and birthdays. Frankly, I was surprised when I got the call from Wendy's lawyer telling me that she'd been in an accident and wasn't expected to survive, and that I should come right away because I was soon to be the guardian of a fourteen-year-old girl.”
“She never told you she'd made you Belinda's guardian?”
“Nope.” He leaned back in his chair. “Not that I'm complaining. Belinda is a great kid. It wasn't always easy, not by a long shot. The first eighteen months she was with me were pretty rocky, frankly, but we've done okay these past few years. We managed to become a family in spite of ourselves.”
He handed her a framed photograph from his desk. In it, he had his arm over the shoulders of a tiny, confident-looking young woman in a cap and gown.
“Belinda's high school graduation. Just two years ago, almost to the day.”
“She's beautiful.” Emme had seen other photographs of the missing girl in the file. When Nick submitted his application, he'd sent several pictures in an attached file. Belinda Hudson had been petite and perfectly proportioned, with dark blond hair and a pretty smile. Had some unknown someone been dazzled by that smile, drawn to that beautiful face, with dark intentions? She'd seen all too many times what could happen to pretty young girls when they'd unwittingly attracted the attention of the wrong person.
“Let's go back to the weekend your niece went missing. You were out of town?”
He nodded. “I was in Los Angeles at a car show, had been there since Tuesday of that week. When I got home on Monday night, there was a call from her roommate on my answering machine, asking if Belinda had come home for the weekend. Said she'd left their sorority house on Saturday morning, that they had tickets for a concert on Sunday night, but Belindanever showed up. I called the police in Eastwind and when they tried to ignore me, I drove there and made them take a report. I'm sure you've seen the police reports. I sent in everything I had with my application.”
“Why did they ignore you?”
“They said she'd probably gone off for the weekend and forgot to tell anyone.”
“And you didn't think that was likely?”
“No. If she was going away for an entire weekend, she'd have told someone. Deb, maybe, or me, if she was going to be away for more than a day or two. She wouldn't just go and stay away and not let me or Deb know.”
“So you told the police this and they made a report. Then what?” She gestured for him to continue.
“Then they interviewed the girls in the house, and they looked around her room hoping to find something that might give them a clue, where she might have gone. But there wasn't anything.” He looked at the ground. “I looked too, when they were finished, in case they missed something.”
Emme tapped her pen on the top of her notebook. “I know it's been asked before, but can you think of any reason why Belinda would want to walk away from her life?”
“That's a nice way of saying run away,” he observed dryly. “No, no reason I know of. Her roommate told me she wasn't dating anyone in particular, that she hadn't mentioned anyone stalking her or paying undue attention to her, or following her. Deb—that's her roommate, Debra Newhouse—said Belinda was just enjoying her sophomore year. She was into all the activities at her sorority house, butshe was also focusing a lot on her grades. She spent a lot of time in the library, Deb said. Beyond that, I don't know what else I can tell you.”
Emme pulled a folder from her bag and opened it. She removed a sheet of paper and slid it across the desk to him. “This is from the police file you sent us. It's a copy of the page from Belinda's datebook for Saturday, January twenty-fourth.”
“The day she disappeared,” he noted as he reached for the copy.
“She has initials circled there.” Emme pointed.
“D.S., yes. The police asked me if I knew whose initials they are.” He shook his head from
“She never told you she'd made you Belinda's guardian?”
“Nope.” He leaned back in his chair. “Not that I'm complaining. Belinda is a great kid. It wasn't always easy, not by a long shot. The first eighteen months she was with me were pretty rocky, frankly, but we've done okay these past few years. We managed to become a family in spite of ourselves.”
He handed her a framed photograph from his desk. In it, he had his arm over the shoulders of a tiny, confident-looking young woman in a cap and gown.
“Belinda's high school graduation. Just two years ago, almost to the day.”
“She's beautiful.” Emme had seen other photographs of the missing girl in the file. When Nick submitted his application, he'd sent several pictures in an attached file. Belinda Hudson had been petite and perfectly proportioned, with dark blond hair and a pretty smile. Had some unknown someone been dazzled by that smile, drawn to that beautiful face, with dark intentions? She'd seen all too many times what could happen to pretty young girls when they'd unwittingly attracted the attention of the wrong person.
“Let's go back to the weekend your niece went missing. You were out of town?”
He nodded. “I was in Los Angeles at a car show, had been there since Tuesday of that week. When I got home on Monday night, there was a call from her roommate on my answering machine, asking if Belinda had come home for the weekend. Said she'd left their sorority house on Saturday morning, that they had tickets for a concert on Sunday night, but Belindanever showed up. I called the police in Eastwind and when they tried to ignore me, I drove there and made them take a report. I'm sure you've seen the police reports. I sent in everything I had with my application.”
“Why did they ignore you?”
“They said she'd probably gone off for the weekend and forgot to tell anyone.”
“And you didn't think that was likely?”
“No. If she was going away for an entire weekend, she'd have told someone. Deb, maybe, or me, if she was going to be away for more than a day or two. She wouldn't just go and stay away and not let me or Deb know.”
“So you told the police this and they made a report. Then what?” She gestured for him to continue.
“Then they interviewed the girls in the house, and they looked around her room hoping to find something that might give them a clue, where she might have gone. But there wasn't anything.” He looked at the ground. “I looked too, when they were finished, in case they missed something.”
Emme tapped her pen on the top of her notebook. “I know it's been asked before, but can you think of any reason why Belinda would want to walk away from her life?”
“That's a nice way of saying run away,” he observed dryly. “No, no reason I know of. Her roommate told me she wasn't dating anyone in particular, that she hadn't mentioned anyone stalking her or paying undue attention to her, or following her. Deb—that's her roommate, Debra Newhouse—said Belinda was just enjoying her sophomore year. She was into all the activities at her sorority house, butshe was also focusing a lot on her grades. She spent a lot of time in the library, Deb said. Beyond that, I don't know what else I can tell you.”
Emme pulled a folder from her bag and opened it. She removed a sheet of paper and slid it across the desk to him. “This is from the police file you sent us. It's a copy of the page from Belinda's datebook for Saturday, January twenty-fourth.”
“The day she disappeared,” he noted as he reached for the copy.
“She has initials circled there.” Emme pointed.
“D.S., yes. The police asked me if I knew whose initials they are.” He shook his head from
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