Chapter Two

 

Detective Josh Meadows could use a cup of coffee, and the woman in front of him looks like she could, too. She's nervous. Whatever she's got going on, she doesn't look like she's handling it all that well, and it's got him worried.

Not that he would be handling it all that well if he had a missing kid, either. But if he doesn't miss his guess, there's more to all of this, and it's going to cause trouble for one of them. If there's something that Jose can do to get rid of that danger for her, then he's more than happy to do it. But first, she'll have to be up-front with him about what's going on.

"Do you want to come back to a room where we can talk?"

The woman nods. She's pretty even at her worst. She looks like she's been wrung out like a rag, and she's one of the prettiest girls that has ever had occasion to come into the station. Josh can't let it distract him.

"Okay, this way."

He fits a key into the door to the back room and uses it to twist the handle, pulling it open before switching his hand around. Anna steps inside without needing to be told, and he pulls his key ring free of the door, letting it close and lock automatically behind him.

Anna doesn't make it look like she's letting him pass, but she slows her walk very subtly until Josh is in front of her, and then speeds up to match his pace from a step or two behind.

He jags off into the break room to pour a cup of coffee.

"Coffee?"

Anna stops herself from immediately saying no. "Uh. I guess it's fine. Sure."

He pours a second cup and hands it to her. "Cream and sugar?"

"Um. Two sugars. Please."

He pulls the packets out of the jar and hands them over. She tears them open and pours them into her cup. She takes the offered plastic coffee stirrer and turns the hot liquid around a few times.

They start moving again a moment later. She follows a few steps behind him. Like it's a routine. If it was a routine for her, it was routine with someone else. Josh would have remembered meeting a woman who looked like Anna Witt.

He opens the door to an interrogation room. It's quiet inside, which he suspects is exactly how the woman will like it. She sets down with her coffee and takes an experimental sip.

"Give me just a minute, I'm going to go grab some things for taking down your statement, alright?"

She nods, without really looking at him. Josh steps out to his office and when he comes back into the interrogation room he's got a pad of paper and his digital recorder. He sets it down.

"You don't mind if I record this, do you?"

She shakes her head, and then seems to think better of it. "I'm sorry—no, I don't mind."

"Thanks."

Josh puts the recorder down on the table and makes an effort to show that he's pushing the button to record.

"Could you state your name for the record?"

"Um. Anna Witt?"

"And where do you live?"

"We live, um. I have an apartment. #801, 315 Terrence Lane. Right off Seven? Do you need, um. The zip code and stuff?"

"No. I know the area you mean. So. Tell me what you told me in the lobby, first of all. Just for the record. What happened last night?"

"Oh. Um. I laid Ava down for the night, but she was up for a long time. She finally settled down at around four in the morning.

"Once she was down, I let myself lay down on the bed for the night. I figured that she would act as my alarm clock, and everything would be fine.

"When I woke up a little bit past nine-thirty—nine thirty-six, I think—I was worried that something was wrong, so I went to the crib, and it was empty."

Josh tries to give her a reassuring smile. "Was there anything in the crib with her, before she was taken? A bottle, or a toy, perhaps? Maybe a blanket?"

"She had, um, a plastic key ring. And a blanket, with a Mickey Mouse pattern on it."

"And were they there when you checked on her in the morning?"

The question seems to catch her off-guard. "What?"

"Was the blanket and the key-ring in the crib?"

"The, um. No. She had a sheet on the crib mattress, and that was still there, though. If that helps."

Josh tries to smile, but it's not as easy as it should be. It's hard not to worry about all of this. Already, several pictures are starting to form in his head.

None of them don't cause a real tightness in his chest, one that threatens to disturb whatever self-control and professional distance that he might have in the case.

"Okay. What is the situation with the baby's father?"

"Mitch—Mitchell Queen—and I had been dating, um, for a while? A few years. And, um. I don't know. He ended the relationship, a few months ago."

"Could you be more specific?"

"It was, um. March. I think. March 17th, maybe? Someone asked him if I was pregnant, at one of his parties, and, um. I was, so."

"So he ended the relationship that night?"

"Yes, sir."

Josh felt his jaw get tightened. "Did he give any indication of a reason for the separation?"

"No, sir. He, um. Just told me not to contact him."

"And did you?"

"No, sir."

She's trying valiantly not to let her nerves get the better of her, but it's not working, and Josh can see that. It's all written right there on her face. There's nothing that he can do to help her, though. Even though his heart jumps into his throat when he can see tears threatening to fall out of her eyes.

"If you need a minute…"

Anna nods, wiping under her eyes with the pad of her thumb. Josh clicks the recorder off. "I'm sorry. I know I'm being trouble."

"No trouble at all, Miss Witt. Do you want more coffee? A water?"

She looks at the cup like she's surprised to find it empty. She seems as if she didn't even realize that she'd been drinking it.

"Um. A water would be good."

"I'll give you a few minutes to collect yourself before we start again."

"Thanks."

Josh presses the door open. It's no different in the hall, as far as the room temperature. The ventilation runs the same through the entire place. But somehow it feels like he's out of a lot of pressure when he steps out into the open hall.

His chest hurts. Every case hurts. There isn't any crime, any victim that doesn't pull at the heart-strings a little bit. But Anna Witt isn't just any crime, and not just any victim. This isn't just any heart-string-tugging.

The break is as important for him as it no doubt is for her. Josh takes his time getting back to the break room and pushes down the water-cooler tab. The cup fills slow, as he puts the next steps in order.

He'll need to finish this interview. Regardless of what he wants, he can't spare her the questions, even though they're clearly upsetting her. Because every little detail counts in these cases, and it's better to get them as soon as you can. Every little detail counts, and people remember better right after.

He'll have to see the scene of the crime. There might be nothing there, but it will help to confirm what did or didn't happen, because every little detail does count.

Then, once that's done, he'll have to talk to Mitch Queen, which is going to be the worst of the steps. First, because nobody talks to Mitch Queen.

Second, because right now the suspect list is real short, and it either needs to get longer or shorter, and Mitch Queen looks good for making one of those happen.