Page 79 of Pretty Broken Dolls

“What about you?”

Mrs. Caldwell took several steps toward the street, expecting McGaven to follow.

Katie kept her distance. She noticed a bamboo pole about three feet long lying on the ground next to the house and thought back to what Dr. Dean had said about the injury on Jeanine’s chest.

“What about me?”

“Well, I heard that you speak your mind a lot around here.”

The neighbor laughed. “That’s a nice way of saying it.” She turned to Katie. “He has a nice way about him.”

Katie forced a smile and nodded in agreement. She watched Mrs. Caldwell’s arms moving constantly, twitchy, her fists clenched, as she anxiously moved slowly around in the front yard. She wore a simple gold band on her left ring finger and when she wasn’t fidgeting, she spun the ring between her thumb and forefinger of her right hand. There was a slight bulge in her pant pocket that matched an outline of a medicine prescription bottle. It was possible that she could be taking something for anxiety, depression, or even a form of schizophrenia—her erratic behavior began to make sense.

“Mrs. Caldwell—”

“Sadie,” she corrected McGaven.

“Sadie,” he said. “What was bothering you about your neighbor?”

“It was those parties.”

“What kind of parties?”

“I don’t know. People would drive up and meet at her house, and then about half an hour later, they would leave.”

“Did that bother you?”

“Not at first. But then the parties got louder and they would be out back making more noise. It’s just not right.”

“Did you call the police?” he asked, knowing that she had from police records he had searched.

“Of course. I obey the law.”

“Of course you do.”

“They just needed to be taken care of…”

Her words hung in the air.

Taken care of…

“You know, right and wrong. The Lord’s wrath.”

“And you’re sure that you didn’t hear or see anything that night?”

“Nope. Wish I did, though.”

“Why?”

“Then that would have meant all the bad voices would have finally stopped.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Tuesday 1325 hours

After speaking with Mrs. Caldwell and realizing she suffered from a form of mental illness, Katie wanted some immediate answers from Special Agent Campbell. There was nothing in the reports they had to indicate she suffered from a mental impairment or that she grappled with voices, real or otherwise. It changed the investigation. It distorted the outlook from a witness and next-door neighbor. It was unclear if the neighbor saw something that night or not—she seemed to slip in and out of lucidness.

Katie felt her anxious energy escalate—sweaty palms, faster heartbeat, and shortness of breath. She wanted some answers and they weren’t going to leave Agent Campbell’s suite until they were satisfied that they were all up to speed on the investigations.