“Detective Jake Quay. He’s handling the investigation.”
“Are you involved in it?”
“Right now, only peripherally. That may change as the cases progress.” Decker looked at his watch. “What’s taking so long?”
“Perhaps you don’t realize this, but a situation like this has to be approached delicately.”
Decker didn’t comment. Instead, he said, “No matter what Dr. Forrester tells us, the police will need to talk to the parents. Even if Kathrine is home and safe, she might know something about Bertram. And there’s always the possibility that they received a ransom note that says don’t involve the police.”
The phone rang. Lewis picked it up. “Yes?” Slowly, his complexion lost color. “Yes, I see . . . hold on. I’ll put you on speaker again.” To Decker: “Kathrine is not at home. Her parents are now in a panic.” Lewis pressed the phone button. “Go ahead, Dr. Forrester.” The speaker announced, “Are you there, Detective Decker?”
“I’m here.”
“This is a horrendous situation. What do I do next?”
“The Mangrove police need to be notified. That is where she was last seen. Where do Kathrine’s parents live?”
“In Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Do you know where that is?”
“I know it’s in the Berkshires. I’ll call them up as soon as I’m off the phone with you. I need a number and an address.”
Forrester recited the information. “It’s all my fault. I should have verified.”
Yes, you should have. “Did you see Kathrine leave?”
“Yes. And when the car pulled up, Kathrine hopped right in. She definitely knew the driver.”
“Dr. Forrester, do you have any kind of CCTV at the front entrance?”
“We have a camera at the doorway. I don’t know about the driveway. I’ll find out right away.”
“Leave the CCTV to the police, but tell them about it. In the meantime, what can you tell me about the car?”
“I’m sorry.” She sounded deflated. “It was white or maybe light silver. That’s about all I can tell you. I’m not a car person.”
Lewis said, “Elsie Schulung’s car?”
Decker shushed him. “Was the car a sedan? A coupe? An SUV?”
“Not an SUV.”
“Compact? Subcompact?”
“I don’t know. The car wasn’t tiny.”
“Two or four doors?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you watch Kathrine get in the car?”
“Yes, I was standing right outside. I waved to her and she waved back. Nothing untoward at all. She got in and the car drove off.”
“Did she get in the front or back seat.”
“Uh . . . back.”
“Did she open the car door herself?”
“Yes, she did.” A beat. “It must have been a four-door.”
“Could you see how many people were in the car?”
“I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Was there a front-seat passenger? Why else would she get into the backseat?”
A pause. “I think there was someone in the front seat.”
“Man or woman?”
“I couldn’t tell you.”
“Young? Old?”
“Not a child . . . probably not a teenager if I’m remembering correctly. Honestly, I may be making this up. I’m not observant when it comes to those kinds of things.”
“And you talked to someone who told you she was Kathrine’s mother?”
“Yes.”
“What did the voice sound like?”
“A regular woman’s voice.”
“Any accent?”
Exasperation. “I don’t remember,” Renee said. “I think the parents are expecting a call from you.”
“It helps to have information first. You’re doing fine, Doctor.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. Let’s move on to contents. Someone told you that Kathrine was needed home for a family emergency.”
“Yes. It was a five-minute conversation, mostly me saying ‘I hope everything is okay’ and the woman saying ‘I’m sure it will be.’ Then I hung up and went to Kathrine’s room. I told her that . . .” She didn’t finish her sentence.
Decker said, “What?”
“There was a suitcase on her bed. I thought that was odd, since I hadn’t told her she was needed home yet. I figured her mother must have called her cellphone.” A pause. “I didn’t say anything. I was intent on getting her ready because the car was coming soon.”
“You think, in retrospect, that Kathrine was expecting this phone call?”
“I don’t know if she was expecting it, but at the time I thought it was odd. Her suitcase was on her bed—open.”
“Were there any clothes inside?”
“I’m pretty sure there was clothing.”
“Then she was already packing up?”
“A dresser drawer was open. She could have been packing.”
“All this helps,” Decker told her. “I’ll call Mangrove police, Dr. Forrester. As far as we are concerned, Kathrine is now a missing person.”
“Oh my God! I can’t believe this.”
“Her disappearance could have nothing to do with my missing person.”
“You don’t believe that, do you.”
“Right now, I’m just trying to get the lay of the land. In any case, I’ll coordinate with Mangrove.”
“Thank you. Will you be meeting with the parents?”
“Yes, probably tomorrow if they can make it early in the morning. Fridays are hard days for me.”
“Give me a time and I’ll try to be there. It’s over an hour away and I’ve got a busy schedule—”
“You don’t have to come, Dr. Forrester. But you should give them a call to find out how they’re doing.”
“Of course, I’ll call them.”
“And at some point, I’ll want to visit your facilities and look through Kathrine’s room.”
“When will that be?”
“Ideally, I’d like to cram everything in tomorrow. Where exactly are you located?”
“Mangrove is just below the Massachusetts line, slightly north of Salisbury,” Renee said. “Could you call me back after you’ve spoken to the police?”
“No problem,” Decker said. “And you’ll call the parents as well? I’m sure they’ll want to hear from you.”
“Yes, of course I’ll call.”
“Thank you.” A pause. “I’m sure you’re better at handling this kind of crisis anyway, being a psychologist and all.”
“Social psychologist,” she said. “I never had a great knack for clinical work. But I’ve got good executive functioning and I am a good administrator.” A pause, then a sigh. “Or so I thought.” Her words were followed by a click.
Decker decided to make his calls from the road, starting with the local police of Mangrove, Connecticut. He spoke to a detective sergeant named Michael Rand, explaining who he was and giving him the reason why he was calling, laying out the details as succinctly as he could. He finished up by saying, “I don’t know if the two cases are related, but my person disappeared two days ago and so did Kathrine Taylor. They were once a romantic item.”