Page 86 of The Whispering Girls

“A little restless,” she said.

“Get some food and…a few more cups of coffee.” He smiled.

“It all smells great.”

“There are some bagels and fruit as well.”

“Thank you.”

Jack looked at her hand. “You need to make sure your bandages are changed periodically too.”

Katie grabbed a plate from the cupboard. “I will.”

Jack left the kitchen as Katie made a plate for herself. She didn’t want to seem rude—after all, Jack was allowing them to stay at the lodge and he had been nothing but nice and helpful.

She noticed Cisco’s bowl at the end of the counter where he had been fed his dry and wet food. She smiled, knowing McGaven had fed and cared for him. If anything ever happened to her, she knew her partner would take care of Cisco.

Katie, McGaven, and John sat around the large dining table, each with files and paperwork. Katie was relieved Jack had gone back to his veterinary office. Katie and John updated McGaven about what they had found out last night.

“I tried to call the chief and officers again but there was no answer, so I sent each one of them a text message,” said McGaven. “But still nothing.”

“We’re at a point now that we need to decide what to do. Do we call in county or even the state law enforcement agency? I’m sure the roads aren’t passable yet, they probably won’t be for a while,” said Katie.

She watched their reactions. It was difficult to read John, but she could tell McGaven was leaning toward calling in backup, even though they might not be able to reach them for a while.

“I think we at least need to call Sheriff Scott and bring him upto speed,” said McGaven. “I know you’ve been hesitating for personal reasons, but I think it’s time.”

John nodded. “I agree. He has no idea what’s been going on here.”

Katie knew they were right. In the back of her mind she was deeply concerned about another victim being targeted. If the killer had been prepared to blow up the hospital and injure or kill them, they wouldn’t stop at anything if they had further murderous plans.

“Let’s get him on conference,” she said, knowing a regular phone call wasn’t good enough.

McGaven set up a laptop so that he and Katie could squeeze together to see the video.

Cisco made his way to Katie and decided to rest at her feet.

McGaven sent the sheriff a link and message. He pulled up the conference screen waiting for the sheriff to answer the call. As the crew waited, they gathered the files they’d borrowed from the station and began systematically going through them to see what they could glean.

The laptop chimed and everyone was ready. Sheriff Scott’s authoritative demeanor filled the screen. He was dressed in his police uniform, his five identifying stars gleaming, distinguished with his cropped grayish hair. It was difficult to read his expression. Katie couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or relieved to be talking with them.

“Good morning,” she said.

Still keeping his stern expression, the sheriff nodded. “It’s been interesting reading your first few reports, but I haven’t heard anything else from you. However, I’m aware of the storm that has hit Echo Forest.”

“Yes, sir, we’re basically snowed in here. The roads are closed,” said McGaven.

“I see,” he said. “Then why don’t you tell me about thehospital explosion?” His expression changed slightly to a more worried appearance.

“How did you hear about that?” said Katie, treading carefully. Even though the sheriff was her uncle and only family, there were many emotions vying for her attention. She kept calm and focused.

The screen blurred in and out a couple of times.

“When I didn’t hear from you and the cell phone connection was interrupted, I made some calls to emergency services in that area. I also heard about the third homicide victim and the deaths of two hospital workers.”

Katie could feel his intensity even through the computer screen. “We’ve been bombarded with a serious situation, multiple homicides, and no backup.”

“What do you propose?” he said.