Page 52 of The Fragile Ones

Katie took another moment looking around the small tidy house that so much care had been given to. Her eyes finally rested on Mrs. Mayfield, so neatly arranged on the floor. She remembered the mother’s grief and resilience, her refusal to keep from falling apart in front of her and McGaven. She had endured more than one person should. Now, she had ended her life without anything more to live for. The tragedy kept building around this family.

Katie finally left the house and went outside to find Chief Osborne.

“Chief,” she said.

“Everything done inside?” he asked.

“Who usually collects evidence from your department?” said Katie.

“Either Officer Mason or McKinney.”

“Okay, well, Wendell has finished with the photographs now so I want Mrs. Mayfield’s hands wrapped and protected. All the evidence bagged and tagged properly with ID numbers for the chain of custody. That means the gun, the notepad, the letter, and anything surrounding the body in and around the desk area. Usually all of these items would be marked with small cones. Do you think you can make sure everything gets taken care of?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“The body needs to be transported as well.”

“Sheriff Scott informed me on that. Our morgue technician will transport the body and evidence directly to the sheriff’s department—there will be someone from forensics and the medical examiner’s office waiting to receive them.”

“Good,” she said. Although she was concerned about the efficiency of the local police officers, it was the best they could do under the circumstances. “Did anyone hear the gunshot?”

“We canvassed the immediate area and no one heard anything until we arrived.”

“Were there any visitors?”

“Nope. No one saw anything unusual.”

Katie was frustrated, but didn’t let it show.

She took the extra time to go back inside the house and scrutinize everything once more, before she watched the two officers collect and bag the evidence, zip Mrs. Mayfield inside a body bag, lift her onto a gurney, and wheel it out of the house.

When Katie was satisfied that everything was completed, she walked back out and conducted a final search around the property. Nothing presented itself and before long, she and McGaven were on their way back to Pine Valley.

“What do you think?” asked McGaven.

“I’m not sure.”

“Of what?”

“This case…” She hesitated. “This case keeps getting more sinister as time goes on.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Thursday 0835 hours

Katie had received word that Mrs. Mayfield’s body had arrived at their morgue, and the evidence collected from the crime scene was safe in John’s lab. After interviewing the mother of the murdered girls only the previous day, yesterday had been shocking—and thrown up more questions than answers.

Katie stood at her whiteboard and moved around maps to make space to think. She cocked her head to the side and considered the killer as she wrote.

Stepping back, her mind spinning, she considered the previous day and the many strange clues—all revolving around Rock Creek. Just thinking about the town made her turn cold. But why? What wasn’t she seeing?

Katie leaned against the side of her desk, thinking about everything they knew. The clues seemed to be telling her something, and that something was from Rock Creek. It was where everything had started, with the abduction of the girls—and now everything seemed to be unraveling there.

With a thought, Katie picked up the phone and pushed an extension.

“Records, Denise,” said her friend after two rings.

“Hey there.”