All the Shiny Things: A Kate Reid Novel (Kate Reid Series Book 1) (15 page)

The chief, once again, sat in silence. Katie’s pulse raced as she waited for him to continue.

“Katie, did your parents tell you anything more about the abduction?” the chief asked.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you mean?”

“Let me sit on this for a few days.” He leaned back in his chair. “If I decide to reopen the case, it will take an extensive amount of resources I’m not sure this department can afford. Not to mention, what it will do to the families of the other victims, if, in fact, we were able to determine a connection. We’d have to keep it local to start, until we could find out more. No media, no tweeting, or Facebooking or anything like that from either of you, is that clear?”

“Of course. I’m not looking for anyone to find out about this,” Katie replied.

“Well, just so you’re prepared, if we open this thing up and it involves those other kids, the media will be all over you, your parents, Spencer, everyone. You will be under intense scrutiny and so will your therapist. I suggest you go see your parents; tell them what you’re considering, if you haven’t already and ask them to tell you everything they know and I mean everything. You need to know what you’ll be getting yourself into.”

The chief stood, hiking up his trousers. “Leave your contact information with the officer at the front desk. I’ll be in touch once I’ve had a chance to get my head around this.”

Spencer helped Katie out of her chair and they followed the chief back to the lobby.

Chief Wilson turned back to Katie. “I would love nothing more than to find the person responsible for taking you from your family, please know that. But this has to be done by the book and I need to make sure we can handle everything that will be hurled in our direction.”

“Thank you, Chief. I sincerely appreciate what you’re doing for me.”

“It won’t be just for you, Katie; it’ll be for all the victims and for me.”

Spencer and Katie walked through the parking lot and returned to their car. They were both quiet, stunned by the sudden reality of the situation.

“Am I doing the right thing, Spencer?” Katie asked, her eyes welling up with tears.

Spencer reached over the console and took her hand. “I had no idea the impact this has had on you, Katie. I’ve been in denial all this time and I’m so sorry. Hearing the chief go on about your case and everything they put into it has just put it all in perspective for me. But I think we need to see your folks before you decide to move forward. Something the chief alluded to makes me think they may not have told you the whole story.”

“Okay, you’re right.” Katie wiped the tears that had spilled onto her cheeks. “Let’s go see them.”

» » »

The gravel drive crunched beneath the tires of their rental car as they pulled up to her parents’ home.

“We’ll have to push our flight back and catch one later tonight,” Katie said.

“That’s fine. This is more important. We’ll make it back in time for work tomorrow, even if we have to catch a red-eye. Let’s get this over with.” Spencer yanked the keys from the ignition and stepped out of the car. He hadn’t been to Katie’s family home in probably three years.

Katie could see he was nervous. She had made certain that he hadn’t gotten to know them very well. How stupid all of that was, she thought, and how regrettable to have lost so much time trying to distance herself from them. If only they’d told her years before, when she was old enough to have understood, maybe their relationship wouldn’t be so strained. But what more could they have glossed over? What else could they be hiding?

Deborah opened the door. “Oh my word, what are the two of you doing here? What a wonderful surprise. Please, come in. Your father’s in his study. I’ll go get him.”

Spencer and Katie sat down on the couch in the family room when Deborah and John entered. Spencer immediately stood up, wiped his hand on his jeans, and shook John’s hand.

“Nice to see you again, sir; it’s been a long time.”

“Yes it has, son.” John went in for the fatherly hug and Spencer responded in kind.

“So, what brings you two into town?” John asked.

“Mom, Dad, I need to talk to you about something. Can you both sit down?”

An unsettling tension seemed to hover in the air.

“Can I get anyone a coffee or tea?” Deborah asked.

“No thanks, Mom. We’re fine.”

Deborah placed her hands onto her lap as she sat perched on the edge of the side chair.

“Okay well, I’ll start,” Katie said, barely able to disguise the anxiety in her tone. “We flew in yesterday evening to speak with the police.”

