Her Last Whisper: An absolutely unputdownable crime thriller (Detective Katie Scott Book 2)

by Jennifer Chase

  The gate hinges screeched as Katie pushed it open and walked through. Amanda’s residence was located on the first floor around the other side of the building, so she continued along the path, her heart sinking as she approached apartment number 14 and saw there was a “for rent” sign taped to the front door. Peering inside the small side window revealed a living room and galley kitchen, with what must be the bedroom and bathroom behind one of the two closed doors. It was completely empty and she could smell a hint of some type of cleaning solution.

  Damn.

  Pulling out her cell, Katie called the property management telephone number listed on the door notice. It immediately went to voicemail which rattled off many of the available rental units. Hesitating a moment, she ended the call without leaving a message. She was about to leave when a voice above her said, “Are you looking for Amanda?”

  Looking up, Katie saw a young man in his late teens, with dark brown hair, leaning over the second-story railing staring at her. He rested his skateboard against the iron barrier, a playful, curious look on his face.

  “Hi,” Katie said, tilting her head back to see the young man more clearly. “Do you know her?”

  “Yep.”

  “You live here?”

  “Yep.”

  “When did she move?”

  “About three weeks ago.” He leaned farther over the railing to get a better look at her.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know where she went?” Katie asked.

  “Nope.”

  “If you had to guess,” Katie prodded.

  “You a cop?”

  “I’m a detective.”

  “What do you want with Amanda?”

  “Just wanted to talk with her,” she said. “She’s not in any trouble.”

  “No?” he said.

  “No, not at all. I thought she might be able to help me with a case I’m working on.” Katie sensed that he knew more than he let on, and that he might be toying with her.

  “What kind of case?” he persisted.

  “I’m not allowed to discuss it.”

  “Did Amanda do something?”

  “Not at all,” Katie countered quickly and confidently.

  “Oh.”

  “Are you sure that you don’t know where she moved? It would really help me out.”

  “Um, maybe with her friend Emily that she works with.”

  “You have a last name?”

  “I think Day. She has blonde hair and used to come here a lot.”

  Katie felt her cell phone vibrate in her hand.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Simon.”

  “I’m Detective Katie Scott from the sheriff’s department—nice to meet you. Thank you, Simon, for your help.”

  Katie turned to leave.

  “Detective Scott?” he called after her.

  Looking up again, Katie said, “Yes?”

  “I hope you find who hurt Amanda and put them in jail.”

  Katie hesitated and wasn’t completely sure how to respond. She nodded. “I’m going to do my best.”

  After Katie returned to her vehicle, she made some brief notes. It wasn’t a complete dead end; she could enquire about Emily at the hospital.

  Her phone buzzed again; she answered it.

  “Hey, I’m at your house. Are you going to be late?” said Chad.

  Katie had forgotten about her dinner date.

  “Uh…” she whispered.

  “You forgot, didn’t you?” he teased, not sounding surprised or upset.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “No problem.”

  “You want to reschedule?” she said.

  “No. I’ll wait. Besides, I can play with Cisco while you get ready.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Is that with or without sirens?” he said.

  “Always with.”

  “I’ll just chill. Bye,” he said playfully.

  Katie ended the call and let out a sigh. She should have rescheduled the dinner, but it was too late now.

  As she drove to her house, Katie’s mind began to churn through ideas about what did or didn’t happen to Amanda Payton.

  Six

  Monday 1920 hours

  As she drove up her driveway, Katie saw Chad’s large black Jeep parked outside with the driver’s door open, his long legs hanging out. He was clearly taking a nap.

  “That is so Chad,” Katie quietly said to herself and smiled as she cut the engine and got out of the car.

  Chad’s smiling face appeared as he sat up at the sound of her door shutting. He had changed into a nice pair of khakis and shirt. “Hey, how’s the town’s newest detective?” he asked.

  “How do I even answer that?”

  “Any way you like.”

  “It’s exciting… terrifying… all rolled into one.”

  “That’s a good answer,” he said as he followed her to the front door. “It’s truthful and insightful.”

  A loud, rapid barking greeted them.

  “Take it easy, Cisco,” said Katie as she inserted her key, turned it, then rushed inside to enter the four-digit alarm code while a jet-black German shepherd ran circles around her, whining in delight.

  “Every time I see Cisco, I almost forget how handsome he is,” stated Chad as he shut the door behind him, nearly knocking over some photos. “And a war hero too,” he added as the dog obediently followed Katie into the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry, Chad. I have to feed Cisco, let him out for a bit, and then I’ll quickly change. You sure you don’t want to do this another time?”

  “No worries. I can still entertain myself. I don’t have to be at work for another twenty-four hours. No, make that twenty-three hours,” he said, browsing a bookshelf that ran along one of the walls outside the kitchen. The books were arranged chronologically and meticulously organized by size. Mostly various novels of mystery and adventure, but there were historical, dog training, and photography books as well.

