The Burning Girls: A completely gripping crime thriller packed with heart-pounding twists (Detective Ellie Reeves Book 3)

by Rita Herron

  Bryce grunted. “I guess it’s worth looking into them more.”

  Ellie refrained from rolling her eyes. She had a feeling the sheriff conceding to her on any point got in his craw.

  “What about Katie Lee’s folks?” he asked.

  “As expected, they were broken up. There’s a lot of tension in that household. The mother is clearly repressed by her husband. Father insisted his daughter did not date. The brother, Marty, looked shaken up and instantly blamed his dad.”

  “Why?” Bryce asked, raising his brows.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll dig deeper into the family. I can tell you one thing—the parents were strict. When Marty sounded off, Mr. Curtis ordered the boy to go to his room. There was no attempt to console him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got punished. And Will did mention that he’d heard whispers that Mr. Curtis might be hitting Katie Lee. I’ll ask the school counselor about the possibility of physical abuse in the family.” Her conversation with Laney echoed in her head. “By the way, Dr. Whitefeather finished Katie Lee’s autopsy. This was no accident, Sheriff.”

  A flicker of surprise lit his eyes. “Tell me about the report.”

  Ellie explained about the bruising on the girl’s upper arms and the contusion on the back of her head. “It appears someone hit her with a blunt object, causing her to pitch forward. Then whoever it was pushed her over the ridge.”

  Bryce cursed. “One of those kids may know more than they’re telling us. None of them admitted to inviting Katie Lee along.”

  “It’s possible Mr. Curtis didn’t like the fact that his daughter was rebelling. He could have followed her to the hollow to keep her from meeting up with the other kids. If so, they could have argued and in the heat of the moment, struggled. Then she could have tried to get away and…”

  Bryce shrugged. “Sounds like a leap.”

  “I still think we have to consider it. He could have set the fire to make it look like the same person who killed the lady at Winding Rock—our statement was on the later bulletins last night.”

  “Katie Lee’s body wasn’t burned nearly as severely as our first victim.”

  “Maybe he had remorse and extinguished the fire himself,” Ellie suggested. “Except we didn’t release news about the circle of stones to the press, so he couldn’t have known about that unless he was involved in both murders.”

  “You don’t think we have another serial killer on our hands, do you?”

  Ellie bit her lip. “I don’t know yet, but my instinct is saying so. Even if the fires don’t match exactly and the victims’ profile is different, the standing stones are similar.”

  Bryce sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Do the Curtises know their daughter was murdered?”

  “I told them we suspect foul play. That’s when they asked me to leave.”

  20

  Stony Gap

  Vanessa Morely watched the sheriff’s report on the local news in horror. Another murder in Bluff County.

  Just like high school, Bryce was full of himself. Years ago, she’d thought it was appealing. Now, she avoided him. She had to.

  Mandy was all that mattered.

  Mandy gasped as she walked into the den with a bag of chocolate chip cookies. “Oh, my god, Mom,” she said, seeing the headline. “Katie Lee goes to my school. Did the sheriff say what happened to her?”

  Vanessa shook her head, her stomach churning. She didn’t know the girl, but she did know her mother.

  Thankfully Ellie Reeves was working the case.

  She would dig for the truth no matter what it cost her. When she’d seen her at the Corner Café, for a minute, she was swept back to childhood, when they’d played hide and seek and built forts in the woods. Then things had changed. Would her life have turned out differently if they’d remained friends?

  “Do you ever go to that place Moody Hollow?” she asked her daughter.

  “Everyone goes there,” Mandy said, giving her the are you for real? eyeroll.

  “Well, I don’t want you there or on the trail at all.”

  “But, Mom…”

  “No ‘but Mom’.” She was tired of arguing with her daughter. “You’re staying home until the sheriff figures out what happened to Katie Lee and that other woman.”

  Mandy slammed her fists into the sofa and jumped up. “That’s not fair.”

  “I don’t care,” Vanessa said sharply. “There are bad people out there, Mandy. And it’s my job to protect you.” After all, she knew about bad people, how quickly they could pounce when you let down your guard.

