Page 19 of Three Girls Gone
“No interest at all?” Amanda wished for Mara to elaborate.
“Well, I’m not in any financial position to raise a child, for one thing. And to be honest, the whole birthing process freaks me right out.”
Having a baby wasn’t for the faint of heart, that was for sure. Amanda had endured fifteen hours of labor with Lindsey, and the pain scale went from excruciating to unbearable until the epidural sank in. But the first half of Mara’s statement lodged in Amanda’s head. Did she take Hailey for money?
“Do you have any idea who did this to Hailey?” Mara asked.
“We’re following some leads,” Trent told her.
“Jean said Hailey was found this morning in Heroes Memorial Park.”
It was hard to read if it was a natural transition or an effort to steer the conversation. “That’s right. Did you ever take Hailey to that park?”
Mara shook her head. “No need. The Tanners had everything a kid could want in the backyard.”
Amanda remembered what she’d seen out Hailey’s window and had to agree. “Are you familiar with a woman named Susan Butters?”
Mara chewed her bottom lip. “Never heard of her.”
Trent showed her Butters’s picture on his tablet. “Does she look familiar?”
Mara looked at the screen and shook her head. “I don’t know how Jean and Vincent will ever recover from this.” More tears made their way down the nanny’s face.
“They told us Hailey was their miracle baby, that they would have done anything for her safe return.” Amanda planted the bait and waited for a bite.
“Oh, they would have. They even talked about posting a reward to get her back.”
Amanda wasn’t sure what Mara’s play was with sharing that. Had it been to get in front of it, to lessen suspicion against her? Or was she stating a fact? Amanda was having a hard time getting a read on the woman.
“You must have had a close bond with the girl yourself,” Trent interjected. “This must be hard on you too.”
“It’s heartbreaking. I was with her from the beginning.”
“Could you tell us a bit more about the day that Hailey was taken?” Amanda asked.
“Ah, sure. I dropped her off for her lessonat Tiptoe Studio, helped her change, and stayed until I saw her go into class. Then, I popped out to pick up some groceries Jean asked for. I was getting ready to make my way back to pick Hailey up when Jean texted me. She said not to worry about Hailey, that she’d pick her up. It wasn’t a number I had in my phone, but Jean said it was a new one. I had no way of knowing it wasn’t her. That someone was orchestrating Hailey’s kidnapping.”
“Of course not,” Trent empathized, and Amanda resisted looking his way.
None of this cleared Mara. The sender could be her partner in crime. Amanda didn’t enjoy regarding everyone with a critical eye, but the academy had drilled that into her. New recruits were warned not to take any situation at face value. “You said you helped her change for class, but you don’t help afterward?”
“No, Candace, who owns the studio, helps,helped, with that.”
They’d ask about this when they got to the studio. “Was it common for Mrs.Tanner to pick Hailey up after class?”
“No, I should have known something was up. I’ve been beating myself up about this ever since.” A fresh batch of tears soaked Mara’s cheeks, and she palmed them.
“It’s common to blame ourselves when something tragic like this happens, but the only person who is responsible here is whoever took Hailey,” Amanda leveled at her.
“I know you’re right, but it’s just hard.”
“I imagine,” Trent offered. “Did you ever see anyone hanging around, watching the girl? Anyone who you might have seen regularly on your walks? I assume you took her for walks?”
“I did. Just Nora, but she’s eighty-two and lives three doors down from the Tanners. She makes the most delicious banana bread and loved spoiling Hailey. There’s no way she’s wrapped up in any of this. Her heart’s going to break when she hears about her.”
At least Nora didn’t sound suspect. “What are your thoughts about Nick Potter, Mr.Tanner’s former employee?”
“Nick? He seems like a decent guy, and Vincent struck me as remorseful for what happened between them. I take it you know about that?”
