Haunting Whispers by VK Powell

Author:VK Powell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Published: 2012-01-09T00:10:35+00:00

CHapter tWelVe

The next morning Rae checked the area around her car for

signs of the vandal. She didn’t find any indication he’d

touched her car as he slashed the tires. He was certainly brazen.

Light flooded the parking lot at night, and anyone who was looking

could easily see an intruder. Usually no one was. People in the

relatively safe neighborhood minded their own business.

She moved to the back garden. The bloody rock used to assault

her lay near the kitchen door. In the mushy ground around the side

window, she saw two footprints that bore no distinguishing marks.

She snapped a couple of quick photos of the window damage on her

cell phone and texted them to her insurance agent. At the last minute

she took one of the prints too. Might as well be thorough.

While Rae waited for AAA to replace her slashed tires, she

called the forensics weapons analyst on contract with the department.

Barry Hewitt answered on the first ring.

“Barry, it’s Rae Butler. I know it’s Saturday, but—”

“You’ve got something that can’t wait, right?” Barry’s gruff

tone belied the gentle giant who lurked beneath the surface. His

stare alone was enough to quiet the most boisterous recruit in

his forensics segment at the academy. He and Rae had a great

working relationship based on dedication and a respectable dose of

perfectionism.

“Actually, no. I wanted to get on your schedule. I’d like you to

look at some injury photos and see if you can narrow down the type

of weapon. It doesn’t have to be today.”

• 153 •

VK poWell

“I understand. Where are you? I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

The light bulb went off in Rae’s head. “I’m at home…oh, I

see. Susan has you looking at wallpaper and paint for the nursery

renovation, doesn’t she?”

“Exactly, see you there.”

A few minutes later, Barry whipped into the parking lot like

he’d been on a high-speed chase. “I’m glad you called,” he said as

he lumbered to her door. Barry was over six feet tall with a hefty

build that hadn’t seen much exercise. As he walked by her car, he

looked at the tires then back at her.

“Vandals,” she said in response to the implied question.

“Case related?”

“Nah, kids, I think.”

“Sucks.”

Cops had a way of saying exactly what needed to be said with

the least amount of exertion. One word with the proper inflection,

facial expression, or body twitch spoke volumes. Others often found

the language clipped and abrasive. They understood each other

perfectly.

“Is Susan pissed?” Rae asked.

“Yeah, she’ll get over it.” The cavalier attitude didn’t fool Rae.

He adored his wife and went out of his way to give her everything

she wanted. Indifference to emotions and all things domestic seemed

a trademark of male cops, especially with each other. “What you

got?”Rae led the way to her study and pointed to the wound photos

tacked to her case board. “Four assaults, same suspect, occurred

over a year’s time. The victims all survived.” Rae knew Barry

preferred minimal details so no one else’s opinion would color his

interpretation of the evidence.

He studied the pictures for several minutes, took them off the

board, and examined them with a magnifying glass. “Jesus, look

at the haphazard slashing. I don’t see a pattern.

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