He thought about calling but since Alice Quest had so nicely provided the names of the parents’ employers and their telephone numbers if she had them, he saw the Shana Federer was employed by Baywood Bank. That made him think of Steven Hanzel. And made him think that it might be worth his time to visit in person. He knew the bank was open from eight to noon on Saturday mornings.
At eight thirty, A.L. arrived at the Baywood Bank. He asked the security guard at the door if he knew Shana Federer and the man pointed at the fourth teller window. A.L. waited in line, grateful that nobody came up behind him. Five minutes later, after some high school kid with a jar of change was helped, he put his badge on the counter and slid it so she could easily see it. “I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes.”
She didn’t ask why. Everybody knew what the police were working on. “I’ll need to ask my supervisor,” she said.
Four minutes later, she led him down a hallway to an empty break room. There were vending machines on one side, a microwave, refrigerator and sink on the other side of the room. A round table with six chairs in the middle. She pulled one back and he did the same. Before she sat, she removed her cell phone from her back pocket and put it on the table.
He showed her the sign-in sheet. “Can you describe your general drop-off process at the day care?”
“I guess,” she said. “We’ve got a routine. Mia has been going there for over a year.”
“I understand,” he said. “Just walk me through it.”
“We live just down the street from the day care. On the days that I start work later, Mia and I walk. On earlier days, I drive. That’s what it was on Wednesday. I drove, parked and we walked inside. I usually glance in the office to say good morning to Alice. I started to do that but the office was empty. I assumed she was in one of the classrooms.”
“Was there anybody else in the lobby?”
“There was a dad leaving as we walked in. I don’t know his name but his son is in Mia’s class. His name is Wyatt. They’re pretty new at the day care.”
“Okay. Then what?”
“I...” She closed her eyes. “I walked Mia to her classroom. Went inside as far as the cubbies and hung up her backpack. That’s when I saw Alice Quest and I realized she was covering for Olivia Blow. Anyway, I waved to Alice, then I hugged Mia and I left.”
“You signed the sheet?” he clarified.
“Yes,” she said. “I did. That’s just habit. I always do that immediately after I hang up Mia’s backpack.”
“And how did you know what time it was?”
“My phone. I always have it in my back pocket. Never wear any pants that don’t have a back pocket. I know it’s stupid, because I’m not so important that I couldn’t miss a call, but I just feel better when I have my phone on me.”
“Okay.”
“Then I left.”
“The building?” he clarified.
“I...” She hesitated, then scratched behind her left ear. “Actually I had to stop in the bathroom. I have IBS. Irritable bowel syndrome,” she added. “Sometimes I need a bathroom rather quickly and that was one of those mornings where I didn’t think I could wait until I got to work.”
He’d already had one conversation about diarrhea with Olivia Blow and he didn’t want to have another one now. But he wanted to make sure he had her full statement. “After you used the bathroom, what happened?”
“I left.”
“Did you see anyone as you left?”
“No. I mean, I saw Kara in the bathroom but that was it.”
“Kara?”
“Yeah. Kara Wiese. She’s a teacher there.”
Fifteen
Shana Federer had signed her daughter in at 7:08.
“If you went to the bathroom directly after you left Mia’s classroom, what time do you think it was that you saw Kara Wiese?”
“This is embarrassing,” she said.
“I’m sorry.”
“I guess it would have been about four or five minutes later. I have to go urgently so it’s generally pretty quick, you know. I had to get to work, too.”
“Right.” So that meant it was 7:12 or 7:13. Kara Wiese had been adamant that she hadn’t left her classroom prior to 7:30 because Claire Potter didn’t arrive until then and she couldn’t leave the children alone in the room. “Which bathroom did you use? The one in Mia’s classroom or the one in the hallway?”
“In the hallway.”
“And you’re confident that you saw Kara Wiese in the bathroom?”
“Well...yes. I mean, I thought it was her. We’re not friends but I’ve seen her a bunch of times at the day care.”
“Do you remember the conversation?”
“I don’t know. She was standing at the sink when I came out of the stall. It was sort of embarrassing because...well, you know, it’s always better if the bathroom is empty and I didn’t know how long she’d been standing there. Anyway, I think I said good morning and she said good morning and I washed my hands and left.”
“She was still in the bathroom when you left, still by the sink.”
“I think so.”
“What was she doing?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t really look at her that closely. Maybe she was doing her makeup. Sometimes that happens to me when I’m running late. I put my makeup on at work.”
“Can I see the time on your phone?” he asked.
She looked surprised but she picked up her phone. He checked the time on it against his own phone. Same thing on both. So he was pretty confident that his data points were good.
“Was there anybody else in the bathroom with you and Ms. Wiese?”
Shana shook her head. “I should probably get back to my window.”
“I understand.” She probably expected that he was going to ask about the color of her poop next. “Thank you for your time.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll walk you back to the lobby.”
When they got there, Shana extended her hand. “Good luck, Detective McKittridge.”
“Thank you.” Over her shoulder, at one of the desks in the far right corner of the bank, he saw Steven Hanzel. The man was sitting at a desk, turned so that his right side was to A.L. He was talking to a young couple who sat in chairs in front of his desk. A.L. was confident the man was unaware of his scrutiny. “You work with Steven Hanzel?” he asked.