Page 12 of The Whispering Girls (Detective Katie Scott #14)

ELEVEN

Katie and Cisco took a slower pace back to the lodge.

This time she studied the path and the surroundings, musing that the killer had perfect places to stay hidden and to stage his crime scene.

It became clear the killer knew the area well—so they were either a regular resident or someone who had lived in the area previously.

Katie stepped back into the patio area of the lodge, where everything was still stored in the same manner as when she left. She didn’t know why she thought it would be changed, but the area, especially the walking paths, seemed to make her feel uneasy. Perhaps it was just her exhaustion.

Before going inside, she peeked out front and noticed that Jack’s truck was still gone.

“C’mon, Cisco…”

Katie climbed the stairs and paused on the large landing for a moment, staring out into the forest. The creek moved along in between trees over smooth river rocks.

She could imagine in warmer weather relaxing out here and listening to the tranquil sound of the water.

In the distance, nestled in between trees, she could see two rooftops that appeared to be barns.

There was some fireplace smoke farther away that swirled up among the treetops in a ghostlike manifestation.

Katie quickly punched in the five-digit code: 55959. The lock disengaged and she pushed open the door. Upon entering the lodge a second time, it still had a welcoming feeling. Cisco ran inside and took a few laps around the main area.

“Okay, Cisco, calm down, we’re guests here…” Katie laughed, watching the dog running and then checking stuff out before opting to run again.

Katie went to her suite to gather a few things then returned to the living area—it seemed to be a good place to set up their headquarters.

She found a notebook in one of the front desk’s drawers and began to make a list of things they would need: crime scene report, photographs, victim information, autopsy report, and any witness reports from nearby neighbors, etc.

Katie called Officer Bobby Clark. “Officer Clark, this is Detective Scott,” she said.

“Yes, Detective, I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“First, how is the chief doing?”

“He’s stable, but they’re going to keep him under observation for the next few days in the hospital. He’s tough.”

“Hmmm. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to take it easy,” she said.

The officer laughed. “No. You’re spot on about that. He wanted me to tell you that he appreciates you taking lead on this investigation.”

Katie looked around the room and thought she couldn’t be anywhere that was more beautiful or comfortable. “Please tell him thank you from me. He doesn’t know me, so I appreciate his trust.”

“Your sheriff spoke highly of you and your record speaks volumes. We’re lucky you decided to come to Echo Forest. ”

Katie didn’t say anything. She had been wondering if she had made a mistake by getting involved.

“At your convenience, he would like for you to update him in person,” said Officer Clark.

“Of course,” she said. “I’ll need your help, though. Could you spare one or two folding tables, power strips, and some minor office supplies like pens, notepads, and file folders for me?”

“Detective, I will have these things for you in a couple of hours.”

“Sounds great. My partner will be arriving this evening, so we plan on hitting the ground running.”

“Got it.”

“Thank you.”

The phone connection ended.

Katie scrutinized the large common area, where a folding table would best fit, but then realized she was getting hungry.

She set the legal notepad and pen on the dining table and headed to the kitchen, where she had put her groceries in the large restaurant-size refrigerator.

The kitchen seemed extremely big for four suites and Katie wondered if Jack was planning to hold gatherings or special parties.

She noticed a door at the end of the kitchen area that didn’t have any handles.

It seemed odd. Always curious, Katie had to investigate.

She ran her fingers around the edges and could tell that it was indeed a door.

But how to open it? There were no security locks like on the front door and suite entrances.

She pushed it, but it didn’t pop open. Running her fingers along the edges, she detected air at the top. That was strange.

Cisco whined, indicating he was hungry.

“Wait, Cisco.”

Katie got a folding two-step ladder from the corner of the room and climbed up. She took her fingers to the top of the door and pried at the wood until she heard a snap. The door had opened an inch. Quickly stepping down, she managed to open the tall closet door, which was latched from the inside.

