Page 33 of Our Daughter's Bones

“Yes,” Mackenzie admitted. “The thought did cross my mind briefly, but I decided it’s highly unlikely.”

“Why? Maybe that’s why she took all that money.”

“Abby doesn’t fit the profile of someone who would run away. She doesn’t have a history of running away or getting into trouble. She is focused, ambitious, and studious. Her goal is to succeed. What would running away accomplish? It’s something else.”

“Alright. If you think so.” He didn’t look convinced.

The lack of attention on Abby was stinging. Where was her picture on the billboards? Why had her posters got washed down in the rain last night?

“We need more resources on this case. Things will move much faster. Only Justin is working on this full time with me. A missing person is a high priority.”

“I agree, Mack. But my hands are tied! You know how these things work.”

“I hate politics. If the same person who abducted Erica took Abby, then we don’t have much time!” She pounded her fist on the table.

“You think the cases are related?”

She gave him an incredulous look. “Don’t you? What are the chances that her best friend goes missing on the anniversary of her disappearance? We should combine the cases.”

“Is this because you want more resources and money for your case?” He rolled his eyes.

“No!” Her face heated. “I believe thereisa link here.”

“Then find it!” He raised his voice and waved his finger. “You get me concrete evidence, and I’ll make sure that the cases are combined. I can’t do that based on circumstantial evidence and your gut.”

Seventeen

Mackenzie and Sully’s meeting was cut short when Justin knocked on the door. The surveillance video from the gas station had arrived.

“Did you set it up in the conference room?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Justin matched her pace.

“Have you seen it?”

“No.”

“Good. I still have hope.” She was almost giddy. Every fiber of her being pulsed with anticipation. If this video didn’t show Abby walking back, then they were stuck with no new evidence.

In that case, they would have to approach the case the robust way—interrogate every student, every teacher, gather up volunteers to scour the woods in Lakemore and have divers inspect the lakes. Unless the missing person was a child, the police hesitated to do that. Plus, Mackenzie knew that the department wouldn’t invest that much time or money into looking for Abby. Especially if Sully thought she’d run away.

She swung open the door to the conference room. Two monitors were set up on the round walnut table in the center. Clint, from IT, was seated on a chair and clicking away on the computer. He was one of the tallest people in Lakemore PD and had to slouch to level with the screen.

He looked up at Mackenzie and nodded. “Detective Price.”

“Hey, Clint. How’s it going?”

“I was just finishing up with compressing the files they sent us. They still use MPEG4 compression, which is archaic.” He arched a sharp eyebrow. “But I’m done.”

Mackenzie and Justin sat on either side of Clint. Justin unrolled a photocopied blueprint of the gas station on the table. “The station uses sixteen-megapixel cameras running all day. It takes up more digital storage space, which is why they delete files every week from their local server. Camera One over here monitors the entrance to the gas station forecourt. Camera Two covers the exit. Three through Six cover the pumps. Seven monitors the entrance to the building. Eight and Nine are inside the building itself.”

Mackenzie took out her pen and drew on the plan. “Abby should pass the gas station every day when walking back from school. We should see her around here.”

“That would be either Camera One or Camera Three. Let’s see both,” Justin said.

“And Clint, can you start on Thursday, September sixth? I want to check if she used the route regularly after school—the weekend we can skip for now.”

“Sure.”