Page 96 of The Whispering Girls

“Detective.”

Katie spun around and faced the person who had addressed her.

“Are you feeling okay?” he said.

“What?” Katie focused on the man’s face and remembered it was Jack, the veterinarian. Suddenly, she became wary of him. There were too many unanswered questions.

“Don’t worry, it’ll wear off and you’ll be just fine.” He smiled, but this time instead of being warm and inviting, it was sly. “Fluothane, which is similar to chloroform, but has some odd side effects that last from a few minutes up to an hour to dissipate. Don’t believe everything you see.”

“Why did you do this to me?” Katie could only think that if Jack had wanted to talk, why he didn’t say so. “Ugh…” she said and sat down.

“Take a breath and try to relax. I’m not here to hurt you despite what your mind is telling you.”

Katie couldn’t make sense of the situation, but slowly, just like he’d said, thoughts became clearer and she remembered what had transpired. She’d woken and decided to make herself some hot tea…

“What do you want?” she said, sounding more like herself. She stood up to face Jack. “Who are you?”

“I don’t want anything but to help you.”

Katie’s skin crawled and everything inside her was telling her to run. She had no other way to protect herself, no weapon, no backup, no plan. It was the worst possible scenario for her—a nightmare coming to life.

“I’m sorry, Katie. I really didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.

“You don’t scare me.”

Jack chuckled. “We got off on the wrong foot. Allowme to explain.”

“Am I being held here against my will?”

“Of course not.”

“Explain to me why you had to drug me then,” she said, watching his every move. She contemplated if she could race up those secret stairs to alert John and McGaven before Jack could catch her.

“I wanted to get you alone.”

“There are better ways to go about it.”

“I guess in hindsight it wasn’t such a great idea.” He took a couple of steps toward her.

Katie backed away. She still couldn’t get a solid read on the vet. Thinking about the time they had spent together, the hospitality, kindness, and him taking over as the forensic technician, all of it had seemed to be from a genuine person. Now she wasn’t so sure.

“I will explain everything to you,” he said. “I promise.”

“I want McGaven here too.”

“I thought about that, but no offense, I trust only you.”

“Why is that?” Katie eyed the entrance to the staircase. Her feet were frozen without socks or slippers, making her entire body shiver.

“I’ve been watching you all, and I admit it, I’ve looked at your investigation board.”

Katie felt exposed. “So you have cameras in the lodge?” She kept his gaze.

“Just in the main area. It is protocol for when I have guests and when the employees were present. I don’t have them to spy,” he said. “There are no cameras in the suites or other personal areas.”

Katie didn’t believe him.

Jack took a deep breath, as if he were deciding whether or not to tell Katie something.