Page 4 of The Whispering Girls (Detective Katie Scott #14)

THREE

Katie had returned to the cabin and was able to get through to the Echo Forest Police Department. She spoke with a young woman who was obviously the receptionist. The woman had identified herself as Libby and assured Katie that Chief Cooper was on his way.

Katie decided to wait at the cabin for the police.

She didn’t want to leave the body and crime scene unattended, but she didn’t have any way of sending a GPS marker of the exact location in the forest due to the spotty reception.

She would have to lead the chief to the area.

She paced back and forth as the minutes ticked down.

There were no sirens or cars approaching.

She looked at the photos of the victim, area, and the totem several times, trying to put together some type of preliminary profile, but there wasn’t enough evidence yet to do so.

Snow began to fall. Light fluffy pieces.

“Oh no,” she whispered. She needed to get something to cover the scene otherwise the snow would either bury any significant evidence or soak it. She ran into the cabin followed closely by Cisco, who sniffed her with interest. “You have to stay here,” she said.

She searched for anything she could use.

Finally, in the kitchen storage cupboard she found several tarps still in their bags.

She grabbed them, some bungee cords, a hammer and nails, and a tent complete with poles, then left the cabin, running as fast as she could back to the crime scene.

If the police came in the meantime, they would have to wait for her at the cabin.

She worked quickly, assembling a makeshift covering to protect as much as she could.

She was able to drape the tree trunk and use the tent poles with the tarps and nails to keep the snow off the hanging body.

Another tarp covered the totem area. That was the best she could do for the obvious evidence, but she cringed about other possible evidence that wasn’t immediately visible.

Katie then jogged back to the cabin, expecting to see the police, but there was no one. She sighed and dialed the police department, but this time the phone went immediately to voicemail. She wondered where they were.

Almost forty-five minutes had passed since Katie had spoken to Libby and before she had secured the crime scene.

The snow flurries had stopped, which was the only good thing.

Katie walked back and forth, inside and outside, the cabin—pacing and processing what she had seen, trying to make sense of everything.

She finally heard cars approaching. One moment they seemed close, but then they seemed to be farther away. She had forgotten that the town was called Echo Forest because sound traveled strangely around the area. Realizing the truth of the name, she continued to wait for the police.

Finally, two police sedans arrived along with a large white truck.

It was more than Katie expected, which was definitely a good thing.

A tall man in his fifties wearing a police uniform got out of the lead car.

His shaggy brown hair seemed out of place, with most police officers wearing their hair short or in crew cuts.

He casually looked around and then fixed his attention directly on Katie.

“Detective?” said the first man. “I’m Chief Cooper.” He extended his hand.

The sound of Cisco barking from inside the cabin cut the awkward silence. Another police officer exited his vehicle. The stocky man walked up the driveway.

The chief turned as the man built like a tank joined them. “This is one of my officers, Banning.”

Katie nodded and shook both of their hands. She couldn’t help but notice that they scrutinized her almost in a way that a cop would a suspect.

“I just arrived yesterday and I’ll be staying here for two weeks. I’m Katie Scott, a detective from the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department.”

“Reason for your visit?” said the chief.

Katie was taken aback. That was hardly a priority at the moment. “Vacation time,” she said.

“Seems odd.” His tone was officious.

“What do you mean?”

“Two weeks is a long time. Most would go somewhere that was more of a vacation area,” said the chief. “Not much to do here.”

“I needed some peace and quiet.” Katie was becoming more suspicious about the line of questioning and didn’t appreciate having to explain herself. And why hadn’t the chief immediately asked about the body? That seemed very odd to her.

“So what’s this about a body?” said the chief, finally, but with a hint of sarcasm.

Katie glanced to the other officer. He stared at her.

“At about 0815 there was a knock at my door. A teenage girl stood there upset and said her name was TJ and that she had found a woman in the woods.”

“Did you get any more information about the girl?”

“No. She took me to the location,” she said. “Follow me.” Katie wanted to get moving so she could get back to her relaxation time.

As she moved through the trees, the area around her seemed to change. It was lighter now the snow had stopped. The trees, leaves, and ground seemed to brighten. When Katie reached the crime scene everything was exactly as she had left it.

“Did you do this?” said the chief, indicating the tarps. It was clear he wasn’t happy.

“Yes. It had started to snow and I didn’t want any evidence ruined.”

“By the looks of it that’s exactly what you did.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve traipsed all around setting up your tent without authorization and showing a complete lack of professionalism.”

Katie was annoyed to say the least, but she decided to tread lightly. She was in someone else’s jurisdiction, and she wasn’t a trusted person. She could almost see his point.

“Just what kind of detective are you?” said Officer Banning. He fidgeted with his uniform on his bulky body and then ran his fingers along his beard.

“I’m a cold-case detective.”

“I see. Not used to active crime scenes, I guess,” said Chief Cooper.

“I commend the visiting detective’s initiative,” said a voice behind them.

It belonged to a sandy-haired man in his forties, fit, medium-build with a crew cut and dressed in snow gear.

His footsteps made noise in the light snow due to his heavy hiking boots.

His eyes were dark, making a striking contrast with his hair.

