Page 8 of Last Girls Alive

Hamilton began to walk away and then suddenly turned to face Katie. “I know it’s more than overdue, but I am truly sorry for your loss.”

Katie nodded, appreciating the sentiment and finally understanding why Hamilton was being so uncharacteristically unproblematic about her being assigned to his case. Her aunt’s recent murder still hurt her deeply and Detective Hamilton had been the lead detective on her case. Due to the high emotions surrounding the investigation of the murder of her aunt, the sheriff being the prime suspect, the entire police department had been turned upside-down.

“I just wanted you to know,” he said and walked away.

McGaven said, “Well, I didn’t know that hell had frozen over.”

Katie watched the detective direct the bystanders to disperse. “No, I don’t believe it has…”

“He put you through a lot of crap during the investigation into your aunt’s death. I’m not so sure that all is forgiven from his perspective. But, it’s a start,” he said, still watching the detective.

“I know… but we need to concentrate on this case,” she said, not wanting to think about work politics. “We have a lot of graft ahead of us. First, we need to look at Candace Harlan’s missing persons report in more detail.”

Five

Monday 1345 hours

Katie sat in silence, staring at the road rushing past her window as McGaven drove them back to the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department. It wasn’t an uncomfortable quiet, but rather, a familiar respect for the fact each of them was lost in their own personal thoughts of the homicide at the Elm Hill Mansion. They had worked enough cases together to know staying quiet wasn’t anything personal.

The body twisted and contorted. The words carved into her back. Katie searched her brain for what “hunter-gatherer” might mean to the killer.

“Katie?”

Did it mean that the killer was hunting for victims? She ran different scenarios through her thought process. Had he killed before? Would he do it again? How was Elm Hill Mansion involved? Did the killer intend for the body to be found, or was it just bad luck with the recent rain?

“Katie?” McGaven said again.

She realized that McGaven had been talking to her. “I’m sorry,” she said, and turned to look at him.

“You better be,” he replied, cracking a big smile.

“I was just thinking that the killer took a big risk.”

“What do you mean? Isn’t killing technically taking a risk?”

“Some killers take those precious final moments to pose the body, fulfill a fantasy, or enjoy the silence. But this killer took extra time to carve his message on her back. Because it was important to him.”

McGaven took a corner too fast, making the tires squeal.

“Hey, are we late for something?” she said.

“Sorry, this car doesn’t handle like the previous one I’m used to. I know that this vehicle is retrofitted for K9 and seems to have more power…” His mouth had turned downward.

“I haven’t had a chance to buy a new car yet,” Katie grumbled, remembering the incidents that led up to her Jeep being totaled.

McGaven turned into the police department parking lot and around to the private area behind the administration building before pulling into the usual parking place.

Katie opened the door and rushed toward the building followed closely by McGaven. As the heavy door closed behind them, Katie turned to him and said, “I’ll meet you in the office in a few. I need to change.”

“And shower,” he said and hurried toward the men’s locker room.

Katie smiled as she passed two female deputies on their way to patrol, and said hello to them.

“Hey, Detective,” they acknowledged.

The locker room was deserted.

Katie quickly went to her locker and dialed up the combination lock. With such an unpredictable job, she always kept an additional change of clothes for just this type of situation. A brown suit fresh from the dry cleaners, two blouses, undergarments, and an extra pair of boots. She grabbed two clean towels from the supply area before she stripped down to take a quick shower.