by Robin Mahle
* * *
It wasn’t until Katie arrived at work that she sat down to check her cell phone voicemail. Several were from Marshall, but there was one very much unexpected call from Chief Wilson. As Katie listened to the message, she grew pale and froze in her seat.
Susan walked past her office and doubled back, noticing the look on Katie’s face. “Hey, are you all right, Katie? Still feeling sick?”
Susan’s questions hardly registered a response. “Katie? Are you feeling okay?” Susan took her by the shoulder, shaking her from her trance. “Oh my God, you’re cold as ice. I think you should go back home. You’re not well and you shouldn’t be here. Should I call Spencer and have him pick you up?”
Katie’s eyes blinked a few times as she managed a reply. “No, I’m sorry, Susan. I guess I’m still not well. I think I will go back home and get some rest.”
“That’s a good idea. You sure I can’t call someone to come get you?”
“No, I’ll be all right. I just had a little dizzy spell, but I’m okay now. I can manage to get home.”
“Okay, well don’t rush to come back here until you’re better. I mean it.”
“Thank you, Susan. I appreciate that.” Katie hadn’t even put her bag away and she was grabbing it once again to leave. Only she wasn’t going home. She was going to see Marshall.
* * *
“I need to see Detective Avery, if he’s available please,” she asked the officer at the front desk.
“He’s in his office, Katie. Go ahead on back.”
“Thank you.” Katie rushed back to find Marshall hunched over several open files, filling out paperwork.
“Marshall?”
“Kate? What are you doing here?”
“I tried to call you first, but I had to see you.”
“Sorry, I was probably still in with the captain. What’s going on? If this is about last night, please…”
“No. It’s not.” She took her phone from her purse and placed it on his desk. “There’s a message on there from Chief Wilson.”
“Why don’t you have a seat and calm down? You seem really upset.”
“Please, Marshall… just listen to the message.” She pressed a few buttons and the message played back on speaker.
“Katie, this is Chief Wilson from the Rio Dell Police Department. I’d like you to give me a call at your earliest convenience. We need to talk about a recent development in the case you inquired about several weeks ago. Miss Reid, this is urgent and a returned call would be greatly appreciated.”
Marshall looked at Katie. “What does he want? When did this call come in?”
“I don’t know. I think he called yesterday, but I wasn’t answering my phone. I only saw the message this morning when I got to work. I came straight here. Marshall. I’m terrified to call him back. Do you think they’re going to reopen the case?”
“I don’t know. You need to call him back now.”
She snatched up her phone and began dialing.
“Put it on speaker,” Marshall said.
“Rio Dell Police Department, how may I help you?”
“Good morning. My name is Katie Reid. I’m returning Chief Wilson’s call.”
“Oh, yes, Miss Reid. I’ll put you straight through.”
They waited impatiently, even though the chief picked up in less than ten seconds.
“Miss Reid, this is Chief Wilson. Thank you for calling me back.”
“Of course. Your message sounded urgent. I’ve got you on speaker and I’m here with Detective Marshall Avery. What can I do for you?”
“Katie, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with you in private, please.”
“If it’s all the same to you, Chief, I’d like Detective Avery to be involved. He’s helped me a great deal with my situation.”
“Fair enough. We received an anonymous letter yesterday with your name on it. It was addressed to our station, but was sent to your attention. First of all, I would like to apologize in that I’d much rather discuss this with you in person, but I understand that would be difficult.
“It seems as though the local media caught wind of our discussions and my discussions with the Humboldt County DA’s office regarding reopening the investigation. As a result, the Times-Standard ran an article in the local news section about the cold case and the impact it had on the community. You were not directly named, but the article stated that a victim might have information that could lead to the reopening of the file. That article would have been posted online as well as in print, there for anyone to see.
“I was not informed of the article, nor was the DA. The journalist cited an anonymous source.”
She looked to Marshall. He appeared just as shocked as she was. “Well, considering I escaped, it sure as hell wouldn’t be hard to find out my name. They only have to look at the old papers,” Katie replied. Her knees were growing weak and she had to sit down fast. A corner of Marshall’s desk would have to suffice.
“Not necessarily. When you were found, it was only reported that you had no recollection of what had happened. No one knew of any possible connection with the other missing children or that we were profiling the likes of a serial killer. However, because of this media attention, it has brought about a more concerning matter and the one due to which I called so urgently. Katie, the letter was from him.”
Terror swept through her as she, once again, looked to Marshall for help.
“Wait a minute. Are you sure about that, Chief?” Marshall asked.
“I’m quite sure, detective. Not only did I spend years hunting this man down, studying his profile, but in the letter, he mentions details that only those of us who worked on the case would know about. And, he asked about Katie by name.”
“Oh my God,” she replied.
“It’s all right, Kate,” Marshall said, “Chief, what did he say about her and was there any indication he has knowledge of Kate’s whereabouts?”