  “You’re a hypocrite,” Mandy shouted. “You let men crawl all over you at that bar, then you lock me in the house like I’m a little kid.”

  “I have to work to make ends meet,” Vanessa said, ignoring the jab. “And I mean it, Mandy. Do not go anywhere tonight. Whoever killed Katie Lee is still out there. And I don’t want to have to bury you like the Curtises are about to bury their daughter.”

  21

  Crooked Creek

  Before confronting the Curtis family again, Ellie decided to research Katie Lee. If she was going to imply the father harmed his daughter, she needed to be armed with facts.

  Summer break made it difficult to know which students to question. So far, the teenagers at Moody Hollow had painted a picture of a loner. First, Ellie checked with the principal, who knew barely anything about her family. He sent a list of Katie Lee’s classmates the previous year, so she spent a couple of hours calling and leaving messages.

  According to the three she reached, Katie Lee was studious, quiet, and conscientious. She didn’t participate in any extracurricular activities. No sports or clubs, although her English Lit teacher said she’d briefly worked on the yearbook, but her father forbid her from doing it when he found out.

  Ellie was liking Mr. Curtis less and less.

  Finally, she got in touch with the school counselor, a woman named Letty James. She sounded truly upset when Ellie broke the news about the teenager’s death. “Her parents must be devastated,” the woman said, her voice warbling.

  “They are,” Ellie said. “Did you know Katie Lee?”

  “Yes, I do programs with the homerooms to get acquainted with all the students so they’ll feel comfortable if they need to talk.”

  “What was your impression of Katie Lee?”

  “She was a sweet girl, a people-pleaser. She did her schoolwork and kept to herself. From what I gathered, her parents were pretty strict with her.”

  “That’s what I’ve gathered, too,” Ellie said. “Did she ever mention any problems she was having?”

  There was a moment of hesitation. “I value my students’ privacy and confidentiality.”

  “I understand,” Ellie said. “But there are suspicious circumstances surrounding her death, so if she had problems with anyone, a friend, boyfriend, if she was being bullied or had issues at home, I need to know. Katie Lee can’t speak for herself right now. But you can speak for her.”

  The sound of Letty shifting carried down the line. “What do you mean, suspicious circumstances?”

  “I’m afraid that’s all I’m at liberty to say at the moment. But please tell me anything you know. Even if it was just a feeling or a sense that something was wrong.”

  “Well…” Letty released a wary sigh. “She came to my office for information about local colleges and scholarship applications. According to her, her father did not approve. He said college was for men.”

  Ellie bit her tongue to keep from voicing her opinion.

  “What about boys? Did she date someone from school or have a crush on anyone in particular?”

  “Not that I know of,” Letty said. “Although I saw her talking to Will Huntington a few times in the hallway.”

  So, Will was cropping up again. And he hadn’t mentioned that they’d talked at school.

  “When I notified the Curtises of Katie Lee’s death, her brother Martin got upset and blamed his father. There was a lot of tensi
on between them.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Letty’s breath rattled out. “This is just between us, Detective. But Marty has had problems with his father’s control issues and was also protective of his sister. He stood up to Mr. Curtis, which didn’t sit well in that household.”

  “Was there any specific reason he felt he needed to protect her? Was someone bothering her?”

  “No… he didn’t say.”

  “Let me ask you another question,” Ellie said. “Do you think the father could hurt Katie Lee if she disobeyed him?”

  Silence stretched between them for a minute. “That’s a difficult question. He was tough on Marty, but even more so on the daughter. Martin never specifically described physical abuse, although once he commented that his father barely spoke to or looked at Katie Lee. Marty said he didn’t understand it. I thought it had to do with the church, but I just don’t know… I think strange things go on there.”

  She wasn’t the only one in town who thought that. “What kind of strange things?”

