Chapter 53
FIFTY-THREE
Katie sat up and noticed that John wasn’t there, but she could smell something incredible coming from the kitchen.
She smiled. He was making breakfast and she adored him for that because he was a great cook.
She also saw that Cisco wasn’t in his chair in the corner, but it didn’t take a detective to figure out where he was.
She got up and pulled on sweats and a hoodie. Her bare feet walked down the hallway, where the smell of breakfast became stronger.
John was at the stove tending to bacon, eggs, and hash browns. Cisco sat at attention waiting for something to hit the floor.
Katie wished she could freeze this moment of calm and normalcy. It gave her strength to know that everything was going to be okay.
She walked up behind John, wrapping her arms around him. “Good morning,” she said giving him a kiss.
“Morning, babe.”
“That looks amazing and I’m hungry.”
“There’s coffee,” he said.
“Thanks.” Katie poured herself a cup. “Anything I can do?”
“Nope. Almost ready.” He began plating.
They sat down and leisurely ate breakfast together. There was no talk about yesterday or what they were going to be facing with the investigation. They talked about light and fun things—and, of course, Cisco. The dog seemed to be back to his usual energy and self.
Katie spent the next couple of hours doing chores around the house and John did some study reading.
She was surprised McGaven hadn’t called her yet, but she assumed he and Denise were spending time together.
Denise was his fiancée and she also was the supervisor in the records division at the department.
Katie and John enjoyed their morning, recharging as the time ticked down to return to work. This investigation and its intensity meant that they had to continue to work even though it was the weekend. There was an exigency as Patricia was still missing and Tyler had vanished.
Katie’s phone rang.
“Hey,” she said seeing it was McGaven.
“How are things?” he said with a chipper voice.
She smiled. “Good. Ready to go on a road trip to visit those boys?”
“Yep.”
“Meet me here? We can take the Jeep.”
“See you in thirty?”
“Affirmative.”
The call ended.
“Back to work?” said John.
Katie sat on the sofa next to him. “Yes.”
“You feeling better?”
“Yes.” She looked at him. “I’m fine. We’re just checking out some leads and properties today. It’s a good time before everything ramps up tomorrow. You?”
John sighed. “There’s a lot to test and decipher.”
They stayed on the sofa together for a few more minutes, Cisco jumping up to push between them.
McGaven showed up about thirty minutes after the phone call. Katie and Cisco met him when he drove in. In the meantime, John had left for work.
Katie smiled at her partner as she loaded up the dog and a few other items.
“Wow,” he said.
“Wow what?”
“You look so much better rested. I think John has been the best medicine for you.” He smiled.
“No doubt.”
“Cisco,” he said as he pet the dog.
“When are you going to get a dog, Gav?”
He shrugged. “We’ve been talking about it.”
“Okay, you ready to go?” said Katie.
They got in the Jeep and she put in the GPS coordinates to the ranch where one of the young men, Casey Day, lived. They wanted to catch him by surprise so he wouldn’t take off somewhere.
Katie noticed there was no patrol officer at the end of the drive. “I guess the cop is on break somewhere,” she said.
McGaven shook his head. “Then they should’ve assigned another. This investigation isn’t over and now we know you’re in more danger than we originally thought.”
“It’s okay. You’re with me today and John is here most evenings.” Katie looked at her partner. “I’m fine.”
Cisco gave a low bark.
They laughed.
“And Cisco too,” she said.
They discussed what they had seen and learned from the cabin yesterday, running theories and trying to figure out who and where the killer was. He had to be fairly local due to his seemingly close proximity to the people involved, including Katie.
Katie drove into Rockview and then down several country roads until they reached 9210 Basin Lane, which was a beautiful ranch with horses and cattle. It was serene and picturesque. There was a large ranch sign on the gate that read: “Day Ranch.”
“This is nice,” said McGaven.
Katie drove through the open gate. The skies were dark and it appeared that the clouds moving from the north carried rain.
She parked the Jeep near a tree where it would continue to keep the vehicle cool for Cisco.
A gentle breeze moved through the area and the temperature remained cool but comfortable.
When they got out Katie grabbed a jacket and then walked toward the barn. She could see someone moving hay bales. The detectives approached an older thin man with a bushy beard wearing a cowboy hat.
“Hello,” said McGaven.
The man looked up and studied them for a moment.
“You police? I think maybe detectives,” he said.
