All the Shiny Things: A Kate Reid Novel (Kate Reid Series Book 1)

by Mahle, Robin

  “Katie, they’re hand digging all around here. We’re covering a half-mile radius of this place, looking for anywhere else he might’ve buried them. Unless you have some kind of map, I’m not sure how much more help you can be. I agreed to let you be involved in this because, as far as I’m concerned, you’re the one who solved this case, but if it gets to be too much, you need to let me know.”

  “We need to find Ashley. It’s because of her that we’re here today and Hendrickson is gone.”

  A charred metal cot with stuffing from a blackened mattress, presumably the same one Katie was forced to lie on for three days, was tossed on its side in a corner of the room. The place itself didn’t look much different from what she had been able to recall, except for the furnishings being mostly reduced to ashes.

  She glanced over at the staircase, where only a couple steps remained attached to the floor balustrade. She saw her younger self, who’d managed to gather enormous strength against tremendous odds, to escape from a monster who had already done unspeakable things to her. And he would have buried her along with the other children for which they were now searching.

  “We need to find her so her parents will know that her death meant something. If I hadn’t remembered that little girl’s necklace, we wouldn’t be here right now. We might never have found him.”

  “We’ll find her, Katie.” Agent Scarborough wrapped his arm around Katie’s shoulder and gently piloted her from the edge of the basement.

  The two walked out into the woods and everything came back to her in a mad rush of memories. She leaned on one of the giant Redwoods to steady herself, reliving the horrifying escape.

  “Katie, are you okay?” Scarborough asked.

  “Yeah. Just give me a minute, if you would.” She took a few deep breaths, reaching for her side as a brief outburst of pain passed through her and then shifted her weight back onto her feet. “Okay, let’s keep going.”

  Shouts could be heard in the distance. Then, Scarborough’s phone rang.

  “We’re heading down!” he replied to the person on the other end.

  “What is it?” Katie asked, trying to keep up with his too-quick pace.

  “They found another one.”

  Scarborough ran for several hundred more feet before spotting the fifteen or so men standing around a single spot where the soil had been upturned. Katie couldn’t keep up, but made it down with the assistance of an agent who had just arrived.

  “Agent Scarborough, over here!” Another agent waved them over.

  “Wait here, Katie.”

  She gave Scarborough the same look she’d give Marshall whenever he tried to tell her not to do something he knew damn well she was going to do anyway.

  “Fine,” he said.

  They approached the circle of men, who parted immediately at their approach to reveal what had been discovered.

  Only a few fragments of human remains were exposed, but it was enough to know that extreme caution would need to be the protocol for excavating this unknown victim.

  “This is Number Four,” a member of the team spoke up.

  “Okay, let’s find out who this is,” Scarborough said.

  Katie and Agent Scarborough moved away to allow the forensics team to do their job. “How long before we have an identity?” she asked.

  “Hard to say; it depends on what they find. I’m not an expert in that field, but I can tell you that the men over there are the best at what they do, so I have no doubt they’ll figure out who it is.”

  “How do you get used to this, Nick?”

  “You never get used to it; you just accept it.”

  It was clear he was trying to make the situation less tense than it was, but Katie was staring at the remains of a child. She doubted that she could ever accept it.

  “You just learn to, Katie. Otherwise, this stuff will destroy you. It’s not easy coming face to face with the dark side of humanity, but you eventually get to the point that you realize you’re not doing it for any other reason than for justice.” He paused for a moment and glanced around at the scene: the mounds of dirt, the yellow tape, the people walking around. “I’ll tell you one thing, Katie. I’ve never met anyone like you; driven, verging on obsessed. What do you think you’re going to do after all this is over?”

  “I don’t know, Nick. Go back to San Diego and live my life, I guess. Whatever that means.”

  “What about Detective Avery? You two seem to have gotten pretty close.”

