Page 109 of Her Last Whisper

With every other stair creaking underneath her weight, Katie made her way to the second story. She stood still to listen. It was quiet except for some mild wind blowing through the upstairs broken windows.

Directing the flashing in a systematic grid pattern, along the floor, walls, and ceiling areas, Katie combed through the second floor with tenacity.

She quickly searched the bedrooms and bathroom, but nothing appeared unusual or out of place with the layout.

McGaven’s voice came from her speaker phone, interrupting her search, “Find anything?”

Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she replied, “Nothing—yet.”

“Just about to clear the first house. Over and out.”

Katie jogged down the staircase and exited the house.

One down…

Sixty-Three

McGaven was just about to clear the first house on his side of the street when he heard a crash. At first it sounded like it came from outside, but when he listened again it seemed to come from underneath the kitchen.

He retraced his steps and couldn’t find where the noise originated. Then it dawned on him, there was a basement.

Walking back into what was once the kitchen, McGaven directed the flashlight in every corner and into areas without appliances. There was a regular door that he had mistaken for a pantry, so he opened it and shone the light down. It was indeed a basement. Slowly descending, he took the rickety wooden stairs down, searching from corner to corner, but nothing looked sinister or out of place. Perhaps it was the vacant structures settling, or an animal.

His cell phone alerted him, “You okay?” said Katie.

“Super. Clear here as well.”

“Copy. Over and out.”

Two down…

Sixty-Four

Katie managed to explore the next house, but unfortunately had the same result and it was severely damaged and didn’t look safe. Nothing unusual. She couldn’t find clues indicating someone had stayed inside or if there had been foul play. Not one thing.

Katie’s mood suffered the more she searched. Her enthusiasm for finding more evidence or something that would lead to the killer was waning with each empty room.

She approached the last small house standing: a small one-story structure which had been painted white with a dark trim. Standing in the walkway, she studied the siding, windows, and the weed infestation along the flower beds on both sides of the front door.

The night was in full force, dark, foggy, and a heavy mist clung to everything around her including her hair and clothes. She became chilled as she stared at the small residence. Something about the cozy home made her think of the type of people who had lived there. Did Randy and his wife live here? What happened to Randy’s wife and daughter?

As she stared down the dark street in both directions, it seemed as if the few remaining houses, mostly burned out shells, sat in the shadows, as if the entire neighborhood was not only neglected but erased from time.

She strained to listen for Cisco’s bark, but the dog was quiet. There were no other people or animals wandering around the area, which kept them safe for now. The remaining neighborhood was flanked by endless agricultural land as far as the eye could see.

Katie heard a soft bang from behind her and saw McGaven’s large frame exiting the house opposite. His flashlight swung from left to right. She watched him approach with a long purposeful stride. He hesitated a moment and then headed straight to her.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re not kicking in walls or anything at the moment.” He tried to keep the conversation light under the circumstances.

“Just trying to get a grasp of the area.” She still stared at the small white house.

“What does your profile say about this place?”

“Good question,” she said. Looking at McGaven standing in the darkness, she hadn’t realized before how lucky she was to have been promoted to the cold-case unit and to have such a good friend and loyal partner working with her.