“Yeah. Michael Purifoy. His son’s name is Jake. And he noted the time as 7:18. Hopefully he’ll call back soon.”
“For now, let’s call the two who signed the clipboard by the front office. Want to split them?”
“Let’s just do it together on Speaker,” Rena said.
A.L. matched the first name on the sheet to one on the list that Alice had provided. “Jasmine Opal,” he said. “She works at Wiseback Plumbing.” He dialed her cell. She answered on the first ring.
“Hello.”
“Is this Jasmine Opal?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice substantially cooler. Probably thought he was a telemarketer.
“This is Detective McKittridge from the Baywood Police Department. My partner, Detective Morgan, is also on the line.” Always better to be truthful if her statement ended up being important. “We have a few questions about Lakeside Learning Center.”
“My son isn’t in Emma’s class,” she said quickly, as if she thought that might be her get-out-of-jail-free card. Nobody really liked talking to the police.
“No worries,” he said. “What we’re interested in is your drop-off this morning. I am looking at a sign-in sheet that shows your signature at 7:52. Does that sound right?”
“Yes.”
“And where was that sign-in sheet when you signed it?” he asked.
“On the hook, by the office door, where it always is,” she said.
“And do you normally sign in there?” he asked.
“Well, no. I like to walk Nathan to his room. But I was running late. I saw Alice in the hall, she said that she was working in Nathan’s room, and I asked her if she could do me a big favor and walk Nathan down. I’ve already been late to work four times in the last three months. If I’m late again, I’m going to get another warning in my file. I cannot lose my job. It’s ridiculous, really. Like, what’s the big deal if I’m a few minutes late? I answer phones. Is the world going to end because somebody has to call back for their PVC pipe?”
A.L. rolled his eyes in Rena’s direction.
“Maybe,” she mouthed.
A.L. turned in his chair so that he couldn’t see her. “Do you recall, Ms. Opal, whether there were any other signatures on the form already?”
“No. I know that for sure because when I signed it, I remember thinking that there were no other losers who had to shuffle their child off at the door because they couldn’t get up in time.”
“Okay, then. We appreciate your time,” A.L. said.
“I really hope Emma is found. Every parent I’ve talked to is so nervous.”
“We’re doing our best,” A.L. said. “Goodbye.”
He looked back at Rena. “I’ll bet her boss is looking for a reason to fire her.”
“Perhaps. But she was pretty confident that she was the first signature.”
“At 7:52. Only way that could happen, if Elaine Broadstreet really did sign in around 7:15, is that somebody took that sheet and replaced it with a fresh one,” A.L. said.
Rena stared at him. “I don’t think Emma Whitman thought to do that before she made a run for the back door.”
“Yeah, me either.”
“If we only knew if Elaine really had signed the sheet.”
“We’ll go back at that if we need to,” A.L. said.
“Let’s call the other one,” Rena said. “It’s a lot later in the morning.”
A.L. pushed the paper her direction. “Your turn.”
Rena smiled and dialed. She rang several times and was expecting it to roll over to voice mail when it was answered.
“Hello.” The man on the other end sounded a little breathless.
“Devon Bridge?” she asked.
“Yes. Who is this?”
“This is Detective Morgan with the Baywood Police Department. I’m here with my partner, Detective McKittridge. We’d like to ask you a question about your drop-off process at Lakeside Learning Center this morning.”
“Sure. I’m in a cornfield right now, looking for Emma.”
“Thank you for volunteering to search. Your daughter, Gabrielle, is in Emma’s class, right?”
“Yeah. They’re friends. Hell of a thing. All I keep thinking is that this was a good day for us to be late. It could have been Gabby.”
“You were late?” Rena followed up.
“Yeah. Gabby had a dentist appointment at 10:00. It was probably close to 11:00 before we got there.”
“I’m looking at a sign-in sheet that indicates 10:50. Does that sound right?”
“Sure. Close enough.”
“Where was this sign-in sheet when you signed it?”
“By the office. I saw Benita and she said that she’d walk Gabby to her classroom. So I signed the sheet and left.”
“Benita?”
“Benita Garza. She’s my mother-in-law. Gabby’s grandmother. She works part-time at the learning center as their cook.”
“Okay, thank you. Do you recall, Mr. Bridge, if there was any other signature on the sheet when you signed it?”
“You know, I’m pretty sure there was. I remember looking at it to see if I recognized the name as one of the kids from Emma’s room, but I didn’t. I wouldn’t be able to tell you who it was, though. Can’t remember that.”
“That’s no problem. Thank you very much for your help. And thank you again for being part of the search party.”
Rena ended the call. “That’s that,” she said. “I suppose we should verify with Alice Quest and with Benita Garza that they escorted children back to rooms.”
“Odd given that Alice was in a room.”
“Yeah. But if it’s like everything else tonight, there’s probably a perfectly reasonable explanation.” Her tone was bitter.
“Don’t get discouraged, Morgan. It’s early yet.”
“It’s dark and she’s five.”
“I know. Let’s go talk to Alice.”
Four
Alice was in her office. Her back turned to the door. Filing papers into hanging folders in the cabinet behind her desk. She turned when she heard them. “I never get a chance to do this,” she said, with no inflection.