Hes sixteen, said Dale. Joshua.
And who is the Jonathan you mentioned? said Gary, turning to Cathy.
Jonathan Meester, she said. Hes a friend of ours.
The Meester in MeesterBrandt? said Gary.
Cathy nodded. Yes. She paused. Jonathan and Mark are college friends, but Jonathan stayed close to both of us after the split. Hes Lauries godfather.
Is he still at your house with Joshua? said Gary.
Yes, said Dale.
He was kind enough to stay, said Cathy.
Gary nodded. Excuse me for one moment. He walked over to Bob and Ren.
Bob, how you doing? said Gary.
Good, said Bob, shaking his hand. Good to see you again. How are-
Can we get someone to take the Merritts to a room? said Gary.
Bob nodded.
Ive called in a CARD team, said Gary. Our Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team. Weve got four members en route from Denver right now. Theyll be here within the hour. Theyll coordinate the search. We expect to do that first thing in the morning.
Bob nodded.
Ive called in a CARD team, said Gary. Our Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team. Weve got four members en route from Denver right now. Theyll be here within the hour. Theyll coordinate the search. We expect to do that first thing in the morning.
Bob nodded again.
Are we taking over the same room as the last time? said Gary.
Yes, said Bob.
Thats great, thank you, said Gary, already walking past, and down the familiar hallway to the room that they would all squeeze in to for as long as it took.
Ren leaned in to Bob. Gary has a form of Tourettes. Its, like, the involuntary vocalization of what he is going to do in an investigation. She paused. All anyone else needs to do is not to succumb to regular Tourettes in response
I hear you, said Bob.
Consider this an apology on his behalf.
No need, said Bob. Gary is well, hes a Fed
Textbook, said Ren.
Youre more Facebook.
I dont know where youre going with that, said Ren.
Nowhere, it just sounded kind of catchy. What next?
Im going to read through more of the guests statements, and then Id like to talk to the stepmother. We can all go to the hotel, then back here for the press conference.
Bob raised an eyebrow. That Tourettes is catching
Ren followed Bob into the small interview room where Erica Whaley had been taken. The furniture was the result of checks in boxes on the order forms of an office supply catalog. A long fluorescent strip light glared down on the cheap glossy veneer of the oval table. There was a strong smell of alcohol in the air. A young female detective stood up and left the room when Bob gave her the nod.
Erica Whaley sat at the end of the table with a glass of water in front of her. She was dressed in a heavy silk silver halter-neck that crossed over just under the neck. Ren could see gray pants legs and silver sandals. Her blonde hair was pinned up, but had fallen loose around her face. Her cheeks were red, the foundation washed away with tears and rubbed away with Kleenex, her mascara smudged under her eyes.
She looked up, blinking with panic then hope. Ren had seen the reaction a thousand times, when a door opening took on an unimaginable significance.
You thought your night would end so differently.
Ren reached out her hand. Im Ren Bryce, Im with the FBI; the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force in Denver. Well be working alongside the Sheriffs Department on this.
Thank God, said Erica, standing up, shaking Rens hand. She glanced at Bob. I didnt mean that the Sheriffs Office isnt She trailed off.
The Sheriffs Office knows Breckenridge and the surrounding area inside out, said Ren. As you know, their officers are already out there looking for your daughter. My colleagues from Denver will be processing the scene, seeing if we can get any information from that, interviewing staff members and guests, looking at CCTV footage, well canvass the town, carry out road-side canvasses. And Sheriff Gage here has already emailed Lauries photo to every law enforcement agency in the country, and to the media.
Erica nodded at almost every word.
OK OK thank you, she said.
Lets sit down, Mrs Whaley. Ive read through the statement you gave to Undersheriff Delaney. Id just like you to go through everything with me again.
I mean, its a regular thing to do, going to a hotel, getting a sitter, you just dont think twice, said Erica. Its a four-star resort, you dont question it, which seems ridiculous now. We were only downstairs, like my husband said. Its kind of like being at home, isnt it? You leave your kids upstairs when youre at home, dont you? Its all the one building, a hotel at least has security, or should have had security. Now, of course, Im thinking how many people work at the hotel?, sure I guess most of them are good people, but who are all these people? Are they pedophiles, druggies, wife beaters? Are they psychopaths? Are their jobs just nothing to them, just what they do to make money to pay for child porn? Is the owner of this place a do-gooder, savior of mankind who employs ex-cons, or-? What if theres a guy who never touched a child, but suddenly decides, well, hell, Ill take these girls, I get caught, I get caught, Ill go out on a high, Ill give in to my sick fantasies
She didnt draw breath. She didnt pause. It was as if someone had popped the latch on the part of her brain that held her worst fears, and out jumped the demons
12
Rens heart-rate shot up as she listened to Erica Whaley. She hadnt taken a breath herself.
