Page 82 of Bring Them Home

“Not a clue.” Nina smiled, but an underlying darkness in her eyes belied its sincerity.

“Let me fill you in.” Amanda decided it was best to approach Nina with a casual air. “A family was abducted this past Saturday—a mother, a father, and their teenage daughter. The father’s body was found about forty minutes northwest of Woodbridge in a cornfield. Would you know anything about that?”

Nina’s brow pinched above her right eye. “No.”

“Could you tell us where you were this past Saturday between three and midnight?”

“Whatever for, Detective?” the lawyer said. “My client just told you she has no knowledge of what you said.”

“Then it shouldn’t be an issue for her to answer the question.” Amanda faced Nina.

“Last Saturday?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I was at the spa getting a massage.”

“Which spa?”

“Tranquility. They are here in town. You should try the deep-tissue one. It’s fabulous. You’ll walk out a new woman. All the stress melts right off.”

“All right, I’ll look into it.” The woman would know it wasn’t the massage Amanda was interested in, even if Nina made it sound appealing. The only thing that would alleviate Amanda’s stress would be finding the Archers alive. She pulled a photograph of Abigail McGee from the folder. It was the last one on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles. She pushed it across the table. “Do you recognize this woman?”

Nina made a show of leaning in and getting a look but drew back fast. “I can’t say that I do.”

“You’re sure about that?” Amanda pressed.

“Detective.” The lawyer used a warning voice as if her disbelief crossed some sort of ethical line.

“Her name might ring a bell. Abigail McGee. Does that sound familiar to you?”

“Nope.”

Denial on a loop… “Huh, I thought for sure you might have heard her name mentioned.”

“You’re doing it again, Detective. You’re fishing. And if that is the point of this interview, we’ll be leaving,” Wilson said.

Nina glanced at the lawyer, a subtle smirk locked on her lips.

As long as Wilson was in the room, Nina wasn’t going to speak a word against Hernandez. Without him, the odds were slim to unlikely. But she still had to try. “The thing is, Nina, your employer, Lucas Hernandez, has a thing against Abigail McGee. Or more accurately he did. That’s why I thought you would have heard her name thrown around.”

Nina shrugged. “Nope.”

The attorney let out an exasperated sigh. “Asked and answered. Twice. Will that be all?”

Amanda disregarded Wilson, kept her focus on Nina. “What about the name Paul Archer? Sound familiar to you?”

Nina shook her head.

Amanda ran through it with Valerie and Brooke. More denial. She pulled photos taken from the mall video of the mystery woman. “Is that you?”

Nina leaned in to get a better look, or at least put in the motions. “No.”

“You’re sure? This is from last Saturday at Potomac Mills mall.”

“I told you. I was at Tranquility.”

“Huh.”