“Oh?” Deborah interjected.

“Mom, please, just let me get this out.” Katie took a breath and continued. “We wanted to talk to them about reopening my case.” She squeezed Spencer’s hand tightly in anticipation of their reply.

John’s face lost all expression and turned white, while Deborah clasped her hand over her mouth.

“I told you about seeing a therapist to help me with some of the memories I’ve been recalling and was of course, the reason why I was here to see you last month.

“Well, something new and possibly significant was discovered in one of my sessions. We don’t know if it’s important yet, that’s what we’re waiting for the chief to decide. But, in the process of discussing this with him, he asked that we speak to you both first. He wanted to be sure that I was aware of everything before we went any further. Can you explain what he might have been referring to?”

“Other than the fact that we took you to the hospital after we got you from the station because of injuries, what else is there to know?” John asked. His back was stick straight, appearing as though he was hiding something.

Deborah turned to her husband, her face, pale, drained of all blood. She looked back at Katie. “You want to know what happened at the hospital?”

“If you think it’s important, then yes,” Katie replied.

“Deborah,” John pleaded.

“She has the right to know. I don’t want to keep secrets anymore. This has done enough damage to our family.”

John closed his eyes tightly as Deborah continued. “Kate, honey; we took you to Trinidad Hospital. It was near their police station, where the family brought you. You were covered in bruises and had a huge knot on your head. They assumed you had fallen and hit a rock or a tree stump. Your bare feet were dirty and bloody. The first thing the doctors did was to take you to x-ray and make sure that lump was nothing more serious. Then they examined your external bruises and that’s when they asked you your name. Luckily, you remembered that much.”

Deborah began to swallow hard. Katie knew she was holding back her tears.

“When I saw my little girl, bruised and bloody, well I’m sure you can imagine it wasn’t easy. Your father wanted to squeeze you so tight, but he couldn’t. We didn’t know the extent of your injuries. We were just so grateful that you were alive.

“The doctors got us up to speed on the tests they’d run to that point. That’s when we knew you couldn’t remember what had happened. Then, they suggested we allow them to check you for assault.”

“Sexual assault?” Katie asked. Spencer tensed up at the suggestion. This was just as hard on him, she could see that now.

“Yes, honey,” John replied. “You see, the problem was that at the time, we didn’t know for sure if you had been abducted or just wandered off the school grounds and got lost. We believed it was the former, but if that was the case, we needed to know if you had been abused while you were held captive. And it would give us a definitive answer as to what had happened.”

Deborah continued. “We allowed them to examine you while I was in the room.” She reached over to hold John’s hand. “It was too much for your father, so he waited in the hall.” Her lips began to quiver and her voice cracked. “They examined you while I held your hand and stroked your hair. You were so quiet; you didn’t cry. You just looked at me while I sang your favorite song.” Deborah could no longer hold back her tears.

Katie knew what her mother would say next, but couldn’t bear to listen to the words. A lump rose in her throat as she realized the true horror of what happened to her. And then that sadness turned to anger. She looked toward Spencer. He knew and she could see it in his eyes. Not only had this monster taken her from her family, but he had taken
her.

Deborah closed her eyes, forcing the tears to stream down her cheeks. Katie cried and moved to embrace her mother.

“That’s what Chief Wilson wanted you to know,” Spencer said quietly.

“I just couldn’t tell you before, Katie. It was already so much for you to take in, I couldn’t add on to it. I had no idea you wanted to pursue this. I just thought you wanted to understand why you were having those dreams. I thought you had already been through enough.”

Katie grabbed a tissue from the side table. “It’s okay, Mom. I understand; I do. I don’t think I would have wanted to know otherwise. But now that I do, I can decide if I’m ready to be exposed to everything this man did to me. I suppose I was lucky enough not to remember it, but now I’ll have to relive it if I want justice.”

