Why do you take children?

Why did you choose her?

Why did you take her?

Her mind skipped tracks.

Why did I leave the door open?

Why did you kill my daughter?

Alice wasn’t Michelle and there was no evidence that she’d been killed, but Alice was a Michelle and if they didn’t find her in time . . .

Why? To understand that single question, Olivia had to connect with Alice’s parents and to her environment.

She took a deep breath and walked up the sidewalk, through the front door, and into the home from which Alice had been taken.

A middle-aged couple stood in the middle of the dining room, watching two technicians combing for fibers. Neither looked like they’d slept.

She approached them and extended her hand to the mother.

“John and Louise Clark?”

Louise took her hand.

“My name’s Olivia Strauss. I’m the special agent in charge of the FBI’s investigation.” She offered Louise a smile as she looked into her swollen eyes. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I know it’s hard.”

“Thank you.” A fresh tear slid down the mother’s face.

Olivia took a tissue from her pocket. Offered it to Louise. “Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

John cleared his throat. “We’ve been asked a lot of questions. Truthfully, we could use some answers.”

“I understand. You can be assured that we’re doing everything we can. A whole set of procedures were set in motion last night.”

“What procedures?”

“Local authorities sealed off the immediate area and issued a statewide Amber Alert within an hour of the abduction. That turned a lot of eyes—local and state police, as well as the public—our way. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was immediately notified and Alice’s information was entered into the National Crime Information Center’s database. A leads management system is in place—every tip will be followed up. The team has already processed more than two dozen. It may not look like it, but the search for Alice is in full swing out there.”

Louise softened. “They asked for some of her clothes.”

“For the scent. The local K-9 unit established an active search grid of a half-mile in every direction and detectives started working door-to-door last night, talking with anyone who might’ve seen anything out of place. They’ll pick it up again this morning. We’ve also cross-checked criminal and sex-offender databases to determine if any might be principal suspects or possible participants in the crime.”

“They said our neighbor reported the truck,” John said.

“Yes and she got the plate number too. We already know that the truck was reported stolen several weeks ago in Nashville. We’ll find it.”

They stared at her, no less concerned, but at least she’d given them something to hold on to.

“We’re going to do everything we can to find Alice, I promise you. This isn’t just my job. It’s my life.”

“Thank you,” John said.

She gave him a nod and turned to Louise. “I understand you were here when he took her.”

“Yes.”

“I know you’ve already told the detective everything you remember, but I need to hear it from you. Walk me through it. Beginning with the first encounter at the front door.”

“Alice answered the door first.”

“Show me where you were standing when you first saw him.”

Louise walked to a spot about eight feet from the front door and stopped. “Here.”

Olivia sized up the door from Louise’s vantage point. “The report said the man was wearing gloves when he entered the house. What about when he first came to the door? Did you notice whether or not he wore gloves?”

Louise thought a moment then shook her head. “No, I don’t think he was. I would’ve remembered.”

“You’re certain?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

No gloves the first time. Why?

Because he didn’t expect to have to use force.

Olivia caught the attention of a CSI tech in a blue windbreaker. “We need to double check the work-up for this area, especially the doorbell—prints, fibers, skin. The abductor had exposed hands.”

“Will do.”

Back to Louise: “What happened next?”

Louise led her through the house, starting at the living room and ending at the closet. She recounted in detail the terror she and Alice had experienced. The man. The way he forced her to the ground. Everything she could remember.

Olivia stood at the foot of the stairs, mind churning. Why come into the house? Why not wait for a better opportunity, when Alice was away from the house? Why risk a home invasion in daylight, and while the mother was home?

He was desperate. Inexperienced. He hadn’t come for a girl; he’d come specifically for Alice.

“Can you show me her room?”

Louise led her upstairs. Four doors flanked the short hallway. To the right, a hall bathroom and the entry to the master bedroom. To the left, two other bedrooms.

Olivia angled into the bathroom. “This is the bathroom Alice used?”

“Yes. John and I have our own.”

She scanned the countertop. A pair of hairbrushes sat on top of a neatly folded hand towel. A pump bottle of Burt’s Bees hand soap. A red toothbrush next to a half-used tube of toothpaste.

Alice’s, but in Olivia’s mind they were as much Michelle’s.

She turned to Louise. “Can you show me her room?”

The woman led her directly across the hall and nudged the door open. To her right, rays of sunshine highlighted yellow-painted walls the color of daffodils. A full size bed with a lavender comforter sat against the far wall, and a small desk nestled beneath the window was stacked with books. Several framed pictures, black-and-white landscapes of the desert, were laid out on the bed.

Olivia stepped deeper into the room. Picked up one of the pictures.

“She was going to hang those up last night,” Louise said. “She picked them out herself. She was beginning to feel like this was her home too.”

“Tell me about Alice. What is she like?”

“Quiet. Curious. She’s unusual for her age, we saw that the first week she was with us.”

“How so?”

“John and I have raised two so we’re used to the turmoil that comes with this age.” Her face lightened. “But Alice is different. She’s more like an adult trapped in a young person’s body. Unusually quick-minded, but naïve to the ways of the world. She trusts too much. That scares me the most. When the man broke in, she just sat there on the couch. She did what he told her. She didn’t say a thing.”

“And the man? How did he react to her?”

“That’s the thing. He seemed apologetic. Scared even. It was so strange. He forced me down only because I tried to run. I know it sounds crazy, but when he said he wouldn’t hurt us, I believed him.”

“Did he say anything else? Anything unusual that sticks out?”

Louise thought for a moment then shook her head. “Not that I can think of.”

“The detective who interviewed you last night wrote in his report that Alice suffered from amnesia. That she couldn’t remember anything beyond six months ago. There’s nothing in the file that explains why.”

“They say her amnesia probably came from trauma she suffered at some point. Her brain’s way of protecting her, like post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“What do you know about her parents?”

“Nothing. They said the documents are confidential. Do you think someone from her past took her?”

Yes.

Everything pointed to an abductor who valued Alice for who she was and his connection to her. It was why he’d come to the front door first. Why he hadn’t worn gloves when he’d come. Why he’d been apologetic. Why he hadn’t harmed either of them. It was always in the whys.

But she didn’t say yes. Not yet.

“Half of all children who’re abducted are taken by family members. It’s a possibility that we can’t rule out.”