“I guess he did, but I didn’t realize it would be this early.”
“I wanted to catch everyone before work, school, you know.”
“Please, come in.” Aimee steps back to allow him room to enter the foyer. “We can go in the kitchen to talk privately.” She jerks her head toward Noa on the stairs.
As Detective Salazar steps inside, he touches two fingers to his brow in a salute to Noa. “Morning, young lady.”
Noa stares, wide-eyed.
Salazar turns back to Aimee. “Actually, it’s your daughter I’d like to have a quick word with, if you don’t mind.”
At the sound of the worddaughter, Aimee’s stomach does a flip. She steps back a few feet into the dining room and motions the detective in. He follows her into the darkened room. “I would do anything to help you guys find Scott,” she whispers. “But my kids think he’s on a trip, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Of course. I won’t say anything,” Salazar says. “We just want to ask her about the time she spent with the Stocker lady. Maybe she saw something, or heard something?”
“I’ve already asked her that. Several times. She doesn’t remember anything being off or scary or strange.”
“Well, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to ask her myself.”
Aimee sighs. “I guess so, but you have to keep it short. I don’t want them to miss the bus.”
He nods and they re-enter the foyer. Noa is still sitting in the same spot. Aimee wishes she could answer Salazar’s questions for her. Noa is so sensitive that many of the things her peers love—roller coasters, action movies—often cause panic attacks and nightmares. Aimee has all but given up on Noa sleeping over at a friend’s house, a ritual she remembers loving as a child. It was one of the reasons she had felt safe leaving her with Cathy. She had believed the woman to be a former teacher, and she certainly had the demeanor of one. But who knows if any of that is true.
Aimee smiles up at Noa. “What do you think, honey? Can you come down and answer a few questions for this nice man?”
She has no idea why she said that—nice man. Nothing about Detective Salazar suggests he is nice. Tough, yes, slightly sinister in his dark shirt and suit, his thick black hair pulled off his face and kept miraculously in place by what Aimee guesses is a significant amount of gel, but nice? She doesn’t need him to be nice, however, just good at his job.
Noa narrows her eyes but doesn’t move. The girl grips the balusters of the staircase with two hands and presses her face against them like a prisoner in an old-time movie.
“You know,” Detective Salazar says to Noa, “we can talk right here. That’s fine. I’m a police detective. You can call me Jay if you want. I just wanted to ask a couple of questions. Do you think that’ll be okay?”
“I guess,” Noa says, shifting her eyes to Aimee without moving her face. “When is Daddy coming back?”
“I told you, Daddy had to go on a business trip.” Had Noa somehow picked up on the tension and realized that her father was missing? Or is she just a little girl who misses her dad?
The detective leans against the wall. “I’m actually here to ask you about your friend Cathy, is that all right?” He waits for Noa to nod before he continues. “Do you remember a few days agowhen you were at Cathy’s house to see the kittens? And she drove you home?”
Noa nods. “Yes. I remember.”
“Well, I wanted to know if you remembered anybody coming to her house that day, even if they didn’t come inside. A car pulling up. Or Cathy going to the door to talk to someone?”
“No.”
“You sure? Did she go outside at some point?”
Noa scoffs. “How can I see if she went outside if I’m with the kittens?” She looks at Aimee. “The kittens are upstairs in the back room, which is the quiet room. They sleep in the closet.”
“Makes sense,” the detective says. “Did Cathy do anything different that day? Anything kind of strange or weird?
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, anything at all.”
“Why are you asking about Cathy?” Noa turns to Aimee. “Is Cathy in trouble? Is she going to be arrested?”
“No, not at all,” Aimee says, stepping closer. “But we need to find Cathy. That’s all.”
“Is she missing?” Noa’s voice is high, tinged with panic.