Page 31 of The Fragile Ones

“I need to take this photo of the girls. I’ll have it returned to you after I’ve made a copy.”

“Oh,” she said. “Of course.”

“And,” Katie said, “I found this small photo album hidden in one of the drawers.”

Mrs. Mayfield looked at it and didn’t respond for a moment. Katie wasn’t sure if she knew about it or not.

“I was wondering if you would identify everyone for us. Here’s my card. You can email it to me if you like.” Katie didn’t want to put Mrs. Mayfield through any more trauma for the day.

“Of course. It’s been a while, I’m not sure if I know everyone from the party.”

“Anything you can do would be great,” said Katie. “Thank you for your time. And please, if there’s anything you remember or would like to talk about, don’t hesitate to call me.”

Mrs. Mayfield escorted them to the door.

“Oh, where is Tessa’s necklace? The one with the turquoise pendant?” Katie asked.

With a trembling lip, Mrs. Mayfield looked to the side as she spoke. “She always wore it. Never took it off. She was wearing it when I last saw her…”

Katie felt bad for asking. “Thank you. We’ll be in touch.”

“We went on a trip through New Mexico and Tessa was mesmerized by all the turquoise jewelry. She picked out that necklace. Megan didn’t care much about jewelry…but…”

Katie touched her arm. “Thank you. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me. Okay?”

The woman nodded.

After Katie latched the gate, she turned to McGaven. “There was something else going on here.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know, but maybe the chief will be able to fill us in.”

“Oh crap,” interrupted McGaven, gesturing to the left rear tire.

“What?”

“We have a flat.”

Katie turned and scrutinized the neighborhood—looking up and down the street. She slowly scanned the wooded area, but there wasn’t anyone around and no cars. Something unsettled her again—awakened her instinct. She knelt down and examined the tire, running her hand over the reinforced rubber. There was a large slash through the tread about four inches in length.

“It was intentional. Someone slashed our tire.”

“What?”

“Someone is sending us a clear message…they don’t want us here.”

Chapter Fourteen

Tuesday 1715 hours

After roadside assistance changed the tire and left, Katie and McGaven were back on the road heading to the Rock Creek Police Department. Katie had spoken with the chief and luckily he was happy to wait for them.

Katie thought about the Mayfield house and the little girls. A strong feeling in her gut told her something was off about the story of where the girls went that day, the home, and even the town.

“Is that the police department?” said McGaven, pointing to a small building that looked like it had once been a grocery store or vegetable stand. There was a community bulletin board on one side filled with flyers and business cards.

“This is it,” she said.