Page 16 of Bring Them Home

“Sure, why not?” She’d ride the sugar high for all it was worth, then reach for a coffee when it wore off.

A few minutes later, Jules unplugged the griddle and served up two medium-sized pancakes for herself and Amanda. The three of them ate at the peninsula.

Zoe finished first and sat back to rub her hand over her belly. “Full up. Time for school.” She bounced down from the stool.

“Wait a minute. Dish and fork, dishwasher,” Amanda told her. “And thank your grandmother.”

“Thank you.” Zoe hugged Jules around the waist and carried out her chore before leaving the kitchen.

“She’s growing up way too fast,” her mother said before putting a forkful of pancake into her mouth.

“Tell me about it.”

“And the eyerolls at ten years old? She’s taken a page from your book.”

“Nah.” Amanda laughed and chomped on some pancake. She remembered being quite the handful as a kid, and her parents didn’t know the half of it.

“Do you need me to drop her off at school?”

“If you could, that would be great.”

“No problem. Do you think you’ll be late tonight? Should we plan on my sleeping over again?”

Amanda was happy for a mouthful. It gave her time to think about her response. Surely, her mother didn’t mean it the way it could be interpreted. As if Amanda chose to work late and allow her job to interfere with her life. That she was a terrible mother. But she had to wonder if some judgment was enclosed. After all, her father had been the police chief up until his retirement nearly ten years ago and had sacrificed most of his energy to the badge. But Amanda didn’t want to get into an argument and decided to overlook any perceived implications. “It might be a good idea. This case I’m on⁠—”

“No need to say any more. You can’t anyway.”

Amanda shook her head.

“Well, I’ll be here tonight and for as long as you need me.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re doing a great job with Zoe. I know your job’s important, but I hope you won’t have any regrets later on. Time flies by, and you can’t relive the past.”

As if her mother had to tell her that. Amanda swallowed her anger and focused on the compliment. Not the fact it was backhanded. “I’m doing my best.”

“I know.” Jules put her hand on Amanda’s shoulder and squeezed. “Well, I’m going to get ready to take Zoe to school. I’ll come back and clean up everything after I’m finished with that.”

“That’s not necessary. I’ve got it.”

“You sure? I understand if you need to run out the door.”

“I’m sure.” It wouldn’t take long to tidy up. Mostly everything got loaded into the dishwasher anyhow. The rest was a quick wipe of the griddle and countertop.

“Thank you.” She kissed Amanda’s forehead and left the kitchen.

She was gone before Amanda could reciprocate. Her mother had been a lifesaver last night. It had given Amanda time to get a head start on a mystery she had every intention of solving.

NINE

Amanda pulled into the lot at Central, and her phone rang over her car’s Bluetooth system. Detective Briggs was showing on caller ID, and she answered after parking.

“Good morning. Before I get to my findings, any luck tracking down that family?”

“Not yet, but it’s not looking good.” She told him about the mall’s security video.

“Okay, well, I guess that removes all doubt about their willingness to disappear. You already know about the daughter’s text.”