Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
Brooke Archer attended Woodbridge High School, and Amanda and Trent assumed that’s where her best friends went too. Their instinct was rewarded when the principal told them he’d have both Sadie Robinson and Charlotte Brady summoned from their first-period class.
“You can speak with them in here.” Paula, the school’s receptionist, led them to an office and told them to go inside.
“Melinda Horne, the guidance counselor here, will be joining you shortly. This is her office. Since Sadie and Charlotte are minors, school policy requires a staff member be present in cases like this.”
That being when police show up wanting to talk with students, which hopefully doesn’t happen often… “Yes, of course. Thank you.” Amanda entered first, with Trent following.
There was a desk tucked away in a corner, but the rest of the room had the relaxed feeling of a living room. Couch, chair, and end tables. It resembled the soft interview room back at the station where they spoke to victims or their family members.
Amanda and Trent sat on opposite ends of the couch.
“I’ll notify Ms. Horne that you’re here,” Paula said, turning to leave. Just as she cleared the doorway, she spoke to someone. Amanda couldn’t make out what was being said.
Soon after, a pretty woman joined her and Trent. Late forties, there was also something elegant about her demeanor. Her intense hazel eyes studied Amanda and Trent. “I’m Melinda Horne, school counselor, and you are?”
“Detectives Amanda Steele and Trent Stenson.”
Melinda dropped into an armchair. “I understand you wish to speak with Sadie Robinson and Charlotte Brady. Could you tell me what this is about before they get here?”
Amanda hesitated to respond, and glanced at the door. She didn’t want to be in the middle of explaining when the girls showed up.
“I’ve asked that Paula have the girls wait near her desk until I come get them.” Melinda crossed her legs and entwined her long, slender fingers.
Some mind reader… “We understand the girls are close friends with Brooke Archer.” Amanda stopped speaking to gauge the counselor’s reaction.
Considering the blank look to her face, she wasn’t aware of Brooke’s absence, but Amanda tested her observation.
“You may know Brooke hasn’t shown up yet this school year. ”
Melinda shook her head, and her eyes widened slightly. “Has something happened to her?”
Trent pulled out his tablet and said, “Brooke and her mother were abducted on Saturday afternoon from Potomac Mills mall.”
The news moved over Melinda’s face like a stormfront does over the sky. Every feature darkened, but she remained silent.
“We can appreciate this is startling news, but we’re afraid it gets worse.” Amanda paused when Melinda’s face pinched. “Brooke’s father was also abducted, but his body was found yesterday morning.”
“Oh, dear God.” For the words, Melinda dispensed with them in a calm and collected manner. “May I ask, what do you hope to achieve by speaking with Sadie and Charlotte?”
“They were with Brooke in the moments before she was taken. We’d like to ask them about Brooke’s state of mind, or what she might have said to them. Something they might have noticed. Anything that might help us find her and her mother,” Amanda laid out.
“Which I can understand, but you don’t think they’re somehow wrapped up in this?” Horror at the idea blanched the woman’s face.
Amanda held up a hand and shook her head. “Not at all. We just want to talk to them.”
“I see.” Melinda unclasped her hands and ran them down the front of her thighs, flattening the material of her pants. “Thank you for filling me in. It’s giving me some time to assimilate everything before the girls arrive.”
“You’re very welcome.” Amanda offered Melinda a gentle smile.
“I’ll go see if they’re here.” Melinda alighted from her chair with the grace of a ballerina.
A few minutes later, Melinda returned with two girls, who until now, Amanda had only seen in photographs. Amanda and Trent both stood to greet them.
Melinda introduced them. “Sadie and Charlotte, these are police detectives with the Prince William County PD. Amanda Steele and Trent Stenson.”
Sadie’s stunning blue eyes reminded Amanda of Zoe’s. Charlotte’s were a dark chocolate. Both of them were looking at Amanda and Trent, their bodies shrunk with timidity and uncertainty.
“Hello, girls,” Amanda told them. “Neither of you are in any trouble. We just have a few questions about your friend Brooke.”
“Brooke?” Sadie’s blinking slowed down. “Where is she? Is she okay?”
“Yeah, it’s not like her to ghost us,” Charlotte said.
Sadie pitched in with, “She hasn’t shown up to school this year, which makes no sense because she’s a nerd, and I say that in the most loving way possible. She gets amazing grades and plans to be a doctor.”
“The detectives will answer your questions,” Melinda said closing the door, enclosing the five of them inside. “Both of you can take a seat.”
The girls sat next to each other on the couch. Amanda returned to the end where she was before, and Trent sat on an armchair.
“We were hoping you could help us.” Amanda decided starting with that would give the girls a sense of power. Something those facing uncertainty craved the most.
“Ah, sure,” Charlotte said. “But with what?”
“We have some unfortunate news about Brooke and her family,” Amanda said.
“She’s not okay, is she?” Sadie’s face dropped, and Charlotte reached for her hand.
Just be honest with her… Amanda’s mother’s words resurfaced. “Not exactly. Brooke, her mother, and her father were abducted Saturday afternoon.”
Sadie shook her head and sniffled. “I knew something was wrong. I tried to tell you, Lottie. She’d never just ignore us.”
Charlotte looked at Amanda. “We tried going by her house too. There was no answer.”
“When was that?” Trent asked.
“Monday after she didn’t show up for school.”
Before it had a police presence…
“We figured she must have still been sick,” Charlotte said.
“She was sick?” Amanda volleyed back.
“That’s what she told us on Saturday before she left us at the mall.”
“Was that the last time you saw her?” Amanda relaxed her posture, taking a conversational approach to set the girls more at ease. Allowing them to tell her what she already knew would let them feel helpful.
“Uh-huh. Around three o’clock?” Sadie looked at her friend.
Charlotte nodded. “Something like that.”
“What was her mood like before she left?” Amanda asked.
“She was acting strange,” Charlotte said.
“I found it more odd that she didn’t join our group chat Saturday night, sick or not,” Sadie put in. “We text every night, sometimes until two or three in the morning.”
Was late-night texting something Amanda could expect to curb Zoe of when she became a teenager? She could prohibit her from having a cell phone, try to convince her she never had one at her age… Not that she imagined that going over well. “Which is why you checked on her Monday night?”
“That’s right,” Sadie said.
“Did either of you mention your concern to your parents?” Amanda could assume they hadn’t because of no missing person reports, but that wasn’t a guarantee. Teenagers weren’t exactly in the habit of confiding in Mom and Dad either.
Both teens shook their heads.
“When you were at the mall with Brooke, did either of you see anyone following you or watching from a distance?” Amanda asked.
The teens looked at each other. “That woman,” they said in unison.
“What woman?” he asked. “Could you describe her?”
“She was about as tall as you.” Sadie nudged her head toward Amanda.
Five-nine… Tall for a woman.
Sadie carried on. “She had straight blond hair, but it looked too perfect, ya know.”
“A wig?” Trent held his finger over his tablet.
Charlotte shrugged. “It could have been.”
It must have been cheaply made to stand out… “Was she wearing a black hoodie?” Not that the height matched the woman from the video.
Sadie made a face. “No, but she’s been around before.”
“Not just on Saturday?” Trent asked.
Sadie shook her head again. “She’s popped up a couple of times. Brooke tried to talk to her once, but before she could get to her, the woman just evaporated. Like she was a ghost or something.”
Goosebumps spread down Amanda’s arms. Who was this other woman, and why was she stalking Brooke?