Page 11 of Three Girls Gone

Amanda glanced at Trent, trying to do so without Jean noticing. But she rushed into the room and reached the closet before Amanda could stop her. She shuffled the hangers with the tutus along the rod, and then stood back, flailing her arm. “No, no, this doesn’t make sense. There should be four. There’s only…”

“Three,” Amanda finished. “How many pairs of ballet slippers does she have?”

“Three. Two should be in here.” Jean reached for a tote at the base of the closet, and Trent wedged in front of her.

“Please, Mrs.Tanner, let me.” Trent stuck his gloved hands into the tote. He came out holding one pair of pink satin slippers.

“No, this can’t be.” Jean started quaking.

“Is there any way Mara has the tutu and slippers out getting cleaned?”

“I don’t think so. They were all done two weeks ago.”

Amanda met Trent’s eyes. She thought of one explanation. The killer had been inside the Tanners’ home. But was it a family friend or an intruder?

SEVEN

Before Amanda had McGee accompany Jean back downstairs, she’d asked if she had a pale-pink chiffon scarf. Jean said that wasn’t her or Mara’s style. After Jean left with McGee, Amanda and Trent discussed what the missing clothing from Hailey’s closet meant for the case. “Well, there’s no reason Detective McGee would have had to note the discrepancy,” Amanda conceded. “Like he said earlier, he was concerned about a missing child, not her wardrobe.”

“I’ll give you that. And we don’t know for sure if Hailey was wearing the clothing missing from her closet.”

She angled her head to the side. “What are the chances she wasn’t?”

“They still exist.”

“Fine, but we still need to eliminate anyone who went into her room.”

“I agree with you there, while also entertaining the possibility someone broke in.”

“If they did, it wouldn’t have just been for the tutu. It may have been a failed attempt to take Hailey right from her bed.”

“Chilling thought.”

“All of this is. For due diligence, we’ll find out where Jean Tanner buys the tutus. The slippers look rather generic.”

“You want to get started with the parents, I’ll call this in?” Trent pulled out his phone. He’d get Crime Scene out to process Hailey’s bedroom.

“Yeah. I’ll head down. Join us when you’re finished.”

Trent nodded, and she headed for the stairwell. The upcoming conversation with the Tanners would be a tough one. To think you failed to protect your child outside the home was one thing, but within its four walls? That was another beast altogether.

When Amanda reached the sitting room, Jean was staring into space, while Vincent wore a confused expression.

Neither Jean nor McGee must have shared the discovery. “One of your daughter’s tutus and a pair of ballet slippers are missing from her closet. It seems likely someone entered the room and took them.” It was impossible to soften that news.

“I… ah, don’t understand,” Vincent said.

“Hailey was found dressed in a tutu and slippers, much like the ones she owns.”

“Dear Lord,” Vincent gasped.

Amanda glanced over at McGee, who didn’t meet her eye. “We need to consider that a guest or an intruder is behind Hailey’s murder.”

“There’s no way it’s someone we know.” Vincent was shaking his head. “And if it was an intruder, we’d have known.”

Amanda appreciated why Vincent didn’t want to entertain someone they knew being behind this. “Do you have a security system?”

“No, I…Imessed up, not thinking it was necessary.” Vincent glanced at his wife, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze.