Page 21 of The Whispering Girls (Detective Katie Scott #14)

TWENTY

Chief Cooper was resting quietly when Katie and McGaven arrived.

The room was dim with only two low-watt lamps illuminating it.

There wasn’t a nurse nearby and the hospital seemed to be deserted, but Katie told herself that was to be expected in small medical facilities with only one or two patient rooms.

“What do you think?” he said.

“I don’t know. It’s important to talk with him. I think we can trust him.”

“I trust you, and if you say he’s okay, then he’s okay,” said McGaven.

Katie looked around and still there wasn’t anyone in sight, no patients, no nurses, no visitors, no security guard, and no doctors. She moved slowly into the room. McGaven stayed at the doorway and sent a text to Officer Clark .

“Chief?” she said.

He looked peaceful and had been taken off oxygen.

“Chief,” she said again, glancing at the blood pressure monitor which read 120/85.

He opened his eyes and stared at Katie. At first, she thought he didn’t know who she was.

“Detective,” he said softly.

“If you would like for us to come back tomorrow we can. You need your rest.”

He shook his head. “No, we can talk.”

“I haven’t seen Officer Clark yet.”

He shook his head again. “Talked to him earlier.”

“Are you feeling better?” said Katie.

He nodded. “They gave me something to sleep.”

Katie pulled up a chair next to the bed. She glanced at McGaven, who still stood in the doorway giving them some space.

“I see,” she said. Looking around the room, everything seemed the way it should be. “Do you need anything?”

Chief Cooper grabbed her hand. “Thank you.”

Katie wasn’t sure what he meant.

“You and your partner have been gracious to take these cases. We…we…wouldn’t have been able to handle on our own…” He paused.

As Katie studied the chief, he appeared so much different than the first time they had met. Then, he was tall, commanding, and had a firm handshake. He had made it clear he was in charge and it was his town. Now, he looked thirty years older and weaker.

“We’re honored to be here to help in any way we can,” she said. “Is there anyone we can call for you? Or bring here?”

The chief squeezed her hand again. “No. Wife gone. No children.”

“Okay. ”

“You need to look past people who don’t know Theresa or the other victim.”

She tried to figure out what he was trying to tell her. “Where should we look?”

His eyes closed for a couple of seconds and then fluttered open again. His pupils were dilated, indicating the sleeping pills or whatever medication he was given was working and most likely wouldn’t wear off for several hours. “Back at the…beginning…”

“Chief, we’ll come back in the morning and bring you some breakfast from the Sunrise Café.” She watched him focus on her. “Okay?”

“Be careful. Only investigate and interview when you are both together…” He slurred the last part.

Katie stood up and returned the chair. “Get some rest. We’ll see you in the morning.” She watched the chief fall back to sleep peacefully as the monitors kept in sync.

She met up with McGaven and they walked down the hallway.

“What’s going on?” he said.

“I’m not sure, but they’ve given him sedatives to sleep.”

“I could only hear part of what he was saying.”

“He…he warned us to be careful and to stay together.”

“Did he say why?”

“No. But he did say to go back to the beginning. And to look past people who don’t know Theresa or TJ.”

McGaven didn’t immediately answer.

Katie stopped walking.

“What’s wrong?” he said.

“It doesn’t seem right. Things are different.”

“What?”

“We haven’t seen anyone since we got here.”

“Didn’t the chief say he just received a sedative to sleep? There had to be someone here. ”

Katie nodded.

“But you want to make sure?”

“Yes.”

McGaven looked ahead and then back behind in the hallway. “Okay. I’ll go this way,” he said, pointing.

“I’ll go back the other way and then we’ll meet up.” Katie turned. “Have your cell open and put your earbuds in, okay?”

“Copy that.”

Katie wasn’t completely sure if her concerns were warranted, but she wanted to cross it off the list. The town and many of the situations she’d experienced seemed to be not what they were supposed to be.

She stopped at the chief’s room and he appeared to be sleeping still.

She could see his chest subtly rise and fall.

The monitors were beeping and seemed to indicate his breathing was normal.

She moved on, keeping her wits and focus alert.

The only sound was her boots making a subtle squeak on the waxed floor.

For half a second, she thought they were being silly and they were wasting their time.

She passed two nurses’ stations, which were also empty.

Katie looked at one of the desks and it was clear—no drink, no files, no computer—and there wasn’t any indication anyone had been there today.

She kept moving. The next station had a personal water bottle with a cute pink cartoon character.

There was a notebook and a key ring with several keys.

The lights were dark, but were on a motion system the farther she walked. There were storage rooms and some vending machines with chairs in the vicinity.

Where was everyone?

