Page 30 of Shadow Burn

They left Priss in the laundry room behind the closed door, ignoring her protests. Detective Mallory met them in the hall outside the bedroom, not looking happy about the request, but not blocking them either. “You can stand in the doorway and point, Ms. Townsend. Don’t touch anything unless I say. We’ve got photographs done, but my tech still needs the wall and the window.”

“I need shoes,” Katherine said. “And clothes. Everything’s in the closet.”

Mallory’s gaze dropped briefly to her bare feet. He exhaled as if her request taxed his patience, and he pointed at Jasper. “Perault can gather what you need. You stay in the doorway and don’t touch it.”

Katherine nodded.

Garrett stood in the hall, talking softly on his phone. The air was colder here. The smell of gunpowder stronger. Broken glass glittered across the floor inside the room, the dresser lay on its side, the lamp was shattered near the window, and the bedspread hung half off the mattress. The black hole in the window looked obscene against the night beyond it.

Katherine froze. At first, Jasper thought she was assessing the scene. Then he saw her face. All the color had drained from it.

Her gaze locked on the cracked bedroom doorframe. Her breath came in once, shallow and silent. Her good hand lifted, fingers curling against the blanket near her throat.

Mallory started to say something, but Jasper raised one hand slightly, and the detective stopped. Garrett put his phone away and moved closer.

“Katherine,” Jasper said.

She didn’t answer. He moved in front of her, blocking her view of the room. “Look at me.”

Her eyes stayed fixed over his shoulder.

“Katherine.” He made his voice lower, quieter, something meant only for her. “He’s gone. I’m here.”

Her gaze shifted to his face, but the fear remained, raw and humiliated beneath the surface. “I can’t.” She said it so softly he almost didn’t hear her.

“That’s okay.”

“It’s ridiculous.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“I need my shoes.”

“I’ll get your shoes.”

Her mouth tightened, and he knew she hated that he had to. Hated needing help. Hated that the room had become a place her body would not enter.

He wanted to tell her there was no shame in any of it, but Katherine didn’t need a speech in front of a detective. She needed the choice taken out of the public eye and put back into her hands.

“Tell me what to grab,” he said.

She closed her eyes for half a second, then opened them. “The navy slacks on a hanger at the back. Jeans in the top drawer of the dresser. A sweater, and at least two blouses—any of them except the cream one. I don’t know why I brought it; it wrinkles badly.”

Garrett made a choking sound that might have been a laugh badly disguised as a cough.

Katherine glanced at him. “It does.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Garrett said, completely solemn.

Jasper felt the edge of his own mouth move despite everything. “Which shoes?”

“Brown ankle boots. Socks are in the second drawer, along with my…” She released a tight sigh. “Underwear and bra. My document bag is in the corner by the nightstand.” She addressed Mallory. “May I have my phone back?”

Mallory handed Jasper gloves, then nodded once and stepped aside. “Did the intruder touch it?”

“Only to kick it out of reach.”

The detective eyed it where it lay on the floor with a yellow marker for a long moment. He gestured for one of the techs to hand it to him.