Page 56 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

“Are you sure?” JP asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“It showed up recently on someone who may be connected. I’m following the lead.”

Rourke seemed intrigued. “Have you talked to Hayes?”

“I went to see him in Donovan.”

“Do you think he’s guilty?”

“It’s hard to know, but let’s say it’s not Hayes.”

“All right.”

“Who else did you look at?”

Rourke paused, like he was reaching back. “I suspect everyone when I’m on a case like this. The cops had a few possibilities on their radar, but none of them stuck.”

JP waited and let him talk.

“There was the crossing guard,” Rourke added. “He was the last adult who claimed to see her.”

JP’s eyes narrowed. “Claimed.”

Rourke glanced over. “He said he saw a girl matching Hannah’s description get into a car. Dark vehicle, older model, but he couldn’t give make, couldn’t give plate.”

“And?”

“He wasn’t sure it was her,” Rourke said. “And no one else saw the incident.”

“What did the police say about him?”

“They decided it didn’t fit Hayes’ timeline,” Rourke replied. “So, they set it aside.”

“Who else?” JP asked.

Rourke pulled out a notebook and skimmed through a few pages. “The neighbor kids were supposed to walk her home.”

JP nodded. “They said she never showed at their meeting place.”

“Yeah,” Rourke said. “But they were kids, eight, nine years old. Their stories shifted a little, depending on who asked and how.”

“Do you think they were lying?”

Rourke shook his head. “They were kids, which means you don’t know what they missed or were afraid to say.”

“What about their parents?” JP asked.

“I talked to them but didn’t find anything obvious. But…” He paused. “That’s a tight window. The kids were waiting. One was missing. And nobody sees anything. That always bothered me.”

“Who else?”

Rourke took his time thinking it through. “I questioned the school staff: aides, office personnel, anyone who knew her routine. Anyone she’d recognize.”

“Access without alarm.”

“Exactly,” Rourke said. “If someone like that had said, ‘Hey, your mom asked me to take you home,’ there wouldn’t be a fight or a scene.”