Page 81 of The Whispering Girls

“That’s not good,” said John. “Do you think the chief is behind this?”

“I don’t know. But we have to get to the bottom of it while the storm works in our favor.”

John remained quiet as he watched the road. The falling snow increased, making it difficult to see even with the windshield wipers.

“Our window is about thirty minutes until it gets too difficult to drive back to the lodge,” he said.

Katie agreed.

They returned to the police station and made their way down the back alley. There was no use trying to hide the Jeep. The alley was narrow, mostly used as a walkway, so the car doors wouldn’t open all the way.

The cold attacked her body and her face was close to being almost completely numb. She ran her gloved hands over her cheeks, trying to warm her skin. She fought the urge to let her teeth chatter and pushed through the discomfort.

They approached the front door from the main street. She did the normal thing and knocked. When there was no answer she knocked again, trying the door, but it was locked. There was still no answer. There was a small window next to the door and it was obvious the lights were out inside. She stood on her tiptoes, but she didn’t see much except for a couple of desks.

“What do you want to do now?” said John.

Katie looked directly at him and said, “We’re going to have to find anotherway inside.”

“You mean break in.”

“You have a better idea?” she said, but knowing the answer.

“Finding the key?”

“I would say these are exigent circumstances, wouldn’t you?” she said.

John slowly smiled. “I would say so.”

“Okay then.” Katie viewed the window. “Do you think we can break this?”

John went back to the Jeep, opened the back hatch, and found a crowbar. He returned to Katie. “I’m not going to ask why you have this in the back. Most people have this with their spare.”

“It pays to be prepared.”

Katie stepped back and let John smash the window and then he used his sleeve to clear off the broken glass at the bottom. The window was smaller than the average and it was clear Katie would have to be the one to climb through. They waited a moment, expecting to hear an alarm, but since the patrolling cops were missing, probably no one would investigate even if there was one. But it remained quiet. The only sound was the moderate wind accompanied by the light snowflakes carried along by the breeze.

“A little help,” she said, wiping away the cold particles on her face.

John gave Katie a leg-up to the window, where she was able to balance herself and push her petite body into the small building. She hit the floor harder than she had anticipated and scrambled to her feet. She made her way almost blindly to the entrance, unlocking the door.

John quickly slipped inside. “You okay?”

“Yeah, fine.”

John wiped the snow from his jacket sleeves and stomped his boots.

“Ican’t find the light switches. They don’t seem to be in the usual places,” she said.

Katie moved to one of the desks where there was a lamp. She fumbled a bit, but managed to switch the light on. The low light bulb shined a yellowish glow around the room. She thought it was better to keep the lights to a minimum in case someone did see them, even though it was highly unlikely.

“What are you looking for?” said John.

“Notes, reports, something about the homicides.”

The office was small, just one room. Three desks, four filing cabinets, two large floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Surprisingly, things were organized, but definitely squeezed due to the small space. The first desk had some personal items, a framed photograph of a couple and their large husky dog. It was clear it was the assistant who answered the phone. Katie remembered talking to a Libby and assumed it was her desk.

Katie could hear John looking through filing cabinets with his flashlight. The beam moved from drawer to drawer.