Free Portrait of a Monster: Joran Van Der Sloot, a Murder in Peru, and the Natalee Holloway Mystery by Lisa Pulitzer, Cole Thompson Page B

passport and a few dollars in one of the pockets of her luggage. Natalee, like most of the other kids on the trip, had left her cell phone in the room because her phone lacked an international calling plan, which rendered it useless on the island. Not wanting to leave Natalee’s belongings unattended, he picked up her bag and the two vacated the room and returned to the lobby.
    The young women stayed with Plummer as he reported their missing classmate to the security officers at the Holiday Inn. Lee watched through her tears as one of the uniformed men scribbled something on his clipboard. He didn’t seem particularly concerned, and said little to comfort her.
    The first bus was already on its way to Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport and Plummer told Ruth and Lee that they needed to be on the second bus or they would miss their flight. The friends didn’t want to go; the thought of leaving Natalee behind was almost unbearable.
    Chaperone Paul Lilly volunteered to stay at the hotel. He promised that everything would be all right. “I’m not going anywhere,” Lilly reassured Lee and Ruth. “I’ll be right here in the lobby waiting for her. Now go catch your flight.”
    *   *   *
     
    While her daughter and her friends were celebrating their high school graduation in Aruba, Natalee Holloway’s mother, Beth Twitty, had taken a vacation of her own. The month of May had been an exhausting blur of activity with Natalee’s prom, graduation, and the preparation for her big senior trip to Aruba. Beth had relished every moment of it. She loved her daughter, but she was worn out and looking forward to a few days of down time with friends.
    Beth, a willowy Southern woman in her early forties, was a speech pathologist who worked with special needs children. She had arranged to spend Memorial Day weekend at her family’s lake house in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and had invited two friends, Linda and Marilyn, to join her. The family lake house was just a thirty-minute drive from Pine Bluff, where Beth grew up, and she held fond memories of her childhood days splashing about in Lake Hamilton.
    She and her girlfriends had set off for the lake house the same day that Natalee left for Aruba. It was a relaxing time, and a chance to unwind. Everyone asked about Natalee’s graduation ceremony, and Beth promised she would send some pictures when she returned to Birmingham. After several days in Hot Springs, Beth and her friends decided to spend Sunday night in Memphis, Tennesee, rather than attempt the nine-hour drive home in one day.
    Beth was excited when she woke up on Monday morning knowing she’d be seeing her daughter later that evening. Natalee was scheduled to arrive in Birmingham at 10:30 P.M. and Beth had made plans to pick her up at the airport. She couldn’t wait to see her daughter’s expression when she gave her the Wizard of Oz figurines she’d bought for her at a gift shop in Hot Springs. Natalee had become captivited with the film during grade school, and it was an infatuation she never outgrew. Her friends found it amusing when Beth had surprised her daughter with a Wizard of Oz birthday cake that past October when she turned eighteen. It was classic Beth.
    Beth was happy to stretch out in the backseat while her girlfriends sat up front. The group had just left Memphis and was driving south on Highway 78 when Beth received the call that every mother dreads.
    Blakye Bearman, one of Natalee’s classmates, was on the line. She sounded scared and was stammering. “My mom wants to talk to you,” she said.
    Blakye’s mother, Jodi, was the travel agent who had arranged the students’ senior trip. She and her mom were supposed to be in Aruba with the group but had to cancel at the last minute when Blakye came down with appendicitis.
    “What’s the matter, Jodi?” Beth demanded, sensing something was wrong.
    “Natalee didn’t show up this morning to get on the plane.” Jodi’s words hit Beth like a