Page 75 of Little Child Gone

“Mom legally adopted you when we were little,” Taylor reminded him. “Elena can’t just take you, and she’s not like that.”

Nikki seized her chance. “Where is Elena? I’d like to fill her in before Caden meets her.”

“She’s in the waiting area, down the hall,” Taylor said.

Nikki left the siblings in their huddle and walked down to find Elena. She sat in the dimly lit room, staring out of the window. “Jared’s dead.”

Elena whipped her head around and stared at Nikki. “How?”

“He fell in the ice hole he’d cut ahead of time. We can only imagine his plan.” She glanced behind her. “I wanted to talk to you before you met Caden. He’s pretty shell-shocked right now and worried about where he’ll end up, especially with Jared presumed dead. Christy is his legal parent.”

“Poor child,” Elena said. “I truly have no interest in custody. I never wanted kids. I’m not sure I’d be very good for a teenager. I’d just like to get to know him.” Elena looked back out the window for a few moments, gathering courage. “I would also like to help take care of them while Christy is recovering. My apartment has two extra bedrooms, and Taylor said he would be okay with it.”

Nikki had been worried about having to place the kids somewhere until Christy could come home. They had the DNA to prove Elena was Caden’s blood relative. If Taylor vouched for Elena and Christy agreed, they could circumvent CPS.

“I think that’s a good idea, but it’s up to Christy,” Nikki said. “Caden doesn’t know that Bianca wasn’t his mother. He doesn’t know about Rebecca.”

Elena nodded. “I’ve been worrying about this. I don’t think we should say anything until Christy is well enough to understand the truth. She’s his mother and knows him best. I don’t want to pile onto his suffering.”

“I agree,” Nikki said. “I wish I could say something comforting about your family. I’m so sorry they were Jared’s victims.” His rage about Bianca’s revenge flashed through her mind. “He knew that Bianca hid the birth certificates. He knew she is the one who helped get him in the end, and he was mad as hell.”

Elena smiled through her tears. “She did, didn’t she?”

Nikki turned to leave.

“Agent, this isn’t the best timing, but Rebecca wore her father’s wedding ring on a chain around her neck. Do you think it might still be with her possessions?”

Memories of the last week flew through Nikki’s mind like cards shuffling, finally settling on Spencer Bancroft sitting next to Matt at the Hendrickson property, the ring shining on his chest.

“I’m not sure,” Nikki said. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

THIRTY-TWO

Nikki wasn’t surprised to see Stephanie Bancroft sitting with Rodney Atwood in the interview room. She was surprised that it had taken Stephanie two weeks to crawl out of her hole. “My client is willing to confess, for a plea deal.”

“Wow.” Nikki looked across the table at the pock-faced redhead. “What made you suddenly decide to admit your guilt, Rodney?” Especially when they still didn’t have any damn evidence to convict him. Nikki had been considering pulling out every possible mostly legal trick in order to entice a confession, and now Atwood was sitting at the sheriff’s station, practically gift-wrapped.

“I thought it was time we let Scott rest in peace,” Stephanie said. “I called Rodney and we talked. I told him I would fight for him to get the best deal, but that he couldn’t keep running from this.”

“How generous of you,” Miller quipped.

“I thought so.” Stephanie looked at Rodney. “He’s prepared to tell you everything in exchange for manslaughter.”

Nikki laughed. “That’s not going to happen, and we can’t make those deals. The DA might agree to a lesser murder charge, but not without knowing the actual story.”

Stephanie nodded at Rodney. He talked for forty-four minutes, explaining how he’d gotten sick and tired of his stepson disobeying his orders and defying him. The kid was lazy, never listened, his mother babied him too much. “I told him he wasn’t going nowhere that weekend because he was going to help me in my garage. His mom calls me from work that night and tells me little precious is going to spend the night at his friend’s, he’s been there all evening.” Rodney’s eyes looked like blue ice. “I called him from my burner phone and told him I was picking his ass up. I also told him to say nothing to his mom or his friend, just that he had to come home.”

“You have a burner phone?” Nikki asked.

“My wife paid the bills, so she saw the phone records. I had a couple of girlfriends on the side.”

Nikki was tired of hearing his whining voice. “Scott left and met you?”

“A block down the road, and then three houses over. I was pretty sure it was a dead spot for cameras.” He wiped the spittle out of the corner of his mouth. “He gets in the truck and starts yelling at me, like I did something wrong. I told him to shut up. I warned him. He kept talking.”

“What did you do?” Miller demanded.

“I warned him first,” Atwood said. “Told him I was going to knock him out with the wrench.” He shrugged. “I guess I hit him too hard.”

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