“Or the grandmother. Our discussion five minutes ago was predicated on us believing the grandmother.”

“We know she got to the day care. She told us her route and we were able to verify that with street cameras. And we see her at the end of the block and there’s no child in the back seat. So I think we’ve got a good reason to believe the grandmother.”

“But she’s the only one with a criminal record. And one of the charges was child endangerment.”

“I know. She’s on the list,” A.L. said. “We’re going to ask her all about that. But right now, we need to go review the Antler file and then talk to the parents. We look for any connection between them and the Whitmans. I think I might like to talk to whoever was managing the day care at the time of Corrine’s disappearance.”

“I got a text from Ferguson. He has meetings set up with the remaining day care teacher and the cook today.”

“Make sure he asks about their relationship with Kara Wiese. Do they like her, trust her, et cetera?”

Rena nodded and picked up her phone. Once she was done, she put her phone away. “If Emma knew who took her, maybe it wasn’t her parents or her grandmother but a family friend. Or maybe the parents of one of her little friends, somebody she trusts.”

“All possibilities.” He didn’t sound discouraged.

She understood. There was still hope. “I’m going to need to eat some lunch pretty soon.” She picked up her phone. Punched a few keys. “There’s a little diner two blocks from here.”

“Good enough,” A.L. said.

The BLT was better than he expected and the French fries were so hot he burned his tongue. Rena had ordered some kind of salad and a cup of soup. They were getting some interest from the locals who were sitting at the counter. Strangers in a small town got noticed. It was the nice thing about small towns. The bad part was you had to drive twenty miles to buy toilet paper and paper towels.

And schools in small towns had taken a hit. Many small districts had consolidated into larger, trying to stay afloat.