  “Exorcisms, social isolation from others who aren’t in the group. They’re veering away from religion and are almost worshipping the leader, Reverend Ike. He sees himself as some kind of prophet. Everyone is encouraged to give up worldly belongings and donate their money to him.” She paused, taking a sharp intake of breath. “I know one young woman who finally got out. Said he tried to marry her to a man old enough to be her father, that he arranged for other girls to be given to older men in his group. Anyone who disobeys or tries to leave is ex-communicated.”

  Ellie’s head spun. What punishment might Mr. Curtis and Ole Glory have had in store for Katie Lee if they found out she was rebelling?

  22

  Pigeon Lake

  Thirty minutes later, Ellie was knocking on the door of the Curtis house again. Now the dreary atmosphere of the house and its isolation painted even more of a sinister picture.

  Dusk shadows crept over the murky lake, the sound of frogs croaking mingling with the song of crickets. The temperature had climbed to the mid-nineties with no relief or rain in sight. Flies and gnats swarmed the humid air around her face, the heat plastering her damp ponytail to her neck. Already locals were joking about it being so hot you could crack an egg on the pavement, and it would fry. Ellie wouldn’t doubt it.

  Mr. Curtis answered the door, dressed in all black, his expression closed.

  “It’s awfully late, Detective.”

  “I apologize for the hour, but it’s urgent.”

  His eyes sharpened as he looked down at her. “Did you come to tell us we can finally see our daughter?”

  “Yes, but I also need to speak to you and your wife and son first.”

  “What for?” he asked, his bushy eyebrows knitting.

  “Please, just gather your family. It’s important that I talk to all of you together.” The family dynamics would probably tell her more than their words.

  He clamped his lips tightly together but stepped aside, leading her through a small entryway to the living room. Furnished in eighties style, the plaid couch and ruffled curtains were faded, and crosses and pictures of Jesus adorned the walls, along with a family picture on the mantel she hadn’t noticed when she was here before. She couldn’t see a TV or computer anywhere.

  She quickly glanced at the kitchen and noticed a tin milk can holding black-eyed Susans on the primitive pine table. An old-fashioned butter churn sat in one corner and fruit flies danced above a bowl of overripe bananas.

  “Wait here while I call my family down.” He gestured toward a chair in the living room, but she didn’t sit quite yet. Instead, she studied the photo on the mantel while he hastened up the staircase. In the picture, the family was all dressed in Sunday clothing. The father in a dark jacket and white shirt, the mother in a long black skirt and white blouse with her hair pulled back into a bun so severe that her skin looked stretched. Not a hint of makeup on her face and no jewelry. The son wore black pants and a white shirt, his scowl as dark as his clothing. Then there was Katie Lee.

  She had on a white blouse and skirt like her mother, as if it was a uniform. Her dark hair was braided and hung over one shoulder, her body slightly slumped.

  A shiver chased up Ellie’s spine. None of the family members were smiling.

  The sound of shuffling feet drew her to the doorway, and Mr. Curtis appeared, his wife and son beside him. It was clear the mother had been crying and Marty’s eyes looked red-rimmed.

  “Can I go see my daughter now?” Mrs. Curtis asked.

  Ellie took a slow breath. “If you’ll give me the name of the funeral home, I’ll arrange for you to visit.”

  Mrs. Curtis dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. “We’ll use the funeral home associated with our church. It’s called Glory Days.”

  “I’ll take care of it. Now, let’s all sit down.”

  The woman and son headed to the couch, Marty helping his mother while the father remained standing. “Just say what you have to say,” he said curtly.

  “I spoke with the Medical Examiner,” she said. “Your daughter’s death was definitely not accidental.”

  Martin jerked his head up, his jaw tightening. Shock and something else streaked his eyes—suspicion? Mrs. Curtis gasped and wrapped her arms around her waist as if to hold herself up.

  “What do you mean it wasn’t an accident?” Mr. Curtis asked, outraged. “I thought you said she fell off a ridge.”

  “Actually, I did mention that the circumstances were suspicious. The Medical Examiner found bruising on your daughter’s upper arms and a contusion on the back of her head consistent with blunt force trauma, as if she was struck by an object from behind.”

