Page 48 of Justice Delayed

As he’d stroked Melender’s hair, the silkiness of her braid redirected his thoughts to how long her hair might be when undone. He’d itched to slip the tie off and run his fingers through the silvery-blonde strands. When she pulled back and gazed at him, the lingering sadness in her dark blue eyes heightened the impulse to kiss away her pain.

Thank goodness she’d slipped away before he could act on that impulse. He needed to get hold of himself. He wasn’t involved with Melender to romance her but to find out if the real murderer of Jesse Thompson was still out there.

The best remedy for wayward thoughts was work, so he resettled in his chair and picked up the folder labeledRuby Harman. He selected the initial interview with Fairfax County Police mere hours after she and her husband had reported Jesse missing.

Ruby Harman Thompson, age 46, no profession

Resident address: 23014 Crescent Moon Drive, McLean, Virginia

Spouse: Quentin L. Thompson of McLean, Virginia

Children: Jesse, Jillian, stepson Jared

Location: Fairfax County Police Station in McLean, Virginia.

Present:Detective Mark Livingston, Detective Richard Delaney

Livingston:Mrs. Harman, where were you the night that Jesse disappeared?

Ruby Harman Thompson:We were at the McLean Country Club’s annual charity fundraiser.

Delaney: With your husband?

Ms. Thompson: Yes. We’d left Jesse and Jillian with Melender, like we’d done dozens of times before.

Livingston: When did you get home that night?

Ms. Thompson: After midnight. I was so tired, I didn’t check on Jesse or Jillian, but went straight to bed.

Livingston: When did you realize Jesse was missing?

Ms. Thompson: I didn’t know anything had happened until the morning when Isadora screamed. That’s when we all realized Jesse wasn’t in his crib.

Delaney: Isadora Alonso is the children’s nanny?

Ms. Thompson: Yes.

Delaney: How long had Ms. Alonso been with you?

Ms. Thompson: Since Jillian’s birth nearly four years earlier.

Delany: Why didn’t Ms. Alonso watch the children during the party?

Ms. Thompson: It was her night off.

Brogan skimmed the rest of the interview but gleaned nothing else interesting. Instead of continuing with Ruby’s FBI interviews, he rummaged in the box to grab the nanny’s folder. The same two detectives had interviewed Isadora. He skimmed past the preliminaries, stopping to read more slowly when the questions centered on the evening of the disappearance.

Livingston:Where did you go on your night off?

Ms. Alonso:Night off? I didn’t have a night off.

Delaney:You weren’t watching the children the night Jesse disappeared. Mrs. Thompson said it was your usual night off.

Ms. Alonso:That’s what she called it? Sure, I was not watching the children, but I was working just the same.

Livingston:Working where?

Ms. Alonso: At the McLean Country Club.

---