Hush Little Girl by Lisa Regan (first e reader .txt) 📗

Mitchell’s blood type is A positive. The blood found on the kitchen island countertop and floor was A positive. The drops of blood from the dining room into the kitchen were O positive.”

“Someone else bled at the scene,” Josie said.

“But not Holly,” said Noah. “She didn’t have any open wounds or lacerations of any kind.”

“It had to be the killer then,” Mettner said.

“I agree,” said Gretchen. “The blood found on the outside and inside of the truck was also O positive.”

Chitwood said, “Do we know Reed Bryan’s blood type?”

“No, sir,” Gretchen said.

“We can’t say for sure whether Reed’s prints were found on the truck,” Josie said, “Although whoever left the handprints on the truck did so in his own blood.”

“We can ask Reed Bryan his blood type and whether or not he’s got any recent injuries when we question him,” Gretchen said. “If he’s cooperative. If he doesn’t have a rock-solid alibi. Also, Chan was able to get impressions of the footprints near the back door. Actually, there were some on the back porch as well. One was from a men’s size ten boot. Hummel’s asked the state police to run the impression through the footwear database to see if he can get a match on the brand, but that’s going to take some time. The other impression was from a bare foot. Chan estimated the shoe size is probably a woman’s six.”

Noah said, “That could be from Holly. She wasn’t wearing any shoes and her feet were torn up—Dr. Feist says likely from running through the forest.”

Gretchen said, “I’ll ask Chan to send the impression over to Dr. Feist for a comparison.”

Josie said, “It was early morning. They were having breakfast. The killer showed up. There was some kind of confrontation that took place in the kitchen.”

Noah said, “That’s probably when Lorelei got hit in the head. The killer was injured somehow. He went out to her truck and got the gun.”

“At some point during all of this, Holly tells Emily to hide,” Gretchen interjected.

Noah nodded. “He shoots Lorelei.”

Josie said, “Holly runs out the back door to get away, and he goes after her.”

“He took the gun with him,” said Gretchen. “It’s nowhere to be found.”

Mettner said, “But he didn’t shoot Holly. He tried to strangle her and then ultimately caused some kind of head injury—at least, that’s what Dr. Feist told you at the hospital, right?”

“Right,” Josie replied. “It’s possible that he attacked Holly while they were still inside the house and she got away. Dr. Feist said she was alive for at least some period of time after she sustained the head injury. She might have gotten away when he went to get the gun. Then after he killed Lorelei he went after her, but by the time he found her, she was dead from the head injury.”

Chitwood said, “Congratulations! You’re all geniuses. You figured out what happened in that house. How does this get us closer to finding the killer? Come on! I can’t have a child-killer running around this city. The cat’s already out of the bag because of the Amber Alert. The press is already sniffing around. Right, Watts?”

Amber nodded. “I’ve been getting calls all evening. We had to release Emily Mitchell’s name with the Amber Alert, but I’m trying to keep both Lorelei and Holly out of the press so far, for the sake of Emily’s privacy.”

Chitwood said, “Have any of you taken a look at Lorelei Mitchell’s close associates?”

Josie pointed to her computer screen. “I’ve been searching databases for the last hour. All her close associates are dead.”

“What do you mean?” asked Chitwood.

“I’ve been searching for any personal information I can find since I got here,” Josie said. “Her only listed family is her mother, who is deceased. In fact, her mother died when she was nine years old. There’s no indication here of what happened to her.”

“She probably went into foster care,” Gretchen said. “Maybe that’s why Emily knew what it was? Lorelei told her stories?”

“Possibly,” Josie agreed. “Other than her mother, there are no known relatives in this database. She’s never been married. She lived in a series of apartments in Philadelphia in her twenties and early thirties. The next address listed is the house here in Denton. There are no other residents associated with it. No neighbors, even, as her house is so remote.”

Mettner said, “Is it even possible for someone to be that isolated these days?”

Josie replied, “I checked all the social media platforms. She’s not on them. I didn’t expect her to be.”

“What about work?” Gretchen said. “Did you find any records of employment?”

“That’s where things get interesting,” Josie said. “She was a licensed psychologist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She got her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. However, her license was revoked twenty years ago. She never practiced again.”

“What was her license revoked for?” Mettner asked. “Can you find out?”

Josie shook her head. “The licensing board doesn’t get into it, but I can check some other sources. It looks like she was practicing in Philadelphia at that time. If her license was revoked, it could have made the news.”

Chitwood said, “You do that, Quinn. One of you should get a hold of her kids’ birth certificates and see if she listed a father. I know women aren’t required to do this in Pennsylvania, but it’s worth a shot.”

Noah said, “Once I get this warrant finished, we can access her medical records and see who she put as her emergency contact.”

“There was a doctor prescribing her medication,” Josie said. “We should contact him. Vincent Buckley. I’ll look him up. I’m also going to check the deed on her house to see if it’s in her name or not.”

“Good idea,” Gretchen said. “It seems like this woman has had no income for the last twenty years. How has she been surviving?”

Mettner said, “We can probably get a warrant for her financial records as well, but that will take some time, too.”

Chitwood clapped his hands together.