Page 53 of Three Girls Gone
“Which leads my mind right to Wilson M-Something. She had met him before. If this is Wilson, he could have collected Hailey using a lie that Mara was going to pick her up from his place.”
“True. Not that we’re closer to his identity. And I’m not seeing how that links to the woman Katherine flagged.”
“Who knows if it does? And we still don’t know if she is the killer. Did you ever receive the camera footage from the park?” There was the possibility it captured the killer’s face. Though it might be a pipe dream to invest hope in netting an ID through facial recognition.
“Not yet, but I expect it should come through sometime today.”
“Follow up if you don’t have it by noon.”
“Sure. But there’s something else we might want to consider. Not saying he, or she, doesn’t have a vehicle, but do they live nearby?”
Amanda looked at the buildings across the street, the ones that McGee just said contained apartments, but that was a little too close to ground zero. A chill laced down her spine though, and she had the sensation she was being watched. When she looked around, she didn’t spot anyone. She glanced up at the apartment windows but couldn’t see any shadows behind them either. She dismissed her feelings as her imagination. “The only thing with that theory is we have no way of narrowing that down unless…”
“Oh, I know that face. You have an idea.”
“McGee checked on the neighboring businesses to see if they had cameras but hit a dead end. He only went a few doors down on each side though.”
“Ah, so you’re thinking if he walked with Hailey a bit, then ones farther down the street might prove useful.”
“If they have them, yes.” While Amanda was hoping for some lead to break this case open, she didn’t expect it would be so easy.
TWENTY-ONE
Things turned out just as Amanda expected. They were walking away with no video footage to show for their trouble. It was either broken cameras or none were installed to start with. Most people told them the neighborhood was safe. One person had changed their opinion since Friday, though, and said they’d already contacted a security company to enhance protection, including camera installation. Too little, too late…
Trent pulled into the lot for Hailey’s school around noon. The timing should work to catch the principal before they left for lunch, unless they’d slipped out for an early one. She and Trent had grabbed a quick bite to eat before driving over.
They went into the school and were seated in the principal’s office within a handful of minutes. Marvin Hatfield was a bit on the stocky side, in his late forties, with a friendly face.
He was seated behind his desk, and Amanda and Trent were in chairs facing him.
“The entire school is in shock,” Marvin told them. “It’s all so surreal. I worry most about the students. Many of them are struggling with Hailey’s murder. We’re holding an assembly later this afternoon to let them know the school is here for them,and if they want to talk to someone, the counselor is always available. We’ll stress there’s no shame in seeking help. In fact, it’s a strong thing to do. We’ll also cover basic safety measures they can all take to protect themselves. You know, like don’t talk to strangers, that type of thing.”
“That’s an important message,” she said, not missing that he’d teed things up for what they needed to discuss. “Speaking of safety measures, does the school have security video outside?”
“It does. On the doors. If you want to watch any of the footage, I can make it available to you. But she wasn’t taken from here.”
“No, but we’ve learned Hailey Tanner took part in the school’s performance ofThe Nutcracker,” Trent said.
“Sure, back in December.”
“That event was open to the public, correct?” Trent asked.
“That’s right.” A tightness edged into his voice.
“Watching any video from that evening could be imperative to the investigation.” Though it might be too much to hope they’d be able to pluck Wilson M out of the footage.
“I will get that for you.”
“That would be appreciated,” Amanda said. “Is there any way of getting a list of names for people who attended the show?”
“No, as your partner said, it was open to the public. Cash only, and no names were collected.”
“But the show was performed by young children, Mr.Hatfield. There must have been some concern about their safety.” This was the mother in her taking issue with an open house at the school. Anyone could make their way inside, including people with ill intentions.
Marvin stiffened. “We had the standard school security. Bag checks, wands for knives and guns.”
“Okay, thank you, Mr.Hatfield,” Trent said. “If you could get that video together and send it to the address on here.” He presented the principal with his card, pointing out his email.