“Katie, it’s getting late. Should I call and change the flight?” Spencer didn’t seem to want to interrupt, but the question had to be asked.

“Oh no, please don’t go; not yet,” Deborah started. “You both could use a good home-cooked meal. Let me make something for you. I’d like you to stay and talk for a while.”

“Okay, Mom. We can stay for a while longer. Spencer, will you call the airline and get us on the late flight?”

“Of course.”

Deborah made dinner while Katie and Spencer talked with her father. She felt numb at this latest news. But somehow, she had suspected this was the case. It was only by the grace of God she had no memory of the assault. Still, this latest blow didn’t sway her from wanting to pursue him. In fact, it only served to provide her with greater determination.

As they sat at dinner, the conversation was about anything else but what had just been revealed. Katie felt herself begin to harden; any trace of innocence of the ways of the world that remained had been wiped away. The idealistic girl that Spencer had fallen in love with was gone.

9

T
hree hours
of sleep after the long red-eye flight back home and the alarm clock sounded. 6 a.m. Katie wasn’t the only one to mourn the early hour. Spencer seemed to suffer from exhaustion as well, groaning as he struggled to find consciousness.

So much had been brought to light in the past twenty four hours and Katie had yet to process it fully. Now, Monday morning had arrived and they would be forced to see to their respective jobs.

A quick coffee and pastry to go and Katie was out the door. On her way to the office, she knew none of what they’d discussed with Chief Wilson could be shared. Although there was one person in whom she’d hoped to confide. Detective Avery could offer guidance, but how much to disclose to him remained to be seen. Katie felt guarded now, as if she’d been violated simply by the revelation of what the monster had done so long ago.

She slipped into the office, carefully avoiding conversation with any of her colleagues. Her desk was clean, organized in a manner verging on compulsive. She turned toward the window and pulled open the blinds, allowing the light to bathe the room in its warm radiance. It was only the sound of her ringing cell phone that forced her to turn away from the comforting glow. “Good morning, Marshall. How are you?”

“Great thanks. Listen, there was a development on the Thompson case over the weekend. You remember meeting Johansen?” The detective’s note of urgency came through loud and clear.

“Of course, how could I forget?”

“The team found his truck and got a warrant to search his house. Just about everything in the guy’s place has been transferred to the warehouse for entry into the system. I was thinking you might like to come with me and take a look at the truck and some of the other evidence.”

A sudden rush of excitement replaced her earlier apprehension at what the day would bring. “Did you clear this with Susan? I’d love to go, but not without her approval.”

“She said anything we needed, we could count on you guys to help us out with. I need help processing the paperwork on all this evidence. Now, do you want in or not?”

“Yes, definitely. I’ll let her know and I can meet you down at the station in thirty minutes.”

“Great, see you then.”

The request was unusual. Katie had no experience in this type of work, but what she wouldn’t give to see an investigation in action. She’d have to spin it carefully.

“Susan?” Katie said, peeking into her office.

“Good morning, Katie. What can I do for you?”

“I just got a call from Detective Avery. I guess some new evidence came in over the weekend and he was asking if I could come down to the station to catalog it. He says they’re shorthanded and could use some administrative help.”

“I wonder why he didn’t call me first.” Susan seemed mildly offended by the circumvention. “That should be fine. This case is our top priority, so whatever we can do to help. All right, I’ll see you later on today, then?”

“I’m sure I’ll be finished by this afternoon, but please let me know if you need me sooner.”

“No, that’s fine, Katie. Go on. I’ll let the detective know I gave you authorization.”

Katie was more than pleased and quickly disappeared back to her office to gather her things. The day was unfolding better than expected.

» » »

Detective Avery arrived in the lobby of the station where Katie waited patiently. “Kate, glad to see you. Follow me; we’ve got a lot of work to do today.”

