“You’re right, I guess my brother might have some hope after all… in a few years.” Jack laughed and turned his attention back to Mrs. Ballard. “Jennifer, seeing that you work late on Thursday nights, how did it come to be that you were outside at 7:40am on the day Gabrielle disappeared? That would have been a Friday morning, right after a late-night shift.”

“Oh, I’m always up. I need to be. I have to put Toby on the school bus at 7:30. I went out to the grocery store after that. Since I don’t work on Fridays, I found it’s a great time to shop. Not many people at the store at that hour. Gabrielle was running out to her car as I got into mine.”

“Adam didn’t take the bus?” Jack asked.

“No, Gabrielle always drove him.”

Given Gabrielle’s habits with her son, Val already knew this fact, but there was one thing that did shock her. “You don’t park in the garage? Gabrielle either?” Val looked out the window and pointed, smiling politely. “It’s winter out there. Would have helped on those blustery mornings.”

“We have a single car detached. Gabrielle has the same thing. I’m not sure why she parked outside but there’s no way we’re getting a car into ours. Not with all of the stuff we store in there.” Jennifer laughed. “I don’t think we’d be able to get another bicycle in there let alone a car.”

“Fair enough!” Val laughed too. “Seems everything I try to discard ends up in my garage instead. I don’t use it for my car either.”

Jennifer Ballard chuckled, but Ron smirked. He shifted in his seat, and glanced at his watch. It was only then that Val realized they had been in the home for nearly an hour.

“If there’s nothing more, we should be starting dinner.” Ron Ballard took another look at his watch, then glanced at the clock on the wall, to emphasize the time.

Jennifer nodded in agreement. “It is getting late. If I don’t start some food soon, the quiet little boy in the next room won’t be so quiet anymore.”

“Well, thank you both for meeting with us. This has been most helpful.” Val rose from her chair. “If we can think of anything else, any other questions, would it be okay to give you a call?”

“Of course,” Jennifer said. Ron nodded.

After Val had her coat on, she looked at Ron, specifically the logo on his shirt, and asked one final question. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ballard, to be so rude as to not have asked this earlier. What kind of work do you do?”