“Yeah. We have to go. The dogs picked up Emma’s scent in the backyard of a house, about two miles out of town.”

A.L. pulled his keys from his pocket. “I’ll drive. Who owns the house?”

“Alice Quest.”

His head snapped up. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

Rena shook her head. Then started running to keep up with A.L., who was sprinting toward the door.

“That house has already been searched once,” A.L. said. They were in his SUV and he’d taken the turn out of the parking lot fast. “As was her vehicle. And she was in a classroom. All damn day. She’s the one who called the police.”

Rena didn’t answer. She had a feeling that A.L. was talking to himself.

It took less than five minutes to reach the address. There were already four other cop cars around the house. Two of them had their lights going. She also saw Chief Faster’s SUV.

The man must have seen them arrive because he came out of the house just as they were going in. “We’ve searched the property,” Faster said. “Emma isn’t here.”

“Was here, though?” A.L. asked.

Faster shrugged. “Dogs picked up her scent outside. Not inside.”

Alice Quest lived in a small ranch with a one-car attached garage. Her lot was maybe a half acre, nicely divided between a front and a backyard. There were no outbuildings, no place to hide a child.

“What’s the chance it’s a fluke?” A.L. asked.

“FBI said that they were very confident. That’s good enough for me,” Faster said.

There was a play set in the back. One of those nice wooden ones, with two swings, a good-sized slide and a climbing wall. The ground beneath it was a fine mulch. Rena remembered that Alice had told her she had two granddaughters.

“Where’s Alice Quest?” Rena asked.

Faster looked at his watch. “About right now, I’d say she’s walking into the Baywood PD. We pinged her phone, found her having dinner downtown, and Blithe picked her up.”

Rena felt ill. She really hadn’t wanted anyone at the day care to be responsible for harming Emma. It was such a betrayal. Alice and the others were supposed to be the trusted ones, the ones who maybe didn’t love the children as a parent would but goddamn it, would still step in front of the speeding train for them if it came to that.

What the hell would she do once her and Gabe’s baby was born? Quit work? Was that the only real option because day care wasn’t safe?

“The two of you should head back,” Faster said. “I want you to question her.”

“Okay,” Rena said. A.L. didn’t say anything, just started walking to his vehicle. They were headed back to town when he finally spoke.