Page 43 of Her Last Whisper

“Damn, girl, I always knew you were tough, but that’s the stuff for horror movies.”

“I’m doing okay, getting better every day,” she said forcing a smile.

“Well there was quite a bit of info on you, so it wasn’t difficult to find you. Besides, you described this house and property perfectly. Congratulations on your promotion to police detective.”

She smiled. “Thanks. It feels good, you know?” She sipped on a soda, enjoying the cold sting as it slid down her throat.

“Do I detect a bit of uneasiness?”

“It’s just I’ve been thrown right into a current homicide barely out of my first week. It’s pretty intense.”

“Scotty, don’t you worry. I know you, and I know that you will find the person who did it.” He sipped his coffee, still eyeing her.

She pulled up a stool next to him. “Tell me what’s on your mind?” she said softly as she squeezed his arm.

“Well, since I can’t be in the military anymore, it’s got me thinking.”

“About what?”

“Family.”

Katie knew that he had been estranged from his family for quite some time. “Go on.”

“I have a brother, Jimmy, and well, I’ve lost touch with him. And it seems that no one knows where he is.”

“He moved away?” she asked.

“No, he just moved out of his apartment of ten years and never went back to work. See, he loved that job, so it just doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense. But he was living in California, near here.”

“When was the last time you spoke with him?”

“I hate to admit it, but it was about six years ago.”

“Oh,” she said, not knowing what else to say.

“We had an argument, it is stupid now, and then time passed, and I didn’t know what to say… hardheaded and embarrassed… I guess…”

“It’s okay. You want me to look into it?”

He sat quiet for a moment. And then, “Yeah, I would. I know it’s hectic for you now, investigating a homicide, but after the explosion I just realized that life is short, that time is precious—you know? It hit me hard.”

“I know. Look, I’m going to be swamped for the next several days, but, leave me all the information and a photo if you have it, and I’ll see what I can do…” she said.

“Scotty, I knew I could count on you,” he said, taking her hand and gently squeezing it.

It made Katie feel good that he would trust her enough with something this important. She loved him. Nick was family and she would do anything for him.

Twenty-Six

Tuesday 0835 hours

Katie had a difficult time finding a parking place at the sheriff’s department. There were more cars parked than usual, but she managed to squeeze her Jeep in the last place farthest away. Jumping out, she ran across the lot to meet McGaven. She was already more than fifteen minutes late. With the unexpected visit from her sergeant last night, she barely got four hours of sleep and almost slept through her alarm.

She and Nick had talked for almost another hour as they waited for a friend of his, Bobby, to pick him up. He was going to stay with him for a while in Bramble, a town just on the outskirts of Pine Valley, waiting until Katie got in touch with news of his brother’s whereabouts.

Her boot heels clipped the pavement as she hurried toward the county morgue. She didn’t have much time to prepare her questions, but it was mostly regarding a preliminary report to see if they had some type of indication or new evidence. McGaven waited patiently near the entrance, glancing at his watch as she ran around the corner and practically knocked him down.

“Where’s the fire?” said McGaven partly smiling. “I’ve never seen you like this—basically late. You okay?”