Page 6 of Three Girls Gone (Detective Amanda Steele #14)

FIVE

As she walked toward the parking lot with Trent and McGee, Amanda made a quick call to her boss, Sergeant Malone, to confirm the body was that of Hailey Tanner.

She also told him their next stop was to deliver the news to the girl’s parents.

When she got off the phone, she spotted a security camera in the lot. She pointed this out to Trent.

“I’ll follow up on the footage,” he said.

“Let’s hope it gets us somewhere because there isn’t any CCTV on the nearby streets.”

They’d had some luck with doorbell cams in the past, but they weren’t an option here without homes across from the park.

Trent sat behind the wheel of the department car, and Detective McGee got comfortable in the backseat.

Amanda rode shotgun. Her vantage point afforded her a clear view of the PWC News van as it nosed into the mouth of the parking lot and was turned away.

Diana Wesson was looking back at Amanda from the front passenger seat.

As they passed, Wesson swiveled around and smacked the dash.

Despite the horror Amanda had just seen, that brought a smile to her face.

She’d escaped the nosy, unscrupulous reporter.

She checked her phone and made sure Wesson’s number was still blocked.

McGee spoke up with directions to the Tanner house, and she looked back at him. “Tell us anything you think we should know before going in. Prime suspects in her disappearance, details of when she went missing…”

“You know she was taken after her dance lesson last Friday evening,” McGee began.

“No employee at the studio witnessed anyone suspicious or saw Hailey go off with a stranger. I also spoke to the parents of the other students. No one saw anything. No cameras outside the studio or neighboring buildings. As for suspects, the family, their friends, and relatives were ruled out. The primary focus has been on the Tanners’ live-in nanny. ”

“Her name?” Trent asked while making a left turn.

“Mara Bennett. She’s been with the family since Hailey was born and came home from the hospital. This was her second job as a nanny. She only left the first when the family had a change in their financial situation and had to let her go.”

“Why suspect her?” Amanda imagined the woman would have a close bond with the girl.

“She usually drops Hailey at her ballet lessons and picks her up. Not last week.”

“Why not?” Trent said, looking in the rearview mirror.

“And she didn’t stick around while Hailey had her lesson? Was that normal? Hailey was just six years old.” That was where her mind went first.

“I’m feeling a little tag-teamed here.”

Get over it… That was Amanda’s instant thought, but she censored herself. “Lots of questions are typical with a fresh case.”

“I get that. As for Bennett not hanging around, that was encouraged by the studio. The thinking was it would be less of a distraction during the lessons. Sometimes Bennett would use that time to pick up groceries for the family. I verified that was the case last Friday.”

“All right, then, back to Trent’s question. Why didn’t she pick her up on Friday?”

“She got a text from Jean Tanner. That’s Hailey’s mother. Only Jean was adamant she never sent it and the phone records from her provider backed that up. This text wasn’t sent from her phone to Bennett.”

“I don’t understand,” Amanda said. “Jean would have been in Bennett’s contacts.”

“And she is. But the sender ID’d themselves as Jean with a new number.”

“I assume you forwarded this to Digital Crimes?” This unit of the PWCPD had detectives who specialized in technology. Her main contact, Detective Jacob Briggs, was a miracle worker.

“That’s how I found out this much.” Spoken on the defensive, like he took her question as an accusation he hadn’t done his job. She hadn’t made that assumption, but he hadn’t earned her trust yet either. “That number is no longer in service,” McGee added.

“It could still be tracked down,” she pointed out.

“It was. All the way to a dead end. It was a prepaid number and came from a block serviced by Universal Mobile. Digital Crimes found out it was activated on the first of December and where it was purchased. It was some convenience store in town, but a trip there didn’t net a thing.

No video, and the owner has a strict cash-only policy. ”

Disappointing. “What else did this message say?”

“It was straightforward. Just that Jean was going to pick Hailey up from the dance studio on Friday.”

“Getting Mara out of the way.” Trent came to a stop at a red light. “Whoever took Hailey was familiar with her schedule. But you said family and friends have been cleared. What about affairs, or coworkers? Were any of those considered?”

