Page 24 of Another Girl Lost

“Not in that way.” She puffed. “But he hit her. Sandra hated this house. Hated her foster brothers and sisters and hated her job. Always stirring chaos. She despised her life.”

Which would have made her an easy mark for a charming young man. He checked his notes. “You didn’t call in her missing person report for almost two weeks.”

She shook her head. “My late husband told me to wait. He said she’d come back. I did contact her friends, and no one had seen her. And then her work called and said she hadn’t shown in two days. That’s when I knew something was off.”

But Mrs. Gardner wasn’t that concerned because she hadn’t called the cops for another ten more days. “How did Sandra do in school?”

She laughed. “Terrible. If East Norfolk High School had a Most Truant Student award, she’d have won.”

“Did Sandra ever mention a girl at her high school named Scarlett Crosby?” Same high school and possibly the same kidnapper—the girls had to have crossed paths.

“I’ve heard Scarlett’s name, but Sandra never mentioned her.”

He jotted notes. “You said in your report that Sandra was dating Tanner Reed.”

“One date with him. But she was seeing a few guys. Tanner was the best of the lot, if you can believe it. I wasn’t crazy about their age difference and told her that. She said the years didn’t matter.” Mrs. Gardner shook her head. “I’ve seen Tanner’s kind before. Men like him use girls like her and pass them on to their friends.”

Memories of Dawson’s initial interview with Mrs. Gardner sharpened into focus. “You met Tanner Reed, right?”

“Yeah. He dropped her off. Gave me his card. Said he did work well and cheap. Pretty and charming. I’ll give him that. But it was a matter of time before he knocked her up.”

“Sandra was pregnant?”

“I don’t know that. But I could see it coming. Sandra and I didn’t talk much those last few weeks.” Tears welled in her eyes.

He could still picture Tanner standing by his black truck, the dustless tools organized in military precision, the man smelling faintly of sawdust. Tanner had been so relaxed when Dawson had shown him a picture of Sandra. He’d admitted he’d met her at Mike’s, they’d talked and flirted, but that was the end of it. Given a redo, could he have picked up on the red flags?

“I called her phone over and over, but she didn’t answer. I left her dozens of messages. I also called Mike’s Diner, but no one had seen her.”

“She worked at Mike’s Diner for five months.”

“A few nights a week.”

“Did she meet Tanner at the diner?” Dawson asked.

“I don’t know.”

“But the cops did contact you after Tanner’s death, correct?”

“Yeah. Sandy had been gone five months at that point. The cops thought Sandy’s case might be linked to Tanner, but no one proved anything.”

By then Dawson had been waiting for the review board’s ruling on his shooting of Tanner. He’d been forced to cool his heels on administrative leave for three months until theJustifiedverdict had been issued.

Mrs. Gardner inhaled deeply. “I put up dozens of missing persons posters. All the crank calls. People can be cruel.”

The posters had lingered in restaurant windows and stapled to utility poles until weather, time, and people shredded them all. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Where did you find Sandra?” Mrs. Gardner asked.

“In a house that Tanner had once renovated.”

“A house? Where? Please tell me not a basement.”

“Not a basement.” He still wasn’t ready to release any more case details.

“Do you think Tanner killed her?”

“I need more evidence to make that statement.” He believed Tanner had killed Sandra, but all the assumptions in the world didn’t add up to proof.

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