she say where he lived?’ said Ren.
‘No,’ said Ingrid.
‘But you thought she had met up with him in Chicago?’ said Janine.
‘No, no – I thought that maybe he could have known her friend, or followed Laura … or waited with the friend if he had heard Laura was going to visit. I’ve had all day to think these things … but nothing came close to the reality.’
‘Does the father of the baby know that she’s pregnant?’ said Janine.
‘I don’t know,’ said Ingrid.
‘When did Laura tell you she was pregnant?’ said Ren.
‘About six weeks ago,’ said Ingrid.
‘And did she plan to continue to work for you?’ said Janine.
‘Absolutely,’ said Ingrid. ‘Obviously she would be taking some time off, but …’ Her voice cracked and she began to cry again. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘I just can’t believe this is happening. The baby, everything, it’s just so sad. Laura’s had a tough time, she was a strong person to come through that, and this is what happens? It’s so wrong.’
‘I know,’ said Ren. ‘So, Laura’s baby was due in September …’
‘Yes,’ said Ingrid.
‘And what was the plan in terms of work?’ said Ren.
‘Well – we summer in the Hamptons,’ said Ingrid.
Summer is not a verb.
‘We were happy to hire staff there,’ said Ingrid, ‘and Laura would be back to work when she was ready. This might not sound orthodox, but, as I said, we’re like family.’
‘And, speaking of family,’ said Janine, ‘do you have details of Laura’s?’
‘That’s another tragic story,’ said Ingrid. ‘Her parents both passed away in Ireland within a few years of each other. Laura was still in college at the time. Laura’s sister, Saoirse, had already moved to New York and Laura followed her over. Within months of Laura arriving, her sister died.’
‘How?’ said Ren.
‘She was out … partying,’ said Ingrid. ‘It was Laura’s twenty-first. Saoirse fell down some stairs at a bar. She’d been drinking. It was just a freak thing.’
‘That’s a lot for Laura to have gone through for such a young woman,’ said Ren. ‘What kind of support did she have?’
‘Well, me,’ said Ingrid. ‘And some friends, but not many. She was a sweet, shy kind of girl.’
‘And where did she hang out in New York?’ said Ren.
‘Different Irish bars,’ said Ingrid. ‘I don’t know which ones. You might find out more on Facebook … I presume you’ll be checking that? But she really hadn’t gone out much in the past few months. She said she just didn’t feel like it. We’d stay in and watch TV, watch movies – if Robert was working late or traveling or out at a function that I wasn’t attending.’
‘Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to harm Laura?’
‘No … but do you not think this was random?’ said Ingrid.
‘We don’t know yet,’ said Ren.
‘Mrs Prince,’ said Janine, ‘Laura had a return ticket from Denver to Chicago, but she chose to drive a rental car back.’
‘What?’ said Ingrid. ‘I have no idea why she would do that. That’s a long drive … especially if you’re pregnant.’
‘Did you speak with her over the weekend?’ said Janine.
‘She just called me on Thursday night from Chicago to say that she had arrived safely,’ said Ingrid. ‘And she said she’d see me Sunday. Last night …’
‘Were you to pick her up at the airport?’ said Ren.
‘No,’ said Ingrid. ‘She was going to get a cab home.’
‘What time was she due back?’ said Ren.
‘I was expecting her around ten,’ said Ingrid. ‘But I had gone to bed. I was exhausted. I didn’t notice she hadn’t returned until this morning.’
‘And where was your husband?’ said Ren.
‘Robert’s been in New York for the past five days,’ said Ingrid. ‘He travels back and forth. I spoke with him last night, he asked about Laura. I said … she was late, but I was sure she was fine …’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘No need to apologize,’ said Janine. ‘Mrs Prince, can you tell us how long you’ve been staying in Golden?’
‘Since November,’ said Ingrid. ‘We were kind of using it as a base for ski season. Loveland is the closest resort to Denver, Golden’s halfway between the two …’
‘And now it’s May,’ said Ren. ‘You decided to stay on …’
Ingrid nodded. ‘I love it here, so does Laura … did Laura. Robert is getting busier and busier …’
‘Mrs Prince, was there anything unusual in Laura’s behavior recently?’ said Ren.
Ingrid took a while to answer. ‘No … I’m trying really hard to think. No. She was a little upset about her friend’s mother …’
‘What friend?’
‘The friend she went to visit in Chicago. Nessa Lally. She was from the same town in Waterford. You might find her on Laura’s Facebook … The trip was last minute. Nessa’s mother died back in Ireland, but Nessa’s illegal, so she couldn’t risk flying back for the funeral. Laura said she was devastated. Oh God, you’re not going to report the girl to immigration or anything, are you?’
‘No,’ said Ren. ‘We just need to speak with her, find out some more about their trip and why Laura didn’t fly back to Denver. Were there any problems at work, Mrs Prince – anything you can think of that might have made Laura reluctant to come back?’
‘To us? No, not at all,’ said Ingrid, ‘like I said, we were like family. We were very close, and Robert was like a father to her.’
‘The trip and the shooting might not be connected,’ said Janine. ‘We just need to get a sense of Laura, what might have been going on in her life.’
‘So on the day before she left,’ said Ren, ‘did anything happen out of the ordinary?’
‘No,’ said Ingrid. ‘Not that I can think of. She was quiet, but she had just heard about Nessa’s mother that morning – Wednesday. We were just watching TV that night, hanging out … and now … now she’s gone.’
Ren
