the parking lot and the building looked dark. She continued to drive around to the back.
There was a large area with leftover carpeting, tiles, and wood planks, which had a plastic tarp acting as a roof. They were behind chain-link fencing. Next to the back door were stacks of garbage and several high stacks of wooden pallets.
“I don’t think we can say there are exigent circumstances for entry,” said McGaven.