Family and friends… This time it stuck out to her. “It wasn’t just her schedule they knew about. McGee, you said the tutu looked like ones Hailey had?”

“It did. Obviously, I can’t say for sure.”

“Fair enough,” Amanda conceded.

McGee continued. “No affairs were uncovered. I told you the family was wealthy. Well, the father is in investments. He owns his own firm and focuses only on clients who have a starting amount of seven figures to invest. We considered a former employee, Nick Potter. He felt he’d been screwed over by Tanner in an investment deal. Potter lost seven hundred K.”

Trent whistled. “That’s a lot of money.”

“To us mere mortals, but Potter is worth millions himself. But to make things worse between Tanner and Potter, Tanner dismissed him. For a moment, this guy was considered a suspect. I speculated he may have taken the girl to demand a ransom to make up some of what he lost. I released him from suspicion for a couple of reasons. One, his alibi checked out. And two, he didn’t seem too affected by the shady business with Tanner either. Potter ended up opening his own firm.”

“When did all this happen?” she asked, knowing that hurt feelings didn’t always expire with time.

“November.”

Amanda wanted to speak with Nick Potter herself. Alibi or not.

The light changed, and Trent went through.

“Turn right at the first street,” McGee directed.

Trent did as he said, and soon after, McGee pointed out a large home. Trent parked at the curb out front.

The house was a statement of affluence. She understood how McGee may have become fixed on the ransom angle.

Amanda led the way to the front door. With each step, she thought about the devastating news they had to deliver. She reached for the doorbell at the same time as McGee.

“Detective Steele, if you’d allow me.” A hint of emotion bled into his voice.

She pulled her hand back. “Go ahead.”

He pushed the button, and a melodious chime sounded inside the home and reached the step.

Footsteps pounded toward them, then stopped.

Soon after, the door was opened. Jean Tanner stood there.

Amanda recognized her from the news. As a rule, she avoided it in all its forms, whether it be print or digital.

The job gave her enough of the sad, the bad, and the ugly.

But the heartbreaking case of Hailey Tanner had still found its way to her prior to today, even outside of work.

“Mrs.Tanner,” McGee said. “This is Detective Steele and Detective Stenson. Can we come in for a moment? We have news about Hailey.”

“Ah, sure.” She stepped back while appraising Amanda and Trent. Her straight and confident posture shrank, as if her innate sense was alerting her to what was coming.

Once they were in the entry, McGee asked, “Is Mr.Tanner home?”

“I’ll go get him.” Jean closed the door behind them. “Just sit in the front room, and we’ll be there in a minute.”

“Thank you, Mrs.Tanner.” McGee wiped his shoes on the front mat before leading the way across the entrance into a space decorated with cream furniture. The formality made it hard to imagine a child playing in there.

Silver frames lined a dark cherry hall table against the wall.

All the photographs were of a smiling Hailey.

In one, she was dressed as a pumpkin for Halloween.

In another, she was sitting cross-legged in front of a Christmas tree.

The rest didn’t appear to be taken for any specific holiday.

A few showed Hailey in tutu and slippers.

In every instance it was the same pale-pink dress that looked like the one she was found in, with a mesh sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves.

Jean stepped up behind Amanda and picked up a frame. “This one was taken before her performance in The Nutcracker last year.”

“She’s beautiful,” Amanda said, turning to face the woman.

Her mind repeated Donnelly’s words from the crime scene.

A child star… Amanda would inquire more about the show later, but it took place months ago.

Was it even connected? But something else needed to be attended to first. It soothed her little that she wouldn’t be the one delivering the news.

She’d still be present to witness the Tanners’ hearts being broken.

She left Jean and sat on the couch as Vincent Tanner entered the room. He was a striking man with blond hair and silver eyes. He was five or more years older than his wife, but neither of them looked over forty.

Jean returned the frame to the table and sat on a vacant chair near her husband. Both Tanners looked at McGee.

