“Lara’s mom also wondered out loud if Lara could’ve been high when she lost Kristal.”

“Lost her,” she said. “That sounds like misplacing your keys.”

* * *

We finished dessert and coffee, took a long time metabolizing. Allison fought for the check, finally won. A flush sparked her cheeks.

“It’s good to have you back,” I said. “Even if you won’t let me pay.”

“Good to be back . . . something bothers me, Alex. I can see Lara getting high being an issue for her husband. But why would Rand care— or even know about that?”

I had no answer for that.

She played with my sleeve. “Am I being a bore? Sorry, you’ve piqued my curiosity.”

“Anything but. Go on.”

“This was supposedly a random crime, right? The boys never knew Kristal before they abducted her.”

“They said they just happened to spot her wandering around by herself. Why?”

“It seems odd,” she said. “A little girl in a mall, all those shoppers. You’d think she wouldn’t get very far before someone intervened.”

“Post-Christmas sales,” I said. “Everyone was out for a bargain. Maybe no one noticed because there wasn’t an obvious struggle. To a casual observer it could’ve looked like a couple of teenagers babysitting a younger sib.”

“I suppose,” she said.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Kristal was two, right?”

“A month shy.”

“That’s a peak period for separation anxiety. Why wouldn’t there be a struggle?”

“Some kids are more trusting than others,” I said.

“And some neglected and abused kids show no stranger anxiety at all. Was there any indication of child abuse?”

“The autopsy didn’t reveal any old breaks or scars and the body was well-nourished. I suppose that if Nina’s claims about drugs and isolation are true, there could have been some level of neglect.”

“How close did the Malleys live to the mall?”

“About half a mile.”

“So Lara probably shopped there often.”

“She did.”

“How far were they from the housing project?”

“Around the same distance. You’re thinking the boys knew Kristal even though they claimed they didn’t?”

“They hung out at the arcade, would’ve had opportunity to see her. Perhaps they’d noticed Lara’s attention span lapsing before, had even talked to Kristal when she took her eyes off her. That would’ve made it easier for them to take her.”

“Premeditation,” I said. “The boys plotted the whole thing beforehand and they lied about that because it would’ve made them look worse? You think that was what plagued Rand?”