kindly to being questioned. “It’s all circumstantial. Keeping her here won’t help us find the girl.”
Mark drew in a deep breath, trying to pace his thoughts and remain respectful. “What are you thinking?”
The captain continued to stare at Laney, his eyes narrowing with thought. He was calculating something, Mark realized. But what?
“I want you to keep an eye on her, stick by her side,” he finally said. “Hopefully she’ll slip up and lead us right to Sarah.”
“Did you check the records? Did Sol call her?” Many times in situations like these, the parents were the first suspect. Even though Sol’s coworkers had verified he’d been at work all day, the detectives still needed to follow up.
“We confirmed he called her house phone.”
“Her house phone? She said she was out walking. Why didn’t he call her cell?”
“He claims he couldn’t find the number. Anyway, we’re going to focus on Laney in this case. There’s more evidence against her.”
Mark didn’t like the way this was playing out. Though he was reserving his judgment on Laney’s guilt, everything was pointing to her. Still, he had to follow the evidence. The team had just finished up at her house, but processing everything would take longer.
However, he’d been pressing her hard for answers. She hadn’t once asked for a lawyer. She hadn’t broken under the pressure.
That took a lot of strength.
Mark shifted, grateful he could speak openly to his captain. “What if she’s not guilty, Captain?”
He raised a shaggy eyebrow. “Everything is pointing to the fact that she is guilty. The text message. The money. An eyewitness. If you weren’t able to break her, I doubt she’s going to at all.”
Mark wasn’t ready to let this drop. “Maybe she didn’t break because she’s innocent. She has no motive.”
The captain’s jaw flexed. “Her motive is there. Maybe it’s buried down deep. But it’s there. We’re going to figure out what it is. Drive her home. See what you can get out of her. Play the good cop for once. See if she’ll open up.”
The problem was that Mark wasn’t one for being fake. But he knew better than to argue with the captain. He nodded instead. “Yes, sir.”
As he walked back toward the interrogation room, his shoulders felt heavier. Feeling even more brisk than before, he threw the door open and charged into the room. Laney jerked her head up from where it had been buried in her hands. Her eyes were red rimmed, as if she’d been crying. He inwardly flinched at the despair on her face.
“You’re free to go,” he announced.
Laney blinked. “What?”
“You heard me. You’re free to go.”
She stared at him a moment before quickly standing, almost as if she feared he’d change his mind. “Okay, then.”
“I’ll drive you home,” Mark said.
“That won’t be necessary. I can—”
“I insist,” Mark said. “It’s for your safety.”
“My safety?” She blinked again. “You think I’m in danger?”
“People don’t take kindly to child abductors. We need to take every precaution possible.”
She stared at him another moment before nodding. “I see. That’s fine, then.”
Mark escorted her outside and into his car. Awkward tension crackled between them as he started down the road. Laney crossed her arms and stared out the window. She was obviously uncomfortable. So was he, for that matter. But he would do whatever it took to find the missing girl.
Rush hour traffic was in full swing, and the sun was already sinking low enough to cause a blinding winter glare as he headed west.
What if Laney was innocent? Allegations like these could turn her life upside down in a way that was hard to recover from.
Then he remembered the text message. He couldn’t overlook that.
“Tell me again what you do for a living, Ms. Ryan.”
She continued to stare out the window. “I work for a company called CybCorp.”
“What exactly do you do for them?” They’d been over some of that already, but it seemed like a safer—friendlier—conversation than bringing up Sarah again.
Build trust. That was what he needed to do if he wanted to find answers. He’d had the opportunity to do that very thing with the man who’d killed his sister. If he could go back, he would go through whatever means necessary to make the man open up. Maybe Lauren would still be alive if he’d tried a little harder, if he’d pressed a little deeper, if he hadn’t given people the benefit of the doubt. He hadn’t been a cop back then, but he’d been in contact with the perp all along; he just hadn’t realized it.
“I’m a programmer. CybCorp handles security for various businesses throughout the country. They’re a smaller company, but they’re reputable and they allow me to work from home.”
“Must get lonely working at home.”
She cut a sharp glance his way. “Let me guess—you’re trying to trap me into confessing I abducted Sarah because I was lonely.”
He shook his head. He actually hadn’t been. He’d just tried to imagine what it would be like being single and also working alone. “I was just making conversation.”
Her shoulders slumped slightly. “I like solitude, believe it or not.”
“You said earlier that you’re not married.” He already knew the answer, but he needed to develop some rapport with her. He’d read the police report—these details didn’t appear relevant to the current investigation but were essential for putting together a psychological profile of Laney.
Laney frowned, staring out the window and rubbing her hands together. “No, I’m not. Not anymore. I’m widowed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sure you are.” Her shoulders slumped even more, as if the burdens she carried overwhelmed her. “Sorry. You didn’t deserve that one.”
“What happened?” He kept his words soft and light.
“He survived Afghanistan, only to be killed by a home intruder here in the States. He’d only been home for three weeks when it happened.” Her voice cracked and she finished with a deep gulp of air.
“I can’t imagine. How long ago did that happen?”
A new somberness washed over her. “Three years. I was down in Norfolk at the time. I decided to get a fresh start here in Richmond afterward. There were too many memories down there. I had to get away.”
“Makes