She followed Marshall back to a large storage area that held boxes and boxes of what she assumed to be evidence. “Oh my God, is this all from Johansen’s house?”

“No, no. This is where we keep evidence for several pending cases. See the labels on these boxes? They have different file numbers. The ones we’re looking at today are over here.” He walked further down the warehouse, where she spotted the white truck and several other items laid out on a table in bags, labeled Case No. 13-619030.

“Is Johansen under arrest?” Katie asked.

“Yes ma’am, he is. After you left on Friday, I checked with the Sex Offender Tracking Division. They notify local authorities when an offender has registered a change of address or other pertinent information. He was no longer required to be under the supervision of a parole officer, but he is and will always be required to notify the Division of any change that occurs, employment, residence, anything. Mr. Johansen did not inform the division of his change in address and, in his case, because he was convicted of felony sex abuse, not notifying the department is also a felony. That gave me and the Department of Justice the right to arrest him.”

Katie was reeling at Marshall’s enthusiastic pace. This was the break he had been looking for. “But why didn’t this come up during the initial interview?”

“That’s a very good question. At the time, we had no idea someone knew there had been a white truck parked on Isabelle’s street for two days. No one came forward until the call on the hotline last week.

“When our officers conducted their initial five-mile sweep of the area, Johansen was questioned. It wasn’t known that he was a sex offender because that address, according to the Tracking Division, wasn’t registered to him. The officer who spoke with him asked if he was a Mr. Hollinger, who was previously at that address. Of course, Johansen agreed. Where he screwed up was that he changed his address with DMV to get his car tags. It wasn’t until we ran a DMV check that his name came up as one of the six people who had that type of vehicle. DMV also alerted us to the fact that he was a registered offender. They keep that information as well. They’re supposed to send monthly updates of any changes to the Tracking Division. It just so happened that the report hadn’t yet been sent. You’d be surprised how often we lose track of registered offenders. It’s not a perfect system, that’s for sure.”

“Was there any evidence in his house that might have belonged to Isabelle then?” Katie asked as she tried to keep up with him.

“We don’t know yet. That’s where you come in. I need your help cataloging the evidence in these bags. We have civilian staff that assist in this type of admin work, but they’re completely swamped right now. Forensics is already running prints and DNA, but there could be something else here that might lead us to Isabelle. Time is of the essence.”

“Okay, I’m ready. Just show me where to start.” The excitement about a break in the case was rubbing off on Katie. She wanted to find Isabelle, now more than ever.

Marshall proceeded to guide her on the process. “You are only to enter the numbers onto the forms. Do not handle anything inside the bags, understand? I need to get back and check on the lab. If you have any questions, just ask Officer Reilly.”

“Got it.”

Officer Reilly was the man in charge of everything that came into and out of that warehouse. He, along with a few others, appeared to have their hands full, but had been instructed to monitor her progress closely.

“Great. I’ll check in with you later. This will be extremely helpful in expediting our review of the evidence, Kate. Thank you.”

Katie worked diligently throughout the morning. Her hands were cramping as she wrote everything down on the forms. This information would then be entered into their database. She thought they could have skipped a step and just entered it directly into the computer. Maybe she’d make the suggestion to Marshall later, but right now, she would do as directed and was glad to have been given the chance to help.

So far, she hadn’t found anything particularly interesting. Most of these items were random things that could be found around most people’s homes. Receipts, utility bills, a few DVDs. Then she came across a radio-controlled car, not a sophisticated replica like some hobbyists keep. No, this was a child’s toy. Katie was repulsed by the idea that he might have used this toy possibly to lure a young child and wondered how he would have convinced Isabelle to go with him. In her mind, she had already condemned Johansen. It would prove difficult to stay impartial on a case like this. Marshall must have figured as much.

No sooner had his name crossed her mind did he arrive back at the warehouse.

“How’s it going?” He examined the table, nodding in approval. “Looks like you’ve made good progress. Why don’t we get some food in you?”