It wasn’t a storage closet, but instead a dark space. Katie leaned in and could see stairs leading down. It was quiet but there was cold air coming in from the outdoors.

Katie rummaged in the kitchen drawers until she found a flashlight. She took it and directed the beam down the stairs. The only thing she could see was light escaping from somewhere else.

What was the reason for this hidden passageway?

Was it in the original design?

Was it added later?

Telling Cisco to stay, Katie stepped inside on the small landing and followed the stairs down, which ended at two doors. One was to the outdoors and from where she felt the cool air. The other one seemed to go into the veterinary hospital, where it was warmer.

It seemed strange, but there was most likely a logical explanation. Perhaps Jack hadn’t wanted guests to be able access the surgery. He still had renovations to do; maybe he hadn’t got around to bricking up this old stairwell. Katie hurried back to the kitchen and secured the secret passage’s door.

She made herself a chicken and rice veggie bowl as well as fed Cisco. As she ate, she thought through all the strange occurrences since she had arrived in Echo Forest. Her mind stopped on the crime scene and the peculiar totem next to the body.

Katie spent the rest of the time while waiting for Officer Clark and McGaven searching for possible meaning in killers hanging their victims and the representation of some type of ritual with the outdoor elements in the totem.

She read the reports about Theresa Jamison that Jack had sent her.

The young woman had been a server at the Sunrise Café and was saving up to go to nursing school.

As the day gradually moved into the evening, the lodge felt colder.

Katie sat on one of the large sofas with a blanket and perused through search results about the items at the crime scene on her laptop.

First, she wanted to read through ritual killings.

They usually entailed removing the victim’s body parts, or the act of drinking their blood for some purpose or offering.

Usually to please gods or some other type of totem.

She hadn’t had much experience with these kinds of killers; they were rare in this country.

But that makeshift display at the base of the tree appeared to have been constructed on purpose.

Basic murder statistics reveal that men are more likely to be victims of murder than women: approximately sixty to eighty percent.

Women are more likely to be murdered by someone they know compared to men.

To have a local girl murdered in a small town could possibly mean the killer was someone the girl knew well—an intimate partner.

From everything Katie had studied and experienced with homicide investigations, nothing was typical, but a homicide with a totem at a crime scene was definitely rare. It was telling about the killer, she was certain.

Katie made some notes.

Totem.

Spiritual significance.

Symbolic.

She looked at the photos she took at the crime scene of the body, general area, and especially the totem.

There were three pine cones, several sticks, wild berries, a rock, and some leather strings surrounded by a padding of pine needles arranged in a way that was not random in the forest. She wanted to read the forensic report about all the items and see if they were all from the area—or if the killer brought in something of his own .

Katie didn’t want to assume what each item represented, but she found some basic meanings. She created a list on the notepad until she could get either a whiteboard or chalkboard for the investigation.

Pine cones made Katie think of many things: art, decoration, medicinal uses, and even Christmas ornaments.

The pine cones looked to be the main interest by the way the piece was constructed.

She read more about pine cones and found they had been known to represent many things, including fertility, resurrection, and even enlightenment.

Sticks symbolized the main origin of the vast and dense forest. Wild berries were often seen as sustenance or life.

She wasn’t sure if it was the right time of year, but she knew that areas like this did have wild berries.

A rock could mean so many things. It was heavy, final, and could be used as a weapon, structure, or to stop the flow of water.

But to use one rock seemed significant to the killer somehow.

The padding of pine needles was a means to keep everything together and it seemed to be the foundation of the construction. As for the leather strings, Katie felt they were more ambiguous.

She stared at the photo and zoomed the image in and out.

There was something off about the scene, but it seemed to lend itself to something she had seen before.

She knew about a couple of cases in Northern California that had had totems at the crime scene, but they were more about spiritual meanings and hexes being placed on the victim. She mulled over these possibilities.

And then there was the term that TJ had used several times.

The Woodsman…

As soon as Katie wrote down the name, the lights blacked out, followed by a huge crash outside.