‘Hi, Stephanie. I’m Detective Wyatt, and this is Detective Roberts. Can we speak to you for a few minutes?’

Movements jerky, the young girl stepped back as she waved Alyssa and Cord inside.

‘Are your parents home?’

‘No, ma’am. They were having dinner with friends in Santa Fe. But I just called my mom a few minutes ago to tell her what was going on, and she said they would leave right away. Do they have to be here before you can talk to me? Because I can call my mom back again, and she’ll tell you it’s okay. She’d want me to do what I can to help.’

Alyssa smiled softly. ‘If it would make you feel better to have your mom on speaker while we ask you a few questions, that’s fine, but we just want to try to get an idea of what happened between the time Katelyn left your house to us getting the call that she hadn’t returned home.’

Stephanie’s index finger, already red and bleeding, went to her mouth. Moisture spilled from the young girl’s eyes, and her shoulders shook as she began gasping for air. ‘I don’t know what hap… happened to her. She left here at… at three forty-five, and then her mom called at four-thirty saying she hadn’t come home yet and that she wasn’t answering her phone, and then I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer my call either, and so I sent her a text, but she didn’t respond to that, and so I tried…’

Seconds before the young girl crashed to the floor, Alyssa caught her, easing her over to the stairs right behind her. She threw a glance behind her to Cord. ‘Water.’

He nodded and disappeared around the corner where she heard cabinets opening and closing, and then a minute later, he returned. She took the plastic cup from him and held it up to Stephanie’s lips.

‘Here. I want you to take a drink, okay?’

Even when the young girl’s hands reached out to take the cup, Alyssa kept hold of it, not trusting that it wouldn’t fall from her grasp. After three small sips, Stephanie twisted her head away and wiped at her eyes. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just scared.’

‘That’s okay, it’s understandable. Do you think you can answer a few questions now?’

Stephanie nodded. ‘Yes, ma’am. I can try.’

‘Are you okay sitting here on the stairs, or would you feel more comfortable in the living room?’

‘I’m okay.’

‘All right, Stephanie. Mrs. Phillipson said Katelyn walked home with you after school today. Did you come straight here, or did you stop somewhere along the way?’

‘Straight here because Kate didn’t have long before she needed to be home to help her mom, and she was excited to see the dress I got for our eighth-grade promotion.’ Her voice choked. ‘It’s Thursday. We’re supposed to go together.’

‘Okay, so you got home and showed her the dress. What else did you do?’