Page 57 of Last Girls Alive

As she sat in the sedan, overwhelming emotions coursed through her body. It was odd that she wanted to physically hurt Hugh Keller and at the same time she wanted to break down and cry.

Gripping the steering wheel with what energy she had left, she watched a deputy escort Keller to the police car. As they walked by in front of her vehicle, Keller made eye contact and a slight lift of his chin to indicate that they would meet again.

Katie didn’t know if it was the rain that had saturated her clothes or the look on Keller’s face that made her shiver more. She knew that Keller had information that they desperately needed on the murders of Carol Harlan and Mary Rodriguez.

Twenty-Five

Thursday 2115 hours

Katie eased the car up her driveway and cut the engine. She had exerted so much energy that she was left with a drained body and a tired mind. She had completely forgotten about her online session with Dr. Carver and was riddled with guilt. The doctor had emailed her and suggested talking again in the same week—she had agreed.

With a quick text to the doctor, she wrote: Sorry about the online no show, investigation went long today. I’ll reschedule soon.

It was official, despite the good night’s sleep, exhaustion had set in and Katie thought she could barely make it out of her car and to the front door without having to take a break. The rain had stopped and only droplets remained on the trees, bushes, and driveway. There was a constant drip from the gutters cascading the excess water from her farmhouse roof.

She grabbed her briefcase and exited the vehicle with low energy. Unlocking her front door, she was instantly greeted by Cisco. His tail wagging and high-pitch whining as he circled her was the best greeting ever; it gave her a lift in spirit.

Quickly changing into her pajamas, she only had the energy to heat up a bowl of leftover chicken soup. She wasn’t hungry, but knew that she would still feel tired in the morning if she hadn’t eaten anything the night before.

After going to bed, Katie couldn’t sleep for tossing and turning about the day’s events and the confrontation with Hugh Keller.

Could he be the killer?

It was possible, but she knew in her gut that it was highly unlikely. As much as she would have liked for it to be him and the cases solved—and closed—there was much more to the cases and she just had to begin putting the pieces together.

Looking at her clock on the nightstand, it had barely been an hour since she had climbed into bed. She pushed Cisco to the side and got up. The dog wasn’t going to move from his warm spot.

Katie’s mind couldn’t stop spinning with the investigations. She also still felt guilty after missing her session with Dr. Carver.

Pulling on her sweatpants and shirt, she decided to go where she felt the most relaxed and where she could actually think about things: the porch swing in the backyard. It didn’t matter what time of year—it was still her private place, just like when she was a kid. No matter what problem she was wrestling with, things had a way of working out when she sat there.

She grabbed a blanket from the couch and went outside. The cool clean air helped to clear her head and lungs. The acreage was quiet—no sound of the wildlife, no breeze. It was comforting to sit wrapped in a warm blanket and just be part of the silence.

A cracking noise around the side of her house broke the relaxing quiet. Katie sat up straight, listening to hear it again or to figure out its origin.

It was most likely an animal like a raccoon or skunk milling around after the rains. But, there was something human about the sound. She stood up, peeling away the blanket, still straining to hear.

As with her investigations, Katie always followed through with everything that presented itself, leaving nothing to chance. So her tenaciousness made her check out the unusual noise while most would likely dismiss it.

As she quietly crept around to the other side of her house, she felt the soreness in her back grip, with pain slowing her stride some. With each step, pain radiated downward, stiffening her lower lumbar and causing her to slow even more.

She had the sense that someone was near. “Who’s there?” she said, knowing she would feel a bit silly if a raccoon skittered past.

“Katie?” came a voice.

She moved faster and saw Chad standing in the darkness. “Chad, what the hell are you doing?”

“Are you okay?”

“You didn’t have to come out and check on me. You could’ve just called,” she said, and realized her mistake immediately.

Chad walked into the light; he wasn’t dressed in his official fireman’s uniform but now in his jeans and sweater. “I tried that. I also tried calling McGaven but he wasn’t answering his cell.”

“He probably wouldn’t be. We’ve had so many leads to run down and tonight we had to meet a possible suspect at The Well.”

“The Well?”

“Yeah, nice place. Remind me to never go there again.”