Page 21 of Race to Save Her

He turned to her with that inquisitive expression, studying her carefully. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“What do you mean?”

“C’mon, Katie. We’ve known each other for a while and worked closely together. I know when there’s something bothering you or you’re holding back.”

“Everything is fine. We just need to⁠—”

“Katie,” he pushed. “What’s bothering you?”

She knew she couldn’t slide anything past him. Sighing, she said, “It’s come to my attention that they might want to transfer you to the detective division.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

“You might not have a say in the matter. It came from the sheriff,” she said.

They remained quiet for a bit.

“I like where I’m at. I like working with you and you’re going to need someone like me to have your back…” He leaned forward and squeezed her hand. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll fight to stay here. But right now, I am here, so let’s get to work.”

Katie smiled. She knew McGaven wouldn’t always be in cold cases, but he was right that they were partners now and needed to get ahead of their current case to stop this monster.

Katie’s cell phone rang. “Detective Scott,” she answered.

“This is Officer Jack Devlin.”

“Thank you for calling me back,” she said.

“I understand you have a case that might be connected to the body parts found at a barricade on Rockview and Pine Valley’s border.”

“Yes.”

“What can I help you with?”

“I wondered if it would be possible to view the house?”

“Sure. That’s no problem. I believe it’s still taped and boarded up, but I can meet you there today.”

“Great.”

“Say about 1500 hours? I’ll text the address.”

“Thank you. We’ll be there.” Katie ended the call and set down her phone.

“I take it we’re going on a road trip?” said McGaven.

“Yep.” Katie thought it was a positive step to take a look at the location, even if she wasn’t yet sure how it would help the investigation. “Let’s get some background on the case first. We have the time.”

“Copy that,” said McGaven as he opened his laptop.

FIFTEEN

Monday 1450 hours

Katie drove them to Rockview. It felt good to have her partner back with her working on a case. It amazed her that so many things in her life had been going well. Even her symptoms of post-traumatic stress had been less frequent, which was a relief. Caused by her two Army tours, they would never fully go away and would often strike when she least expected it, but she was more prepared for them these days.

Katie turned to her partner and smiled. He was immersed in his phone, looking into the case involving Brandon Bates, who was still in jail awaiting his trial.

“What?” said McGaven.