notes from Andy’s case. “I understand you have a milk delivery in the morning and sometimes Ms. Lawrence orders groceries that the supermarket sends out by van.”
Both girls shake their heads. Laura says, “We provide lunch for the children. Milk and groceries are delivered twice a week. But like we told the policeman, we didn’t have any deliveries that day. Supplies came the day before, brought by the same people who always come.”
Natalie frowns. “We aren’t much help, are we?”
Zack gives her a reassuring smile. “You are helping just by answering our questions. Do you think we could talk to the kids Andy was playing with?”
At that, the girls smile.
“Sure. But you know kids,” Laura says. “They have very short memories.”
They lead us outside. Natalie points to the sandbox. “Those four kids play there everyday. We call them The Sand Pipers. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
Two of the boys seem to be arguing over a truck.
“You can’t play with this one. It’s Andy’s truck!”
“Can too! Miss Natalie said Andy’s not coming back.”
Natalie skillfully ends the argument by scooping up the mini bulldozer. “I think I’ll just hold onto this myself for a while.” She kneels down in the sand. “I want to introduce you all to Agents Armstrong and Monroe. They have some questions about Andy.”
Unfortunately, the four now-smiling cherubs, three boys and a girl, have nothing of value to tell us. Two of the boys only remember they were playing with Andy in the sand the last day he was here. Kevin, the boy who wanted to claim the truck recalled they were building a castle that day and that the lone girl in their crew, Lorelei, kicked it over. Another brief argument ensues, this time between Lorelei and Kevin. They stop when Ms. Lawrence joins us on the playground. We leave Natalie and Laura to their charges and accompany Ms. Laurence back to the office.
“Were they able to help?” she asks.
“Everything helps,” Zack says, jotting something down in his notebook. He looks up. “There’s one more thing I wanted to double check with you. The girls said there were no deliveries that morning. Is that correct?”
“Yes. Wait! The mail. Would you call that a delivery? The postman came mid-morning, like always. And we did have a substitute mailman that week.” The words come out slowly, as if she’s turning them over in her mind for the very first time. “Actually, it might have been a little longer than a week. I remember because Natalie took an instant liking to him. He was in his early thirties, I think, handsome, very personable. She was crushed when our regular carrier returned from his vacation.”
We follow Ms. Lawrence back into the welcome air conditioning of the office.
“Do you recall whether he showed interest in any of the children? In Andy in particular?” I ask, feeling a spark of hope.
She shakes her head. “By mid-morning the children have all arrived and are in class. As you can see, our office is in the front. The classrooms are in the back. During the course of a normal delivery, the postal worker wouldn’t even see the children. They would park, walk in the front door, and drop the mail off here, at the reception desk.”
From this vantage point, she’s right. The classrooms are out of sight.
I thank her for her cooperation, leave my card for her in case she thinks of anything else. “Before we leave, we’ll walk the perimeter, if you don’t mind.”
She says, “Of course not. Anything to help.”
Zack and I exit through the front door and turn right to walk the fence line. Next to the school, about fifty yards away, is another residence—the owners were questioned at the time of the kidnapping, but both worked downtown and were gone all day, so they had nothing to offer.
We reach the back, where another fence surrounds the playground. I can’t see over it but Zack can. Even with his height, though, he wouldn’t be able to reach over and
Both girls shake their heads. Laura says, “We provide lunch for the children. Milk and groceries are delivered twice a week. But like we told the policeman, we didn’t have any deliveries that day. Supplies came the day before, brought by the same people who always come.”
Natalie frowns. “We aren’t much help, are we?”
Zack gives her a reassuring smile. “You are helping just by answering our questions. Do you think we could talk to the kids Andy was playing with?”
At that, the girls smile.
“Sure. But you know kids,” Laura says. “They have very short memories.”
They lead us outside. Natalie points to the sandbox. “Those four kids play there everyday. We call them The Sand Pipers. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
Two of the boys seem to be arguing over a truck.
“You can’t play with this one. It’s Andy’s truck!”
“Can too! Miss Natalie said Andy’s not coming back.”
Natalie skillfully ends the argument by scooping up the mini bulldozer. “I think I’ll just hold onto this myself for a while.” She kneels down in the sand. “I want to introduce you all to Agents Armstrong and Monroe. They have some questions about Andy.”
Unfortunately, the four now-smiling cherubs, three boys and a girl, have nothing of value to tell us. Two of the boys only remember they were playing with Andy in the sand the last day he was here. Kevin, the boy who wanted to claim the truck recalled they were building a castle that day and that the lone girl in their crew, Lorelei, kicked it over. Another brief argument ensues, this time between Lorelei and Kevin. They stop when Ms. Lawrence joins us on the playground. We leave Natalie and Laura to their charges and accompany Ms. Laurence back to the office.
“Were they able to help?” she asks.
“Everything helps,” Zack says, jotting something down in his notebook. He looks up. “There’s one more thing I wanted to double check with you. The girls said there were no deliveries that morning. Is that correct?”
“Yes. Wait! The mail. Would you call that a delivery? The postman came mid-morning, like always. And we did have a substitute mailman that week.” The words come out slowly, as if she’s turning them over in her mind for the very first time. “Actually, it might have been a little longer than a week. I remember because Natalie took an instant liking to him. He was in his early thirties, I think, handsome, very personable. She was crushed when our regular carrier returned from his vacation.”
We follow Ms. Lawrence back into the welcome air conditioning of the office.
“Do you recall whether he showed interest in any of the children? In Andy in particular?” I ask, feeling a spark of hope.
She shakes her head. “By mid-morning the children have all arrived and are in class. As you can see, our office is in the front. The classrooms are in the back. During the course of a normal delivery, the postal worker wouldn’t even see the children. They would park, walk in the front door, and drop the mail off here, at the reception desk.”
From this vantage point, she’s right. The classrooms are out of sight.
I thank her for her cooperation, leave my card for her in case she thinks of anything else. “Before we leave, we’ll walk the perimeter, if you don’t mind.”
She says, “Of course not. Anything to help.”
Zack and I exit through the front door and turn right to walk the fence line. Next to the school, about fifty yards away, is another residence—the owners were questioned at the time of the kidnapping, but both worked downtown and were gone all day, so they had nothing to offer.
We reach the back, where another fence surrounds the playground. I can’t see over it but Zack can. Even with his height, though, he wouldn’t be able to reach over and
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