Do not take on these emotions. Step away from the panic.
Mrs Whaley, if we talk through the evening, said Ren, well be able to see things more clearly.
The first we saw of the sitter was when she showed up at our room, said Erica.
OK, said Ren. And-
I cant believe it, said Erica. Its like, Hello, stranger, we know nothing about you. Here, why dont you look after the most precious things in the world to us, please take them, well see you in a few hours, while were living it up down in the restaurant.
How did-
I mean, these days stranger babysitters are just part of the hotels menu, right? Facials, massages, sitters
Mrs Whaley-
I think she took her, said Erica. I think she took her to order for some skanky druggie boyfriend she has, or for some desperate woman who cant have kids or She started shaking.
Mrs Whaley, said Ren. All over the world, parents leave their children with hotel babysitters.
Would you? said Erica. Do you have kids?
I dont have kids, said Ren, but I would have no problem leaving them with a hotel babysitter. And if you were listening very carefully, the word hotel cracked with the broken cadence of doubt.
Erica Whaley had been listening carefully.
Shit.
Erica Whaley started to cry.
Mrs Whaley, said Ren. Now is not the time to beat yourself up. Please dont turn this in on yourself-
I drank a whole bottle of champagne tonight, she said. I started on a second. I know what that probably looks like to you
Erica Whaley gave her version of events and it matched her husbands until it came to their time in the restaurant, when it turned hazy.
Mrs Whaley, a witness has said that you and your husband argued over dinner. The server saw. And he saw your tears when he delivered your champagne.
Her eyes went wide. Yes, she said. It was nothing. Just about his working hours. What woman doesnt complain about her husbands working hours?
So, your husband spends a lot of time at the office? said Ren.
Erica nodded. Yes then locked away in the den at home.
Can I confirm that you ordered the second bottle of champagne just before your husband left the table to check on the kids?
Yes, said Erica.
Yes, said Erica.
Did you argue about the second bottle? said Ren. Been there.
Im mortified, said Erica. I rarely drink. And the one night that I do No, Mark didnt mind, said Erica. He just reminded me about the championships tomorrow. He was just trying to spare me from a hangover.
OK, said Ren.
I feel like were sounding like a different couple to who we are, said Erica. That weve been caught at our worst or something. Fighting in a restaurant, drinking too much in my case
You were out for dinner. No-ones judging you, said Ren. How long do you think your husband was gone from the table?
Erica paused. Twenty minutes? Hold on, Ive got a text here. I texted my sister when he got back to the restaurant. She picked up her cell phone. That was at twelve fifteen.
Ren glanced down at her notes. The receipt for your second bottle of champagne says eleven thirty-five, said Ren. Your husband was gone forty minutes, Mrs Whaley.
Erica frowned. Why did I drink all that champagne, Im so fuzzy my timing always gets a little skewed
Yet your sober husband said twenty minutes too.
May I look at your phone, please? said Ren.
Erica handed it over. Ren scrolled back through Ericas texts. The previous one to her sister read:
Asked him, finally. Denied it. Hmm.
Erica blushed.
The text to your sister, said Ren. What had you asked your husband?
I didnt really think he was, but I I just asked him if he was having an affair.
What made you think that? said Ren.
I jumped to conclusions, said Erica. Because of the whole working late thing its a cliche, I know but She shrugged. To be honest, its probably just me being paranoid.
And from your text, you say he denied it.
Yes, said Erica.
But, you write Hmm
I was tipsy, said Erica. She shrugged. If youre asking me right now? I do believe him. Of course I do. I get a little dramatic. Hes right. Hes got a lot of work on. Making him sound like hes sneaking around behind my back sounds terrible right now.
You bet.
What was your husbands demeanor when he returned from checking on the kids? said Ren.
Erica frowned. Fine why?
Was there anything in his behavior that caused you concern? said Ren.
No not at all.
What did he say? said Ren.
He said that the kids were sleeping, and that the sitter was watching television. Are you putting out an Amber Alert?
Were not in a position to do that, said Ren, we dont have enough information to release. We dont know what happened to Laurie. We dont have a description of an abductor, we dont have a vehicle description-
But you have a photo of Laurie! said Erica. Taken tonight! And Im sure you have a photo of the sitter. She could be the perpetrator here