His remaining two calls went about the same. Each verified that the time written on the sheet was correct and that Kara Wiese had been in the room. The only difference was how they knew the correct time. One had checked his phone and the other admitted that she’d guessed based on the time her car clock showed when she pulled into the parking lot.

He finished at about the same time Rena got through her calls. “Anything?” he asked.

“I was only able to reach two of the three. Left a message for the other one. But nothing odd with the two that I spoke with. The first one verified that Kara Wiese was the teacher in the room and the second one said that both Kara Wiese and Claire Potter were in the room.”

“What time did the parent sign in?” A.L. asked.

“7:27.”

“That makes some sense if the second teacher starts at 7:30. She might have been a few minutes early.”

“But well after Emma was dropped off,” Rena said.

A.L. looked at the classroom sign-in sheet again. “Right. The one you didn’t reach is the one who signed in closest to when Elaine Broadstreet supposedly saw Kara in the lobby.”

“Yeah. Michael Purifoy. His son’s name is Jake. And he noted the time as 7:18. Hopefully he’ll call back soon.”

“For now, let’s call the two who signed the clipboard by the front office. Want to split them?”

“Let’s just do it together on Speaker,” Rena said.

A.L. matched the first name on the sheet to one on the list that Alice had provided. “Jasmine Opal,” he said. “She works at Wiseback Plumbing.” He dialed her cell. She answered on the first ring.

“Hello.”

“Is this Jasmine Opal?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice substantially cooler. Probably thought he was a telemarketer.

“This is Detective McKittridge from the Baywood Police Department. My partner, Detective Morgan, is also on the line.” Always better to be truthful if her statement ended up being important. “We have a few questions about Lakeside Learning Center.”

“My son isn’t in Emma’s class,” she said quickly, as if she thought that might be her get-out-of-jail-free card. Nobody really liked talking to the police.

“No worries,” he said. “What we’re interested in is your drop-off this morning. I am looking at a sign-in sheet that shows your signature at 7:52. Does that sound right?”

“Yes.”

“And where was that sign-in sheet when you signed it?” he asked.

“On the hook, by the office door, where it always is,” she said.

“And do you normally sign in there?” he asked.