CHAPTER 13

“S o, take me back to that day,” Dylan requested.

“We went to the park, like we always did.”

“No, before that.”

“But that’s where she went missing.”

“I know. But let’s start at the morning. Did anything out of the ordinary happen that morning when you woke up or went to get her out of bed?”

“You really don’t have kids,” Raleigh said, laughing a little. “She woke me up. We had this clock on the wall in her room. Have .” Raleigh swallowed. “We have this clock on the wall of her room. She was an early riser, so I used a marker to mark between six and seven on the clock in red, and seven to eight in yellow. If it was red, she had to play in her room until it got to at least the yellow. She rarely made it to the yellow.”

“So, Eden woke you up that morning.”

“Yeah. That was normal, though. She was in a toddler bed with one of those mesh railings, but she could get up whenever she wanted. She’d been doing well with her potty training, so sometimes, she would go to the bathroom first before she’d come into my room and proudly tell me that she went in the potty like a big girl.” Raleigh smiled. “Other times, she’d just come into my room and wake me up.”

“Then, what did you do?” Dylan took notes in her little notebook.

“I made breakfast. I’m not much of a breakfast eater, so I made coffee for myself and got her settled at the table. After she ate, I told her to go to her room to get dressed, which wasn’t exactly something she was doing well at yet. I mean, she could pick a random pair of pants and a shirt, but she’d forget socks or pick some pants and a shirt that didn’t match. She’s three, you know?” Raleigh looked down at her hands, which were twisting on the table as she talked. “She was three. She’s four now.”

“Right,” Dylan said. “And then, after she got dressed?”

“I got dressed as well on the days when we went out. She usually played in her room or came into mine with me and colored in one of her coloring books on my bed.”

“Any phone calls?”

“No, not even from any of my clients.”

“And these clients, how often do you meet them in person? Did any of them see you with Eden?”

“I’ve never met any of them in person. That’s kind of how the VA thing works: I work here; they work wherever they are. I don’t really reveal details of my life to them. I’m there to take care of the administrative things.”

“How many of them knew you had a daughter?”

“None, as far as I know. I’m technically self-employed, so my benefits and taxes – the things that would reveal a dependent – aren’t through my clients.”

“But they’d have your address on file for paychecks.”

“No. It’s all direct deposit. And I have a PO box for business stuff, so none of them knew where I lived. I also use my first and middle name for my business, not my last name. So, they might not even know that. They know my time zone, but that’s about it. Some virtual assistants work differently, but I’ve always liked my privacy, and that was especially true after I had Eden.”

“Okay.” Dylan took another note. “And after you got dressed?”

“I put her in the car seat, packed her stuff in the trunk, and we went to the park.”

“Her stuff?”

“The kid stuff. There’s the diaper bag with pull-ups in case she has an accident, the extra clothes, snacks, juice, water, milk, her stroller, a bag with toys and stuff to keep her occupied when she was resting. Kids go hard for a bit, and then they crash. Eden played, but then she liked to sit with me and have a snack and color for a while. Usually, she’d be ready for a nap after, but sometimes, a kid would show up, and she would want to play with them, so we’d stay until she crashed again. We’d go home, and I’d put her to bed while I made lunch.”

“But not that day?”

“No, not that day,” Raleigh said, sighing. “We got to the park and–”

“Tell me about the parking lot.”

“What about it?” she asked, wondering where this was going.

“Can you maybe do me a favor?” Dylan asked.

“O-k-a-y…”

“Close your eyes for me.”

“Why?”

“It’s called a cognitive interview. Did the agents have you do one before?”

“No.”

“The idea is for me to ask you some questions about what you saw, heard, smelled, and you put yourself back there,” Dylan explained. “It’s easier if you close your eyes and picture yourself there.”

“What’s the point of that? I’ve been over this a million times.”

“Our minds play tricks on us a lot. Sometimes, a question worded a different way or evoking a different sense can help you recall something you weren’t able to before.”

“Okay.” Raleigh took a deep breath. “But I don’t know how much help this will be. I only remember freaking out because I couldn’t find her.”

