36. Alicia

"There were no records for Amy?" Anna said. She was eating her lunch at her desk, a chicken schnitzel roll, and leaning forward as if watching a terrifying and enthralling movie. "Weird."

"I know, right?" Norah said. "It would make a great true crime podcast."

"What did you make of it?" Anna asked.

"We didn't know what to make of it. Maybe that Miss Fairchild had done something to her and then covered it up? But even that didn't fit. How would she have known that we were going to tell the police that day of all days? I mean, she was pretty good at reading us, but even if she had guessed, what did she do with Amy? And why didn't the authorities have any record of her?"

"Those are good questions," Anna said. She looked as confused as they had been. "Did you come up with any answers?"

"Not at first," Alicia said. "It didn't make sense."

Anna nodded. "All right. Before we get into that, I need to make you aware of a new development."

Alicia braced herself. She wasn't sure she could take any more developments. In the past few days, she'd experienced enough developments to last a lifetime.

"She's spoken to the media."

"Who?" Jessica asked, though of course they all knew.

Norah had already pulled out her phone. Alicia did the same.

It only took her a few clicks to find it. The others peered over her shoulder to read along with her.

Former Owner of "Wild Meadows" Speaks Out After Foster Home Scandal

The former owner of Wild Meadows Estate, Holly Fairchild, has spoken out about her horror at the discovery of human remains under the country home where she fostered dozens of children in the late 1990s.

"My heart breaks at this terrible news," Fairchild said. "I will assist the police with their investigations however possible and won't rest until this matter is resolved."

Fairchild also spoke out about the "crisis of displaced children" in Australia, imploring families to "open their hearts and homes to these poor, lost souls."

Asked if she has any insight into what may have taken place, Fairchild responded:

"I don't like to speculate when there is a police investigation underway. I will say that having had the opportunity to work with many traumatized foster children, the damage can be extensive. Often the victims actually become perpetrators. I've seen it firsthand. Frankly, I don't like to think about what they are capable of."

"Is she allowed to say that?" Alicia asked, when she reached the end of the article. "She's basically called us perpetrators!"

"I'm not happy about it," Anna said. "But she hasn't named you, and she's spoken in general terms, so legally speaking, she can."

It was classic Miss Fairchild. It was her way of having the last word, of letting them know that she was in control of the situation, like always. She needn't have bothered. No one knew it better than the three of them.