Katie turned her attention to him. She wondered why he wasn’t in uniform. Then she noticed he was carrying a medium-sized plastic case. “Forensics?”

“No. I’m Dr. Jack Thomas. But everyone just calls me Jack.”

“This is Detective Katie Scott from the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department, cold-case unit,” said the chief.

“Nice to meet you,” said Jack.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

Katie decided to fill in the gaps. “After I followed TJ, she showed me the location of the body. It looked to be a teen to early twenties with a burlap sack over her head. There is also a strange type of totem next to her. I walked in one way and exited that same way”—she indicated her route—“and when the snow began, I returned from the cabin with something to cover everything from the weather.”

“Quick thinking,” said Jack.

Katie turned to leave them to their work and crime-scene investigation.

“Where are you going?” said the chief.

“Back to my cabin.”

“You wait right here until I can verify who you are.” He turned to the other officer. “Go grab your kit.”

Officer Banning left.

“I’ll be at the cabin if you have any questions for your report,” Katie said.

“No, you’re going to stay here where I can keep an eye on you.”

“You can call Sheriff Wayne Scott at the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department,” she said. “I’m sure you can get the phone number.”

Chief Cooper grimaced as he looked at his phone, probably due to a sketchy signal. “Scott? Any relation?”

Katie hesitated for a moment. “He’s my uncle.”

“I see.” The chief kept moving until he could make a call .

Katie shook her head.

“Don’t worry about him. He doesn’t particularly like strangers, especially intelligent and very capable ones. Trust me, he does grow on you.” Jack smiled. “I promise.”

Katie watched Jack move around the crime scene like a pro.

He carefully entered and peeled back the tent to the body and carefully examined the woman, not removing the burlap bag.

She wondered why the medical examiner’s office was conducting a crime-scene investigation.

Wouldn’t they wait until the body was back at the morgue?

“Excuse me, but I didn’t realize the medical examiner’s office came to crime scenes,” said Katie.

“They don’t.”

“So are you verifying the time of death?”

“Something like that.”

“You are a doctor from the medical examiner’s office?”

“No.”

Katie was confused. “You are a doctor?”

“Of course. I’m a doctor of veterinary medicine.”

Katie stared at him, unsure if she had heard him correctly.

He chuckled. “I do come out on calls like this, which are extremely rare, before the body gets transported. I think the last murder was more than fifteen years ago. And, unfortunately, we can’t transport immediately due to personnel and road issues today, so she’ll be put up in a freezer at my practice.

Oh, but don’t worry, I’ve taken a crime-scene investigation course a few years back.

Mostly out of curiosity. I sure didn’t think it would come in handy. ”

It took a lot for Katie to become speechless.

A veterinarian was running a homicide crime scene and the police didn’t appear to know much about how to conduct the investigation—at least in the typical sense.

She could hear the chief talking to someone, but he was nowhere in sight. She looked in every direction .

“It’s the way sound travels around here. You’ll get used to it, otherwise it will drive you crazy,” said the vet.

Katie nodded. She hoped the chief was talking to Sheriff Scott, so she could get back to the cabin and put this behind her. As much as she wanted to take over the investigation, that wasn’t why she was there.

Katie watched Jack open the plastic case, which revealed a digital camera and some minor supplies for performing a crime scene investigation: all types and sizes of bags, containers, tweezers, gloves, measuring devices, and chain-of-custody bags.

The cool air blew a breeze through the trees, causing Katie to shudder. She needed to dress more warmly and in layers if she was going to spend time outside.

“You cold?” said Jack.

Katie nodded. “So tell me, how long have you been a vet and crime scene technician?”

He didn’t answer her right away. After taking photographs of the body, he carefully put bags over the victim’s hands and feet. “About as long as I’ve lived in Echo Forest.”

“I see,” she said.

Chief Cooper returned. “Your boss has volunteered your services if needed. You’re going to be on-call, so don’t leave town unless you clear it with me first.”

Katie frowned. It wasn’t as if she didn’t want to dive into a murder investigation, but she was beginning to think her uncle was correct in having forced her to take some time off.

“How long did you book the cabin?” asked the chief.

“Two weeks, like I said.”

“Hmm.”

“I can see you’re in good hands. If you don’t need anything from me, I’ll let you conduct your investigation,” she said.

Officer Banning returned to the area.

“Make sure you submit your report,” said Chief Cooper.

“Report? ”

“Of how you came to find the body.” He handed her his business card.

“Of course. It was nice meeting you both.” Katie turned to walk away. “Oh, do you know TJ? She was shaken up. You might want to make sure she’s okay.”

“Can’t say I know her, but don’t worry, I’ll be asking around. I think I know how to do my job.”

“Does ‘the Woodsman’ mean anything to you?” she said, thinking of what the girl had whispered over and over.

“Nope. Should it?”

Katie shrugged.

“And I’ve never heard of any teen around here named TJ,” said Jack. He seemed to be watching Katie with curiosity.

Katie thought that was strange since the town had barely five hundred residents and she had assumed the girl was a local out in the woods for a walk.

She thought small towns were more likely to know a lot about each other’s business.

She turned and left the crime scene—the image of the young woman hanging in the tree burned into her memory.