Page 6 of The Fragile Ones

She smiled to herself, not wanting to disturb him at work, and moved on down the hallway to the offices that had stood empty before Sheriff Scott decided to move the cold-case unit here when Katie came back home from her tours.

Katie stopped at the office door on the right, which was slightly ajar, and pushed it open. McGaven was in his usual spot, sitting up straight in his office chair poring over some case details.

“Hey,” he said cheerfully.

Katie dropped her briefcase on her desk and shed her jacket, slipping it over the back of her chair. “You sound upbeat.”

“And why shouldn’t I be?”

“No reason.” She shrugged, still thinking about the meeting.

McGaven gave a fake frown for Katie’s benefit. “I know why you’re grumpy.”

“I’m not grumpy—honest.Confusedwould be a better word. I’m fine with the tour and I have made peace with it.”

He swiveled in his chair to face her. “I know it probably feels like you’ve been demoted or something.”

“The last thing I want to do is babysit a group of wannabe Spielbergs, especially when there are cases to solve and families that need answers and closure.”

“Or maybe take a chill pill and try and have fun with it?”

Katie sat down in her chair. “I know…I know…sorry for being such a complainer. Let’s move on.” She looked at his computer screen with keen interest. “What are you looking at?”

“Oh, well, I thought I’d just take a look at this Wild Oats Productions and see what they are all about.”

She raised her eyebrows. “And…? Don’t keep me in suspense. Did you run police background checks yet?”

“Haven’t had time. Not sure it’s completely necessary.” He saw Katie’s expression. “I’ll have Denise run some preliminary stuff. Just perusing their website and checking out their films…”

“And?”

“Actually, some awesome footage. I think they will be able to bring a lot of interest to the area. Good for everybody, like the mayor said.”

Katie let out a breath.

McGaven laughed. “It’s notthatbad.”

“How many are in the crew?”

“From what I can see,” he said, reading the credits, “besides the director and co-director we met today, there’s a sound guy, Keith Cooper, a grip, Butch Price, and a writer/researcher, Ty Windsor.”

“The lucky five,” she said with sarcasm.

“Check this out. They’ve filmed in the Galapagos Islands and Iceland. Amazing shots. And that famous guy who does those insurance commercials did the narrating—professional stuff.”

Katie leaned over and watched some of the trailers. “OK. It is nice. But do the due diligence, please do backgrounds on all the players. It would make me feel better to know they’re decent guys. And what I’m up against—if anything. I don’t want any problems. Or surprises.”

“Done.”

“I know it might take some time, but if anything stands out, text it to me tomorrow.”

“Roger that.”

“Okay, now to more important stuff.” Katie opened some files. “I read through some interesting cold cases last night—some the sheriff has notated and others that I’ve flagged myself.”

“What do you have?”

“I have two cases for missing persons from 1963 and 1974 that might be linked.”