Page 48 of Bring Them Home

“Which I can understand, but you don’t think they’re somehow wrapped up in this?” Horror at the idea blanched the woman’s face.

Amanda held up a hand and shook her head. “Not at all. We just want to talk to them.”

“I see.” Melinda unclasped her hands and ran them down the front of her thighs, flattening the material of her pants. “Thank you for filling me in. It’s giving me some time to assimilate everything before the girls arrive.”

“You’re very welcome.” Amanda offered Melinda a gentle smile.

“I’ll go see if they’re here.” Melinda alighted from her chair with the grace of a ballerina.

A few minutes later, Melinda returned with two girls, who until now, Amanda had only seen in photographs. Amanda and Trent both stood to greet them.

Melinda introduced them. “Sadie and Charlotte, these are police detectives with the Prince William County PD. Amanda Steele and Trent Stenson.”

Sadie’s stunning blue eyes reminded Amanda of Zoe’s. Charlotte’s were a dark chocolate. Both of them were looking at Amanda and Trent, their bodies shrunk with timidity and uncertainty.

“Hello, girls,” Amanda told them. “Neither of you are in any trouble. We just have a few questions about your friend Brooke.”

“Brooke?” Sadie’s blinking slowed down. “Where is she? Is she okay?”

“Yeah, it’s not like her to ghost us,” Charlotte said.

Sadie pitched in with, “She hasn’t shown up to school this year, which makes no sense because she’s a nerd, and I say that in the most loving way possible. She gets amazing grades and plans to be a doctor.”

“The detectives will answer your questions,” Melinda said closing the door, enclosing the five of them inside. “Both of you can take a seat.”

The girls sat next to each other on the couch. Amanda returned to the end where she was before, and Trent sat on an armchair.

“We were hoping you could help us.” Amanda decided starting with that would give the girls a sense of power. Something those facing uncertainty craved the most.

“Ah, sure,” Charlotte said. “But with what?”

“We have some unfortunate news about Brooke and her family,” Amanda said.

“She’s not okay, is she?” Sadie’s face dropped, and Charlotte reached for her hand.

Just be honest with her… Amanda’s mother’s words resurfaced. “Not exactly. Brooke, her mother, and her father were abducted Saturday afternoon.”

Sadie shook her head and sniffled. “I knew something was wrong. I tried to tell you, Lottie. She’d never just ignore us.”

Charlotte looked at Amanda. “We tried going by her house too. There was no answer.”

“When was that?” Trent asked.

“Monday after she didn’t show up for school.”

Before it had a police presence…

“We figured she must have still been sick,” Charlotte said.

“She was sick?” Amanda volleyed back.

“That’s what she told us on Saturday before she left us at the mall.”

“Was that the last time you saw her?” Amanda relaxed her posture, taking a conversational approach to set the girls more at ease. Allowing them to tell her what she already knew would let them feel helpful.

“Uh-huh. Around three o’clock?” Sadie looked at her friend.

Charlotte nodded. “Something like that.”