  “Hmmmm, let’s see,” he said as he ran his fingers along the books’ spines.

  The living room consisted of a comfortable oversized couch with a neatly folded blanket on the back, flanked by two leather upholstered chairs with matching embroidered floral pillows, perfectly placed in opposite corners. The hardwood floor was covered by a large multicolored rug and two pieces of artwork filled the walls. One was a landscape painting and the other was a vintage oversized photograph of Pine Valley taken from an elevated location.

  There was a small narrow table decorated with several photographs; one of Katie aged five with her parents, one of her graduating from the police academy, and a group photo of her and Cisco with her army company taken at a military base.

  Katie prepared the dog’s dinner and then hurried to her bedroom, partially stripping off her dark pant suit as she moved down the hallway and disappeared into her bedroom. She could hear Chad reading the synopsis of a mystery novel out loud to Cisco and making funny voices for each character. “I’ll let Cisco out,” he called from the living room.

  Chad had hardly changed from the kid she had met so many years ago in elementary school; light-hearted, fearless, and always charismatic. They’d been inseparable then—fishing, building forts, hiking—but now they had found their way back to each other. She wondered if they could ever be the same—together? They weren’t kids anymore. So much had happened in their lives. Was it just a comfortable place to be because of their shared pasts?

  Katie washed her face, reluctantly and inexpertly applied makeup, and unpinned her dark hair from her practical work hairstyle. She removed a few dresses from the closet, stared at them and then put them back. Finally she decided on a pretty sleeveless blouse, dark pants, and low heels that wouldn’t hurt her feet. She quickly changed.

  She stood in front of the full-length mirror and stared at her reflection; she didn’t feel comfortable dressing up. The truth was she felt more relaxed in jeans and a T-shirt do
ing training combat maneuvers with Cisco.

  Was that who she really was? All she was? A soldier?

  Was that the person that Chad really wanted to be in a relationship with?

  There it was.

  Again.

  When Katie asked herself tough questions, or when she stepped out of her immediate comfort zone, a creeping anxious feeling took a hold of her. A tingling in her extremities, quickening of breath and strange dizziness caught her by surprise. No matter how many times it happened, it always filled her with dread. The fear of the unknown. Her legs weakened, pushing her to pace about the bedroom trying to outrun the feeling.

  The room closed in around her. She knew that it was her imagination, but she instinctively readied herself for a fight-or-flight scenario.

  No… You’re not welcome here.

  These feelings made her want to run—anywhere. No destination in mind, just leave and keep going. She thought that she was mostly over these episodes, but faced with undue stress, they often came charging back.

  Feeling her cheeks flush, she hurried into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. As she blotted herself dry, she stared at her reflection, freshly applied mascara pooling under her eyes.

  What am I doing?

  I can lead an army patrol, but not get ready for a date?

  Katie touched-up her makeup and waited a few more minutes until her complexion had returned to a more normal color. Just as she was leaving her bedroom, she grabbed her favorite gold bracelet, the one with several garnet stones, to put on for luck. She stared at her wrist, suddenly reminded of the photos of Amanda Payton—her bruised wrists and ankles. Were those restraint marks consistent with being held against her will? Or self-inflicted wounds to gain attention?

  It was too soon to tell.

  Cisco’s cold nose touched her hand and shocked Katie back into the moment, realizing that Chad had gone quiet and must be waiting for her in the next room. Pushing work from her mind, she grabbed a small purse with her essentials and a lightweight jacket. Cisco’s amber wolf eyes looked up at her as if to say, “you’re going out without me again,” but Katie reassured him with an affectionate scratch behind the ears before she left the bedroom.

  “Hey,” Chad said as he stood at the end of the hall. “I thought I was going to have to call my buddies to do a welfare check.” He smiled broadly. “But I can see it was totally worth the wait.”

  “Thank you.”

  Looking at his watch, “We’ll just about make the reservation.”

  “Reservation?”

  “Yes, that is what one does when one wants to celebrate at the best Italian restaurant in town and score a great table that’s not next to the restroom.”

  “Celebrate?” she asked.

  “We’ve both recently been employed in jobs that might get us killed…”

  “That’s a good line to begin a toast.”

  “We’re living the dream…”

  Since it was early in the week, Little Gino’s was only half filled with patrons. The intimate tables were covered with crisp white linens and decorated with swan-shaped napkins and little candles. Italian art adorned the walls, with an entire mural of a quaint Italian village along one side.

  Katie suddenly recalled that she had been to this particular restaurant before, what felt like a lifetime ago before she did her tour in the army.

  “What are you thinking?” asked Chad, his head cocked, eyes looking deep into hers when she looked up. Katie laughed and blushed. “Whatever it was—it must’ve been a doozy,” he added.

  “I was just thinking about how long we’ve known each other.”

  “And?”

  “Well, don’t you think it’s interesting how much we both loved Pine Valley as kids, then suddenly we couldn’t wait to leave. And now, somehow we are both back…” she mused.

