Page 69 of Bring Them Home

“Let’s take a break for a minute,” the lawyer inserted.

“Mr. Johnson, you have no alibi, you have intent, you have motive.” Amanda proceeded as if the attorney hadn’t interjected. There was no way she wanted to ruin the flow.

“Detective, please. My client may have had an issue with this woman, but that hardly makes him guilty of what you’re accusing him of.”

Amanda sat back in her chair, continuing to focus on Bill. “Did you know Valerie couldn’t have approved your loan even if she wanted to? Even if she and her family were threatened? The bank oversees all credit approvals. She has people and policies she has to answer to.” Her phone pinged with a message. She glanced at the screen and held it so Trent could read it. “That is a message from the investigators who are processing your van,” Amanda said, directing this to Bill. “Is there anything you want to tell us before we move on from here?”

Bill looked at his lawyer and shook his head.

“All right, then, we’re finished here.” She got up. “Oh, and just so you know, Mr. Johnson, we’ll also be searching your mother’s property.”

Bill stiffened and bolted up straight. “She has nothing to do with this. Please, just leave her alone.”

“We can’t do that, Mr. Johnson, and I think you know why. Though, we could leave her out of it if you just told us where we can find Valerie and Brooke Archer.”

“I don’t know. I swear to God.”

“Then we have no choice.” Amanda had her hand on the door when Bill spoke again.

“Peggy,” he blurted out.

Amanda turned around. “What about her?”

“You asked me if I knew where she was.”

The back of her neck stiffened. “Do you?” Efforts to reach Peggy Johnson remained unsuccessful, and every call that was sent through to voicemail soured Amanda’s gut. A car was on her house if she turned up, but it hardly seemed like enough.

“No, but she’s just nuts enough to do something like this. She could have them.”

She found it interesting he was now turning on Peggy. Whatever it took to get their focus off him, but she’d play along. “Did Peggy have access to your van on Saturday afternoon?”

“No, yes… maybe? Like I said, I was playing video games. She might have come around to the house and taken it. I get into my games and might not have noticed or heard anything. I play in the basement media room.”

Amanda remembered seeing the gaming console. “Does she have a key for your van?”

“I wouldn’t put anything past her.”

Not exactly an answer… “Then she stole the key, got your van, abducted a family, murdered a man, and brought your van back afterward? And all before you noticed?”

“She must have because I didn’t do it.”

“Here’s the thing, two people were involved in the abductions.”

Bill inched forward on his chair. “Oh, I get it now. That’s why you thought we were working together?”

“I still think that.”

“No way I’d pair up with Peg. As I said, the woman’s nuts.”

“All the same, just the right amount of nuts to convince you to go along with her in the abductions and murder?” Amanda tossed out nonchalantly.

“No, I’m not involved in this, but I can see her roping some other guy into this, though. She’s manipulative and can be charming if she needs to be.”

Amanda believed what he was saying about his ex’s character, but that was about all. “Will we find the Archers on your mother’s property, Mr. Johnson?”

“No.”

“Then you’d have no problem telling us why you were at your mother’s during the week?” Sometimes revisiting a question could unearth the truth.