Katie could hear breathing in her ears. McGaven was moving faster searching his area and his breath seemed to be elevated.

“Gav, everything okay?” she said quietly .

“Ten-four.”

“Copy that.”

Katie sensed McGaven wasn’t being totally honest. He must’ve felt uneasy about the seemingly empty hospital—she did.

There were several closed doors that belonged to doctors and another door partially open that looked like a staff lounge.

Katie slowed and tried the closed doors but they were all locked.

When she peered into the lounge, she saw half a dozen round tables with chairs.

There was a comfortable-looking sofa toward one end.

No one was in there and the tables were clean and the chairs neatly pushed up against the tables.

“Anything?” she said.

“Negative.”

Katie stood in the center of the room taking a three hundred sixty turn, but nothing appeared to be out of place.

She glanced into the garbage can, but it was empty and the trash bag was new.

It suddenly hit her that looking at the interior of the hospital reminded her of Theresa’s apartment—neat and everything perfectly in place.

But there was a sanitized feeling, as if someone wanted to give the facade of what was supposed to be.

Was this what they wanted them to see?

Who?

Why?

“Gav, does everything seem to be perfectly in place?”

There was a pause from his end. “Definitely.”

Katie stepped in the hallway and saw a few more closed doors. She was going to retreat to where the chief was, but then heard the sound of a door shutting.

“Gav, what’s your location?”

“Near the front entrance.”

“Copy that,” she said.

“Why?”

“I heard a door closing up ahead of me. ”

“Wait there, I’m on my way. Wait there…” he said with a stern tone.

Katie looked back the way she’d come and could see the lights had extinguished, so she could only see a dark void. She knew it was common in some city or county places that after hours, the lights would reset to motion lighting to save on utility costs.

She felt cold air wafting down the hallway, coming from the back entrance. It was clear the evening temperature was dropping. Lingering for a moment, she pondered if she should check out the back ambulance entrance.

That’s when she heard a sound of another closing door in front of her.

Katie stepped forward and moved toward the sound. To her relief, lights turned on above her. The fluorescent bulbs buzzed and the illumination continued to brighten. There was a linen closet. She tried the knob, but it was locked.

Turning left and entering a narrower hallway, Katie saw two restrooms. She recalled that some doors, like those on restrooms, had hydraulic mechanisms to provide a gradual closure—and that had been the sound she had heard.She was certain.

“I’m checking the women’s restroom,” she whispered.

“Wait for me.”

Katie pressed her hand against the door.

She could smell some type of cleaner that reminded her of the commercial disinfectant that was used in a medical examiner’s office.

It was pungent and recent. She pushed the door open and stepped across the threshold, holding the door.

It was dark inside, so she waited for the light to come on.

She stared into the darkness. The harder she tried to concentrate, the more the darkness seemed to push back.

“Behind you,” said McGaven, giving Katie a quick startle .

Once again, Katie was always amazed at how a man six foot, six inches tall could move around like a stealthy jungle cat.

“I know I heard this door close…” she said.

“Where is everybody?”

“I don’t know.” Katie was searching around the walls and finally found the light switch outside in the corridor.

It was a moderate-size bathroom with three stalls on the right and two sinks on the left. The floors were impeccably clean with a shine that almost hurt your eyes to look at.

Katie pulled her weapon, directing it, but she was ready.

She kicked open the first stall door.

Empty.

She kicked open the second stall door.

Empty.

Against the back wall along the floor, there was something red pooling along the edge.

Katie glanced at McGaven now, directing her weapon forward.

McGaven nodded at her as he covered his partner with his gun drawn.

Katie then kicked open the third bathroom stall.

She gasped in horror.

Before the stall door slowly began to close, they saw a young woman sitting on the toilet who had been propped up leaning backward, her legs positioned like a broken marionette.

Barefoot and dressed only in panties, blood trickled from her fingertips from some cuts around her shoulder and arm.

Her head tilted forward and her long dark hair spilled down.

There was a message in what looked like blood written in capital lettering on the wall: THREE DOWN…MORE TO GO…

The stall door slowly closed almost on cue.

Katie’s adrenalin pumped into high gear.

“We have to secure this hospital now! Call in Officers Clark and Banning and even Jack…anyone who can help with this crime scene. EMTs, firefighters, security personnel, everyone! This facility needs to be searched and secured—completely. The chief needs to be guarded—even moved to another hospital.”

Katie and McGaven began to carefully back out of the restroom, but not before a loud crash and something heavy jammed the door.

McGaven began to kick at it repeatedly and slammed into the door with his shoulder. It wouldn’t budge.

Then the lights went out.

Three down…more to go…