Page 63 of The Whispering Girls

“The fear on TJ’s face every time she said it spooked even me,” Katie said. “I did some searches but nothing much came up.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

A text came into Katie’s cell. She looked at it.

“Chief?” said McGaven.

“No, it’s John. He’s back at the lodge and has some things to tell us.”

McGaven stood up. “Let’s go.”

“I was thinking that Cisco needs a crime scene search before we return,” she said. “There’s still daylight.”

“Let me guess… the second victim in the park?”

She nodded. “I was thinking since it was so dark when we were there, even though we had lighting…I want to go look around before going back to the lodge.”

“Anything specific you’re looking for?”

“Drag marks and tire impressions. We can grab a quick bite before going out there.”

“I’m in.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

Friday 1500 hours

Katie drove into the old park where Mountain Trail Pass and TJ’s crime scene were located. It was easier to navigate since it was still light, but the uneven gravel and large boulders were still a road hazard.

“Geez,” said McGaven as he held on to the handle above the door.

“I’m trying to make it less bumpy.”

“I don’t think the killer came this way to dump the body.” McGaven grimaced after the last chuckhole in the parking area.

“I think you’re right,” she said. “But why this location?”

“Why the tree next to your cabin?”

“For someone to have these totems and messages, and then to stage the scenes in a particular location, no doubt it meant something specific to the killer. Maybe something the killer wants us to believe or know.” Katie glanced to her partner. “Whenever we’ve worked a case where the killer leaves a victim in a rural setting, what has it meant?”

“Well…some of these killers think they’re smarter than thecops, so they display their crime scenes in a shocking or theatrical way to show the cops that they have an advantage. They aren’t opportunistic, that’s for sure. They were all sending us a message,” he said.

Katie parked close to the area she did two nights previous.

“And the last message we had was that they’re not going to stop. Right?” she said. “I think Theresa and TJ were planned victims and meant something to the killer. But I’m still trying to figure out why the killer went to hospital and killed the new nurse in training…There’s got to be something about the hospital that connects the three young victims.”

“I’ll do a deep dive on all three women and see what pops,” he said.

“It may be nothing, but there’s one or maybe two big chunks of the puzzle we’re missing.” She sighed and turned her attention to the park and the entrance to the trail. Feeling a bit of anxious energy trying to rear its ugly head, Katie took a deep breath to slow down her racing thoughts about the cases and set her focus on TJ’s crime scene. There had been so many things happening, it seemed like a tidal wave of events. She had to keep her concentration on one thing at a time.

“Ready?” said McGaven.

“I want to look around first before bringing Cisco out.”

He nodded.

Both detectives got out of the Jeep. Cisco spun in excitement in the back seat because he seemed to know this setting was going to include him.