Page 59 of Only Girl Alive

It took her a moment, then she nodded.

“They were never your family.”

Bina grabbed a shower while Eve prepped herself for bed. It was hard to keep her eyes open. She needed sleep. Even with her worry over Clyde, she barely stirred when Bina came out of the bathroom.

Dreams didn’t wake her.

They ate a quick meal of fruit and cereal she and Bina had stored in their small room refrigerator. Ray and Collin stocked the van’s cooler with items for lunch from their room. The warrant and grid search could take hours.

Tamm called at seven and let Eve know a team would be there at noon.

“I feel great,” she told Clyde when she caught him assessing her while he ate one of his protein bars.

“You’re sure?”

She didn’t know if he was still upset with her and it caused a tightness in her gut that she hated.

“Yes, positive, and I’m good to go. You should change your mind on entry.”

“Not a chance.” His genuine smile relieved her mind.

They were okay. He might not have forgiven her completely for keeping the confrontation with her brothers from him, but he was moving forward. This was one of those relationship quandaries she knew nothing about. She would learn, Eve told herself.

She hadn’t needed ibuprofen this morning and movement, even though it was just walking, would help the aches in her arms and back where she had taken the brunt of the blows. The area around the sutures was sore and there was a dark multi-colored bruise that made it look worse. She also had discoloration beneath her eye. The bruises only hurt if she touched them and it brought up a memory of her mother.

“Well, don’t touch it then,” Maggie had said when Eve had complained about an injury after being hit by a softball during physical education in her first year of high school.

She didn’t usually have normal everyday memories of her mother.

They picked up a tail a block from the hotel. Two black lifted trucks followed them to the Tanners’ home. The squad cars were outside the crime scene tape as usual. The officers, sitting inside their vehicles, ignored them. Ray jumped out and lifted the tape and they drove through. Collin carried an evidence bag. Eve got out and Clyde didn’t object.

They found Hannah’s boots in the mudroom. They were the smallest of the five and easy to identify. Eve took photographs of the tread and they measured the size before packaging them. She remembered the prints they’d found on the search around the outside property. Blowing dust was a problem then and it would be one now, but they had to be sure. They climbed the stairs and entered Hannah’s room. It hadn’t changed, but their opinion of the crime scene had, and they looked at the room with different eyes.

Sadness swelled inside Eve. All she could hope for was someone pulling Hannah’s strings. If it had happened, they would prove it. She wanted to interrogate Kathryn and get the truth out of her. That would need to wait and anytime they had to wait on interviews, people disappeared in this community.

Eve took pictures of the shoes before they measured and bagged them. Like Hannah’s dresses earlier, they were now needed as evidence. They were covering all bases. With Hannah as their suspect, they had to collect anything that could possibly tie her to the murders, or even disprove she did them. If they looked for shoe prints, they collected shoes. A defense attorney would eat them alive on the small stuff.

They returned to the vehicles. Eve got into the van this time. Collin drove with her and Ray inside. Clyde handled the SUV with Bina riding shotgun. The God squad trucks followed along with a few members of the media.

Ray had security detail and would handle media or church personnel outside if they approached. Eve would watch from inside the van and would call the others out of the house if Ray ran into trouble.

Collin parked to block sight to the inner courtyard. Eve, in the passenger seat, could see inside and see Ray’s position through the driver’s window. The God squad drove past, turned around, and parked half a block away. The media parked a bit closer. Two journalists walked up to Ray and he told them to get back in their vehicles for safety reasons. They weren’t happy but they complied.

Her team’s refusal to speak to the media was widely known. Not one word had ever leaked from her office. The state attorney general decided on dissemination of their reports. They didn’t need to be given out on public record’s requests until an investigation was concluded. Speculation was all the press had right now.

Clyde grabbed the door ram from the back of the SUV. It would be used if no one answered quickly.

“Children in the home,” Eve reminded them. They’d discussed not pulling their firearms but decided after the attack on her, they couldn’t take chances.

She watched from inside the van, thankful she could at least see what was going on. Her hand gripped the butt of the gun and she was ready to jump out if she heard shots. The weapon was one of Clyde’s. He packed more firepower than the rest of them combined. The Smith & Wesson M&P 40 caliber felt almost like her Glock.

“Safety here, and on the other side, here,” he’d told her. “It has a slightly bigger kick than your 23c. Be prepared.”

The state issued them 40 caliber Glock 23s with compensated barrels. Their safety was located behind the trigger, which was really saying there wasn’t one. They’d all been trained to have a bullet in the chamber, ready to fire. Clyde didn’t want her getting hung up on releasing the safety if there was trouble. She’d pulled the slide and made sure the gun was tactically ready before pushing it into the Serpa holster, which was the same brand she carried for her Glock. She’d added an extra magazine clip to her belt even though the most likely scenario was an empty house. It didn’t matter. They had to be prepared for anything. Her adrenaline kicked in and she kept her hand on the butt of the gun, her finger on the release.

No one answered after a series of loud knocks and shouts of “police” and “search warrant.” Bina wiggled the door’s handle then moved back so Clyde could get in position. It took him three strikes before the wood splintered completely and the lock gave. Bina had fitted them with earpieces and they each had a radio on their hip. They also had their vests on beneath their shirts. They were as prepared as they could be.

The shades were pulled and Eve couldn’t see inside. Each minute seemed like an hour.

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