She knew as she said the words that she had accidentally jabbed another needle into Donna’s guilty conscience. The one time she had left her daughter alone, Mary died. Donna wiped her eyes.

“Yes, you’re right,” she said. “We were always with her.”

“Mr. Biggs, you told me that you think the peeper was at Mary’s bedroom window the week before the incident you reported.”

Clark nodded. “It was Saturday night.”

“Do you think that was the first time?”

“That was the first time Mary saw him,” he insisted.

“I’m sure of that.” “I’m trying to nail down a time line here,” Maggie said. “I’d like to know when this man first met Mary. So I’d like you both to think hard about the days just before that Saturday. I want you to remember if anything unusual happened during that period.”

“I’ll check my calendar at work,” Donna said. “Mary was with me until Friday evening.”

“Nothing happened on that Saturday,” Clark said. “Mary and I were home all day. I ordered a swing set, and it was delivered that morning. After I set it up, I couldn’t get Mary off the swing for the rest of the day. The two of us spent all afternoon outside, and then I grilled hamburgers for dinner.”

“Did anyone stop by the house while you were outside? Or did you notice any unusual activity? People circling the neighborhood?”

Clark shook his head. “I keep a close eye out for that kind of thing.”

“Mary was sick for a couple of days that week,” Donna added. “She didn’t go to school on Wednesday or Thursday. I had to take her to the doctor’s office.”

“Did you see anyone new while you were there?”

“Yes, there was a male nurse in the lab we hadn’t met before. Mary liked him.”

Maggie jotted down the name of the clinic in Superior where Mary’s doctor was located. “That’s good,” she said. “That’s exactly the kind of information I need. If you remember anything else like that—any kind of casual contact Mary had with a stranger—please let me know immediately.”

Donna and Clark Biggs both nodded.

“Tell me, Ms. Bei, do you think that—well, is this man violent?” Donna asked. “Did he intend to do some kind of harm to Mary?”

Maggie knew what she was thinking. Maybe, somehow, it was better this way. Death by drowning was a better fate than to be kidnapped by a predator. God was actually being merciful.

“I just don’t know,” Maggie replied. “He hasn’t shown any inclination to violence yet, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have crossed the line eventually. He still may.”

“It doesn’t matter what his intentions were,” Clark growled. “He killed her. This pervert killed my little girl.”

19
___________

The lake breeze made the water choppy out beyond the lift bridge. Dozens of seagulls placidly rode the swells. The small harbor tour boat bobbed in the white-tipped waves, and Tish Verdure grabbed hard to the red steel railing near the bow. She zipped up her leather jacket to her neck, but the cold made its way inside her clothes. Beside her, Finn Mathisen swayed with the rolling motion of the deck. He looked as tall and lean as a flagpole. His shirt billowed in the wind. He tilted his head back and finished his can of Miller Lite.