“What, are you a plumber now?” she said.
The man pushed himself free from under the sink. Chad was still wearing his Pine Valley Fire Department uniform. “What took you so long?” he said.
“This isn’t the easiest place to find.”
He stood up, his sparkling blue eyes fixed on her. “What do you think of the place?”
“I… I like it. It’s cozy.” She didn’t know what else to say. It was tiny, but there was definitely a significant amount of charm.
“Yeah, I know. Small, but affordable. After I do some repairs, I’ll be able to flip it and get something bigger. But for now…” He gently pushed Katie backward and planted a long kiss on her lips.
“Is that your Chad hello?” she giggled.
“Is that your gun?” he countered with a sly expression.
“Sorry, the gun and badge are a part of the package.”
“It’s nice to see you,” he said and kissed her again. “Really nice.”
“I thought we were having dinner. This doesn’t look cook friendly yet.”
“How does pizza and wine sound?”
“That sounds great.”
“Great.” He retrieved his cell phone.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
“What?” he said.
Katie smiled genuinely and said, “Congratulations on your new house.”
As they relaxed on the sofa eating their favorite combination pizza and sipping a nice red wine, Katie felt relaxed. It was the first time in a couple of days that she’d taken a breath and didn’t feel rushed, stressed, or ready for something unexpected to jump out at her.
Chad studied Katie and said, “What’s up?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve known you long enough to know when something is bothering you.”
Katie chuckled. She had always loved Chad, even when she didn’t know it herself. Growing up with such a great friend through happy and terrible times was something that she had cherished. She sighed.
“I heard about that girl’s body found at Elm Hill Mansion. I figured it was going to be your case,” he said, waiting patiently for her.
“Yep, you guessed correct. It was already one of my cold cases, actually—that’s why it’s our case. It’s actually more complicated than that.”
“Sounds fair enough.”
Katie took another drink of wine and paused. “Yes, but I can’t help but feel that I’m stepping on toes…”
“Why? Hamilton again?” He had known that Hamilton was the detective in charge of Katie’s aunt’s murder case.
“Yes, but…”
“But what?” he said and moved closer to her.
“There’s a new superior that will be watching me… it’s so…”
“Annoying?”
“I was going to say disheartening… I know that the cold-case unit is new, and that I’m still considered a rookie in some ways, but this new undersheriff definitely has her eye on me.”
“Her,” he said. “Oh, I get it. A little competition.”
“No, it’s not like that. I just got the feeling that she wants something, that she’s going to try to be my buddy— I wonder if it has to do with my uncle, but maybe I’m totally off about that. That doesn’t work when you’re a cop—you don’t pal around with your superiors.”
Chad shook his head and said, “It might be nice for you to have a woman on your side—even someone in the brass.”
Katie looked away and thought about all types of scenarios, how they would go down, and none of them seemed good in her opinion.
“Look,” he said. “Just keep working your assigned cases and you’ll be fine—you always are. And as for your uncle, he’s a big boy and can handle himself.” He put down his wine glass and said, “As for me, I’m only interested in one detective—a hot cold-case detective.”
“You’re right,” she said, feeling the wine relaxing her body. She leaned in to kiss him.
Her cell phone rang.
“Great,” Chad said irritated. “Can you ignore it?”
“Yes.” And then, “No, I better get it.” Katie reached over near her jacket and retrieved the cell phone. “Detective Scott,” she said as Chad nuzzled her neck. Listening intently, she frowned and bit her lower lip. “I understand. Yes, I know where it is.” The call disconnected from the third watch commander.
Chad straightened up. “Let me guess. Work.”
“Yes.” Her mind was already one step ahead. “They’ve found another one.”
“Young woman?”
“Yes.”
Fourteen
Tuesday 2015 hours
The calm Katie had found in Chad’s arms dissipated as she raced to the crime scene. Two women found murdered in two days was highly unusual and extremely disturbing. She couldn’t waste any time. She knew that the Harlan case could go in many directions, but another dead woman with ties to the Elm Hill Mansion couldn’t be coincidental.
The daylight had fizzled and with an almost moonless night due to the heavy cloud cover it would be near-impossible to search a crime scene in any real detail. The dark shadows in between the trees stretched as she drove, creeping into her thoughts.
When she reached Stately Park, there were already a half dozen patrol cars securing the area around the hiking trail and helping the crime-scene unit carry large freestanding lights over to the crime scene.
Katie had never worked an outdoor crime scene at night before and it made her nerves rattle and her mouth go dry. Willing her anxiety to stay at bay, she focused as best she could on the task ahead. Questions plagued her mind.
Did the victim suffer the same injuries?
Would there be the same disturbing message carved on the victim’s back?
Could they have a serial killer on their hands?
She ran over in her mind what she needed to pay particular attention to when looking for evidence in the dark. She’d need to work more of a spiral grid than a typical cordoned zone search to assess the area. The first impressions of a crime scene were usually the most important, so she’d have to use all her senses to capture as much as she could in the dying light.
Parking in an available area, Katie saw McGaven and a few familiar patrol officer faces in the crowd. He approached her car just as she got out of the driver’s seat and they hurried together towards the entrance to the hiking trail.
“How did you get here so fast?” she asked, switching on a large flashlight she’d grabbed from the trunk.
“I caught a ride with Deputy Anderson. Everything okay?”
“Fine. Why do you ask?”
“No particular reason,” he said. “But your blouse is undone…”
“Just stick to crime scenes,” she said, clutching her shirt underneath her jacket and trying to hide her smile.
“Noted, Detective.”
Katie watched the patrol officers set up lights along the trail which led down to the creek. They went some way to illuminate the area, but the contrast and color of the trees and surroundings were muddled in the darkness. There were more shadows than light.