Page 4 of Three Girls Gone (Detective Amanda Steele #14)

THREE

Amanda stepped out of the tent. “We need to speak with the person who found her,” she told the officers.

Wyatt directed her attention to a woman sitting at a picnic table with her back to them. Officer Traci Cochran was taking her statement.

“Her name’s Susan Butters,” Officer Wyatt told her, and Amanda led the way over to the picnic table.

Officer Cochran watched them approach and stood up once they got closer.

Susan Butters turned around. Her skin was blotchy and eyes bloodshot from crying.

Adrenaline wasn’t doing its job and shielding her from the jolt of what she’d seen.

“Ma’am, if you’ll excuse me a moment.” Cochran hopped up from the table’s bench and walked about ten feet away with Amanda, Trent, and McGee in tow. She studied McGee, her forehead creasing. “I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“Nope. Detective McGee with Missing Persons, and you?”

“Missing Persons? Sadly, I guess your job here is over,” she said. “I’m Officer Traci Cochran. So here’s what I know…” She filled them in on Butters’s statement, which they’d verify and build on. “And she’s got a clean record,” Traci added .

“Thank you,” Amanda told her.

“I assume you want to have a chat now?”

“We do,” Amanda assured her.

They walked over to Susan, and Traci made all the introductions without specifying McGee was with Missing Persons.

“Is that Hailey Tanner? Did I find Hailey? No one will tell me.” Susan rubbed her cheeks, grinding her palms into the damp flesh.

“Did you know Hailey?” Amanda had to assess whether Susan’s shock was genuine or a performance. It was too soon to conclude if the killer was a man or woman. If anything, the woman’s scarf and how Hailey was lovingly arranged suggested the latter.

“Yes. Well, from the news. Not in person. She was taken last week.”

Since Hailey’s predicament was widespread knowledge, Susan’s assumption was understandable. Amanda would still ask Hailey’s parents if they knew Susan Butters.

“So it is her?” Susan pressed.

“We’re not at liberty to confirm that,” Amanda said. “I also request that you refrain from telling others what happened here today until the parents of that child have been notified. Have you spoken to anyone, texted or called?”

“No. My fingers didn’t want to work to call nine-one-one.

I just want to forget about all of this.

I should have just stayed home like every other day.

But, no, I had to get off my butt and out the door for a walk.

And look where that got me.” The latter bit came out like she was talking to herself.

“Then you don’t walk every morning?” Trent asked, jumping in before Amanda got there.

“Do I look like I’m into exercise?” Susan gestured at her body, her face grimacing as if she were ashamed by the extra weight she carried.

Amanda would never presume to gauge someone’s lifestyle from their appearance.

Everyone metabolized differently. Some people could eat a carrot and run for an hour a day and get nowhere.

Amanda loved that she could eat anything and stay lean.

“What made you come out today?” Amanda was skeptical because lots of villains portrayed themselves as heroes.

“My mother’s skillful ability to guilt-trip me. She told me to stop feeling sorry for myself and get out in the fresh air. It would do me some good.” She rolled her eyes.

“Are you depressed?” This blunt personal question came from McGee, and had Trent and Amanda locking eyes.

“Ah, yeah. But you would be too if you lost the job you had for a decade and your twelve-year-old dog in one week. I don’t have human kids. Barnie was my fur baby.”

Considering this, her mother’s “encouragement” was rather harsh.

“I’m sorry for your loss and that you’re going through a rough time.

” Amanda’s sentiment was sincere, but potential motives rolled around in her mind.

Susan’s health or other life circumstances might have made having children impossible.

The trick was finding out that reason without crossing an ethical line.

Think, think, think… “Well, kids are an enormous responsibility. But I’ve heard that as rewarding as having a dog might be, they’re like having toddlers for their entire lifetime. ”

“Oh, they are that. Don’t get me wrong, though.

I’m not against kids, but I fear having them isn’t in the cards for me.

That’s me. No job, no dog, no boyfriend, and now this.

” Susan clenched her jaw and shook her head.

“Let’s hope this is rock bottom. I don’t know what else I could take.

Though I can’t see how it can get much worse. ”

Amanda passed another brief glance at Trent.

He gave a slight nod of his head, which she took to mean he understood why Amanda had said what she did.

Susan sounded bitter that she didn’t have children.

Had she abducted Hailey to become an instant mother?

But then things took a sideways turn? Had Hailey’s death been unintentional in a flash of rage?

“Did you touch her or anything in the area?” Extending the benefit of the doubt was like playing Russian roulette in this line of work. Sometimes fatal.

“No way. It was clear she was dead.”

“Sometimes people do things when they are in shock they wouldn’t otherwise,” Amanda said. “Even when they know it’s wrong.”

“I never touched her or anything near her,” Susan repeated.

“Did you see anyone at the park this morning, leaving or at a distance?” Trent asked, drawing Susan’s gaze to him. He had his notepad and pen in hand.

“The officer asked me these questions. Is it necessary to run through them again?”

“We’re just verifying,” Trent said.

“No one else was here that I know of, until the cops showed up. Though maybe I just can’t remember right now.” She touched her head. “Please, tell me who would do such a thing to a little girl.”

The inquiry was innocent on the surface, but Susan might want to feed off their reaction to the scene.

To her work. Amanda wasn’t going to bite.

“There’s no explaining some people, ma’am.

Just for elimination, Officer Cochran would like to collect your prints and DNA.

” Amanda bobbed her head, as if to encourage Susan’s acceptance.

“Sure.”

Amanda smiled at her. “Thank you. That will save us some time later. Call me if you think of anything once the shock wears off.” She gave Susan her card.

“Okay.”

“And remember, don’t speak a word of this to anyone. We still need to notify the girl’s parents,” Amanda reiterated.

“I promise.”

Amanda studied the woman’s eyes, hoping she wasn’t making the wrong call. She waved Officer Cochran over and told her to collect the samples from Susan. To Susan, she said, “After the officer finishes, you can go home, but please don’t leave town in case we have more questions for you.”

“I won’t.”

Amanda’s attention was drawn to the parking lot.

Vans belonging to Crime Scene and the medical examiner were there now.

But unwelcome arrivals had also turned up.

The news vehicles were parked on the street, aiming their cameras at the action in the park.

She detested how the media had no boundaries and profited from tragedy.

Hunger for catching an exclusive story outweighed human compassion.

“Sickening.” Detective McGee flailed an arm at one news van. “The Tanners deserve to hear about their daughter from us, not them.”

“Yep. We need to wrap this up as fast as possible, and get her out of here,” Amanda said.