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“I agree.” She thumbed open the file and began skimming. “This is what Renee told the police when they interrogated her the day after Kaylee disappeared.”
Ellie read out loud: “‘Kaylee was so excited about going to the beach. I’d already bought some canvasses for us to do some sand paintings and seashell designs for her room. We chased the waves and built sandcastles and collected seashells. Then we had our picnic.’”
Ellie skimmed further.
“‘That morning we packed ham sandwiches, celery and carrot sticks and apple slices. The night before we baked brownies together, so I packed those for dessert. And we took our water bottles and I included a juice box for Kaylee as a treat. She loves the fruit punch ones.’”
Ellie continued. “Detective Forrester asked her if she left the picnic basket alone at any time and she admitted she did for a few minutes while they combed for shells.”
Derrick listened intently, his gaze on the whiteboard.
Ellie propped her chin on her hand, thinking. “What if this woman was stalking Kaylee and Renee, just waiting on the right moment to kidnap Kaylee? She could have slipped something in Renee’s water while they were hunting shells.”
“Sounds feasible,” Derrick said. “It would explain the results of the blood tests and the reason Renee was so disoriented. Did the police analyze the water bottle?”
Ellie rummaged through the notes and then checked the crime-scene photos. “I don’t see anything about it. And I don’t see the water bottle in the photos.” She thumped her fingers on the file. “Which means the kidnapper could have tossed it or taken it with her.”
One Hundred Twenty-Six
It was unsettling how quickly Forrester closed the case, Ellie thought.
Irritated at his lack of detail, she dug for information on the detective. Either he’d jumped to conclusions and hadn’t conducted a thorough investigation, or he was biased against women, as Renee’s sister suggested.
“This is interesting,” she said, understanding dawning. “No wonder Forrester came after Renee so hard. In one of the interview transcripts when he was pressuring Renee to confess, he admitted his little brother was killed by a drunk driver.”
Derrick tunneled his fingers through his hair. “That would make him a hardass on anyone he thought was under the influence when a child was hurt.”
She phoned Detective Forrester again and put him on speaker. “I’ve been studying Renee Wilkinson’s statement,” Ellie said. “According to her and her sister, she was in AA and was not drinking at the time Kaylee disappeared.”
“Jesus Christ, Reeves. It’s Christmas Eve. My shift’s nearly finished. Like I told you before, her blood-alcohol level told a different story,” Forrester said. “Lab results don’t lie.”
“Whether or not she willingly consumed that substance is the key. We have a theory. The woman you interviewed, Jordan Jones, either disappeared or she used a fake name. So far we haven’t found anything on her.”
“So? She said she was just passing through and we didn’t need her testimony to make the case, not with the lab results.”
“Priscilla Wilkinson said she tried to contact Renee’s AA sponsor but couldn’t find her. Did you look for her?”
“No reason to,” he muttered.
“Did you consider that Renee could have been drugged?” Ellie asked, not bothering to hide her frustration. “That that’s the reason she was so confused and disoriented?”
“Listen, I tied this case up with a nice red bow,” he said, his tone irritated. “The whole story about AA was fabricated to build her case.”
“I don’t think so,” Ellie said. “I think that the woman who sponsored her might have actually been this Jordan Jones woman you talked to. She knew Renee would be at the beach, followed her and somehow drugged her water. When Renee passed out, she took Kaylee.”
“You really do have some kind of imagination,” the detective said. “But no proof.”
“That’s why we’re calling. According to Renee’s statement, she carried water bottles for both her and Kaylee to the beach.” Derrick said. “But there’s no mention of them or photographs of them in your file.”
“Again, she lied,” he said.
Ellie was losing her patience. “Did you find a liquor bottle? Wine? Anything in her cooler?”
An awkward pause followed while she waited on his response.
“I take that as a no,” Ellie said.
“She could have thrown it away,” he muttered.
