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Forty-Eight
Phone in hand, Ellie stormed into the interrogation room where Autumn had been left, barely controlling her rage.
The woman looked up at her as she twirled a strand of her hair around a finger. “It’s about time. Can I go now?”
Ellie crossed the room, feet pounding the floor. “Not yet.” Maybe never. If she discovered she’d hurt one hair on Ava’s sweet head, the woman would never see the light of day again. “We have to talk, Autumn.”
“Where’s my lawyer?” she demanded.
Ellie sucked in a breath. “On his way. But if you know where Ava is, I can help you now.”
“This is ridiculous,” Autumn said, her voice edgy. “I told that fed I don’t know anything.”
“I don’t believe you,” Ellie said, setting Autumn’s phone on the table in front of the woman. “Not after the texts I recovered.” She raised a brow. “There’s this one in particular—‘If you let me take Ava off your hands, you can solve your money problems and be single again.’”
The woman clamped her lips tight. “Not another word until my lawyer is present.”
Ellie folded her arms to keep from shaking Autumn. “Fine. But that tells me a lot about you, Miss Juniper. You care more about hiding behind an attorney than a missing six-year-old girl.”
Autumn flinched, then said nothing.
Forty-Nine
Honeysuckle Lane
Ellie wanted to force the truth out of Autumn, but her hands were tied. While Deputy Landrum stayed with the woman and waited for her attorney to arrive, she called Shondra.
“Is Jasper still there?”
“Yes,” Shondra said. “But it’s really tense here. He’s been pacing like a mad animal while Lara just stares at the Christmas tree looking heartbroken.”
“Keep him there,” Ellie said. “I found some incriminating texts between him and his girlfriend. Special Agent Fox and I are on our way to talk to him.”
Shondra agreed, and Ellie and Derrick hurried to her Jeep. Except for the people gathered for the prayer vigil around the Angel Tree, the streets were empty now, giving Crooked Creek a ghost town feel.
Dread curled inside Ellie as she turned onto Honeysuckle Lane and swung into the Truman driveway. Unfortunately, she was about to make Lara’s day worse with her accusations.
“How do you play this?” Ellie asked.
“Take the lead,” Derrick said. “I’ll stay to the side and examine Autumn’s laptop for anything to back up our theory.”
Ellie reached for the door handle. “That sounds like a plan,” she said, as they walked up to the house. She rang the bell and Shondra let them in. “Emily Nettles just left,” Shondra said. “But she said she’ll be back. At least she got Jasper and Lara to stop shouting blame at each other.”
Ellie gave Shondra’s arm a squeeze. “Did either of them add anything to their original stories?”
The deputy shook her head and they followed her to the living room where Jasper was walking back and forth, looking out the window as if he expected Ava to run through the door any minute and throw her little arms around him. Just as Shondra described, Lara looked desolate and sat tracing a finger over a reindeer ornament that Ava must have made.
Ellie’s heart ached. But she remembered Autumn’s texts to Jasper and straightened.
He jerked his head up to look at her, and Lara dropped her hands to her lap. “Did you find her?”
Ellie gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, but not yet. We’re not giving up though.” She glanced at Jasper. “We need to talk to you, Mr.Truman.”
He went totally still, his gaze wary. Meanwhile, Derrick seated himself at the desk in the corner and booted up Autumn’s laptop. While he scrolled, he angled himself so he could watch their interaction.
“Sit down,” Ellie told Jasper.
He dropped onto the couch and Lara sank back into the chair, the fear in her eyes tearing at Ellie.
