Page 33 of Her Last Whisper

The elevator arrived on the ground floor and the two nurses quickly exited, leaving her alone to ride the rest of the way down, where the doors opened into a deserted hallway. Stepping out, Katie realized suddenly that “basement” meant the morgue and a familiar feeling trickled up through her arms causing her breath to catch. She fought the urge to get back in the lift and head back to the living. This was a place she didn’t want to be. But she needed to be.

The light illuminating the hallway dimmed as Katie’s focus narrowed. Her mouth went dry. Tongue sticky. Gums parched. The familiar slow attack of the anxiety that surfaced every time she was in an unknown area with no quick escape. She licked her lips.

Thirst overwhelmed her. Back at the army headquarters, her uniform weighing down on her like she carried an extra hundred pounds of dust and grief, all she could think about was water. Cisco pressed close to her left thigh. Eyes bright, ears perked, alert and strong. No matter how difficult or dangerous the situation, he was always there for her. He perfectly read her mood and her fears, and, most importantly, he always knew where the bad people were.

She passed a few members of her team in a daze and continued down a long hallway, her feet dragging with exhaustion, not really realizing she had taken a wrong turn until, looking to her right, she saw stretchers with sheets covering them, bright crimson blooms seeping through. Her knees buckled beneath her…

Katie blinked away the memory and tried to focus on the job in hand. Where would she find Marco Ellis? Was he a doctor intern, or a student intern?

“Excuse me,” came a voice from behind her. “Are you looking for someone?”

Katie turned and saw a handsome young man wearing a blood-spattered lab coat. Her blood went cold at the sight and she blinked again. “Yes, please, I’m looking for Marco Ellis.”

“That’s me,” he said, eyeing her badge. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m Detective Katie Scott with the sheriff’s department.”

“Okay?” Clearly, he was suspicious of her but remained polite.

“I’d like to ask you a few questions about Amanda Payton?”

“Yes, I know Amanda. Is she okay?”

“Is there a place we can talk privately?”

“Please, follow me,” he said and opened one of the closed doors.

Katie followed Marco into a large room where two bodies lay on gurneys. One was an old man, maybe in his eighties, with excessively wrinkled skin, and the other was a middle-aged woman. Both bodies were in the middle of autopsies with their torso area split wide open, a technician carefully weighing the internal organs and recording results.

Marco walked along another hallway passing supply rooms and other exam areas. He stopped at another door that led into an office. He waited for Katie to enter before he closed the door behind them. The office was small and littered with folders and paperwork on a good-sized desk. He took a seat in the leather chair. There was an audio recorder set up to make easy recordings of the cases for an administrative assistant to transcribe.

“Please have a seat, Detective Scott,” he said.

Katie sat down in a molded plastic chair, sorting her thoughts for the questions she wanted to ask, being careful not to give away any private information.

“I’m sorry to inform you, but Amanda Payton was found dead yesterday morning,” she began.

“What?” He was barely able to respond. “How? Where?”

“Yesterday her body was found—and the investigation is currently under way. I’m sorry, but I’m not authorized to talk about details.”

“Oh… no, Amanda…”

“How well did you know her?”

He moved slightly in his chair before he answered. “I met her a couple of years ago.”

“And how close were you?”

“We went out a few times and spent time together here at lunch and during breaks.”

“Did you want more—a more serious relationship?” she said.

He hesitated and answered carefully. “I thought so, but it became clear that we weren’t compatible for the long haul.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Katie watched his mannerisms and listened carefully as he answered.

“It was a couple of months ago, a few weeks after she quit. She was really upset and came down here to tell me that something really bad happened to her—some type of attack.”