Page 82 of Last Girls Alive

“Did you like your job there?”

“Sometimes. The girls were nice, just misunderstood and defensive because of their situations. But mostly, many days were filled with hassles and long hours. The county wouldn’t pay for overtime unless it was over forty hours during the week. So that made for some long days.”

“I see. Did you witness anything unusual?”

“C’mon, Detective. Just spit it out. This isn’t a court of law, you know—just a couple of gals talking.” She smiled broadly, showing her perfect false teeth.

“Okay. Was there anything going on at Elm Hill that had to do with abuse?”

“From what I saw, yes.”

“Can you elaborate?”

“I witnessed on several occasion Shelly McDonald using physical force on the girls—especially the quiet one… Tanis. She would slap her, punch her in the stomach, and I heard her beating her with something—I assume some type of switch or stick.”

That made Katie sad and mad that the woman used violence on the girls. “Did you report this to the police or social worker?”

“I would tell them everything I had seen when I was asked—I didn’t offer. Just wanted to keep my nose clean and keep my job.”

“Were there any men visiting Elm Hill—especially at night?”

“Interesting you should ask that… Normally I would say no, except for the police officers being called. Well, it was the muscular one. Can’t remember his name—I never spoke to him but just once.” She stopped and studied Katie and McGaven. It was unclear why, but she continued, “On one of the late nights I was finishing stocking the fridge with pre-made meals, when I saw two men accompanied by Shelly go upstairs. They parked their car outside, but I never saw them leave. When I left, the car was gone. That’s all I know.”

Katie leaned forward, “Mrs. Adler, I get the feeling that there’s something that you’re not telling us.”

“Well, I don’t know if it makes a difference or not. Or if it’s important or not, but it’s bothered me to this day.”

“Go ahead.”

“I used to hear crying, a woman crying. At first I thought it was a ghost because I could never find out who it was. I would search, but never found her. Until one day. That’s when I saw it. The wall was partially open… and there was a secret staircase. It suddenly made sense to me about all the crying and other strange things… I would see one of the girls or someone visiting… and then I wouldn’t. There was a secret passageway that no one would admit to. Seemed strange to me.”

Katie was surprised that she knew about it. “Did you tell anyone about this secret staircase?”

“No, but I did make mention of it to Candace once. She just laughed and said that all old houses had their weird secrets.”

“Anything else?” asked Katie.

“I was never an eyewitness to anything except what I told you… but I knew in my gut and common sense I carry, there was something bad going on and those girls were the victims. I hoped that the county would do something about it but, as it turned out, they just closed the house.”

“Think she was telling the truth?” McGaven asked as they made their way back to the car.

“Definitely. It really doesn’t push the cases forward, but again, it confirms what we already know, which means we’re on the right track.”

McGaven’s cell phone rang. “McGaven,” he said. “Yes. When? I see.” He slowly ended the call.

“What’s up?” Katie knew something was terribly wrong. “Gav?”

“That was the prison. Shelly McDonald committed suicide two hours ago.”

Thirty-Four

Monday 1400 hours

Katie was still reeling over the news. “Gav, what have you been able to find out about McDonald’s death?”

“There was nothing suspicious and she hadn’t been suicidal at all during her incarceration, but she took her life when she was on kitchen duty. Apparently, she sliced her carotid artery. I’m still waiting for any final information.”

“She must’ve known more than what she was telling us—and something we said upset her enough to make her take her own life.”