Page 43 of Pretty Broken Dolls

Katie made more notes and skimmed some of the sections again. Once she had a grip on the crime scenes and forensics she could update McGaven in the morning. She gave her eyes a rest, leaned back on the couch, and allowed herself to fall asleep.

Chapter Fifteen

Friday 0755 hours

Katie arrived at the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Forensic Department and made her way to the cold case office carrying two large cups of coffee. She pushed open the door and wasn’t surprised to see McGaven already working. Usually he was pecking away at the keyboard, but this time he was reading the lengthy reports from the Jeanine Trenton murder with a highlighter pen in his hand.

“Morning,” she said.

He nodded. “Mornin’,” but then realized that she had coffee. “Is that—?” He happily accepted it.

“Yep, your favorite.”

“Occasion?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“I thought you’d be late.”

“Why?” she said, putting her jacket on the back of her chair. “Am I ever late?”

“No, not really.”

“What’s all that?”

“Going through the reports. I’ve also searched the missing persons database but I can’t find anyone who matches our Jane Doe even though the 911 caller said she was missing.”

“Perhaps she’s not really missing.”

“Seems that way. A way to get the police out there. And I’ve been thinking about the third victim, Jeanine Trenton.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about her too.”

Katie sat down and leaned toward McGaven, sneaking a peek at which reports he was so engrossed in. “And?”

“I realized, after reading most of the reports, that there’s quite a bit of repeated information—some of it is worded differently but it basically means the same thing. I think Agent Campbell has had more than a couple of people checking out this case. I mean, alotof other people.”

“Interesting,” she said, more to herself than McGaven, taking a sip of her strong black coffee. “Remind me again what conclusion they came to? Suspects? Who might have committed the crime?”

“Okay, it came down to a few people—the usual leads.”

Katie rolled her chair closer to her partner and eyed the highlighted sections.

“First, Mandy Davis, the so-called best friend that found the body.”

“Okay.”

“Look, here, she said she arrived at the house after Jeanine didn’t show up at the party. But there are inconsistencies of time and how long it took her to find the body.”

“It was a horrible crime scene. Maybe she wasn’t sure.”

“And they had a falling-out in their friendship two months before the party.”

Katie skimmed the interview. “It’s possible they made up.”

“And…”

Katie read what McGaven was reading.