Page 82 of Little Girls Sleeping

“What?”

“I’m heading back up to the graveyard crime scene.”

There was a pause, and Katie could hear Chad breathing evenly into the phone. Finally he said, “Want some company? Is the site signed off?”

Katie thought for a moment. She knew McGaven had other duties and was meeting with the supervisor of the K9 unit. “Yeah, company would be nice. Everything has been collected and it’s not officially a crime scene anymore.”

“I’ll pick you up,” he said.

“No, I’ll meet you at Highland Park, near the baseball field, in half an hour.”

“See you there.” He hung up.

Katie turned to Cisco. “I think I’ll leave you here to guard the house. Sound good?” She sat for a few moments petting the dog before she jumped up to take a quick shower.

Thirty-five minutes later, Katie parked her Jeep next to the baseball diamond at Highland Park. Chad was already there; this time he was driving his truck instead of the Jeep.

When he saw Katie get out of her vehicle, he leaned inside the truck and retrieved a cup of coffee. “I thought you might need this,” he said, smiling.

“Thank you,” she said, taking a sip.

“No Cisco?”

“He’s protecting the house.”

“So, going back to the scene of the crime.” Chad gave his signature smile.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m at a standstill in the investigation, and waiting for some of the tests to come in from forensics. I’m not sure if that’s going to help either.”

“What about the other detective? Templeton.”

“What about him?”

“Does he have anything to contribute?”

Katie smiled in spite of herself. “Let’s just say we aren’t on the same page.”

“Oh,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong. He’s fairly competent. It’s just that he doesn’t follow through, he cuts his interviews too short.” Katie stopped herself; she didn’t want to discuss the homicide cases with anyone outside the department. “I’m sorry. I really can’t say much.”

“Of course.”

There was a moment of awkwardness. Katie now thought it would have been easier for her to go alone, but it was too late to rescind the invitation.

Chad was the first to speak. “Well, you ready to go?”

“Absolutely,” she said, trying to put some positive energy into her voice.

She climbed into the truck and they drove out of the park.

Katie was hypnotized by the landscape streaming by her window, but her thoughts were never very far from the case. She rehashed her interviews, forensics, and what the medical examiner had told her.

“You’re very quiet,” said Chad. “What is it you hope to find at the crime scene?”

Katie pondered his question for a moment. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was looking for. “I guess I’ve always handled problems I can’t solve by going back to the beginning.”

Chad took a sharp turn onto a more rural roadway. “That’s good advice. It’s like infinity.”