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“They heard from her? That’s good news.”
“I don’t think it helped. Especially since Mrs. McCain is more than a little upset that no one can reach Maggie. She used one of those websites that lets you send anonymous texts and e-mails.” Amanda shook her head. “She may have meant well, but it really backfired with her family.”
“What did she say?”
Amanda thought for a moment, then quoted: “‘Tell everyone I’m fine, I love them, and not to worry. Explain later. Will be in touch soonest. Hugs.’”
“That’s all?”
“That was it.”
Matt grunted. “Pretty damn vague. And doesn’t begin to address what happened at her house.”
Amanda nodded.
“Because the text was sent anonymously,” she then said, “how would they know it’s legit? Couldn’t someone be forcing her to send it?”
“Yeah, there’s always that possibility. But hard to say. What doesn’t make sense is why, if she’s okay, she’s going out of her way not to be reachable. If there was a way to get to her, we could ask for proof of life.”
“What would be proof?”
“A photograph of her holding, say, the front page of today’s newspaper or even holding a laptop with Mickey’s website on the screen with some current news story. Hell, with her story on it. Anything that shows her alive doing something that’s recognizable as right now.”
She thought for a moment, then in a hopeful tone said, “She did begin the text with ‘Spider.’”
“‘Spider’?”
“Mrs. McCain said it’s the nickname Maggie sometimes calls her cousin. It alludes to Emma’s modern dances, to how she moves. And to the spider rolls that are her favorite. They shared one Saturday night at that Rittenhouse sushi place, the one near your apartment.”
Matt shook his head. “Not exactly proof of life. But that could help confirm the message is legit. Not many people know she’s missing. And bad guys, even if they had the cousin’s phone number, would have no reason to contact her, let alone know to call her by a nickname. They’d go right for the big money—her parents.”
“So then that’s probably why it’s being considered legit,” Amanda said. “But it’s clear she’s not ‘fine.’ Not being reached and only sending messages is anything but fine.”
“And that’s been the only communication, just the one text?”
Amanda nodded. “As far as I know. Mrs. McCain did ask me to see what you thought about the police asking if she had any knowledge of Maggie letting girls from Mary’s House stay at her place. That’s suggestive, no?”
Matt nodded thoughtfully.
So, that’s who the ME bagged.
The questions, though, are still: Was she the intended target? Or was it Maggie? Or both? Or someone else?
“What are you thinking, Matt? One of them was there and started it?”
“What I’m thinking is about what Mickey O’Hara said. He was one of the calls I was juggling.”
“What does he know?”
“Not much. He was calling to see what I knew, and I told him what Jason said. But what he did say was that one of the crime-scene guys quietly told him two things. One, that the place was firebombed—”
“Firebombed!”
“Molotov cocktails. Coke bottles filled with gasoline.”
“Oh my God! Then it wasn’t just a home invasion?”
“Doesn’t look that way. At least I don’t think so. And two, that the medical examiner’s van was put in the garage, the door closed, then whoever died in the house was snuck out.”