  Mrs. Curtis made a strangled sound. “You think someone killed her?”

  “Katie Lee was murdered?” Marty asked in a whisper.

  Sympathy for the family mingled with the need to objectively analyze their reactions. “That is how it appears from her injuries.”

  “Who would hurt our Katie?” Mrs. Curtis cried. “She was sweet and smart and a good girl.”

  There was the “good girl” comment again.

  “I don’t know who did this, ma’am. But I promise I will find the answer to that question,” Ellie said with conviction. “Can you think of anyone who would hurt Katie Lee? Someone at school or church she had problems with?”

  “Everyone liked her,” the girl’s mother said, wringing her hands.

  “My daughter was well behaved,” Mr. Curtis interjected. “She didn’t make enemies.”

  Ellie turned toward Marty. “How about at school? Did she have a confrontation with another student? Was she being bullied?”

  Marty ran his fingers through his short hair, his hand shaking. The kid looked as if his mind was spinning.

  “She didn’t have many friends,” he muttered angrily. “She was a pleaser. I never saw anyone mad at her or bullying her. It was almost like she was invisible.”

  That was the saddest thing they’d said so far, Ellie thought, her heart sinking.

  “What about a kid named Will?” she asked. “I believe he attends your church.”

  “You mean Will Huntington?” Marty asked.

  Ellie nodded. “He was one of the teens at Moody Hollow who found her.”

  “I warned her to stay away from him,” said Mr. Curtis, anger flaring in his expression. “And I told him to stay away from her.”

  “Do you think he hurt our daughter?” Mrs. Curtis asked.

  “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just gathering information at the moment, trying to get a picture of Katie Lee’s life. Will was at Moody Hollow today, but he was with another boy—they’d been camping. Your daughter also had old bruises on her. Do you know how she got those?”

  “She was a clumsy girl,” Mr. Curtis said. “Always having accidents.”

  Ellie gritted her teeth. That sounded like a typical excuse for an abuser.

&n
bsp; “Maybe Will hurt her and she was too ashamed to tell us,” Mr. Curtis continued.

  Ellie gave him a cold stare. Katie Lee had probably been ashamed to tell. But she didn’t think it was Will that had hurt her.

  “Where were you when Katie Lee snuck out to go to Moody Hollow?” Ellie asked the couple.

  “Here all night,” Mr. Curtis said curtly.

  Ellie glanced at his wife, who gave a little nod of confirmation, although the poor woman seemed to wilt deeper within herself.

  “Mr. Curtis, what was your relationship with your daughter like?” Ellie asked.

  Pure contempt flared on his face. “What are you implying?”

  “I’m not implying anything. Again, I’m just gathering background information. And I’ll need a DNA sample from you.” She feigned a smile to soothe his feathers. “Just for elimination purposes of course.”

  But if he’d killed his daughter, she would cook the bastard.

  23

  “You are out of your mind, lady,” Mr. Curtis snarled. “You have a lot of nerve coming into my house and suggesting I’d hurt my own daughter.”

  “I don’t mean to offend you, Mr. Curtis. Honestly, I’m just doing my job. As I said, the sample is for elimination purposes.” Ellie pulled some paperwork from inside her pocket. “This is a subpoena for it and a search warrant for your house.”

  Wide-eyed, Mrs. Curtis covered her mouth, but a pained sound came out anyway.

  “Just what do you expect to find here?” Mr. Curtis asked, his eyes blazing.

  “I don’t know, but I’d especially like to see Katie Lee’s room. Teenagers have a way of keeping secrets from their parents,” she said, aiming a look at Martin. “If Katie Lee was seeing someone you didn’t know about, maybe there’s something in her room to tell us who it was. And if someone was bothering her, stalking her even, she might have written about it in a notebook or journal.” The parents traded skeptical looks, but seeing they had no choice, Mr. Curtis clamped his jaw and gave a consensual nod. “Thank you so much, Mr. Curtis. I know you want to get to the bottom of this as much as I do.”