  She smiled just hearing his name. “Yeah, you could say that. I don’t know. It’s a little strange. Our entire relationship has evolved as a result of this—situation. I’m not sure how you go back to normal.”

  “I don’t imagine ‘normal’ is in the cards for you two.”

  “Probably not,” Katie replied.

  There was only one reason for her to be here right now, watching these people do a job she could scarcely imagine. Katie needed to let it go; finally, really, let it go. The nightmare was over and it was time to stop. She turned to Agent Scarborough. “Thank you for bringing me here today.”

  30

  Katie sat down in the chair next to Marshall’s bed. She exhaled as if she’d been holding her breath for years. It was finally over and she didn’t know what to do. She looked at Marshall, and raised her hand to her face, lightly running a finger over the stitches on the left side. “Do you think Scarborough will still let me come along when he talks to the parents of those children? I need to be there for them, Marshall.”

  “I know you do. I think he’ll let you do what you need to do to get closure on this.”

  “Before we go home, I’d like to say goodbye to Jarrod and thank him for what he did.”

  “That’s a good idea, although I can’t say I agree with him letting you go like that. But you’re so damn stubborn, I probably couldn’t have stopped you anyway.”

  Katie leaned in and kissed his lips; they were dry and chapped, but that didn’t bother her. “I think I’ll go back to my parents for a few hours. I’ll come back this evening and stay here with you. They think you’ll be able to leave tomorrow, based on the tests they ran today, so that’s good news.”

  “That’s what they say, but Scarborough needs me to stay for another few days while they wrap up the investigation. Do you want to stay?”

  “Of course. I’ll see you in a few hours, okay?”

  » » »

  The next morning found Katie aching after an uncomfortable night on the hospital’s pullout bed in Marshall’s room. She pulled back her hair, twisting it into a bun, mindful to pull her bangs over the stitches and splashed some water on her face. She went down to the cafeteria to get breakfast. On her return, Marshall was awake and was no longer alone.

  “Agent Scarborough? You’re here early,” Katie said. “I’m sorry; I didn’t realize you were coming or I would have brought you some coffee as well.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I wanted to come by before heading back out to the site.”

  “How’d it go yesterday?” she asked, handing Marshall his coffee.

  “We’re still searching, but I think that’ll be winding down soon. We discovered a pattern to his burial locations and I think we may be on the verge of finding all of his victims.”

  “How many?” Marshall asked.

  “Six in total; so far.”

  “God, that’s less than we thought, at least,” Katie said.

  “Yes. We’ll need to identify the remains, but preliminary forensics suggest that a couple of the bodies had been there for quite some time, longer than the others taken when you were abducted, Katie.”

  “So he’d been active well before 1989,” Marshall replied.

  “Looks like it. We’ll know more in a few days. There was one other thing I came here for.” Scarborough looked to Katie. “We have identified one of the bodies found a few days ago. It was Ashley Davies.”

  Katie lost her breath for a moment.

  “I was wondering if you’d
like to take a trip with me to talk to the parents today.”

  Katie looked to Marshall for his approval, although she didn’t need it. He would have no objection. “Yes, I’d like to go with you, please.”

  “Okay, we’ll have to stop at the station and pick up a few things, then we can head out. You ready to go now?”

  She raised a finger to pause and then cut away to the restroom to fix herself up. Her heart raced with fear and sadness and excitement; everything was balled up in her chest. She felt like this was her chance to gain the forgiveness from the parents whose children didn’t make it home. It was that need that drove her to obsession. The guilt was overwhelming at times, but this was her chance to find some relief.

  “Okay, let’s go.” She snatched her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later, okay?” she said to Marshall.

  Marshall agreed and instinctively glanced at Scarborough.

  “It’ll be fine,” he replied to the question Marshall didn’t need to ask.

  » » »

  Katie waited patiently in the lobby of the Rio Dell station while Agent Scarborough spoke with members of his team. There was protocol to be followed and so the coordination was a necessary task.

