While thoughts about Amanda’s and David’s possible motives danced in her head, Kate couldn’t pinpoint anything strong enough to get an arrest warrant for either of them. David had consented for the police to search his house and car and both had been a dead end.
Their DNA didn’t match the DNA found on the murder weapon. David’s DNA had matched the one swab for sexual intercourse, so their story held up, but that didn’t bring Kate closer to finding Lori’s killer.
They needed more leads. More evidence.
Everything else that could have been a lead had also been eliminated. Chainey had found the key hidden in the flower pot. The earth hadn’t been disturbed, and no fingerprints had been lifted from the rusty mess. So the spare key had been a dead end, just like the call records on both her cellphone and the family’s landline. The last call placed out had been on Saturday afternoon, to Amanda. After Saturday, Amanda, David, and various callers who were later identified as telemarketers had called the house or her cell, but all calls had gone unanswered.
Lori Davis hadn’t spoken to anyone else over the phone, so who else could have heard of her lost virginity? Or was there another reason for her murder? Was Kate just reading too much into the religious theme? Why did the killer target Lori specifically?
And just as the thought entered her mind, Kate had a flash of genius.
“The confessionals!” she said aloud to the empty desks in the detectives’ room. Everyone had left for the day, except for her.
She picked up her phone and dialed Rosebud’s cell number. “You go to church sometimes, right?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“What type of stuff would you tell the priest in those confessionals at the back?”
“Whatever sin I’ve committed, I guess.”
“Do you think the killer could have listened in on Lori’s confession about losing her virginity before marriage? That’s a sin, right?”
“Plausible.”
“Do you think she could have confessed to it before mass on Sunday?”
“Confessions are received at various times. I don’t see why not.”
“I’m going to stay at the office a little longer. Get the paperwork going to search for bugs at the church where she went.”
“Murphy! I know you’re the lead, but you gotta listen to me on this one. Learn from your mistakes. You gotta take time off. You can’t be on twenty-four seven and expect your mind to work its best. You’re off until tomorrow. I took the afternoon so I’m coming in to work for a few hours tonight. I’ll take care of it. Got it?”
She wanted to argue but knew he was right. “Fine. Thanks.”
“Go home and do your best to think about something else. Anything else. Heck, try to have fun.”
“Easier said than done.”
“I know. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She hung up feeling both grateful for having such a supportive partner and useless for not doing anything to solve the case faster. But she knew Rosebud was right. She needed to think about something else. Anything but the case and the dead woman.
Rubbing her palms against her cheeks and wiping her face—a last ditch effort at keeping herself alert—she almost jumped when her phone rang.
Caller ID read Luko.
“Hey, baby! What’s up?” she asked.
“Where are you?”
Surprised by the all-business attitude Luke had displayed, Kate began to worry. “At the precinct. Why?”
“You forgot your appointment, Katie!”
It took a split second for her to understand what he was referring to. “The hypnotherapist. It’s today. Shit! Are you there?”
“Yes, and the doctor’s here, too. The clock is ticking. Minutes aren’t cheap in this part of the world.”
“Shit!” Kate glanced at the clock on the wall. “Please ask her to wait. I’m on my way. Maybe fill her in on my past while you’re waiting?”
With less than fifteen minutes left in the session, the hypnotherapist nonetheless agreed to take Kate back to her childhood.
“To make things easier on you, pick a happy time. Maybe when you were nine or ten years old, before your baby brother was born,” the tall and slender brunette suggested, her legs crossed, a notepad resting on her lap.
“Okay.”
“Can you remember a particular event? Perhaps a birthday party or summer camp?”
Kate tilted her head, daring to think back to her childhood, something she had purposely avoided for so many years. But with the therapist’s recent prompt, she suddenly remembered one of her birthday parties having been quite cool. “My tenth birthday,” she said.
“Okay. Can I assume you had a cake with candles on it and a bunch of friends?”
“Yeah,” Kate said, nodding.
“Perfect. I want you to lie comfortably and close your eyes. I’m going to turn on some background music. Focus on my voice as I count down from ten to one. When I reach one, you will be at your birthday party. Think about the moment before you blew your candles and start there. When you hear the snap of my fingers, you’ll instantly be brought back here.”
Soft music began playing all around Kate as she closed her eyes. Surround sound had obviously been installed in the fancy office. But the music faded in the distance as Kate focused on the therapist’s soothing voice.
“Three… Two… And one. You are now at your tenth birthday party. Can you see your cake?”
While Kate had her eyes closed, she could somehow hear faint laughter in the distance, as though some of her childhood friends were present in the room. She smiled but shook her head. “I can’t see anything.”
“That’s okay. Breathe in and out slowly. Keep thinking about that birthday party. Think of your friends. Your parents. Your cake.”
Kate obeyed, feeling her chest rise and fall along with her loud inhalations and exhalations, then suddenly she jerked.
“What is it?” the therapist prompted.
Kate crinkled her nose. “The smell!”
“What smell?”
“My mom’s lasagna. I’d forgotten about that. She’d made me lasagna that day.”
“What else can you smell?”
Kate inhaled deeper, letting her lungs fill up. “Vanilla from the cake.”
“Can you see your cake now?”
Kate shook her head while shriveling her nose. “No, but I can smell my dad’s cologne: Eternity for Men.”
And just as the words left her lips, a wave of sadness came upon her, taking away the scents and trading them with tears. Kate’s entire body began convulsing as memory after memory of her belated father flooded her mind. Although she couldn’t see anything now, the image of his cologne bottle came to mind. She remembered it clearly, sitting among the other products hidden behind the bathroom mirror. She remembered her dad dotting her neck with it once, and how much fuss she’d made to try to get him to get the manly odor off of her. And then, clear as day, for just a split second, she saw him.
Snapping her fingers, the hypnotherapist brought Kate back to the present.
Kate sat up and reached for her head, confused and sad.
“What the hell?” she asked the therapist, tears streaming down her face.
“Perhaps we didn’t choose the safest time to go back to. You had a strong emotional reaction to something. What was it?”
“For a brief second, I saw my dad. Then…” Kate brought her fingers to her face, wiping off a new round of tears.
“Okay. Here, take some tissues,” she said, holding up a box.
“So, what do you think?” Kate asked after composing herself.
“It’s interesting that you couldn’t see anything until the very end. But your sense of smell may help us revisit other times. I think we could unlock a few memories for you, but that would also mean reliving those very difficult moments. It’s up to you.”
A timer rang from behind the therapist’s chair, indicating the session had come to an end.
“I’ll let you think about it, perhaps discuss it with your husband—”
“We’re not married.”
“Your partner, whatever. If you decide to keep going, you’ll need his support—or that of another friend or relative—after each session.”
“Thanks, Doctor. I’ll think about it and let you know.” Kate stood and headed to the door.
“You can pay the receptionist out front,” the doctor said as Kate reached for the door.
Luke ditched the magazine he was holding and got up from his chair the second she stepped back into the waiting room. “How did it go?” he asked, but he must have gotten his answer just by looking at her and her undoubtedly red, watery eyes.
He went to her and wrapped her up in his arms. “It’ll be okay. You’re safe,” he whispered against her hair.