Page 3 of The Whispering Girls

Did the killer bring her here and then kill her?

Who was she? Did she live in town?

She turned to the girl, who couldn’t take her eyes away from the body. “TJ,” said Katie, “did you disturb anything? Did you touch anything?”

The girl shook her head.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Who is the sheriff or chief here?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Police? Do you know any names?”

“I…I…think Officer Cooperis the chief.”

“This is now a crime scene. I need you to stay right here and don’t move, okay?” said Katie.

The clearly traumatized girl slowly nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the body.

“You have to be strong, TJ. I’m a police detective for the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department. I’m going to take a brief look so that I can report the overall scene to the police, so they’ll know what and who they will need. Okay?”

“Yes.”

First and foremost, Katie didn’t want to disturb any evidence, but she knew this small town most likely didn’t have the manpower or resources to conduct this type of investigation. The more information and facts she could glean the better.

“It’s okay. Just take a deep breath and wait right there. Do you know who it is?”

“No,” she said quietly, not making eye contact.

Katie turned her focus back to the body. There was something about the scene that unsettled her—it was as if she had seen it before but she was unable to remember where or how. She would wrack her memory until she recalled.

She checked her cell phone and found it had only one bar of reception. It meant she might have to go back to the cabin to make the call.

Katie slowly and deliberately walked in a straight line to the body. She planned to exit the area by the same route. Using her cell phone, she took a few photographs in a sweeping motion. She wanted to get the overall view, which included how she guessed the killer entered and exited the area.

It was difficult to not look at the pink nail polish on the woman’s toes. It gave identity to the body, which made it more challenging to be objective. Despite that jarring image, Katie moved closer.

There were no signs of lethal marks on the victim—no obvious stab or bullet wounds—that Katie could see. The bodyhad blue and purplish markings, indicating she had been killed less than a day before, but a medical examiner would make a more accurate account.

Katie looked back at TJ, who still stood in the exact same spot. The girl’s face remained set in horror at the scene. Her dark-blonde hair was wet and matted.

Katie didn’t have gloves, so she pulled out an unused tissue from her pocket. After taking a couple of breaths, she gently took the edge of the burlap sack and lifted it a couple of inches. She could see that the neck was heavily bruised, implying the woman had been strangled.

TJ said something Katie didn’t understand. The girl’s voice was barely a whisper. “TheWoodsman, no, no, no,” the teen kept saying.

Katie turned to her. “Woodsman? Is that what you said?”

She nodded.

“What do you mean?”

“The Woodsman…” TJ pointed to an area next to the tree where the body hung.

Katie turned and saw what the girl was referring to. On the side of the large tree trunk, along the ground, there were some gathered forest items. At first, Katie assumed them to be random, but studying them closer they seemed to be purposely arranged. Was it for the killer? Or for the victim? Carefully taking a couple of steps, not wanting to get too close and contaminate the area, Katie bent forward. Three pine cones, several sticks, berries, a rock, and some leather strings surrounded by a padding of pine needles were arranged in a way that wasn’t random. There were many possible explanations. Anyone could have left the display—hikers, neighbors, or kids.