Chapter 46
FORTY-SIX
Katie was relieved her uncle’s SUV was parked in her driveway to the side of the house. She didn’t call ahead, but she knew her uncle would at least stay a few nights until they either had a closed case or he needed to get back to his condo.
Katie opened the front door and wasn’t immediately greeted by Cisco, which was extremely unusual. She put down the box and briefcase and then walked to the sliding back door but they weren’t outside.
“We’re back here,” called her uncle from down the hallway.
Katie walked to her office, which was the smallest bedroom in the three-bedroom farmhouse. Standing at the doorway she asked, “What are you guys doing?”
Her uncle was seated at her desk on his laptop. There were a dozen colored sticky notes across the desktop. Cisco was lying on the floor. He instantly jumped up, tail wagging, to greet Katie.
“Sorry, I took over your office, but I need to find out a few things away from work. There were too many interruptions and check-ins today,” he said.
Katie knew how much her uncle was loved and respected as sheriff. “It’s okay. Sometimes we just need solitude to figure things out.” She walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Anything I can do to help?”
“No, but I do know you’ve probably brought some work home too. Actually, I can’t believe your whiteboard is blank.” He smiled, indicating the wall in front of him.
“You noticed.”
“I also know you and McGaven were buried neck-deep with boxes in the property room.”
She laughed. “Can’t sneak anything by you.”
“You hungry?” he said.
“Oh no, thank you. I ate too much pizza.”
“I remember those late pizza nights at the department.” He took off his glasses and smiled at Katie. “You look tired. You need some rest. You and McGaven were lucky you weren’t killed in that trailer.”
Katie nodded, looking down—she knew they were. That feeling of terror when the trailer went over the ledge would stay with her for a while. “I know. I don’t know what I would have done without Gav being there.”
“He’s really become a great detective… and well, you two as a team. You’re unstoppable.”
She laughed. “We’ve been through a lot and he’s still my partner.”
“I never told you this…” he started.
Her curiosity heightened. “What?”
“Early on, a few times, I wanted to transfer McGaven to the detective division because they needed the help. I didn’t think the cold-case work would turn out like it has. It would’ve been a big mistake on my end. Now other detectives are assisting you.”
“Along with some of patrol.”
He studied his niece for a moment. “You know you could take the sergeant’s exam any time.”
“I know.” It wasn’t that Katie didn’t think about it, but she was happy where she was—at least for now.
“You’d make a great detective sergeant.”
“More paperwork, though.”
They laughed.
“I know,” he said. “Anyway, you’ve got plenty of time.”
Katie yawned. “I’m going to clean up and look at a few things… and then go to bed.”
“Okay. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Katie left the room and Cisco decided to stay with her, padding along behind.
She cleaned up the kitchen, took out the trash, and spent a few moments with Cisco.
She knew she needed to go to bed, but she was curious about some of the paperwork.
Maybe she would find something useful to their investigation.
She walked through the house, turning off the lights and double-checking the doors.
Grabbing the files of interest and her laptop, she went to her bedroom and shut the door.
Cisco jumped into his favorite comfortable chair in the corner, disinterested in what Katie was looking at.
She read the pages from the banks and letters that had been sent to owners of the various properties Trey Roberts had collected information on.
The ones from decades ago seemed to be informing owners they were going into foreclosure or letting them know they could refinance.
After a while, all the letters began to look the same.
Katie did find out about a couple of finance and appraisal companies.
She opened her computer and began searching.
The companies were mostly still in business and one had changed name.
She continued searching and found various connections to Crowne & Miller Construction LLC and East California Demolition and Construction.
She looked up and pondered that for a moment.
Was the construction company the link that joined everything?
It couldn’t be that easy, could it? She accessed a list of its previous projects and upcoming ones.
They had never worked for the county before.
It looked to Katie, as she read through more paperwork and lists on the computer, that there were several companies that had bid for the job, but Crowne won.
Katie could hardly keep her eyes open. She closed her computer and put the files with her notes on her side table. She would continue in the morning. McGaven was better at finding names and connections on the computer than she was.
“Night, Cisco,” she said.
The dog was already snoring and having puppy dreams.
Katie fell into a deep sleep. Even though she was comfortable and nestled in her blankets, she still tossed and turned and even made soft noises.
The images that flashed in her dreams as abstract messages and warnings kept her uneasy.
Quick flashes of faces known, unknown, and ones pertaining to the investigation seemed to be warning her.
Blood was on their faces. Men, women, and children.
There were four little boys that stood next to each other as if in alliance.
When one of them turned to face Katie, he had blood on his face as he nodded slowly, giving her a secret message…
The sound of her cell phone brought her out of her sleep and she sat straight up in bed. Taking a moment to acclimate to her surroundings, she answered the cell.
“Scott,” she said with a gravelly voice.
“Hey, sleepy head.”
“Gav?”
“Yep.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s maybe what’s right. Officer Andrews called me and said Grant went to a warehouse on the east side and he thinks Junior was there. We need to relieve Andrews and get a tail on Junior.”
Katie was now wide awake and getting out of bed, making a groaning sound.
“I’m on my way to pick you up.”
“Good.”
“You all right?” he said.
“You bet. See you in ten.” She ended the call.
It was a good lead and they needed to identify Junior and follow him. They definitely didn’t want to let him know they’d found him. If he spooked and bolted, they might lose their only chance at solving the remaining murders.