Page 61 of Little Girl Vanished
“Did Ava call you anytime last night or this morning?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. I told Vanessa I don’t know where she is.”
“But you feel badly for Ava,” I said, “so I’d understand if Ava did call you and you agreed to let her hang out with Casey for a while to decompress.”
Her eyes flew wide. “She’s not here. I swear.”
I held her gaze. “Millie, I know you care about Ava.”
“Like she’s a second daughter.” She swiped a fresh tear from her cheek. “If she called and asked me to come get her, I'd do it in a heartbeat, TJ be damned. But I wouldn’t keep it from Vanessa. I wouldn’t do that to her. Ava’s not here, and I haven’t heard from her. I swear.”
I rested my palm on my notebook, staring into her tear-filled eyes. “I believe you.”
She pushed out a breath and sagged a hip into the edge of the counter. “Thank you.”
“I think we all want the same thing, Millie. We want Ava to be safe. But it does sound like she’s unhappy at home. Do you know of anyone else she might have gone to if she decided she couldn’t take it anymore and needed to get out of the house?”
“But…” Confusion clouded her eyes. “Vanessa seems so certain she was kidnapped.”
“I need to explore all the possibilities.” When she didn’t protest, I asked, “Other than you, is there anyone else she might call or go to? Her grandparents? A teacher? Another friend?”
“Definitely not her grandparents. Vanessa’s parents are much too strict—no wonder they love TJ so much—and TJ’s mother died a few years back. His father barely pays any attention to the kids, and TJ’s grandmother is too old and halfway senile to care. If Ava was going to call anyone other than us, she might call Ainsley, but probably not. She’s not as close with Lori—that’s Ainsley’s mom—as she is with me.”
After speaking with Lori Sumpter, I believed that. “Does Ava like school?”
Millie made a face. “Yes and no. She likes her friends and teachers—she has several since they move around to different classrooms to get them ready for junior high, but she feels a lot of pressure from TJ to not only get straight As, but A pluses.”
TJ was a real asshole. “Do you know if she has a favorite teacher?”
Her mouth twisted to the side as she considered it. “Mrs. Marshall. Her math teacher.”
“Does Ava have any male teachers?”
Her eyes flew wide. “You think one of her teachers has something to do with her going missing?”
“I don’t know anything right now,” I said patiently. “That’s why I’m asking questions.”
Contrition filled her eyes as she grimaced. “I’m sorry. I’m just so nervous and jumpy.” Her gaze lifted to the ceiling, then dropped again to lock eyes with me. “I have two children, Harper. If anything happened to them…” Her voice broke and she started to cry again.
“Millie, everything you’re feeling right now is perfectly normal and understandable.” I gave her a soft smile. “It’s not selfish to be worried about your kids. You’re their mother. Of course you’re worried.”
Her mouth twisted into a tight smile. “Thank you.”
“Does Ava have any male teachers?” I asked, repeating my earlier question.
She shook her head. “No. In fact, Vanessa was just saying last week that she wishes there were more male teachers. The only man in the whole building is the janitor. Mr. Eddie.”
“Do you know Mr. Eddie’s last name?”
“Johnson.”
“What do you know about Mr. Eddie?”
She pursed her lips and studied the counter. “He’s not your typical janitor. He’s young. He’s very energetic. The kids love him. Everyone loves him.”
“How long has Mr. Eddie worked at the school?”
“He’s fairly new, I guess. He started working there last year.”