Page 13 of The Whispering Girls (Detective Katie Scott #14)

TWELVE

Katie grabbed her Glock and readied herself in seconds. A strange scraping noise emitted from one side of the lodge.

“ Fuss ,” she whispered to Cisco.

The dog immediately took his place at her left side and moved in unison with Katie. It brought back memories of their time in the Army when they had to move around and through dangerous areas.

Katie quietly went to the kitchen and found the flashlight, but didn’t turn it on yet.

She and Cisco moved stealthily through the common area toward the entrance.

Pushing a curtain aside, she surveyed the outdoors.

It was almost pitch-black and it was difficult to see the outline of the stairs and balcony, unless you knew where to look, as the outdoor lights were out as well.

She hoped it was just a blown breaker and not something more complicated that would take days to repair.

The scraping sound again…

Katie released the indoor locking mechanism and quietly turned the knob. Making a hand gesture to Cisco to stay and down, she slowly pulled the door open—an inch and then wider. Her gun was directed forward.

Many things ran through Katie’s mind. It was possibly burglars, since the lodge was empty most of the time. Or worse…

She stepped her left foot out and then her right. Looking down the stairs everything appeared to be black and odd shapes. If you stared too long, your eyes played tricks on you and everything seemed ominous and dangerous.

Once she had her feet planted firmly on the landing, she turned on the flashlight, aiming both her gun and the light down the stairs.

“Hi,” said Officer Clark. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He had a sheepish expression on his face, and had been trying to carry up two folding tables.

Katie let out a sigh and let her pulse slow to normal.

“You could have sent a text.” She returned inside, put her gun in a drawer, and hurried back out.

“Let me help you.” She left the flashlight on and targeted it on the balcony and down the stairs.

It wasn’t much, but it helped them guide the tables inside.

“What happened to the lights?” said Clark as he leaned the tables against the wall.

“I don’t know. They just went out before you came.”

“Hmm.” He looked around and saw Cisco in the corner. “Is your dog friendly?”

“Depends. Do you pose a threat?” she said and smiled.

“Not right now.”

“He’s fine.”

“Did I hear right from the chief that you were in the military?”

“Yes. Cisco and I were an explosives K9 team for two tours.”

“Army?”

She nodded .

“Wow. Thank you for your service.”

Katie smiled and never knew what to say when people expressed this. It brought up so many memories—good and bad. She nodded again to the officer.

“Everything okay?” said Jack, standing at the open door.

Katie startled and became mad at herself because she hadn’t heard him come up the stairs. She was either hearing sound carry strangely in the forest, or not hearing someone walk up the stairs.

“Yes and no.”

“Lights go out?” said Jack.

“Yes, just a few minutes ago.”

“Strange. The clinic lights blinked but then stayed on. I’ll go take a look at the breaker box. It’s downstairs.”

“Okay,” said Katie. She remembered the secret staircase heading downstairs and wondered if she should say anything—but she opted not to.

“I’ll get you some wood for the fireplace too. It’s freezing in here,” Jack added.

“There’s more investigation stuff for you in my patrol car,” said Clark.

“I’ll help you,” she said.

“No need, Detective. Stay here and I’ll be right back.” The officer left too.

Katie remembered she’d seen some candles in the kitchen and went to get them. One flashlight on the balcony certainly wasn’t enough light. She lit three candles and set them on the check-in counter. The room instantly intensified in light, but it still wasn’t quite enough for working.

Katie looked around the room and past the beautiful furnishings of the lodge. It seemed such an unusual place to put together their investigation. The entire town was unusual, and she still carried an uneasy feeling after her experiences in Echo Forest .

She could hear voices coming up the stairs and assumed it was Officer Clark and Jack coming back. Then she recognized the other voice.

Katie rushed out to the balcony. There was no mistaking who the other person was even in the dim lighting. Six foot, six inches tall with a light-reddish crew cut, and always there to help anyone, was her partner Sean McGaven.

“Gav!” said Katie. She couldn’t help but express her excitement that he was here. It made her feel more relieved that she had her partner to work the case.

“Did you have to pick the darkest and spookiest place in town?” he said with good humor.

Clark was helping the detective bring up a large whiteboard. The officer and detective seemed like old friends.

Before they continued to bring more supplies and boxes up, McGaven stopped and hugged his partner. “Great to see you.” He hugged her again.

“You too,” she said.

Cisco ran up to McGaven and took a few circles around him.

“Cisco, my buddy! So glad you’re here.” He petted the excited dog.

“Yep. Cisco’s on point.”

“Let’s get everything inside.” Gav headed to the door. “What’s with the lights?”

“Don’t know. Dr. Thomas, the vet and owner, is working on the breaker box.”

“Okay then…”

It took another fifteen minutes as Katie, Clark, and McGaven brought up the supplies and placed everything near the long dining table.

“This should do it,” said McGaven.

“Looks good,” said Clark. “I’ve never seen an actual homicide headquarters before. ”

“There’s never been a homicide here?” said McGaven.

“About fifteen years ago—before my time.” Officer Clark’s phone rang. “Excuse me,” he said and walked outside.

“This place is really nice,” said McGaven. “I mean really nice.”

“Wait until you see it in the daytime.”

“And we have it all to ourselves?”

“Yes. Dr. Thomas first opened in the spring and summer, but it’s quiet now.”

“From what I see this place is going to do really well. It’s a beautiful area.” McGaven walked around and studied everything—with Cisco following.

“There are four very large suites and one is for you.”

“I take it you think this is a vacation and murder investigation rolled into one…like there’s no difference.”

Katie laughed. She was beginning to feel better and more relaxed—and eager to get to work.

Officer Clark returned. “Detectives,” he said. He was flustered and seemed to be alarmed. His voice was strained.

“What is it?” said Katie.

“There’s been another murder.”