Page 35 of The Whispering Girls (Detective Katie Scott #14)

THIRTY-THREE

Katie kept her aim on the intruder. A person stood in the doorway in a shooter’s stance wearing a puffy coat with the hood pulled up.

The dim lighting made it difficult to see the person’s face, though it was definitely a woman by the sound of her voice.

Several questions crossed Katie’s mind. Who would be out in this kind of weather?

And why would they care about someone at the police station?

“I would suggest lowering your weapon,” said Katie. “Now!”

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” the woman insisted.

“Put your weapon down!” said Katie.

“Who are you?” the woman said, her voice not sounding as intense as before.

“Detective Katie Scott and you’re not authorized to be here,” said Katie.

“I am.”

“What do you mean? ”

“I…I’m Libby Castel, Chief Cooper’s administrative assistant.”

Katie blinked. She glanced at the photo on the admin’s desk then slowly lowered her weapon. “What are you doing here?”

John followed suit and lowered his weapon too. He looked to Katie with a question in his eyes.

Libby lowered her gun. “I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to contact the chief but haven’t been able to find him or Officers Clark or Banning. Have you seen them?”

Everyone put away the guns as the atmosphere lightened.

Libby sat down at her desk and looked as if she might faint. “I don’t feel well.”

“Take some slow breaths and try to relax,” said Katie.

“Okay…” Libby took several breaths.

“We came here because we haven’t heard from anyone since the homicides at the hospital,” Katie said.

“That was so horrible.”

Katie was careful with how much information she shared. They didn’t really know Libby or what her motives were.

“Tell us, why are you here?” said Katie.

“I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been so worried. They’ve never just vanished. They always left a message or have been in contact before, so I came into the office,” said Libby.

“What were you trying to find?”

“A note. A clue that one of them had been here. I don’t know—something.”

Katie could understand her concerns, but she still didn’t trust her. If there was one thing about the town she had learned it was to not trust easily. “Can you fill us in on some things?”

“Uh… sure.”

“Was there more information to the first two homicides that the chief was either investigating or holding on to?”

Libby looked confused. “What do you mean? Aren’t you investigating the cases? ”

“Yes. But we don’t have the forensic lab and the medical examiner’s reports…” Katie watched her closely.

Libby fidgeted in her seat and played unconsciously with her long brown hair. It was clear she knew more than she was telling.

Katie glanced at John, who remained quiet and let Katie keep taking the lead on the questions.

“Who is Carol Ann Benedict?”

Libby’s face looked confused and surprised. “I don’t know…”

“Yes, you do, Libby.”

“No.”

“I thought we were on the same page here. You do want to find the chief and the officers, right?”

“Of course.”

“Who is Carol Ann Benedict?” Katie kept her hard stare on the woman.

The storm outside made more noise against the broken window and partially open door as the wind howled.

“She was well known to the community…”

“Go on.”

“She was… the chief’s…”

“What?”

Libby seemed to be fighting her conscience, unsure what to do.

“Libby, she was chief’s wife, wasn’t she?”

Libby nodded.

“There’s very little information in the news articles and on the internet. What happened?”

“I can only tell you what I know.”

“Go on,” Katie encouraged.

“There had been a big argument between Beryl and Carol. This was before he was the chief.” She paused.

“One morning about fifteen years ago a hiker found her body and an investigation was carried out. But there were no witnesses. No leads. There was next to nothing in forensics. There was nothing anyone could do. The murderer was never found. Beryl managed to get the town, including the mayor and town counsel, to appoint him sheriff a few months later.”

“So he could continue the investigation officially into Carol’s death?”

Libby nodded.

“When did you start working for him?”

“About eight years ago.”

“Do you know anything more about Carol’s death?”

“No, I swear. Just that she was the chief’s wife and the case became cold.” Libby began to cry.

Katie was frustrated. They had already figured all that out about Carol. There had to be more. Something that would blow the case wide open, that had to do with the murders. Katie knew this was a big piece of the puzzle but didn’t know how it fit.

“Is there anything we need to know about the recent homicides? Something the chief would want kept quiet?”

“No, nothing. This is all I know.”

Katie retrieved her business card and handed it to Libby. “You call me if you hear anything about the chief and his officers. I mean anything. Understand?”

Libby nodded.

“Go home and wait the storm out.”

Libby got up, looked at Katie and John before leaving out the door.

Katie gathered the information she thought they would need.

“You let her go too easily.”

Katie smiled. “No. I squeezed her for information she really didn’t want to give up. We’ll let her go and see what she does. Once the storm loses some strength she’ll be the first person to keep under surveillance.”

John nodded. “Good idea.”

“She’s not the only one I want to watch.”

“Who else?”

“Bill Westin, the carpet installer.”