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Asked him, finally. Denied it. Hmm.
Erica blushed.
‘The text to your sister,’ said Ren. ‘What had you asked your husband?’
‘I didn’t really think he was, but I … I just asked him if he was having an affair.’
‘What made you think that?’ said Ren.
‘I jumped to conclusions,’ said Erica. ‘Because of the whole working late thing – it’s a cliché, I know … but …’ She shrugged. ‘To be honest, it’s probably just me being paranoid.’
‘And from your text, you say he denied it.’
‘Yes,’ said Erica.
‘But, you write “Hmm” …’
‘I was tipsy,’ said Erica. She shrugged. ‘If you’re asking me right now? I do believe him. Of course I do. I get a little dramatic. He’s right. He’s got a lot of work on. Making him sound like he’s sneaking around behind my back sounds terrible right now.’
You bet.
‘What was your husband’s demeanor when he returned from checking on the kids?’ said Ren.
Erica frowned. ‘Fine – why?’
‘Was there anything in his behavior that caused you concern?’ said Ren.
‘No – not at all.’
‘What did he say?’ said Ren.
‘He said that the kids were sleeping, and that the sitter was watching television. Are you putting out an Amber Alert?’
‘We’re not in a position to do that,’ said Ren, ‘we don’t have enough information to release. We don’t know what happened to Laurie. We don’t have a description of an abductor, we don’t have a vehicle description—’
‘But you have a photo of Laurie!’ said Erica. ‘Taken tonight! And I’m sure you have a photo of the sitter. She could be the … perpetrator here …’
‘We have already released their photos,’ said Ren. ‘Their images will be displayed around Breckenridge, they’ll be on local news, in the newspapers first thing.’
‘But … Amber Alerts, they’re on the highway signs, right?’
‘Yes, but without a vehicle description, drivers won’t know what to look out for,’ said Ren.
‘What about at a rest stop? Someone might see them. Didn’t a guy in California rescue a little girl when he saw her in a pickup? That was an Amber Alert.’
‘There were witnesses to that kidnapping,’ said Ren. ‘The police had a description of the vehicle, and there was surveillance footage of the vehicle shown on television, along with the girl’s photo.’
‘Don’t you have surveillance footage here?’ said Erica.
‘Most of the cameras were not operational at the hotel,’ said Ren.
‘I don’t believe it,’ said Erica. ‘So, you’re telling me you have nothing.’
‘For an Amber Alert, we have to know that an abduction has occurred—’
‘What do you think this is,
Adventures in Babysitting
?’
said Erica. ‘That they’re out on the town somewhere having fun?’
‘No,’ said Ren. ‘But we are limited by the amount of information we have to release.’
‘I can’t believe this, I can’t believe any of this—’
‘I know this is difficult,’ said Ren. ‘Just a few more questions.’
Erica nodded.
‘Have there been any changes in Laurie’s behavior over the last little while?’ said Ren.
‘No,’ said Erica.
‘Have a think about that,’ said Ren.
‘I’m telling you straight off, because I know. We have Laurie Saturday during the day, every second weekend. I don’t know what happens the rest of the time, but she’s been the same as she always is. Oh … tonight, she had a pain in her stomach, that was all, but she was fine shortly afterward. We got out of the SUV, and she kind of got a sharp pain, she was bent double with it, but by the time we were checking in, she said it was gone. And she didn’t look ill: no fever, rosy cheeks, and she was running around after Leo.’
‘So, this weekend … you were picking her up from the Merritts’ house?’
‘Yes – on Saturday afternoon, it was about four o’clock. We told Laurie about Breck when we got there – it was a surprise. Obviously, we had run
Asked him, finally. Denied it. Hmm.
Erica blushed.
‘The text to your sister,’ said Ren. ‘What had you asked your husband?’
‘I didn’t really think he was, but I … I just asked him if he was having an affair.’
‘What made you think that?’ said Ren.
‘I jumped to conclusions,’ said Erica. ‘Because of the whole working late thing – it’s a cliché, I know … but …’ She shrugged. ‘To be honest, it’s probably just me being paranoid.’
‘And from your text, you say he denied it.’
‘Yes,’ said Erica.
‘But, you write “Hmm” …’
‘I was tipsy,’ said Erica. She shrugged. ‘If you’re asking me right now? I do believe him. Of course I do. I get a little dramatic. He’s right. He’s got a lot of work on. Making him sound like he’s sneaking around behind my back sounds terrible right now.’
You bet.
‘What was your husband’s demeanor when he returned from checking on the kids?’ said Ren.
Erica frowned. ‘Fine – why?’
‘Was there anything in his behavior that caused you concern?’ said Ren.
‘No – not at all.’
‘What did he say?’ said Ren.
‘He said that the kids were sleeping, and that the sitter was watching television. Are you putting out an Amber Alert?’
‘We’re not in a position to do that,’ said Ren, ‘we don’t have enough information to release. We don’t know what happened to Laurie. We don’t have a description of an abductor, we don’t have a vehicle description—’
‘But you have a photo of Laurie!’ said Erica. ‘Taken tonight! And I’m sure you have a photo of the sitter. She could be the … perpetrator here …’
‘We have already released their photos,’ said Ren. ‘Their images will be displayed around Breckenridge, they’ll be on local news, in the newspapers first thing.’
‘But … Amber Alerts, they’re on the highway signs, right?’
‘Yes, but without a vehicle description, drivers won’t know what to look out for,’ said Ren.
‘What about at a rest stop? Someone might see them. Didn’t a guy in California rescue a little girl when he saw her in a pickup? That was an Amber Alert.’
‘There were witnesses to that kidnapping,’ said Ren. ‘The police had a description of the vehicle, and there was surveillance footage of the vehicle shown on television, along with the girl’s photo.’
‘Don’t you have surveillance footage here?’ said Erica.
‘Most of the cameras were not operational at the hotel,’ said Ren.
‘I don’t believe it,’ said Erica. ‘So, you’re telling me you have nothing.’
‘For an Amber Alert, we have to know that an abduction has occurred—’
‘What do you think this is,
Adventures in Babysitting
?’
said Erica. ‘That they’re out on the town somewhere having fun?’
‘No,’ said Ren. ‘But we are limited by the amount of information we have to release.’
‘I can’t believe this, I can’t believe any of this—’
‘I know this is difficult,’ said Ren. ‘Just a few more questions.’
Erica nodded.
‘Have there been any changes in Laurie’s behavior over the last little while?’ said Ren.
‘No,’ said Erica.
‘Have a think about that,’ said Ren.
‘I’m telling you straight off, because I know. We have Laurie Saturday during the day, every second weekend. I don’t know what happens the rest of the time, but she’s been the same as she always is. Oh … tonight, she had a pain in her stomach, that was all, but she was fine shortly afterward. We got out of the SUV, and she kind of got a sharp pain, she was bent double with it, but by the time we were checking in, she said it was gone. And she didn’t look ill: no fever, rosy cheeks, and she was running around after Leo.’
‘So, this weekend … you were picking her up from the Merritts’ house?’
‘Yes – on Saturday afternoon, it was about four o’clock. We told Laurie about Breck when we got there – it was a surprise. Obviously, we had run
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