McGee straightened his tie and cleared his throat. “As I told your wife, Mr.Tanner, these are fellow detectives with the Prince William County PD. Meet Detectives Steele, and Stenson.” He gestured toward each of them.

Vincent let his gaze linger on them. Then he stiffened. Like his wife, he must have sensed their presence meant nothing good.

“We’re here because we have some news about Hailey,” McGee began, and Jean gasped out.

Vincent became still, making it hard to tell if he was breathing.

McGee continued. “Unfortunately, her body was found this morning in Heroes Memorial Park.”

“No, no, no…” Jean was sobbing and shaking her head.

The pain emanating from her was alive, as if an entity of its own.

“We’re very sorry for your loss,” Amanda said, her empathy for them getting the best of her.

But she’d been on the receiving end of such news before.

Her husband and six-year-old daughter, Lindsey, had been taken from her.

Not murdered, a car accident caused by a drunk driver, but gone, nonetheless.

Same too for her unborn son and her ability to have children.

“What happened to her? Who did this?” Vincent’s body language was stiff, and his voice raw, as he assumed a strong front.

“Wait,” Jean intercepted, leveling a look at Amanda and Trent. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? What unit are you with?”

“Homicide, ma’am.” Trent told her.

“I guess it makes sense. You said she was found, but…” She shut her mouth and stared blankly across the room.

Being here to witness this couple’s worst nightmare come to life burrowed an ache in Amanda’s chest. As of this moment, all hope for Hailey’s safe return had evaporated.

“Please tell us how she…” Vincent’s voice petered out, but then he tagged on, “You said she was found in Heroes Memorial Park?”

McGee sat back and gestured toward Amanda.

Now, he passes the baton… “We don’t have a lot of answers yet, but I assure you we will be working hard to get them.”

“Did she… ah… suffer?” Jean hiccupped a sob.

“An autopsy will be conducted today, and we’ll know more then.” Amanda delivered that in an even tone, even as it drained energy from her soul. She’d do well to step back and detach, or this case would devour her sanity.

Jean touched her throat, and tears beaded in her eyes but didn’t fall. She had retreated behind a protective layer of shock.

“We have some questions for you that might help us figure out who killed her.” Trent put this as delicately as velvet, but Jean’s mouth still opened in a silent sob.

Vincent glanced at McGee, then at Trent.

“I don’t know what else we could say that we didn’t already tell Detective McGee.

We can’t think of anyone who would have taken Hailey, let alone…

” He paused there, but resumed speaking a few seconds later.

“She was a happy kid, loved ballet, and being active.”

“We can’t imagine what you’re going through right now.

” Though Amanda had an idea. But this wasn’t about her.

It was about the Tanners and their loss.

Learning about Hailey was useful, and Vincent’s offering teed up something Amanda wanted to discuss further.

“Mrs.Tanner, you said that Hailey was in The Nutcracker last year?”

“That’s right. Two weeks before Christmas she played the Sugar Plum Fairy, and she did a marvelous job.

She outshone her classmates, but she is quite an advanced dancer for her age.

” Talking about her daughter in this sense seemed to have resurrected her spirits and shoved her grief aside, although Amanda noted the use of the present tense.

“Where did the show take place?” As she thought at the crime scene, it might have been Hailey’s star quality that attracted her abductor and killer.

Detective McGee had exhausted leads closer to the family.

A stranger may have initially latched on to Hailey at the show.

The similarity in the tutus a mere coincidence.

“At her elementary school,” Vincent said and provided its name. “Most of Hailey’s classmates danced around the stage without training. It was rather comedic.” Despite his words, his expression was pinched with sadness.

“Were tickets limited to the families of the kids who attend there?” Amanda asked, but she had this horrible feeling rising in her gut.

Jean shook her head. “It was open to the public. The event was used as an opportunity to raise money for the school.”

Meaning anyone could go… But that was five months ago. “Was Hailey in other shows or competitions more recently?”

“No more shows, and we don’t let her compete,” Jean said. “Vince and I don’t want her around the negativity of competition and comparison.”

So had Hailey’s killer been in the background, stalking her, for months?