Chapter 2
TWO
Amanda set out the bowls of cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, bacon pieces, and pineapple on the counter just as the timer on the oven beeped.
She put on mitts and removed the crust. Precooking it was something she did to avoid it coming out with a soggy bottom.
She preferred it crispy by the time it was ready to eat.
She set it on the counter on top of a trivet and called out, “Time for toppings.” It was Pizza Tuesday, what other people in North America coined Taco Tuesday, but Amanda wasn’t one for conformity.
Zoe, her ten-year-old, came bounding into the kitchen. “Yesssss.”
“You sound like a snake, hisssss,” Amanda teased, and Zoe rolled her eyes.
It was one thing to accept Zoe was “too old” to be read to sleep, but now she was acting like a teenager with her eye rolls and headshaking.
Both of which were becoming more common by the day.
Amanda remembered taking some attitude with her mother at Zoe’s age, but that was a long time ago.
Longer than Amanda cared to admit, especially after turning forty this year. How the hell did that happen so fast?
Zoe climbed up on a stool at the peninsula to reach everything.
“Remember the pan is hot,” Amanda cautioned her as she brushed on some tomato sauce.
“I know. You tell me every week.” Zoe grabbed a palmful of cheese and sprinkled it over the dough. Or her version of sprinkle. Much of it landed in globs.
Amanda followed and laid out slices of pepperoni. When Zoe finished with the cheese, meaning the bowl was empty, she doled out pieces of bacon. Amanda picked up the mushrooms, and Zoe shook her head and pulled a face.
“I thought you liked mushrooms,” Amanda said.
“Not today.”
“Okay. What about pineapple?”
Zoe nodded.
“Here.” Amanda held the bowl toward the girl, and she distributed some and wiped her hands together.
“Ick. Now they’re sticky.”
Amanda set the bowl back on the counter and handed Zoe a damp cloth for her hands.
“That’s better.” Zoe got off the stool and returned to the living room to resume watching The Baby-Sitters Club.
Amanda limited Zoe’s TV viewing but didn’t think a bit before dinner hurt.
As it was, they were running behind tonight, so the schedule was messed up.
She’d encourage Zoe to play outside after eating.
Though eating out there would be nice too.
It was a pleasant evening—not too hot and humid like the start of the summer had been.
She put the pizza in the oven, set the timer, and stepped through the slider doors off the kitchen to the patio with a damp cloth. As she wiped down the table and chairs, it didn’t seem long before the oven timer beeped.
Amanda returned inside and found Zoe in the kitchen. Poor girl was starving waiting until seven to eat. It didn’t help that the pizza smelled heavenly. When she took it out, it looked heavenly too. The cheese was bubbling and golden like the crust.
“I want a huge piece,” Zoe said.
“You’ll get it in a minute. You know the drill. It needs to cool for a beat.”
Zoe’s shoulders sagged. “Oh, just once.”
“You’ll be eating in no time, and I thought we could eat outside.”
“Sure.”
“How is school going, kiddo?” It was the second day back in a new school year, and yesterday Zoe had parted with one adjective.
Good… Amanda tried to get her to open up, but it was like trying to pry a lid on a can without the proper tool.
Amanda could get confessions from killers as a homicide detective with the Prince William County PD more easily.
Zoe shrugged. “It’s all right.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s just that Mr. Archer never came back.”
Amanda knew he was due to be Zoe’s teacher this year, but she hadn’t received notice from the school that another person would be stepping up in his place. “He’s probably just sick.”
“I don’t think so. No one seems to know where he is.”
The back of her neck stiffened. Amanda’s life experience wired her to see horror in any situation, even benign ones. “I’m sure he’ll turn up tomorrow.” She smiled to set her daughter at ease.
Zoe shook her head. “You can’t know that. Sometimes things happen.”
The sentiment caused Amanda’s heart to pinch.
This little girl had been through more trauma than most adults.
Her birth parents were murdered in front of her when she was six years old.
It was a miracle the girl was even sane.
In the aftermath, she was quiet with most people, but there was an instant bond between her and Amanda.
“I can understand why you might be worried about him, but it’s best you don’t let your imagination get carried away. It’s only been a couple of days.”
“I hope you’re right. Everyone says he’s an awesome teacher, and I was looking forward to being in his class.”
“Which I’m sure you still will be.”
Amanda cut up the pizza, and they took their slices to the patio with a soda.
After they ate, they tidied up together, then Zoe played on the equipment Amanda’s late husband had put together for their daughter, Lindsey.
It was crazy to think they had died eleven years ago.
Time swelled and constricted with the ebb and flow of grief and the highs and lows of life.
Amanda sat at the table and watched Zoe while enjoying a glass of cold water. It was the picture of a perfect evening. The sky was clear, and a gentle breeze was on offer. It was such a rare occasion when they had these still moments.
Her phone rang, breaking the spell. Officer Traci Cochran’s name was on her screen, and Amanda answered.
“It’s Officer Cochran.”
“Traci, I saw you on caller ID. What is it?” Zoe flew down the slide with her arms raised overhead, smiling like a little goon. Yep, perfect moment meet combustion… Call it a very strong feeling.
“I know I should call the sergeant who’s on call but…”
The sergeants with the PWCPD were on a rotating schedule for being on call for new cases after hours.
Same too for detectives with Homicide. Tonight, she and her partner, Trent Stenson, weren’t on the schedule.
Neither was Sergeant Scott Malone, who was their immediate superior. “Just tell me what it is.”
Traci filled her in about an abandoned car in the Potomac Mills parking lot and the purse and phone left in the front console.
She added, “I sent an officer over to the family’s house.
No vehicles in the driveway. No one answers the door.
The phones for the husband and teenage girl ring straight to voicemail.
While the boy’s rings, there’s no answer.
The next-door neighbor says they haven’t seen any of the family in a few days.
There haven’t been any missing person reports filed for any of them.
You ask me, Amanda, this is a high-risk situation. ”
High probability of injury or death… In such cases, it also made sense why Traci called Amanda in Homicide and not Missing Persons. “Where’s the Charger now?”
“Still here at Potomac Mills. I’ve called your brother’s garage to tow it to a secure lot under evidence hold, but they haven’t gotten here yet. I was told it could be a couple of hours before they get out here.”
Mack’s Garage, managed by Amanda’s brother Kyle, was on contract with the PWCPD. To have it marked as evidence hold, it was to be left preserved for crime scene investigators to process. “Okay, I’ll get someone to come over to be with Zoe, and I’ll meet you at the mall within the hour.”
“See you then.”
Amanda could just leave it alone for now, get more information on scene, but she had this burning sensation in her gut. “Oh, Traci, just before you go, what’s the family’s name?”
“Archer. Valerie is the mother; Paul, the father; and the teens are Brooke and Landon.”
A chill spread over Amanda’s shoulders. “Uh, the husband, Paul, do you know what he does?”
“He’s an elementary schoolteacher.”
Not just any teacher, Zoe’s…
A few seconds, then Traci prompted, “Amanda? You heard me?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know him?”
“Not exactly. I’ll see you soon.”
Traci ended the call, but Amanda kept a hold on her phone. It seemed Zoe was right to be worried about her teacher’s welfare, but if something bad had happened to him, how was she ever going to break that to Zoe?