Page 64 of The Whispering Girls

Katie looked in the opposite direction of the crime scene area. It had a different overall feeling. It was clearer today that the park had been neglected. She wasn’t sure why, but she guessed budgets weren’t allocated—maybe it wasn’t as popular as the others. But with the two bed-and-breakfast inns along with Jack’s lodge, it seemed the area would grow as a tourist attraction.

Katie looked at the panoramic view and hoped Echo Forest wasn’t going to become known for a murder rampage.

She turned and walked toward the open space where TJ’s body had lain from left to right between two large trees. It reminded Katie of a play where the stage was set between pulled-back curtains—which began to tell a story.

“Katie,” said McGaven.

She turned to see her partner standing between the large dense set of trees on the left side.

“Check this out,” he said.

Katie hurried to his location.

“Slow down,” he instructed.

She studied the ground around her partner. It appeared there were branches piled on top of one another. Upon first glance, the downed branches blended into their surroundings. But the more Katie studied it, the more she realized they had been put there recently. The broken ends still looked new, light with a greenish hue, and not darkened as if they had been there for years.

“Why didn’t we see these two nights ago?” she said.

“We concentrated on the immediate area and around the trash cans.”

“Maybe this is what happens when we don’t have an experienced crime scene technician and more uniformed officers to assist with the search,” she said, frustrated.

“The point is we’ve discovered it now.”

“We need to systematically remove them.”

“Documenting each layer?”

Katie nodded. She took a step to the right side, mirroring her partner. “It’s better to have too many photos than not enough.”

The detectives began removing the fresh pine branches, taking a photo after each one was discarded. They carefully inspected the layers.

Katie began to think they weren’t going to find anything until after removing the ninth branch they revealed what appeared to be a makeshift trail. It had the same drag marks as Theresa’s crime scene.

McGaven took several photos. He retrieved a dollar bill and set it beside the deepest impression to give perspective and size. “Wouldn’t this take time?”

“Yes, it would, which means it was planned and the killer felt at home,” she said.

Katie’s phone chimed with a text message from John.

Recvd prelim reports from hospital. No fingerprints unaccounted for. Getting list of everyone who had access…

Katie replied:

Thanks. See ya soon.

“What’s up?” said McGaven.

“The hospital isn’t turning up any leads. No fingerprints. No video during those hours leading up to and after the murders.” Katie frowned and stepped back.

“Katie?”

“I can’t get it out of my mind.”

“The crime scenes?”

“They seem too planned for…”