“Mr. Day?” said McGaven, using his friendliness instead of his intensity and tall stature to dominate.
“Yes.”
“We’re Detectives McGaven and Scott from the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department,” he said.
“A little bit out of your jurisdiction.”
“Just a little bit. We’re working a case that has taken us to Rockview. Would it be possible to speak with your son?”
“About?”
“We’re just following up on the shooting incident at the Bates house.”
“I see. You’re not looking to arrest my boy?”
“No, Mr. Day,” said Katie. “We want to ask some follow-up questions.”
He stepped closer to the detectives. “Why is that?”
“Because we were there when the bullets were flying,” she said matter-of-fact.
“Oh,” he said and looked down. “I’m sorry about that.”
“We understand what went on, but we just have a few questions to ask that might help with one of our investigations,” said McGaven.
“Of course,” said Mr. Day. “He’s back in the barn with the horses cleaning out the stalls.”
“Thank you,” said Katie.
The detectives followed his directions and walked through the large barn, which was filled with beautiful horses. They could hear someone working at the end and moved toward them.
Katie saw the young man with blond hair combed back clearing out a stall. “Casey?” she said.
The young man looked up. “Yeah, who wants to know?” He spoke with sarcasm.
“We’re detectives from the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department and we wanted to ask you a few questions,” said McGaven.
“About what?”
“About you and your friend Timmy shooting at the Bates house.”
He stopped cleaning and put down the pitchfork. “I’ve already been through this with the cops here.”
“We know that, but we wanted to know why you did it,” said McGaven.
“I dunno. Something to do,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“I see,” said Katie. “You’re not in trouble, but we think you can help us with a case of ours.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Can you tell us who the man was who told you to shoot at the Bates house?” she said.
“What man?” He shifted his eyes downward.
“Can you tell us how he contacted you?” she pushed.
“Look, I don’t want to get in trouble or Timmy either. I didn’t tell the detective from Rockview anything.”
“You’re not in trouble. But we really need to know for a case of ours,” she said.
“I’m sorry that you were there—we didn’t know—honest.”
“It’s okay. Can you help us?” said Katie, trying to sound more like a friend than a cop.
“I… I… don’t know.”
The detectives waited for the young man to come clean and tell them what they suspected and needed to know.
“Okay, this doesn’t go any further, right? We were paid to spray some bullets, not to hurt anyone,” said Casey.
“Of course,” said Katie. She thought about how this man they were trying to trail could get people to do things for him without being forceful. That was a dangerous ability.
“Timmy and I, we were just kicking around and went hiking a ways up and we came across what we thought was a camp area. We’d never seen it before.”
“Did you have your guns?”
“Yeah.”
“So was it a campground?”
“No, that’s just it and why it seemed kind of strange.”
“What did the camp look like?” said McGaven.
“It wasn’t a camp, just a space. There was this guy… kinda weird… It was like he just suddenly showed up from nowhere.”
There was a rattling of a stall and a few horse snorts and neighs.
“What did he look like?” said Katie.
“That was weird too. He had on a bulky hoodie with the hood up, and he was wearing one of those masks, like for allergies.”
Katie knew it was the killer and he was hiding his distinctive face. Smart. Still steps ahead of the detectives.
“Have you ever seen him before?” said McGaven.
“No never.”
“Are you being straight with us?” she said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“How much did he pay you?”
“Five hundred bucks apiece.”
Katie raised her eyebrows in surprise. It was a lot of money. “What was his reason?”
“He said he was testing new siding and armor for homes.”
The detectives glanced at one another.
“Where can we find your friend Timmy?” asked McGaven.
“He lives down the road, but he’s not home. He’s at his grandparents’ house in Sacramento.”
“If we asked him about the man, would he say the same thing?” said McGaven.
“Yes, totally.”
“Okay,” said McGaven.
“I’m sorry you were there… honest.”
Katie retrieved her business card. “Thanks, Casey. If you think of anything else to tell us, please call.”
“Will do.”
Katie and McGaven walked back to the car.
Once inside, Katie said, “What do you think?”
“I think he’s mostly telling the truth, and I do believe that it’s our guy.”
Katie sighed. Cisco whined and did a spin in the back seat.
“Let’s go to one of Sills’s properties. The one that’s located in Rockview,” she said.
“Absolutely, plenty of time to see what else shakes out.”