Page 16 of The Whispering Girls

Wednesday 1050 hours

Katie drove her Jeep and followed Jack in his truck to the hospital, which was more than ten miles away. The chief had suffered a heart attack and had been taken to the closest medical facility: General Hospital just on the outskirts of Echo Forest.

Pulling into the parking lot, Katie was surprised that it was a small hospital, resembling more of an urgent care facility. She hoped the chief’s condition was stable and not as severe as it had sounded.

She got out and joined Jack as they hurried to the building. There were two police cars and an ambulance parked near the entrance. The large glass door slid open and they rushed inside.

The woman at the front desk looked up. “Can I help you?”

“Chief Beryl Cooper was brought in,” said Jack.

“Yes,” she said and nodded.

At that moment, Officer Clark appeared.

Jack turned. “How is he?”

“Stable. It was a cardiac event, they said. But he’s going tobe here for a while,” said the officer. His face was strained and he seemed extremely upset.

“What happened?” said Katie.

“We were going over everything for a morning briefing and then organizing duties for the homicide…and he held his chest and dropped.”

“When can he see visitors?” said Jack.

“Not until later.”

“Does he have family?” said Katie.

“No, he’s a widower,” said Jack.

“We’re his family,” said the officer.

“We’re all family,” chimed Jack.

That hit a chord with Katie. She hadn’t realized how close they all were. She’d only seen that the chief wasn’t happy with an outsider, a detective no less, coming into their territory. She was too busy concentrating on the crime scene, finding and protecting any potential evidence to see they all were close and worked well together.

Officer Clark turned to Katie. “He’s turned over the investigation to you, Detective.”

“What?” she said. “I’m just on vacation.”

“That’s all I know. He doesn’t want FBI or other agencies coming into our town. Will you do it?”

Clark and Jack stared at Katie, waiting for her to answer.

Katie blinked in surprise. She knew she couldn’t get her mind off the homicide crime scene, but now as they looked to her she wasn’t so sure about the situation. “It’s not that easy. Sheriff Scott needs to be informed…”

“The chief has already talked to him.”

“When? I know he verified me at the crime scene, but…”

“That’s what we were talking about this morning. Of course, you need to talk to your sheriff and go through your protocols.”

“And…I will need some things,” she said. Her mind was reeling. “And…I need my crew.”

“Anything you need, we’ll work it out. Officer Terrance Banning and I have been briefed to the chief’s decision. Detective, you don’t need to worry, we’re all on board.” The officer seemed honest in his statement and his eyes looked distressed.

“You have a perfect and private place to set up your headquarters at the lodge,” said Jack.