Page 28 of The Fragile Ones

Tuesday 1145 hours

Katie flipped the latch to the little gate and entered. McGaven paused, looking around at the yard, and then followed his partner to the front door.

Pulling the squeaky screen open and then knocking on the door, Katie waited. At first, she thought no one was home but after several minutes the door unlocked and slowly opened. A thin woman with blonde hair pulled tightly back peered out. “Yes?” she said.

“Mrs. Mayfield?” asked Katie.

“Yes,” the woman said.

“I’m Detective Katie Scott and this is my partner Deputy Sean McGaven.”

Her eyes, red and swollen, widened with acknowledgment. “Of course. Please come in,” she said and pulled the door open to welcome them.

“Thank you,” Katie said as she entered.

The house was tidy and organized, but very small. The living room was used as the dining, laundry, and gathering area all rolled into one. The large couch looked like it might have been bought from a thrift store. Throw pillows in bright colors were neatly placed at the back. A small table with four simple wooden chairs sat in one corner of the room.

Katie saw the kitchen through a doorway and it too was basic but clean and orderly. She walked to the couch and sat down, McGaven opting for a chair at the dining table. Two large paintings of mountain views hung on the wall, along with several framed photos of the girls growing up through the years.

Mrs. Mayfield sat on the couch facing Katie and wouldn’t immediately give eye contact as she seemed to prepare herself for more bad news.

“Mrs. Mayfield, first I would like to express our deepest condolences to you and your family,” said Katie. “We are here to gather any information that might be helpful to the investigation. Are you up to it? Do you need to call anyone for support?” Katie watched the woman and she exhibited all the usual signs of stress, trauma, and grief.

“No. I’m fine. And there isn’t anyone to call.” She finally looked up and made eye contact with Katie. “Please, I’ll help in any way I can.”

“Can you take us briefly through the day Tessa and Megan went missing?”

Mrs. Mayfield took a deep breath, wringing her hands on her lap before she answered. “It was a typical day like any other Saturday. The girls had been playing croquet in the front. Tessa came in and begged me to let them go to the swing.”

“The swing down the street?”

“Yes, it’s a place not far where the kids go to play on this long swing that sweeps them into the trees and over a small creek.”

“And had they been there before?”

“Yes, many times, but always with a group—older kids, or one of the parents.”

“What was different that day?” Katie gently probed.

Mrs. Mayfield jumped up and said, “I’m sorry, where are my manners? Would you like a cup of coffee, or maybe a soda?”

“Oh, no, thank you. We’re fine.” Katie watched the woman’s distress escalate as she was forced to answer questions about what happened that day.

Mrs. Mayfield sat back down slowly, looking like she felt cornered and ready to bolt given half a chance. “Tessa was so insistent, more than normal. She was a very strong-willed child; much more so than her sister.”

“Was there a particular reason why she wanted to go that day? A friend maybe?”

“No…she seemed pretty eager though. I guess everything here was boring her. Oh yes, she said that her friends, Janey and her brother, would probably be there. But they weren’t.”

“I see. Were there any other kids there?”

“No. I called everyone I could think of. No one was down at the swing that day.”

“Had the girls done anything different recently, or made new friends in the days leading up to their disappearance? Anything notable that was new in their lives?”

“No. There’s honestly nothing that I can think of…they justvanished…”

“You mentioned Janey and her brother. Had they seen the girls?”