“He asked how his ‘little Katie’ was doing. Apart from that, there was no further mention of her. He’s taunting us, detective, challenging us to find his other victims, to find him.”
“Other victims?” Marshall asked.
“Yes. Although it was never concluded that the three other missing children on the north coast were tied to Katie’s case, we always suspected it as you and I discussed. I can only assume he is referring to those children.”
“But, there could be more?”
“I suppose so, yes, detective. There could be more. Serial killers don’t stay quiet for long. It’s entirely possible there have been other victims in more recent years. It’s possible he never stopped.”
“So, what now, Chief?” Marshall asked.
“We don’t have any more to go on except for this letter. The DA wants us to keep it quiet, but to follow up on any evidence that might have been left on the envelope. Not that I expect he would have left any. He’s evaded capture for this long; my guess is that he has an understanding of new technology. Other than that, we need to wait and see if he contacts us again, or you, for that matter, Katie.”
“Do you think he will try to contact me?”
“Right now, there’s no indication of that. He wouldn’t know where you live. But, Detective Avery, I suggest you help Miss Reid stay vigilant and keep me informed of any new information you might receive. I don’t see any reason for you to panic, Katie. We will stay on top of this, making sure you’re protected, and besides, I believe this is directed more at me than at you.”
“I’m just the only one who survived.” Katie disagreed with the chief, but didn’t say as much. She believed her former abductor was after her. She was the one who had been digging around, insisting the case be re-opened.
“Thank you, Chief. Please keep us informed if you get anything more and we’ll do the same on our end.” Marshall said.
“Thank you, and Katie, I won’t let anything happen to you, not again.”
The line disconnected and Marshall turn
ed off the speaker. “We need to think about setting up patrols around your home.”
“Wait, wait,” Katie interrupted. “Look, I know you want to watch out for me, but how are you going to explain a request for patrol? We have no case here and the chief wants us to keep it quiet until they have more information.”
Marshall didn’t like the feeling of being helpless any more than she did, but they had nothing to go on.
“We don’t even know who we’re looking for.” Katie looked off into the distance, realizing she was sounding more like Marshall every day.
“What’s that saying? Be careful what you wish for?” she began. “For the past several months, I’ve wanted nothing more than to find out who this son of a bitch was; this man who has destroyed so many lives. And now . . . now that I know he’s really still out there, I’m terrified. I guess this whole time I thought maybe the bastard was dead.”
Marshall hoisted himself up from his chair. “You know what? There’s something we haven’t tried yet.” He started to pace the room, seemingly processing his latest idea. “I don’t even know if the chief has considered this or not.”
“What is it?” Her anticipation was palpable.
“He said something that struck me. He said serial killers don’t stay quiet for long. He’s right about that. When I asked if there could be other victims, I originally considered other victims from the time frame of your case, but we tried that already, looking for a connection to the other twenty-year-old cases. But, what if he never stopped? How many kidnappings are similar to yours, Kate? How many kids along the north coast, Oregon, Washington, anywhere along the Pacific Northwest, have been abducted over the past fifteen, twenty years? What if we can connect some of them? Any of them? Some may still be unsolved and there could be enough similarities that might link them to yours.”
“Don’t you think that possibility would have been explored already? My dad mentioned that the last time the chief contacted them was when a similar case in Portland turned up. It was a year or so after I came home.”
“Not necessarily. The cases could have spread out over several years in several different jurisdictions. Unless there were striking similarities, a link may have been overlooked. And, without the cooperation from your parents or the parents of the other missing children, the chief wouldn’t have had much to go on. But that was before new forensics data may have become available. We started down this path before, but I was so wrapped up in the Thompson case that I overlooked current cases. Not to mention the fact that up until now, there was no indication the man was even alive.” Marshall continued to pace the room. Katie was becoming slightly dizzy by his frantic movement.
“Look, I’m not saying any of the guys in charge of these cases weren’t diligent. I know how hard they work. I’m just saying that unless there was information in CODIS that would trigger a connection, it was probably never considered to span decades. You’re the only evidence that this guy ever existed, Kate, except for the letter we have now. And, now that you remember at least some details, I believe we have something.”
“So where do we start?” she asked.
Marshall finally sat back down. “We start by searching missing persons’ records. We profile children, around the ages of 5 to 8, since we believe this was his target age range, and we broaden our search to include not just northern California, but all the way up the coast. It’s hard to say if he would have been in these areas, but the Portland connection is a good place to start. I’ll need to contact my friend at the Eureka PD. I can poke around a little without giving away the farm.”
Katie started to think about her parents, how this would affect them. She hadn’t thought to involve them any further. Was it possible he would find them?
“Oh my God. What about my parents? Do you think he knows where they live? What if they’re not safe?”
