LITMIR.BIZ

      9

      Bob led Ren down the hallway to the meeting room where Mark Whaley was waiting. He was startled by the opening door. He stood up and shook hands with Ren.

      ‘I know you’ve already spoken with the Undersheriff,’ said Ren. ‘But I’m going to have to ask some more questions, and go over some of the same ground again.’

      ‘Sure,’ he said, nodding, shifting forward in his seat. His hands were clasped in front of him.

      ‘Could you talk me through your evening?’ said Ren.

      ‘My wife and I went for dinner at nine p.m.—’

      ‘Let’s start with when you checked in,’ said Ren.

      ‘OK, sorry,’ said Mark. ‘We checked in at seven p.m., and Erica … my wife … really wanted to go to the restaurant for dinner later on, so we asked at reception for a sitter for eight thirty.’

      Ren nodded. ‘Who was on reception?’

      ‘A guy called Jared.’

      ‘Did anyone take your bags?’ said Ren.

      ‘No, we took our own bags to the room. We watched Toy Story with the kids … well, I did. Erica was getting ready at the same time.’

      ‘Did you see anyone else in the foyer?’ said Ren.

      ‘No.’

      ‘Did you meet anyone in the elevator?’ said Ren.

      ‘No.’

      ‘Did anyone pass you in the hallway?’ said Ren.

      ‘No,’ said Mark.

      ‘What can you tell me about the sitter?’ said Ren.

      ‘She was … sixteen, she told us. Short, maybe five three, blonde …’ He shrugged. ‘Long blonde hair … well, to her shoulders. Wearing sweats …’

      ‘Was there anything unusual in her demeanor, or in her behavior when she first showed up?’ said Ren.

      ‘No,’ said Mark. ‘She seemed like a good kid … normal … we weren’t concerned about her, if that’s what you mean.’

      ‘Did you have a conversation with her?’ said Ren.

      ‘Yes,’ said Mark.

      ‘What did you talk about?’

      ‘High school, living in Breck, the kids, what to do …’

      ‘Did you notice anything else about her that you think might help?’ said Ren.

      ‘Nothing I can think of,’ said Mark.

      ‘So, you went down to dinner,’ said Ren.

      ‘Yes. A little after nine.’

      ‘And you were there for how long?’ said Ren.

      ‘Well, until a little after midnight, I guess,’ said Mark. ‘But I went up to check on the kids …’

      ‘And what time was that at?’ said Ren.

      ‘I guess … eleven thirty? And then I came back down to Erica. We didn’t stay much longer. We went back to the room.’

      Ren looked up. ‘Sorry … let’s go back to when you got to the room.’

      ‘Yes, sorry … uh, when I got to the room … the sitter was on the bed in her sweats, watching television. I asked her how the kids were, and she said they’d been really well-behaved …’ Tears welled in his eyes. ‘They were asleep. So … I went to their door, and stuck my head in, and they were fast asleep.’

      ‘They were in an adjoining room,’ said Ren.

      ‘Yes,’ said Mark. ‘The kids had twin beds, we had a double bed. That was where the sitter was. In the main room. Where Erica and I would be sleeping.’

      ‘OK,’ said Ren. ‘So when you checked on the children, they were sleeping. Was there any sign of a disturbance, anything out of place in their room?’

      Mark shook his head. ‘Absolutely not. Nothing.’

      ‘Did anything happen while you were in the room?’ said Ren.

      ‘What do you mean?’ said Mark.

      ‘Did you have a conversation with Shelby Royce?’ said Ren.

      ‘Chit-chat,’ said Mark. ‘Hope they behaved for you, what time did they go to sleep, are you bored, that kind of thing.’

      ‘And what was her demeanor at this point?’

      He shrugged. ‘Fine. She seemed a little bored.’

      ‘Did she seem at ease?’ said Ren.

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘Did you get the sense that she was eager to finish up?’ said Ren.

      ‘No more eager than most sitters at that age, I guess …’

      ‘Did she mention that she was going anywhere, or planning to meet up with anyone afterward?’

      ‘No,’ said Mark.

      ‘You understand I’m asking all these questions because you are the last person to have seen Shelby before she dis-appeared …’

      ‘Yes, I’m sorry if I seem a little … I suppose I want the attention focused on Laurie. I … know that sounds terrible.’

      ‘It’s understandable,’ said Ren. ‘But Shelby Royce, and her state of mind, and her actions, are crucial to us working out what happened here. Right now, we can’t call this an abduction, because we have no evidence that it is.’

      ‘What?’ said Mark. ‘But … what else do you think happened?’

      ‘That’s what we’re trying to establish,’ said Ren. ‘They may have left voluntarily.’

      ‘There is no way that Laurie would do that,’ said Mark. ‘No way.’

      ‘I’ll put that in my notes, so everyone is aware of how you feel about that,’ said Ren.

      He nodded.

      ‘OK,’ said Ren, ‘after you had checked on them, what did you do?’

      ‘I went back down to my wife.’

      ‘Did you tell the sitter what time you intended to come back to the room?’ said Ren.

      ‘No, no … I … left. I went back to the restaurant.’

      ‘How long did all of that take?’ said Ren.

      ‘How long to get back to the restaurant?’ said Mark.

      ‘No,’ said Ren. ‘From when you left the table to when you returned to the table.’

      ‘Oh …’ he rubbed his chin. ‘Fifteen minutes?’ He paused. ‘Twenty?’

      ‘And how long did you spend in the restaurant before you went back up to the room and discovered that your daughter was missing?’

      ‘Twenty minutes, maybe thirty,’ said Mark. He paused. ‘Closer to thirty.’

      Ren nodded. ‘Mr Whaley, do you have any reason to believe that someone would want to harm you or your family?’

      ‘No,’ said Mark. ‘No … why would someone …?’ The words caught in his throat. ‘Please, please, find her,’ he said. ‘Let me get out there and look for her. Please. I can’t stay here. This is … it’s been hours now,’ he said. ‘Please, I can’t just sit around here doing nothing …’

      ‘All

Скачать книгу