Page 61 of Pretty Broken Dolls

“I know.”

“I get the feeling you have something either to tell me or ask me.”

Katie took a bite of the sandwich. “Yum, just as I remembered it.”

Her uncle eyed her seriously, waiting for an answer.

“It’s this…” she began and stopped.

“Is it work or Chad?”

“Actually, it’s both, but let’s start with work because I’m not ready to talk about Chad yet.” She stirred her soup and paused. “I don’t understand this case.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s a bit unorthodox, wouldn’t you say?”

“I don’t know about that. Departments and agencies overlap and help each other all the time—especially with high-profile and serial cases.”

Katie stared at her uncle, trying to decipher if he was keeping something back from her. She tried to explain from another angle. “Why would the state need help from us—me, especially? I mean, they have so many people at their disposal, including use of the FBI profilers.”

“I think it’s important that we can help. So if we can, then we do. I would have never agreed to take on these cases if I thought there was something not right.”

Katie wasn’t completely reassured but she couldn’t back up her uneasiness with anything concrete. She decided not to push the issue. “Thanks, Uncle Wayne. I love being able to talk to you.”

“Me too. I love you, Katie.”

Katie smiled and tried to enjoy the rest of her visit. The conversation made her feel a little better but it still didn’t make her job any easier.

Katie feared for what was going to happen next, so she told her uncle about the incident at the K9 training center before he heard it from someone else.

He listened intently, not interrupting, allowing Katie to finish.

“My take is that the shots have something to do with our case, like a warning.”

The sheriff hesitated. “I agree. And…”

“And what?” she said softly, knowing what he was going to say.

“And, it seems that your K9 connection with all these cases should be at the top of your list. You need to keep yourself safe, otherwise I will assign an officer to you.”

“You don’t need to do that. I’m fine. I have Cisco and my house has a top-of-the-line security system.”

“I will decide if you need more security or not. I don’t want you alone investigating without McGaven. Understood?”

Katie was about to protest but then, “Fine.”

“I mean it, Katie. The more you tell me about these cases, the more I think you need to take extra precautions.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sunday 0545 hours

That night was terrible for Katie as far as rest was concerned. She had tossed and turned, jolted awake continually by imagined sounds and terrible memories coming back. And then the insomnia set in, where she couldn’t get back to sleep. She missed Chad terribly. It was like a part of her was gone. He had been the one constant in her life ever since she was in the fourth grade—no one knew her like he did.

Katie decided to get up to write in her journal before the sun rose to take her mind off things. Her psychologist told her to put pen to paper if something was bothering her—so she did. It had been helpful in the past and it had become easier the more she did it.

Cisco pushed his wet nose at her journal, giving her his usual German shepherd whine.