Page 39 of My Child is Missing

2:47p.m. first 911 call from Shelly Patchett

3:05p.m. first units respond

3:30p.m. K-9 search begins

5:45p.m. Savannah Patchett found

8:10p.m. second K-9 search begins

11:30p.m. K-9 search concludes at Henry Thomas’s cabin

Josie said, “We don’t actually know when Kayleigh was taken. If it was after her parents were already out looking for them, between 11:30a.m. and 2:47p.m., wouldn’t they have found both girls?”

“Or heard Kayleigh’s shouts when she was being abducted?” added Gretchen.

Noah said, “Or, if she was taken before the parents started looking, sometime between 8:45a.m. and 11:30a.m., leaving Savannah alone in the woods, then wouldn’t Savannah have heard them calling for them?”

Josie shook her head. “She heard us calling and she didn’t come out.”

“But she would have come out for her parents,” said Gretchen.

The Chief used a finger to circle the area Savannah was found. “This is three miles out from the back of their house and almost a full mile to the north. How far did the parents spread themselves? Or did they only look south?”

Josie pointed to a house almost two miles south of where Savannah was found. “We know that Mrs. Patchett was in this neighbor’s yard around 2:30p.m.”

Gretchen frowned. “Still, that leaves a lot of time for them to have been in the woods searching. We have no idea where the husband was all that time. It’s hard to believe the parents were out there before the kidnapping took place and heard nothing. Even if they were out there afterward, they searched for a long time before they called 911 and still didn’t find Savannah?”

“Seems suspicious to me, too,” said the Chief. “Maybe we need to have a longer chat with them, but first, get the GPS coordinates for their vehicles. We know Kayleigh was walked over the mountain to the Thomas cabin and then disappeared. If one or both of them had something to do with this, then their GPS would put them out by that cabin. I want phone records, too.”

Noah said, “I thought we were looking at Thomas as a serial killer? You think the parents did something to Kayleigh on purpose? This is all a big sham? The press? The search? What about the cases the state police are working on?”

The Chief said, “We have to worry aboutourcase. Just because Thomas seems like a good suspect doesn’t mean he did this. We should never try to make the evidence fit what we think happened. We have to look at everything.”

Noah frowned. “But the parents?”

Gretchen said, “Come on, Fraley. You’ve been at this long enough to know that parents are prime suspects. The Patchetts had a lot of issues with Kayleigh. Maybe it wasn’t intentional or thought out, but we can’t ignore the possibility that they might have had a hand in whatever happened to her. We can’t focus too hard on Thomas until we’ve eliminated them completely.”

Noah put his hands up in concession. “I know that. I do. I’m just playing devil’s advocate.”

Like Mett,Josie thought instantly. She didn’t miss the fact that both the Chief and Gretchen glanced back at his empty desk.

“Which means we need to keep barking up every tree,” the Chief said. “We’ve exhausted the Thomas angle for now—at least until some of our evidence gets processed by the state police lab. I’ve got a unit out by his place around the clock. They’ve been instructed to follow him if he leaves. Can’t see shit from the end of his driveway but if he makes any other kind of move, we’ll know about it. I’ve still got patrols out in the area. There are volunteer searches going on, working their way outward in concentric circles from the Patchett home. If Kayleigh is buried in the woods somewhere that hasn’t already been searched, there’s a chance someone might notice a freshly dug grave.”

Josie said, “Have we gotten anywhere with Kayleigh’s phone records? From her carrier?”

“Not yet,” said Gretchen. “But I called three times asking them to expedite it and trying to impress upon them that a girl’s life might hang in the balance.”

“What does that leave us with?” said Noah.

“Kayleigh,” Josie said. “I still want to talk to her best friend, Olivia. See if we can track down the guy in the hidden photos on Kayleigh’s phone.”

“Speaking of that guy,” said Gretchen. “Morris Lauber said that he saw teenagers come onto Henry Thomas’s property more than once. Pulling some daredevil shit, trying to get close to the burial grounds.”

“Right,” Josie said. “Lauber said that Henry would go outside and get rid of them. Maybe we should ask Henry if he’s seen the mystery boy.”

The Chief looked around at them. “Palmer, you go home and get some sleep. Fraley and Quinn, you two get to work on the Patchetts and Kayleigh’s friends.”

“Sir,” Gretchen said quietly. “I know this isn’t the best time to bring it up.”

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