by Sonya Lee
Chapter 3
When Katrina awoke, she was laying on a soft leather couch. Somewhat disoriented, she tried to determine how she had gotten there. She looked around the room and spotted Det. Christian. Suddenly it all came back, the break in at the apartment, the fire and the picture of Kim, her face all swollen and battered.
“Are you okay, Ms. Castillo? Is there someone I can call for you?” asked Det. Christian.
Katrina reigned in her emotions as best as she could and replied, “I’m okay, I think.” She hesitated for a second, “No there’s no one you can call for me.”
“What about your parents, a sister or brother, maybe one of them can pick you up?”
“I’m an only child. My parents are out of the country right now.”
“Do you have any other family members in the city or a close friend you can call?” asked Det. Christian with concern in his voice.
"No I don't have any other family here. You knew it was Kim, didn't you?" she said accusingly as she looked him in the eye.
"Yes, once you told us her description we were pretty sure it was her," replied Det. Christian flinching from the pain he saw there.
"Why didn't you just tell me?" asked Katrina.
"We can never say it is a certain person until we have a positive I.D.," he replied.
“Have you contacted Kim’s parents? She lived with her sister, is she okay?” Katrina shook her head to clear it.
“There was no one at the apartment when the officers made it on the scene. They are trying to locate the next of kin right now,” he said. He decided not to mention the state of the apartment when the officers arrived. It had been ransacked.
“I forgot I dropped Sophie and Allison off at the airport today. Sophie goes home on the weekends. It was part of the deal her parents made with her. She couldn’t come to State unless she came home on weekends," said Katrina.
“Why does she go home every weekend?” asked Det. Christian.
Katrina looked at the floor, not wanting to look him in the eyes as she betrayed a family secret. “Sophie was kind of a wild child when she was in high school. She got into a lot of trouble with drugs and promiscuity. Their parents finally got her some help. Unfortunately by the time she straightened up, she was graduating high school. In order for their parents to pay for Sophie’s college education she had to make a deal with them. Sophie has to come home every weekend her freshman year, submit to random drug testing and maintain a “B” average. After her freshman year, some of her restrictions would be eased.”
“Why not just make her go to school where they lived, they could keep a better eye on her there, then in another state?” he asked.
“Well they also wanted to get her away from some of the bad influences in her life, mainly her ex-boyfriend Timothy Herring.” He's the one they blame for getting her hooked on drugs in the first place," said Katrina.
The door to the break room opened, and Det. Johns entered. “I just wanted to let you know the Virginia Beach Police Department has done the notification. Kim has a younger sister named Sophie, right?" he asked.
Katrina nodded her head in acknowledgement.
“She’s fine. She made it home to her parent’s house about 8:30 p.m. They stayed in last night.” Det. Johns leaned against the wall and allowed Det. Christian to continue his interview.
“Ms. Castillo, can you think of anyone who might want to hurt your friend Kim?” asked Det. Christian.
“Please call me Katrina and no. Kim was well liked for the most part, there was some girl envy and jealousy at State, but nothing that would make someone do this to her. She had some trouble with an ex-boyfriend, Ken McWilliams, about a year ago, but she hadn’t seen or spoken to him in about six months,” she replied.
“What kind of trouble did she have with the ex-boyfriend?”
“Well, he was extremely jealous, and accused her of cheating all the time. They didn’t date very long before he ended the relationship. Soon after he ended it, he tried to reconcile with her. When she refused to reconcile with him, he started harassing her.”
“What do you mean he started harassing her?”
“He would show up at parties she was attending. He would call at all hours of the night begging her to take him back. And a couple of times he showed up at her job,” said Katrina slightly embarrassed by the awkward situation her friend was in several months ago.
“You said it had been about six months since she had seen or heard from him. Do you have any idea what made him stop harassing her?”
“Kim called his parents and told them about the situation. I could tell from the conversation that they had, that this wasn’t the first time his parents had gotten a phone call concerning Ken harassing young ladies. His parents threatened to stop financing his education if he didn’t leave her alone.”
“Did she notify Campus Police that he was harassing her?” asked Det. Christian.
“No, she wouldn’t do that to his parents. Her parents and his are good friends. She didn’t want to cause them any embarrassment, so she contacted them instead,” said Katrina.
“We’re going to have to check him out. Do you know where he lives?”
“Yeah, he graduated last spring and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to continue his research on volcanoes. I doubt if he could do something like this anyway. Besides he didn’t fit the build of the guy I saw leaving the building. Ken is 6’3 and lanky.”
“Johns, get in touch with Honolulu PD and make sure our friend hasn’t left the island.”
“I’m on it,” said Johns as he exited the room.
“What about you, can you think of anyone who might want to hurt you, or holds a grudge against you?”
“No, I keep a pretty low profile,” she said.
“What about a boyfriend/girlfriend?” he asked levelly.
Katrina’s head snapped up. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend, and I most definitely don’t have a girlfriend. I’ve been pretty busy lately with my research. So I haven’t had much time for socializing.”
Det. Christian gave Katrina the once over. It was hard to believe that she didn’t have someone in her life. She was what the older cops would call a looker. She had a light caramel complexion. Her hair was long, thick, and wavy. She had long eyelashes that gave a glimpse of the hazel green eyes beneath. There was a tiny star shaped birthmark below her right eye. She was on the petite side, but she had curves in all the right places. He could tell this even though she was wearing pajamas. They just happen to be silk pajamas, the lounging kind. He had to remind himself that he was a married man.
“What about ex-boyfriends?”
“No, I haven’t dated anyone in about a year and a half. My schedule has been so hectic that I haven’t had the time.”
“Have you had any problems at school, or in the neighborhood?”
“No, I lead a pretty simple life. I go to class, go to work, hang out with friends, and visit my parents.”
“You haven’t felt anyone watching you?
“No, I haven’t. Look Det. Christian my life was going fine until tonight. Is there anything else you need? I’m exhausted. I need to find a place to stay. I need to call my roommate and update her on this situation and several other things to take care of,” said Katrina in exasperation.
“No, this is it for a while, if we have any more questions we’ll let you know.”
“Will I be able to get some of my things from the apartment? I don’t have any clothing. Walking around in my pajamas isn’t a usual occurrence for me. I don’t see how those silly people do this on a daily basis,” said Katrina.
“I’ll get an officer to run you by your apartment. You’ll only be able to get things from your bedroom. The rest of the apartment is to remain untouched. You can pick up your car as well. Here’s my card in case you think of anything else, and
call me when you get settled so I can know how and where to reach you,” he said.
“Can I get my jump drive from my computer? I’ll need that. It has all my research on it and my papers that are due.”
“Yeah, just let the officer examine it before you take it.”
“Thanks Det. Christian.”
“No problem. Take care of yourself,” said Det. Christian. He told her to wait in the lounge and he would send someone to escort her home. He left the staff lounge and found Officer Vasquez. He spoke to her for several moments updating her on the situation and requested she escort Katrina home. Then he went to find Det. Johns to see if he had learned anything else.