Page 52 of Three Girls Gone

“Hailey was the last one left. I just can’t believe that…” A rogue tear splashed Stephanie’s cheek, and she swiped it away. “I’ll never forgive myself.”

Amanda was lost for words. Nothing she could say would offer the young woman solace. Would the person who took Hailey have been identified before they killed her? They’d never know. She just couldn’t imagine that McGee had dropped things and never asked Stephanie what they just had. “Did you see anything that stood out to you?”

Stephanie bit her bottom lip and shook her head.

“On another note, did you ever notice anyone lurking around the studio? Not just this past Friday? Anytime in the last several months?” Amanda asked.

“No one that stood out. But why are you interested in that far back?”

“It’s possible the person who killed Hailey was stalking her for a while,” Amanda said, setting that out gently. Stephanie already held herself to blame for slipping up on Friday night.

“Well, I never saw anyone,” Stephanie repeated.

“Thank you, Stephanie.” Amanda handed over her card. “Call me if you think of something after we’ve left.”

“Will do.”

Amanda and Trent made their way out of the studio, and she was listening to McGee’s line ringing before she hit the sidewalk.

“McGee here.”

“Detective Steele. Did you speak with Stephanie from Tiptoe Studio about last Friday?”

Trent was watching her as she spoke.

“Of course I did.”

“What did she tell you?”

“She said she never saw who picked Hailey up.”

“It seems she made it sound to you like she was watching Hailey the entire time she waited for her ride.”

“That’s how I remember our conversation.”

“Well, the truth we just got out of her was she was distracted for a moment or two, and when she next lookedHailey was gone. So Hailey could have walked off with her would-be killer, even transported in a vehicle that was parked down the street.”

“Which is news to me. Hell.”

“Why wasn’t Stephanie Welch in your report?” Grilling him about not returning her call was pointless, but he wasn’t off the hook twice.

“Oh, she’s there, but not by name. She’s included in the summary that staff at the studio didn’t see anyone.”

Amanda looked at Trent and shook her head. “You said you checked for security cameras in the area. How far down the street did you check?”

“The neighboring businesses two up and down.”

“But not past that?” she asked.

“Not about cameras. The units across the street are apartments. Officers canvassed with no success. They also asked everyone they came across if they saw Hailey that day. Oh, and there’s no municipal CCTV in that area.”

“Okay, thank you, Detective.” Amanda hung up and tapped her phone against her leg as she briefed Trent on the conversation.

“A summary,” Trent mumbled.

“That’s what he said, but we can likely agree on one thing. The person who took Hailey has their own transportation.”

“Which would make sense. How could you abduct a kid or dispose of a body using public transportation? With that said, Hailey must have trusted this person to go along with them. Otherwise, she would have raised a fuss and made a scene, which would have drawn attention.”