  After several more minutes, Scarborough emerged, briefcase in hand. “Okay, let’s go.” He held open the lobby door for Katie as she led the way to his car.

  She was grateful to have had a chance to eat a small breakfast. Her nerves were on edge and an empty stomach would make matters worse. She’d met with the Davies family before, but now she would be meeting them to bring closure; after all these years, they would get peace.

  They headed northwest on Highway 101, the Redwood Highway, back toward Arcata.

  “The necklace?” Katie asked.

  “It’s in the case.” Scarborough didn’t take his eyes off the road and continued along the quiet highway. “Katie, I’d like to ask you something.”

  “Yes?”

  “I was talking with my supervisor back at the station.”

  Katie knew of this man and had seen him a few times, but he never approached her. She waited for Scarborough to elaborate.

  “Handling this job requires a certain type of person.” He glanced at her for just a moment, then returned his gaze to the road ahead. “You’ve been vital to this investigation and everyone knows that. We’re all convinced that if you hadn’t pursued this to the extent that you did, well, Hendrickson might have remained free for the rest of his life.”

  “And my best friend would still be alive,” she interrupted.

  “But the fact remains that you were the one who brought him down and Wilson, who, honestly, got what he deserved. So, in my opinion, you brought down two very bad men.”

  “If it hadn’t been for Marshall’s support, I don’t think I’d be here now. He kept me from falling apart many times, Nick.”

  “He’s a good man, Katie; that much is obvious. But, going back to being that certain type of person. Well, I’ve got to say, you’re just about as close to that type as anyone I’ve come across in a long time. My supervisor tends to agree. A little impulsive, bordering on careless, but that can be reeled in with the right training.”

  “What are you saying, Nick?” She was beginning to suspect where this was headed.

  “We’d like to have you come work for us in the Washington field office of the BAU, with me.” Scarborough looked at her for a reaction.

  Surprised by the invitation, she measured her response. “Don’t you need to have a degree or something?”

  “Well, I understand you have a BA in Social Sciences from UCSD.”

  “Why am I surprised you know this about me?”

  He grinned. “We have training at Quantico, then specialized training geared toward work in the BAU. It’d take a couple of years and mentoring, but Katie, I’m telling you, this is who you are. I read the file about everything you did to get here.”

  “Look, I appreciate it, but I’ve got to piece my life back together first. For the past nine, ten months, I’ve been living and breathing this nightmare. I’m not sure what I’m going to do now that it’s over.”

  “Come work for us.”

  “I don’t know; I’d need some time to think about it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m honored, but I really need to sort out my life, fix myself.”

  “We can help you. No one can go through what you’ve been through and not be damaged. The point is to fix the damage and keep the drive. Look, this probably isn’t the best time to talk to you about it, but I wanted to see where you were at, what your plans were, and get a chance to present this to you without anyone else around.”

  “You mean without Marshall around?”

  “I’m inviting you to start a career, one that you were made for. I just thought it’d be best to present it to you when you weren’t looking for someone else’s approval.” Scarborough sighed. “I saw how you looked at Avery back there. Seeking his approval; wondering if he thought it was a good idea for you to come along with me this morning. Now I’m not saying that’s what he expects. My guess is, he doesn’t. But that’s how you are when you’re around him. You are much tougher than you know, Katie Reid.”

  They made a right turn onto the quiet street. The third house on the left; that was the one. She remembered it from a few weeks ago. Was it only a few weeks? It felt like months had passed.

  “Okay, we’re here. Now there are a couple of things I’d like to mention. First of all, I’ll address them initially. Once I’ve had a chance to ease them into the conversation, I’ll let you say what you want to say and return their daughter’s belongings to them, okay?”

  She tipped her head in agreement and stepped out of the car.

  The cool breeze made goose bumps rise on her arms. Katie took a deep breath, breathing the clean pine-scented air. She began to shiver, but wasn’t sure if it was from the cold morning air or nerves. Her stomach was tightening into knots. The only thing that calmed her down was closing her eyes and envisioning the moment she would hand them their daughter’s necklace.