  “Well, I don’t know. Things change. Priorities change.”

  Katie ran her hand over the red cloth napkin. “Things happen for a reason.”

  “I agree. But I don’t think of it as a coincidence.”

  “Talking about coincidence,” said Sheriff Scott as he approached the table with an attractive woman on his arm.

  “Uncle Wayne and Aunt Claire,” said Katie. “It’s nice to see you.” She was relieved that the conversation was momentarily sidetracked.

  “Why don’t you join us?” asked Chad.

  “Oh, no we wouldn’t want to crash your party. Besides, we came here for a nice quiet dinner,” the sheriff said.

  “They look so cute together,” said Claire. “Let’s go get our usual table and let them have some privacy.”

  “Of course.”

  “But Katie, honey, I still want to have a girl’s lunch soon,” her aunt said.

  “I would love that.”

  “Nice to see you both,” said the sheriff as he steered his wife away from the table.

  Katie smiled, watching them walk away.

  “Now, they’re the cutest couple in town,” stated Chad. He turned his attention back to Katie. “How did they meet?”

  “I’m not sure and I don’t know a lot about her background. After my Aunt Elizabeth divorced him, he was so sad until he met Claire. His entire life turned around and here they are almost eight years later.”

  The waiter came to their table with two glasses filled with red wine.

  “Thank you,” said Katie. Taking a sip, the wonderful flavor of the Californian wine melted into her taste buds. “Wow, this is delicious.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I confess, Detective, I asked one of my buds back at the firehouse what would be a good bottle of wine.”

  “Are you trying to impress me with honesty?”

  “Are you profiling me?” he said lightheartedly.

  “It’s a bad habit.”

  “Well,” he began and leaned back in his chair. “I figured a great dinner and good wine would lessen the blow of getting dumped.”

  “Dumped?”

  “Yeah, I figured you’re just waiting for the right moment.”

  “Chad, how long have we known each other?” she asked.

  “Twenty-something years.”

  Katie stressed, “I would never string you along, but…” She glanced across the restaurant and saw her aunt and uncle holding hands across the table, both completely engaged in the other. She wanted to have a relationship, strong and secure, but she had to get some things straight in her life first. “I… just don’t know where things land right now.”

  He leaned forward and touched her right hand. “Remember when we were about twelve and my mom was diagnosed with cancer?”

  “Yes, of course.” She remembered that time well. It was the only time she had ever seen Chad cry.

  “It turned out okay and she beat it, but at the time my world came crashing down around me. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. You were my best friend and I knew from the moment I poured out my heart to you that you were someone I could always count on.” He watched her carefully as he spoke.

  Katie closed her eyes for a moment. There had been so much drama and so many difficult times, but they had managed to get through it. “I know… you were my strength when my parents died. So much heartache…” she began, not wanting to remember.

  “I know you’ve been pulling away.”

  “After what happened during that missing person’s case, and after what happened in the army… I just… don’t know… if…”

  Chad leaned forward and gently squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. I don’t ever want you to feel uncomfortable or pressured. I just want to spend time with you. I know there are things that you haven’t shared with anyone, but you know I’m here for you—always. We’ve always been there for one another and nothing is going to stop that now—no matter what.”

  Katie didn’t know exactly what to say. She felt like she was walking a tightrope that could break at any moment. There were unresolved things that she ne
eded to talk about but she didn’t know if she could do it. Deep down, she knew that her heart belonged to Chad, it always had, but her handle on her fear would dictate how the relationship would ultimately end up.

  “I just want to be here with you.” He squeezed her hand. “After all, it’s a celebration.” He raised his wine and tapped Kate’s glass to lighten the mood. “Here’s to the new jobs, and new adventures.”

  Katie reciprocated. “Cheers.” She smiled as she felt the relaxing effects of the wine after a long day melt her anxiety away.

  Here’s to new adventures…

  Seven

  Tuesday 1015 hours

  The next day, after contacting Deputy Windham and setting up a time to meet with him before his patrol shift, Katie decided to keep digging through Amanda Payton’s file—her work, friends, and family. She keyed in some search parameters for Emily Day and patiently waited for the information to filter through. It looked like she still worked at the First Memorial Hospital where she met Amanda and had a clean record apart from having been arrested for assault and trespassing two years ago. The judge gave her leniency with time served and six-month probation.

  It struck Katie that there weren’t any similar reports or background records run for Amanda in her file. Perhaps they were lost or misfiled, or maybe the original detective didn’t think it was important to run them. Clearing the search boxes, Katie ran a fresh criminal record check for Amanda. And what came back surprised her.

  Amanda had been involved in several altercations of battery, one resulting in her obtaining a restraining order against a Raymond Alvarez five years ago. She’d called the police on three occasions claiming that he had beaten her up—later she retracted her statement and said it was all a misunderstanding and she was mad. The other two incidents were similar situations where she later retracted her statement. Katie sat back and allowed the new information to simmer—it didn’t make her look that reliable.