“I know. Just trust me, okay?”

Raleigh closed her eyes.

“Take another deep breath.”

She did.

“Now, I want you to go back to that morning. You’re at home with Eden. What did she have for breakfast? ”

“Oatmeal with apples.”

“Did she like it?”

“It was her favorite.”

“What did it smell like?”

“Cooked apples. I didn’t buy the packet stuff. I always made the steel-cut oats and cooked the apples for her with a little cinnamon.”

“And what was Eden wearing?”

“Her pajamas.”

“What was on the pajamas?”

“A juice stain that the washer didn’t get out of the shirt,” Raleigh said, laughing a little. “She had unicorns on the shirt, and she’d picked out a pair of pants the night before that I got her for Christmas. They were characters from her favorite cartoon.”

“What color were they?”

“Blue. And the characters were all birds.”

“Okay. Now, did she play in her room that morning or go to yours?”

“She played in her room. When I went to get her, she was coloring.”

“Crayons or markers?”

“God, no. She wasn’t allowed markers unless I was in the room. The walls would’ve been covered by the time I got in there.”

“What color crayon was she using when you got there?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t look.”

“Yes, you did. You would’ve walked in, looked for her, and she was on the bed or on the floor.”

“Floor. She was on the floor.”

“And what color crayon did she have in her hand?”

Raleigh squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember the crayon.

“She would have said something to you, right? Like, ‘Look, Mommy. I colored…’ ”

“The dinosaur,” Raleigh replied, opening her eyes. “It was green. Dark-green. It was everywhere. ”

“Good,” Dylan said, smiling and giving her a nod. “Now, let’s get in the car. Close your eyes again for me. When you got to the parking lot, how many cars were there?”

Raleigh closed her eyes and thought back to that day.

“I don’t know. Five, maybe.”

“Including yours?”

“No.”

“Okay. How full was the lot?”

“It’s a small lot, and there’s street parking. So, half-full.”

“And did you take Eden’s stuff out of the car first or get her out?”

“I always got her stuff out first because I didn’t want her running into the street or to the playground without me.”

“So, you’ve got her stuff now. What’s the weather like?”

“It was a nice day. It had rained a few days before, and I could still smell it in the air. I remember being worried that she’d come home with a lot of mud all over her.”

“Was it muddy, though?”

“I didn’t notice any.”

“Get Eden out of the car for me now.”

Raleigh remembered opening the car door and looking in on her daughter, who was smiling up at her, excited to go play in the park. The tears formed behind Raleigh’s eyes.

“Look around the park, Raleigh. What do you see?”

“I was just getting her out. I didn’t see anything.”

“Yes, you did. You’re a mother. You looked around. You would’ve wanted to make sure it was safe enough to get her out of her car seat and put her on the concrete, right?”

“The street was right behind us.”

“Exactly. Did you look at it?”

“Yeah. But it was just cars driving by.”

“Anyone standing behind you or off to the side?”

Raleigh tried to look left and right inside her memory and said, “I don’t think so.”

“What happened next?”

“I put her in the stroller just so we could get to the playground. I had the bags on my shoulder. ”

“Did you walk by anyone?”

“A family. There was a mom and a dad, and I think their two kids.”

“Anyone else?”

“Not on the way there.”

“Okay. What did you hear?”

“Wind,” Raleigh replied. “It was a windy day.”

“What else?”

“Kids screaming and playing.”

“Any adults?”

“Parents talking to other parents.”

“What made you think they were parents?”

“I don’t know. Who else goes to a park with kids?”

“Did they all have kids?”

“I didn’t notice.”

“Yes, you did. Your maternal instinct would’ve kicked in. You know who goes to parks without their own children outside of nannies and babysitters, Raleigh. Did you see anyone standing off to the side, not talking to the other parents? Anyone whom you couldn’t assign to a child?”

“I don’t know,” she replied, opening her eyes again. “I can’t do this.”

“Raleigh, you’re doing great.”

“This is too hard.”

