Desperation in Death (In Death #55)(21)

“Do you know if Mina had any contacts or connections in New York, or any reason to come here?”

“She was taken from us. She was brought here. If you think she ran away—”

“I don’t.” The simple response tempered some of the fire that leapt into Rae’s eyes. “I’ve read Detective Driver’s reports and agree with her conclusions. But it’s a question I have to ask.”

“She didn’t know anyone here.” Oliver spoke now. “We brought the kids to New York a couple of times a year, to see a show, to visit museums.”

“She always wants to go shopping.” Head down, Ethan mumbled it, then knuckled his eyes.

“She does.” With a ghost of a smile on her face, Rae stroked his thatch of red hair. “And you always want the pizza. We’d come in as a family,” Rae continued. “Sometime during the holidays to see all the decorations and a Christmas show, and early summer, after school let out. She’s smart, and could have figured out how to get from home to New York on her own. But she didn’t.”

“We know, from Detective Driver’s files, the police conducted a thorough search on all of Mina’s devices and found no questionable correspondence or activities. But there are other ways for someone to connect with a young girl.”

“The investigators looked at that, and they—and we—talked to all Mina’s friends, her classmates, her soccer team, teachers, coaches, neighbors.”

“And she would tell us.” Rae interrupted her husband. “I’m not saying Mina didn’t have some secrets, some things she didn’t tell us. But she wasn’t sneaky.”

“It could have been very innocent on her part,” Peabody put in. “Something she didn’t mention because it didn’t seem important or unusual. Someone she passed on the walk home from school.”

“She’d never have gone with someone willingly, or gotten into a stranger’s car. Never. The short distance she walked is in a neighborhood,” Rae insisted. “It’s residential and quiet. It’s safe. It’s always been safe.”

As silent tears slid down Rae’s cheeks, Eve laid the printout of Dorian Gregg’s ID photo on the table. “Do you recognize this girl? Any of you?”

“I don’t. Oliver?”

“No, she doesn’t look familiar.”

“Mina has lots of girlfriends, but not this one,” Ethan said.

“Who is she?” Rae demanded. “Does she have something to do with Mina?”

“We have reason to believe this girl was abducted also. Evidence indicates she was with Mina last night.”

“What does that mean?” Oliver demanded. “Do you think—is this girl a suspect?”

“At this point we consider her a witness.”

“Do you think Mina knew her? There haven’t been any other child abductions from our area,” Rae added. “We’d have heard. She looks about the same age as Mina. If they went to school together…”

“She wasn’t from your area.”

Rae’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”

“New Jersey.”

“Oliver, why don’t you and Ethan go grab a snack?”

“You don’t want me to hear, but I’m not going. I’m not.” Ethan’s face reddened with temper under a scatter of freckles. “She’s my sister. And I was mean to her that morning. That morning before school I said how Nick was gonna try to touch her boobies.”

“Oh, Ethan.” With a sobbing laugh, Rae laid her cheek on the top of his head.

“I’ve got a sister,” Peabody told him. “And two brothers. Sometimes we said silly and mean things to each other because it’s what you do. That’s all. But I love them, and they love me, just like you love Mina and she loves you.”

“I’m not going. Somebody killed my sister, and I’m not going out for a stupid snack.”

“Okay.” Oliver leaned over, got his arm around both of them. “It’s okay. We’ll stay together.”

“All right. All right.” Rae straightened in her chair. “You’re considering the possibility of child trafficking.”

“We are. So were the investigators on Mina’s abduction. The investigation’s in its very early stages, but we consider this a high probability.”

“She hadn’t been raped.” On the table, Oliver clutched his hands together. “Dr. Morris confirmed that. You may not think that should be important to us after—”

“No, sir. I understand it’s important to you as her family. It’s also important to Detective Peabody and me as investigators.”

Eve took out another photo—this of the underwear. “Mina was wearing her school uniform pants and a white short-sleeved shirt, not the shirt she wore when abducted. She also wore these. Do you recognize them as hers?”

The instant Rae took the photo, she shook her head. “God, no. Mina would never—she’s much too young. She most usually wears a sports bra, cotton blend panties—hip skimmers they call them. And from the look of these, she couldn’t afford them on her allowance. She liked young, sporty, nothing like this.”

Rae looked back at Eve. “She had a French manicure. I didn’t think—I couldn’t think when we saw her. But she had a French manicure. Fresh, wasn’t it?” She rubbed a hand on her temple. “Mina thought they were boring and old. Whenever we went to the nail salon, or she went with her friends, she got color. I usually got a French, and she’d roll her eyes. ‘Boring, Mom.’”