Excerpt of Everything She Feared by Rick Mofina

Deputy Rob Hirano climbed up from the river.

Moving along the trail with other deputies, he reviewed a mental checklist of what he needed to do.

Keep it by the book.

It was far too early to classify this as an accident, suicide or something else. He’d protected the death scene by sealing it at the river and the clifftop, posting deputies and troopers there.

According to Jackson Jones and Adam Patel, no other people had been hurt. To be safe, Hirano had asked the paramedics to look at the two men, then later he’d have them assess Katie Harmon and others in the group as well.

And we may need them when we notify Anna Shaw’s family, be­cause her family will come here. No matter what we say, they will come.

Hirano took a long breath, relieved that they had covered the girl’s body because by the time he’d finished talking with

the adult supervisors on scene and reached the Sunny Days group, the first Seattle TV news helicopter passed overhead. Hirano knew press people monitored police radio transmis­sions and moved fast.

At the day camp, children were sitting on the grass in small circles. Some were crying and hugging each other. Three boys were off to one side, their expressions grim while tossing a football. Others in the group were at the picnic tables, talk­ing on their phones or texting.

The crackling of police radios signaled the arrival of the deputies. Some of the older kids went to them, their faces taut, intent.

“Is Anna dead?” one boy asked.

“Can we go look?” said another. “Can we ride in a heli­copter?”

“What’s going on?” one of the girls asked.

Hirano raised his palms.

“I’m Deputy Rob Hirano. What’s happened is serious and we need your help,” he said. “We’ll talk to each of you. Please be patient, this is important. My friends here are going to get started.”

As the deputies began gathering statements, Hirano looked at his notebook, then at the group.

“Is Connie Atkinson here?”

She was nearly out of sight, sitting alone with Katie under a tree. Connie heard him, got up and brushed herself off as she walked to Hirano. He took notes as Connie recounted the morning’s events.

“Anna and Katie were last getting off the bus. They sort of took their time behind us while we walked the trail here.” Connie ignored her vibrating phone. “Then Katie came screaming for help.” Raking her fingers through her hair, Connie nodded toward a canvas bag. “We got tent ropes, ran to help but… Oh, God!” Connie covered her face with her hands, sobbing. “It was too late.” Connie gasped. “Anna had volunteered to help us for the day. Oh, God!”

Out of earshot, Katie watched them from the tree, never taking her eyes from them.

When Hirano finished talking to Connie, he asked for Anna Shaw’s consent form. Her fingers shaking, Connie with­drew a copy from a binder in her backpack.

“I’ll need Katie Harmon’s, too, before I speak to her.”

Connie’s phone vibrated again; this time, she pulled it from her back pocket and looked at it.

“Parents are hearing from kids and have been calling non­stop with questions.” Connie sniffed. “My God, what do I tell them?”

“Tell them there’s been a serious incident, that you don’t have all the information,” Hirano said. “That help is here and you’ll know more later.”

might be a concern for a nine-year-old girl amid the horror and chaos.

Still, Hirano couldn’t lose sight of the fact he was the first officer to speak to her. This was his one shot at getting her first account. He had to do this right. He checked his body camera to ensure it was recording a video of Katie while he took notes.

“Hi, Katie. I’m Deputy Rob Hirano and I’m here to help, okay?”

She nodded.

“Don’t be put off by all my stuff. I have to wear it for my job.”

She brushed at her tears. Her face, weighted with anguish. Her hair was half out and half in blond braids that touched her shoulders.

“Are you okay to talk to me?”

She shrugged, crying softly.

“I’m going to ask you some things,” Hirano said. “I need you to tell me everything that happened no matter what it was, okay?”

Her blue eyes found his and she asked: “Is Anna dead?”

“She’s hurt, very seriously hurt. We have paramedics with her and we still have things to do. But she’s seriously hurt.”

Her shoulders shook. She clenched her eyes and sobbed.

“I want my mom! I want my mom!” She pressed her fists to her eyes.

“We’re going to get your mom here,” Hirano said. “I know this is hard, but I need you to be strong, okay?”

Hirano glanced at her consent form for the outing.

“I need you to help me. Your full name is Kaitlyn Jean Harmon?”

“I go by Katie.”