“I know,” Dylan said. “But you’ve already remembered things I don’t see in the reports I’ve read.”

“I don’t remember who took her. Who cares if the crayon was green?”

“Raleigh, you’re a mom. You know bad people go to parks, too. You would have had your head on a swivel every time Eden went to play with the other children. Who was there who shouldn’t have been there?”

“No one. Carl and Rachel were there with their five-year-old. I know them. They live two blocks away from me. Harry and Max were there with their twins. There were people I didn’t recognize, but I didn’t see anyone looking at Eden weirdly or focusing on her too much. ”

“Okay. Okay,” Dylan said. “I think we’re good for now.” She closed her notebook.

“No, I’m sorry. I can do more,” Raleigh said, frantic now. “I just–”

“It’s okay, Raleigh. We can do this again another time. I think you need a break.”

“I don’t need a break. My daughter’s missing. What do you need me to do? I can go to a hypnotist. Would that help? Could I remember them then?”

“Tell me about the sperm donor,” Dylan requested.

“What?”

“Anonymous, right?”

“Yes. Why?”

“The clinic hasn’t shared anything they’re not supposed to?”

“No. I mean, I haven’t asked. I don’t even know his name. Why would he want Eden? He gave his sperm to a sperm bank.”

“It’s just a lead I want to follow since it doesn’t look like anyone else did,” Dylan explained. “I’m going to talk to the clinic and make sure I’m satisfied that he couldn’t have figured out who you are or that you had Eden.”

“Seems like a waste of time,” Raleigh noted.

“It’s a phone call. And we have to knock down every door.”

Raleigh nodded and said, “You’re right. Thank you.”

“Well, I should go,” Dylan said then. “Ada and I have a family dinner tonight.”

“Sure. Okay. Thanks for coming over.”

“I’ll call you, okay?”

Raleigh walked Dylan out and closed the door behind her. She proceeded to wipe at her face before she went into the bathroom and washed it. Then, she went back out to her computer to get some work done. She’d been reviewing her finances recently and had concerns. If she didn’t pick up more clients or more hours, she was at risk of losing her house. She hadn’t paid much attention to the bills for the past year. Instead, she’d spent money she shouldn’t have and hadn’t worked as hard as she should have. She could’ve told her clients what was going on and maybe gotten a little empathy, but she didn’t want them to know about Eden or what was happening in her life. Now, she needed to work harder to get out of the hole she was in, but working harder meant she’d have less time to spend on Eden’s website and Facebook page. She’d also have less time with Dylan and the other officers and agents working the case.

“You need a home for her to come back to, dumbass,” she said to herself.

Then, she realized she needed a break and picked up the phone.

“Hey,” Hollis said.

“Hey. I just wanted to check on you and your mom. How is she?”

“She’s in and out. They’re keeping her here for another night.”

“Test results back yet?”

“They think she just bumped her head. There’s nothing in the millions of scans they took to worry about. But she was a little dehydrated, so they want to make sure she gets fluids and sleeps the night through before they let her go.”

“That’s good that they’re watching her for the night.”

“Yeah, I guess. They’re letting me stay again.”

“You stayed the night?”

“I didn’t want to leave her.”

“Have you been home at all, Hollis?”

“Not yet. I just want to be here when she wakes up.”

“Let me stop by and grab your keys.”

“What? Why?”

“I can go to your house and pick up some clothes or your phone charger or something.”

“I bought a cheap charger in the gift shop.”

“Clothes, then,” Raleigh said. “And stuff to clean up in the bathroom with or something.”

“I’m okay. It’s only one more night. I don’t think I smell that great, but it’s a hospital – the whole place smells like antiseptic anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m okay.”

“If you change your mind, will you call me?”

“Sure.”

“You don’t mean it, do you?”

Hollis laughed and said, “I do.”

“Okay. I’ll let you go, then. I’m glad she’s okay, Hollis.”

“Me too.”

Raleigh hung up, but she didn’t feel right about Hollis being there alone. Hollis had been there for her. It was time Raleigh showed up for her now.