Free The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane Page B

kidnapping—except for the fact that two separate employers had vouched for their whereabouts all afternoon, and that no ransom demands had come in. Still, Marc wasn’t ready to let it go.
    Casey had talked to all the car-pool mothers, particularly to Liza Bock. And, while she hadn’t learned anything glaringly new, the evasiveness she’d encountered—on a whole different front—had raised her antennae and convinced her that her earlier suspicions were well-founded.
    “I think Edward Willis is sleeping with Ashley Lawrence,” she announced.
    “The nanny?” Marc arched an eyebrow. He looked more intrigued than surprised. Very little about human nature surprised him these days—certainly not an affair.
    “Yup.” Casey leaned forward and propped her elbows on the conference table. “All the signs are there—Ashley’s body language and her bickering with her boyfriend. Edward’s antagonism toward us and absurdly forced show of protectiveness toward his wife. The weird dynamic that permeates the house. Affection mixed with tension and a hint of desperation, not to mention a healthy dose of anger and mistrust. Hope cares for her husband, but she’s resigned herself to his career-immersed absence from her life and from Krissy’s. Judging from the way she pulls into herself and away from her husband, I’d be shocked if she doesn’t suspect there’s another woman—and equally shocked if she thought it was Ashley. As for Ashley, she adores Krissy, but feels guilty as hell about something. And Edward is an arrogant, egocentric powermonger, who’s perfectly suited for his job, and for screwing over his family.”
    “Does that include grabbing his kid and his hot young nanny and taking off for parts unknown?” Ryan asked.
    “Uh-uh.” Casey shook her head. “He loves his daughter—as much as he’s capable of loving anyone—but he sure as hell doesn’t want full responsibility for her. Any more than he wants a life with that hot young nanny. What he wants is exactly what he’s got—the whole nine yards. A perfect little family. Great sex from a young woman who worships him. And a prestigious legal practice that he’d never in a million years leave. It feeds his bank account and his ego. Nope. Edward’s got a good thing here. He just doesn’t want us to blow it by telling Hope. As it is, he knows he’s under the FBI’s microscope, since he’s Krissy’s father and, therefore, a prime suspect. So he’s not a happy camper.”
    Marc was tapping his pencil against his leg. Now he hunched over and drew a line through two names. “So we’re crossing off the nanny and her loser boyfriend. What about other relatives—grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles?”
    “Edward’s an only child. Both parents deceased,” Casey responded. “Hope, as you know, has a much more complicated past. After her twin sister, Felicity, was kidnapped and the trail went cold, her parents’ marriage fell apart. Her father started drinking heavily. He and his wife divorced. He took off, never to be heard from again. The wife, Vera, came close to a nervous breakdown. Having a six-year-old who needed her kept her from going over the edge. She still lives in the same house the twins grew up in. Hope says that part of her mother never gave up praying that Felicity would come home.”
    “Where is this house?”
    “New Rochelle. A solid half hour away. Vera Akerman is too shaken and heavily medicated to drive herself. For obvious reasons, Krissy’s kidnapping is bringing back the worst memories of her life. But she needs to be with her daughter. So Hope’s arranged for a car service to pick her up and bring her to Armonk.”
    “Do you plan to interview her?” Ryan asked.
    “Gently, but yes. Tomorrow afternoon. I want to give her some time alone with her daughter.”
    “I agree,” Marc said with a nod. “It’s doubtful she can cast any light on Krissy’s kidnapper anyway. In the meantime, let’s move on. I scanned some