Page 18

SEVENTEEN

CROOKED CREEK POLICE STATION

Ellie couldn’t erase the images of the dead twins from her mind as she parked at the station.

Inside, she met Derrick, her boss Captain Hale, Sheriff Bryce Waters, and Deputies Shondra Eastwood and Heath Landrum in the conference room for a briefing.

She rolled her shoulders to alleviate the tension knotting her neck, but she refused to complain. If she did, Derrick would insist she stay home and that was not an option.

The two little girls at the morgue needed her.

Ellie grabbed coffee at the coffee bar and Derrick did the same. The sheriff loped in with a to-go cup from the Corner Café. Shondra fixed herself a green tea, but Landrum stuck with coffee.

“What do we have?” the sheriff asked as he claimed a chair at the conference table.

Ellie cleared her throat. “Yesterday I found the bodies of two little girls at Emerald Falls on Coal Mountain.”

Derrick tacked photos of the girls and the dump site on the whiteboard. “They were lying in the snow behind the overhang of the falls.”

Shocked murmurs rumbled through the room and the sheriff cursed.

A pang of sadness quivered through Ellie at the sight. She’d been half frozen and in shock when she discovered the bodies. In the stark light of morning, the same horror ripped through her.

The crime scene photos showed the girls lying face down, but forensics had captured a shot of their faces during Dr. Whitefeather’s initial exam. The twins had brown hair, heart-shaped faces, small button noses and grass-green eyes. Such sweet, innocent, young faces. They hadn’t deserved to die.

“What do we know about them?” Captain Hale asked.

“They look about seven or eight years old,” Ellie said. “They were lying close together, face down. As if they’d fallen or been pushed.”

Derrick spoke, “No IDs or TOD yet. Dr. Whitefeather is performing the autopsy today, then we should know more. Both girls had broken bones, and cause of death appears to be from the fall, although we don’t know what other injuries they sustained during or prior to their deaths.”

Ellie clasped her hands together to control the tremors running through her. “It’s possible the kids were abducted, and the parents were hurt or killed in the process.”

“Or that one or both parents murdered them,” Bryce interjected.

Ellie shifted. A grim theory but possible. “Ranger McClain is searching the area in case the killer took cover from the storm nearby.”

“ERT is also back this morning,” Derick added.

Ellie turned to the deputies. “Sheriff, take Deputies Eastwood and Landrum and canvass houses and cabins in the vicinity of the Emerald Falls Inn. The town was supposed to kick off their Winterfest today so perhaps someone saw the girls or their parents.”

“I’ll check with other law enforcement agencies to see if they’ve received a report this morning,” Derrick said. “If the parents were hurt during an abduction, they might be in the hospital. I’ll follow up with urgent care facilities and hospitals.”

“Good plan. I’ll search for similar crimes in case we’re dealing with a repeat offender,” Ellie said with a knot in her stomach.

Captain Hale twisted his mouth from side to side. “I’ll arrange a press conference, Detective Reeves.”

It was one of Ellie’s least appealing tasks but necessary. “Of course. Although for now, we keep the photographs and descriptions of the twins under wraps until we locate next of kin.”

If the parents were alive, she didn’t intend for them to see the faces of their deceased children on the news. No parent should lose a child, much less be notified in such a heartless matter.

All the more reason to find them. That and the fact that they might have information on how their daughters ended up dead.