Page 22 of Race to Save Her

“What, what?”

“You’re staring at me.”

“I’m glad you’re back.”

“I’m glad I missed seeing that severed finger in your car.” He smiled.

Katie chuckled. “You’ll get to see it soon at the medical examiner’s.”

McGaven frowned.

“Find out anything else?” Katie asked.

“I’m sure Officer Devlin will be able to fill us in, but it seems Brandon Bates is a two-time felon with an aggravated assault charge and a charge for robbery with attempted murder.” He kept scrolling through more information. “His wife died and the grandparents have custody of his children, Sara and Emma, ten and twelve years old. Bates gave up in the end and was apprehended without any violence. There were guns and some narcotics found, but the real reveal was the body parts found in a cavity underneath the living room floor.”

“That’s tough for the kids,” she said.

“Yeah, hopefully the grandparents are going to do right by them.”

Katie watched the GPS as they neared Acorn Road. She turned and kept driving until she found 167. “Here it is.” She pulled up front, behind an SUV.

They saw a small single-wide manufactured home, now with plywood over the windows and reinforcement lumber at the front door. It had been removed so they could access the interior.

“Nice,” said McGaven sarcastically.

“I guess Devlin is already here,” she said.

The detectives got out of the car and studied the area. The weeds were precariously tall, partially blocking the home from sight. There was a large tree to the side with a tattered swing, where Katie imagined the two little girls playing out front in better times.

A tall, thin man emerged from the front door. He smiled at the detectives. “Detective Scott?”

“Yes. This is my partner Detective McGaven.”

Devlin stepped down the stairs to meet them. “Nice to meet you both. I wanted to check inside to make sure everything was safe and to see if anyone had broken in since we were here.”

“And?” she said.

“It looks like it did that day.”

Katie and McGaven followed the negotiator inside the house. Immediately, the stench of old garbage accosted their senses.

“Wow,” said McGaven.

“Yeah, it stinks. Not sure why—there’s nothing in here,” said Devlin.

Katie tried to ignore the odor as she looked around. The inside space was small and didn’t have any furnishings or personal effects. “Was everything cleared?” she asked.

“Yes. We searched everything and found some drugs inside the mattress and small sofa.”

Katie pulled out a pair of gloves and McGaven followed suit. Even though the investigation was over, Katie didn’t want to touch anything in case it might harm the case. McGaven went into the small kitchen alcove and began checking cupboards and looking around.

Katie saw what appeared to be a trap door in the middle of the living room. “Is this it?” she said.

“Yes,” said Devlin. He moved aside so Katie could check it out.

She saw a trap door that had been underneath the tattered carpeting. She approached and kneeled down. Running her hands along the sides, she then pulled on the handle. It made a scraping noise as she raised the door.

Instantly, she was bombarded with a horrible stench that she recognized—death.