They walked outside, leaving the police station and headed toward a taco stand around the corner.

“These guys make
the
best tacos anywhere.”

“You don’t take much time to eat do you?” Katie asked. She was beginning to get a glimpse into the life of a cop.

“What do you mean? You want to go to a restaurant or something? I like restaurants.”

Katie laughed. “No, no, this is fine, really. I’m starving and there’s too much to do anyway to sit around in a restaurant.”

“Well geez, now you’re making me feel bad, like I’m some kind of slave driver.”

“Not at all, Marshall. In fact, I want to thank you for letting me help you on this case. I can’t tell you what it means to me. You’ve taught me a great deal.”

They sat down on a bench opposite the stand.

“Wow, these are good tacos,” Katie said.

“See? I told you.” He smiled, pausing for a moment to take another mouth full. “Listen, Kate. I really do appreciate all your hard work. You have a knack for this sort of thing. Maybe someday I’ll convince you to come over to my side of the fence.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I’ve got some pretty major things going on in my life right now. I honestly have no idea what direction I’ll be headed.”

“So you decided to pursue reopening the investigation?” Marshall seemed to turn serious.

Katie had wanted to tell him, but he’d been consumed with Johansen and she just didn’t know how to bring it up, but it seemed he had just opened the door for her. “I flew home over the weekend and talked to the Chief of Police in Rio Dell. He was the detective on my case. I asked him to consider reopening the investigation based on what we discussed last week, you know, the necklace?”

“And is he going to?”

“He’s looking into it. Says it will take up a lot of his resources and he needs to be sure what I’ve given him is enough.”

“That makes sense. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Revealing the reason behind her assurance wasn’t an option. No one could know what happened to her; what he had done to her. Katie didn’t want pity. “My main concerned is of the impact this will have on my fiancé and my family, and everyone else who will get caught up in it too.”

“You want to find him, don’t you?”

Here was someone who understood her. Someone who knew what it meant; this need for justice. “He ruined my family, my parents’ lives.”

“You think he ruined you too, don’t you?”

“He did, Marshall. I’m not sure I would be okay with knowing he’ll never have to pay for what he did.”

“A lot of people have to learn to be
okay
with the terrible things that have happened to them. Too many bad people get away with their crimes, but you can’t prosper in life if you’re living out some sort of vendetta. Listen, I understand what you’re going through. Believe me, I’ve worked with enough victims to be able to empathize. We catch the ones we can and try to help the ones whose offenders go unpunished. Ultimately, it will be up to you to decide how you’ll best be able to move forward.”

“Thank you, Marshall. I suppose we ought to be getting back now. I think I still have a few hundred items to log.”

“I’ll give you a hand. I’ve done everything I could do today, it’s up to forensics now. The important thing is that Johansen is off the streets. You know, I can help with the other stuff too, Kate. Just ask, got it?”

Her thin smile conveyed her appreciation but she knew this was on her now.

» » »

Detective Avery had to pull a few strings, but managed to get Susan to agree to let Katie continue her work at the station for the remainder of the week. The sheer volume of evidence required close attention to detail and this was exactly up Katie’s alley. And this work helped her keep her mind off the fact that she still hadn’t heard from Chief Wilson about reopening her case.

They weren’t any closer to charging Johansen with kidnapping either. Forensics hadn’t finished analyzing the fingerprints, fiber samples, or sweeping the truck. Marshall was right; cases were never so neatly packaged that they could be solved in as short amount of time as the crime shows on TV did.

At the end of the week, all the evidence had been processed. Boxes and boxes of items were stacked into a corner of the warehouse, ready to be filed away on the shelves that ran along the walls and down the center of the storage facility.

“You’re interested in learning about this stuff? Come on, let’s take a walk down these aisles and I’ll show you what we deal with.” Marshall said.

Katie followed him as he led her down a row filled with boxes similar to the ones she had just catalogued.