  Scarborough stood on the front porch, waiting for Katie to approach. “Are you okay?”

  A smile of acknowledgement briefly appeared when she joined him, but soon faded as they waited.

  The door opened before he could knock. In this small town, when a black SUV pulled into the drive, it was obvious that person wasn’t from the neighborhood.

  “Mrs. Davies? Agent Scarborough with the FBI. We met before?”

  “Of course, agent. Please come in.”

  Nick turned to Katie, placed his arm against her back, and led her in ahead of him.

  “Ms. Reid, nice to see you again. What happened to your face, dear?” Mrs. Davies asked.

  “Oh, nothing. I’m fine.” Katie wondered if they hadn’t known what happened. That she’d been kidnapped by Hendrickson. Maybe after all these years, they just didn’t bother listening to all the terrible news on television; that they’d heard enough in their lifetime. She didn’t bother to explain the marks on her face.

  “I believe my office contacted you, Mrs. Davies?”

  “Yes, sir. They said you were coming down. Please, follow me. Mr. Davies is in the other room.”

  The smell of the house reminded Katie of Sam’s parents’ home; warm vanilla, so wonderfully inviting. She swallowed hard against the lump that was rising in her throat.

  Mrs. Davies led them into the family room where her husband sat perched at the edge of his armchair, holding a folded up newspaper. Had he known about Hendrickson? When Katie greeted him, she realized he had.

  A forlorn but compassionate smile lifted his hollowed cheeks. It was clear that Ashley had her father’s looks. Katie imagined what he must have looked like as a younger man, when his daughter was still alive. From the pictures she had seen, Ashley had similar facial features: high cheekbones, wide-set eyes resting above a narrow, but slightly bulbous nose. Seeing through his now middle-aged features, he was once a very handsome
man. Ashley would have turned into a beautiful woman.

  Although devastating for both of the parents, Katie thought it might have been even more so for Mr. Davies. She remembered how her own father reacted when she was returned. It was often the mothers of lost children who were the ones who gained the most sympathy, but she believed it might be the fathers who bore the heaviest burden. Are all children not raised to believe their fathers are their protectors? Katie would still have to work to mend her relationship with her father, but she was lucky to have that chance.

  “Ms. Reid, it’s very nice to see you again,” Mr. Davies started. “I’m so very sorry for what has happened to you, yet again.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Davies, but I am fine now.”

  “I’m sure you are.” He looked at Scarborough. “Agent Scarborough, nice to see you as well. Please, both of you come and have a seat.”

  Katie and Nick sat down, once again, on the floral printed sofa. Mrs. Davies had expected them and set out a basket of fresh pastries and muffins. Coffee and juice flanked either side of the basket.

  “Mr. Davies, I don’t know if my office filled you in on the purpose of our visit, but I’m guessing you are aware that we have eliminated the person responsible for the abduction and murder of your daughter, Ashley.”

  “Yes, sir, we are aware of the circumstances surrounding our daughter’s murderer.” He looked directly and knowingly at Katie. “I’d like to thank you, Ms. Reid, for all you’ve done to help find the man who took our little girl. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that we haven’t prayed for this outcome. Mrs. Davies and I are religious people.” He cleared his throat. “But we’ve been waiting for this for a very long time.”

  “Of course you have, sir,” Nick replied. He placed the briefcase on his lap and opened it.

  Katie looked inside to find a small white box. Nick lifted it from the case and handed it to her. She knew what was inside.

  “Mr. Davies, we were able to retrieve this from evidence and I have to tell you, sir, that this particular item was the one thing that made it possible for me to continue searching for the truth. For whatever reason, be it from God, or the souls of those taken from us, somehow the memory of this stayed with me, buried deep in my subconscious, but it was always there. And, it’s the reason I’m here today.” Katie handed the box to Mr. Davies.