“Did Tessa ever mention Sophie’s biological father? Maybe he contacted her recently, showed interest in his child?”

Mrs. Ennis shook her head. “Tessa never spoke of him. I always assumed the man didn’t have any interest in being a father. He had a better offer, she said, and left it at that.”

“Tessa ever mention being worried about an arrest she’d made recently?”

Mrs. Ennis shook her head.

“What about trouble on the job, maybe with another trooper? Couldn’t have been easy to be the only female in the Framingham barracks.”

Again, Mrs. Ennis shook her head. “She never spoke of work. Least not to me. Tessa was proud of her job, though. I could see that, just watching her leave for patrol each night. Maybe she picked the state police because she thought it would help her child, but it helped her, too. A strong job for a strong woman.”

“You think she could’ve shot her husband?” D.D. asked bluntly.

Mrs. Ennis wouldn’t answer.

“What if he hurt her child?”

Mrs. Ennis looked up sharply. “Oh dear Lord. You can’t mean …” She covered her mouth with her hand. “You think Brian killed Sophie? You think she’s dead? But the Amber Alert … I thought she was just missing. Maybe run off because of the confusion …”

“What confusion?”

“The news said there was an incident. Left one dead. I thought maybe there was a break-in, a struggle. Maybe Sophie ran away, to be safe.”

“Who would break in?” D.D. asked.

“I don’t know. It’s Boston. Burglars, gangsters … These things happen.”

“There’s no sign of break-in,” D.D. said quietly, giving Mrs. Ennis time to let that news settle in. “Tessa has confessed to shooting her husband. What we’re trying to determine is what led up to that event, and what happened to Sophie.”

“Oh my Lord. Oh my … Oh my …” Mrs. Ennis’s hands moved from her mouth to her eyes. Already, she had started crying. “But I never thought … Even if Brian had … lost his temper a few times, I never suspected things had gotten so bad. I mean, he went away, right? If things had gotten so bad, why didn’t she and Sophie just leave him when he was away? I would’ve helped. Surely she knew that!”

“Excellent question,” D.D. agreed softly. “Why didn’t she and Sophie just leave once he’d shipped out?”

“Sophie ever talk much about school?” Bobby spoke up. “Did she seem happy there, or have any concerns?”