Page 6 of The Whispering Girls

“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.”

“Youarea doctor from the medical examiner’s office?”

“No.”

Katie was confused. “Youarea 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.”