Pretty Broken Dolls by Jennifer Chase
Chapter Twelve
Wednesday 1335 hours
After Katie brought Cisco back to the police kennels and returned to the office, she found McGaven buried in paperwork in front of the computer.
“That looks like fun,” she said.
“Loads.” He turned, his chair creaking underneath him.
Looking up at the board, Katie realized she needed to begin to add their findings. “Any luck on those lists?”
McGaven let out an exhale. “It’s longer than I thought it would be—I have this dreaded feeling that I’m searching blind here. There have been tons of employees at the fairgrounds. Some seasonal. Others just part time. Lots of names.”
“You might want to add burglary or breaking and entering to your search parameter.”
“Because?”
“I’m going to have to extend my list of people to contractors and subcontractors who have worked there in the past year or so.” He keyed in search parameters and sat back. “Oh, I had a thought.”
“And?”
“Well, I thought that the Ferris wheel might be something important. A symbol or of special significance to the killer.”
She nodded. “Meaning?”
“I thought it might give us some insight into him, or her. Why the Ferris wheel? Why not the merry-go-round or one of the other rides?”
“Go on.”
“I did a few searches. And for instance, did you know that the Ferris wheel is the fourth favorite ride at fairs and amusement parks?”
“No, but I’m not surprised.”
“Anyway…”
“What’s the first?” she said interrupting.
“The carousel or merry-go-round.”
“Hm.”
“The Ferris wheel was introduced at the Chicago Expo in 1893.” He printed a piece of paper, grabbed it and continued, reading the copy. “So I went darker.”
“I see.” Katie listened intently.
“I checked to see what type of tragedies have happened at fairs over the years. And why they happen. It’s said that the main reasons for accidents are negligence, not following the rules, health issues, and acts of God— like weather, when, say, a transformer blows up because of lightning.”
“So you think that the killer might have experienced something that went wrong at a fair or amusement park?”
“Maybe, but it makes you wonder why they would choose the Ferris wheel.”
“It could be for dramatic effect. There’s been no connection to fairs and amusement parks with the other victims, but,” she said, “dig a little deeper and see if anything happened to a child or something of the sort. I seem to remember a fire or something when I was about twelve or so.”
“That’s a long time ago.”
“Funny,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“I’ll poke around in between other searches and see what pops up.”
McGaven went back to work.
* * *
Katie hurried home with some goodies from a deli and all the ingredients for cosmopolitans. It was going to be a low-key get-together for the girls, since they all had to work in the morning, but they had been talking about meeting up for a while and they all had openings in their schedules for tonight, so they booked the block of time.
Her friend Denise from the sheriff’s department records division—who was also McGaven’s girlfriend—and her army friend Lizzy were going to be there at 7:30 p.m.
Katie burst through her front door carrying several bags with Cisco in tow. “Okay, Cisco, we have half an hour to get ready. Think we can do it?” She wasn’t expecting a reply, of course, and put things in the refrigerator before jumping into the shower to wash the day from her body, surprised that she felt refreshed and energized after a trying day of revelations.
Quickly drying her long hair, she decided to keep it down. She applied light makeup. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a casual top, Katie was just about ready when she heard her doorbell.
Cisco gave a high-pitched bark because he already knew who was at the door.
“Coming, coming.” She opened the door and both Denise and Lizzy stood there patiently waiting—each with bags of goodies. After they hugged and chatted and complimented each other on what they were wearing, the ladies settled into the kitchen.
“So you and Gav had an interesting day,” said Denise. Her perky personality matched her short haircut.
“Did he tell you?”
“What? What?” chimed Lizzy.
“Of course. We don’t keep any secrets from one another.” She helped to unwrap some deli rollups and unpacked potato salad. “Oh, this looks good.”
“I’m so thankful that Gav was with me.”
“What?” Lizzy said again. “I’m missing something here.”
“It seems that Detective Scott here is getting some very interesting information about these new cases,” Denise began. “Not to mention they got stuck inside a boarded-up house the other day, and someone decided to turn the gas on.”
“What? That’s crazy. You guys okay?” Lizzy looked worried. She absently pushed her bangs from her eyes.
“We’re fine. At least, I am.”
“Don’t worry; Gav is just fine too.”
Lizzy petted Cisco as he stayed next to her. “And this guy?”
“Cisco was in the car, but he did come to help us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Somehow, he managed to press the remote I left in the car and release the back door.”
“What?” said Denise. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
“Such an awesome smart boy,” Lizzy gushed. “I wasn’t as lucky to bring my dog Billy home, but he got another handler and is doing his duty.” She looked a bit melancholy as she stroked Cisco.
Uncomfortable, Katie said, “Lizzy, I have to warn you—this case I’m working… All the victims have been ex-K9 handlers. You will take care, won’t you?”
Shocked, Lizzy paled, but then laughed. “Don’t worry about me—I’m stuck in the office most of the time. And I’m going back soon anyway.”
Happier, Katie finished a round of bright pink cosmos. “Here we are, ladies, just as I promised.”
“Wow, haven’t had one of these in a while,” said Denise.
“Yeah, well, I’m only good for one tonight,” laughed Lizzy.
“Okay,” Katie began. “Here’s to friends, love, and living every day to the fullest.”
“Cheers!” they all said in unison.
“This is fantastic,” said Lizzy.
“Oh, I agree.”
The ladies chatted and laughed as they ate and drank.
* * *
Katie opened her closet and pulled out a garment bag hanging at the end. She could hear Denise and Lizzy laughing about something in the kitchen. She glanced at the photograph of her parents on the chest of drawers and wished that they could be at her wedding. If only she’d had more time with them before that fateful car accident took their lives. It was bittersweet that she had Uncle Wayne to walk her down the aisle.
Katie carefully laid the pink bag on the bed. Unzipping it she revealed a beautiful wedding dress with a lace bodice. She took a breath. It had belonged to her mother, but it was still just as stunning today as it was on the day her parents were married.
She choked back the tears and focused on her own wedding day. As she had promised her friends, she slipped on the dress. It was almost a perfect fit, with a few alterations it would be flawless on her day. Nerves hit her. Anxious energy pummeled her stomach. She felt jittery. She hadn’t told her friends that Chad would be leaving for six months. There was no sense putting a dampener on the evening—she would tell them soon.
Walking down the hallway, she made a grand entrance. “Well, I promised I would show you.”
Denise gasped. “Oh, sweetie.”
“You are gorgeous in that dress,” said Lizzy.
“Stunning.”
“Beautiful.”
“Okay, that’s enough!” Katie said. “You’re embarrassing me now.”
Both women approached Katie, admiring.
Lizzy said, “Your parents would have loved you in this dress. It would have meant the world to your mom.”
“They would be so proud of you.”
“Do you think it’s… well, up-to-date enough?”
“It’s perfect,” said Denise.
Lizzy nodded. “Absolutely.”
Cisco got in on the action, circling Katie several times.
They laughed.
“Where is Chad?”
“Working.”
“Well, he’s going to flip when he sees you walk down the aisle.”
* * *
After her friends had left, Katie went to bed almost immediately even though it was earlier than her normal bedtime. She was exhausted from the events of the day and her body and mind basically shut down. Cisco felt her weakness and snuggled in next to her. They both fell fast asleep.
Katie tossed and turned. Her sleep was restless, her dreams disturbing. It wasn’t uncommon for her to dream about her past and the battlefield, and sometimes the victims in her cold cases appeared to reach out to her in a supernatural way—but tonight was different. It was as if someone or something was trying to warn her—pulling at her, struggling to convince her. She felt the heavy burden of premonition that something bad was going to happen.