Marshall walked around his desk, sitting on the edge in front of Katie. “One thing I think the chief was right about was the fact that we shouldn’t panic. He believes that the letter was an attempt to get at him, not you, and not your parents. Now, I’m not entirely convinced of that. I think this psycho is playing games with us right now. However, as far as your parents are concerned, I think I’d like to get the chief to step up patrols around the area. I don’t believe it’s likely he would go after them. He likes kids, remember? But, I think we ought to err on the side of caution.
“When I read your file, it was obvious that Chief Wilson fought long and hard in trying to find him. I know what that feels like; not to catch them in the end. The chief doesn’t want you to overreact or draw any further media attention. This guy’s looking for attention, wanting to stroke his ego. I don’t know why it’s taken him so long, but he’s probably been monitoring the internet for some time, waiting. And, finding that article was probably what pushed him over the fence. If he is looking to get caught, you’d better believe I’ll be the one to do it.”
He got back on his feet and looked at Katie. She saw his determination and drew strength from it. For so long, she’d been feeling like she had no control over her life. Ever since the nightmares started, her entire world began unraveling. Anger grew not only towards Spencer because he couldn’t understand her need for answers, but towards her parents for covering up her abduction for so many years. Not Marshall; he knew. They were very much alike in ways that were only now becoming apparent. It was as if he brought her out of this place she’d been hiding. She was afraid, but her will was growing stronger.
“I know this is a lot for you to take in. Why don’t you go home? You’re supposed to be out sick today anyway. I can get started on the search and fill you in as I get more details.”
“No. I want to stay. This is what I’m supposed to do. I see that, now. It’s taken me a long time finally to see who I am. I won’t shrink away from it any longer. This is about me now.”
* * *
It was getting late in the day and Detective Avery had pulled several files that fit the criteria. There was nothing that stood out; nothing that would indicate any similarities with Katie’s case, except one.
“That’s her.” Katie pointed at the screen.
“Who?”
“This girl. I remember seeing her on the news and thinking how similar we looked. Her long brown hair, stick straight, a little on the gangly side, those big, bucktooth front teeth. She reminded me of what I looked like when I was a kid. I remembered thinking how sad it was that she was missing and how many times I had gone around on my bike in my neighborhood without a care, not even considering the evil that was in this world.
“That was when I started having the nightmares. For a long time, it hadn’t even occurred to me that she was what triggered them. Spencer was studying for his bar exam; we had a lot going on and I thought I was just stressed out. God, that seems so long ago, but it wasn’t.” She paused, considering how much her life had changed in such a short time.
“If this is too much, Kate . . .” Marshall said.
“No, it isn’t. My point was that she looks very much like me. Do you think that could be something?”
“I don’t know. We need to see the file. This one happened up in McCloud. Certainly the vicinity we’re looking at. It’ll take me a day or two to make contact and get the case file. I’ll have to come up with some reasonable explanation. I think that’s enough for today, anyway.”
“I agree with you on that one. I’m feeling a little burned out.” Katie stretched her arms, letting out a small yawn.
“If it’s all right with you, I ‘d like to just follow you home tonight and check out your place, just to be on the safe side.”
“That’s not necessary, Marshall.”
“Just humor an old man, okay?”
“Old?” Katie started laughing. “You don’t look a day over forty-five.” She knew very well how old he was, only thirty-seven, but she took pleasure out of giving him grief about it.
“Hey, thanks for the ego boost.” Marshall led her
out of the station, which was still bustling for 7 o’clock on a Tuesday night. San Diego was a big city with big problems and Katie knew hers was only one of many.
* * *
Marshall followed her up to the apartment. “Let me go in first, okay?”
“Really, you don’t have to do this. Weren’t you the one who told me not to worry?”
“Yeah, well. I’d rather err on the side of caution if it’s all the same to you.”
“See? It’s still locked.”
After Katie unlocked the door, he pushed it open.
He held a hand up to quiet her and walked in. The summer sun was only just beginning to set as the season got into full swing, but her apartment was filled with its dusky light when they arrived.
“All right, you can come in. Everything seems to be in order.”
“Thank you. Do you want to stay for some dinner?”
“No. I’ve got a lot to catch up on. We’re handing over the rest of the files to the DA on the Thompson case. I’m gonna head back to the office and wrap that up.”
“I’m sorry for taking you away from your real job. You don’t have to do this, you know. I can coordinate with Chief Wilson.”
“I want to help, Kate. Besides, if we get enough solid evidence to reopen this thing, the captain will be happy to take the credit.” Marshall started to leave. “You’ll be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Goodnight, Marshall, thank you.”
“Goodnight. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Marshall was walking out the door when Spencer appeared on the landing in front of him.
“Spencer?” Katie said.
Marshall glanced at her, appearing confused, but waited for reassurance that it was still okay to leave.