Nodding and reading messages, Connie said: “They want to know if they can drive out here and get their kids?”

“Yes, but they must stay in the parking lot until we’re done,” he said. “We’ll bring the kids out when we’re done talking to everyone.”

Hirano was aware of the challenges, but he knew that under the circumstances, deputies could question the children alone without a parent or lawyer present. He radioed for deputies and troopers to get tape up and post someone at the trailhead.

“Nobody gets in,” Hirano said into his walkie-talkie.

Taking a deep breath, Connie got Katie’s form for him. And while she sent messages, he went over to the tree and sat alone with Katie.

Her tear-filled eyes took a walk all over him in his patrol uniform. In his black shirt and armor vest, with his body cam­era, holstered gun and other gear, he realized his appearance

might be a concern for a nine-year-old girl amid the horror and chaos.

Still, Hirano couldn’t lose sight of the fact he was the first officer to speak to her. This was his one shot at getting her first account. He had to do this right. He checked his body camera to ensure it was recording a video of Katie while he took notes.

“Hi, Katie. I’m Deputy Rob Hirano and I’m here to help, okay?”

She nodded.

“Don’t be put off by all my stuff. I have to wear it for my job.”

She brushed at her tears. Her face, weighted with anguish. Her hair was half out and half in blond braids that touched her shoulders.

“Are you okay to talk to me?”

She shrugged, crying softly.

“I’m going to ask you some things,” Hirano said. “I need you to tell me everything that happened no matter what it was, okay?”

Her blue eyes found his and she asked: “Is Anna dead?”

“She’s hurt, very seriously hurt. We have paramedics with her and we still have things to do. But she’s seriously hurt.”

Her shoulders shook. She clenched her eyes and sobbed.

“I want my mom! I want my mom!” She pressed her fists to her eyes.

“We’re going to get your mom here,” Hirano said. “I know this is hard, but I need you to be strong, okay?”

Hirano glanced at her consent form for the outing.

“I need you to help me. Your full name is Kaitlyn Jean Harmon?”

“I go by Katie.”

“Alright, Katie. And you’re nine years old. When’s your birthday?”

“June twenty-fifth.”

“Your mom is Sara Harmon and you live in Seattle at—” Hirano read her address from the form.

“Yes. Can my mom come and get me, please?”

“We’re going to get her here, or we’ll take you to her. But only after we’re done, and it could take a while, okay?”

She nodded.

“Okay, Katie, I need you to tell me what happened con­cerning Anna. You can take your time.”

Katie swallowed hard. As she began recounting the events, Hirano studied her. He knew children at her age were gen­erally conscientious and truthful. But it was also the age that some became skillful at lying, depending on the circumstances, the stakes and the repercussions. He watched for signs of de­ception, listening carefully, asking the occasional question.

When Katie came to the part where Anna was taking a selfie at the cliff’s edge, she gasped, her words breaking in her throat.

“She fell—I couldn’t believe it was real. She screamed and was just gone. I looked down and she was hanging on to a tree, telling me to get help—I was so scared—I ran and ran.”

Katie covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

Hirano watched her for a long moment. Her shoulders shook, her head shook. For a brief moment he thought her movements were an overreaction, even exaggerated. It gave rise to his uncertainty as to whether it was due to her shaking, or if she was actually peeking through her fingers, watching him watch her.

He just wasn’t sure.

He waited until she calmed down, until her shaking and tears stopped. Then he asked more questions. When they fin­ished, he asked Connie to resume sitting with Katie while the paramedics assessed her.

Hirano walked off for a moment alone.

While surveying the deputies interviewing the others at the day camp, he called his sergeant.

“What do we have there, Rob?”

“I can’t be certain,” Hirano said. “We need detectives on this.”

“You suspect this isn’t a clear-cut wilderness accident?”

“Just a gut feeling.”

“What’s the ME say?”

“They’re on their way.”

“Alright, Rob. We’ll get a detective team rolling. You hold the fort.”

Ending his call, Hirano looked down at his open notebook and the words he’d circled after his interview with Katie Har­mon.

Possibly deceptive responses.

Excerpted from EVERYTHING SHE FEARED. Copyright © 2023 by Rick Mofina. Published by MIRA Books.