Page 10 of Three Girls Gone (Detective Amanda Steele #14)

EIGHT

Amanda was happy to see the back of Detective McGee when they dropped him off at Heroes Memorial Park for his car.

Nothing personal, but she just needed a break from him.

She might be projecting, holding him accountable for Hailey’s fate.

But maybe if he had done a better job, been courageous enough to ask tough questions, even of the bigwigs, Hailey may have been safely returned to her parents. May have been…

Trent was about to drive out of the lot when Officer Wyatt came trotting over, holding up a finger for them to wait. He went to the passenger side, and she put the window down.

He was panting. “Seeing as you’re here, I thought I’d let you know that we’ve spoken to every civilian who has turned up at the park, and no one was here earlier this morning and can shed any light on who put the girl there.”

She was thinking, Thanks for the non- update , but that was her bitter frustration talking.

“Also, one lock on the men’s public restroom was broken from the outside,” Wyatt added, earning her attention. “The CSIs are processing it, the door, and inside to see if there is any evidence that will assist the case. ”

Amanda had noted the Crime Scene van in the lot. As she’d suspected when CSIs Stuart and Keller showed up, Blair and Donnelly were still working here. “Interesting, but one lock?”

“There are two doors. One on each side of the building.”

“Good to know, and thanks for that update,” she told him.

“Don’t mention it.” Wyatt slapped the top of the roof and stepped back.

Amanda put the window back up and turned to Trent, shaking her head. “I’m not holding out high hopes, but it would sure be nice to catch the person behind this sooner rather than later.”

“Agreed. They need to be held accountable. So where to next? The nanny or the former employee?”

“Or to speak to Susan Butters’s mother.”

Trent angled his head, as if her suggestion caught him off guard.

“The Tanners didn’t know Butters, but she’s still a suspect in my book. Her mother could provide more insight into Susan’s mindset about children. If she was obsessed with not having one…”

“I think we should ask the nanny, Mara Bennett, if she knows Susan Butters before we take things that far.”

“You think I’m getting carried away.”

“I never said that. You’ve got impeccable instincts.”

“But…?”

“You can get your mind fixed easier when the victims are children. Understandably so. They are hard cases for everyone.”

No argument or defense could counter that. He was right. “Even so, Mara doesn’t need to know Susan Butters by name or sight. She could have stayed in the shadows.”

“It’s possible.”

She sensed his skepticism. “Okay, we’ll bench Butters for now and talk with Mara Bennett. But we’ll ask her about Butters. ”

“Your wish is my command.” Trent smirked and got them on the road to Kendra Bennett’s apartment.

Don’t you mean your wish… He hadn’t taken her theorizing about Butters seriously, so she’d keep her earlier suspicions about the fertility clinic to herself.

There was even less cause to move forward on that front.

With that decided, a sudden, intense sadness for Hailey moved in and bulldozed her.

Trent’s voice cut through, saving Amanda from giving in to the depth of the emotion.

“Did you want to grab a coffee or a bite to eat? We might not get another chance for hours.” Trent flicked a finger toward the clock on the dash.

Noon right on the mark. It felt much later than that.

She wasn’t that hungry, but with this job, one ate when the opportunity presented itself.

“Something light maybe. Coffee? Definitely. Hannah’s Diner too much to ask?

” They were headed to Dumfries, the small town where she lived, ten minutes from Woodbridge.

Also home to Hannah’s Diner, which served the best coffee on the planet.

“Not at all, but coffee doesn’t count as nourishment. Are you doing all right?”

“As fine as can be expected. You?”

“About the same. So there’s no way to ask this but to come out with it. I noticed you asked the Tanners about the fertility clinic they used…”

So he noticed… “Is there a question in there?”

“I was just curious why.”

She took in how pale he’d gone, and she wagered he thought it was motivated by personal reasons. “Oh, it’s not for me,” she rushed out. “I’m not… Yeah, no. Zoe and I are a good team.” She offered a pressed smile. “Being a single parent to one child keeps me busy enough.”

“I’ve heard one or two kids, it doesn’t make a difference.”

She laughed. “You should know not to believe everything you hear. But does this mean that you and…?” Trent had been living with his girlfriend, Kelsey, for a few months now. And there were zero kids in the picture, unless…

“Hell—” Trent coughed, as if he had swallowed his spit the wrong way. When he composed himself, he said, “No, but I’m not saying no to kids forever. Just not right now. I’m not ready.”

“I don’t think anyone ever is.”

“All right, so if it was about the case, what were you thinking?” He squinted as he studied her face.

She laid it out.

“That’s a long shot. Six years have passed.”

“That’s why I didn’t bring it up.”

“Maybe if the case veers into a dead end, we can revisit. For now, we’re not short on things to do.”

“True enough.” The first twenty-four hours of an investigation were always a whirlwind.

Lots of information was being hurled at them, making it a game of duck or catch.

Amanda also feared letting the wrong thing go, overlooking some crucial detail.

But she’d grown up under the shadow of her father, the former police chief, who stressed looking under every rock and pebble.

As he’d cautioned, it could never be assumed which one was hiding a vital clue.

Assumptions kill an investigation… “Speaking of, we need to remember to reach out about the video footage from the park,” she added.

Trent pulled into the diner’s parking lot. “I’ll do that. I’ve got the number for the municipality in my phone. You want to go in and grab our order?”

“Good thinking. That will speed things up. What do you want?”

“A coffee, and a turkey and Swiss on rye.”

“You got it.” She left him and went into the diner.

For once, the place wasn’t lined up out the door.

Ever since Katherine Graves had joined her aunt, May Byrd, at the diner almost two years ago, the popularity of the place had skyrocketed.

In little time, Amanda was handing over cash and heading back to the car with their coffees, Trent’s sandwich, and a blueberry muffin for herself in a bag.

On the way out, she passed a group of chatty women going inside.

“They’re saying it’s that girl who went missing,” one woman said.

Amanda stopped and turned. “Excuse me.”

The woman who had spoken gave her a tight smile. “Yes?”

Small-town expression, without warmth. “I couldn’t help but overhear you. Where did you hear that, about the girl? Hailey Tanner, I’m assuming?”

“Yes. It just hit the news. Heard it on the radio before I got out of my car.”

Amanda stiffened but did her best to hide the reaction. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The woman and her friends carried on to the counter while Amanda resumed her trek to the car. She passed the bag and coffees through the driver’s window to Trent.

Trent stuck the cups in the console and was pulling out the food by the time she got into the passenger seat.

“Guessing this is yours?” He held up the muffin, and she snatched it before he gave her some lecture about taking better care of herself.

He still got out, “At least you opted for some food.”

“There’s more you should be concerned about. Word about Hailey is out.”

“Oh, crap.”

“Yeah.” This investigation was about to take on a life of its own.