No Ordinary Girl

Chapter Fourteen

It was all stuff I already knew from the report: Mason and Jenna Henderson were married seven years before.

The seven-year itch came to mind. I'd heard the expression before, but really never stopped to think about it. When the honeymoon phase is gone in a marriage, when things start to get predictable, when you start resenting your husband or wife; when everything they do drives you crazy. I thought about my own parents. They'd gone through that, too, quite a few years ago. A typical thirteen year old would never notice if their parents were having marital problems, but being a Reader, I did, of course. Now, they're fine thankfully. My mom gets mad at my dad for leaving his dirty socks everywhere, for not loading the dishwasher right, for playing his banjo too loud. I smiled at the thought of them. Yep, their marriage wasn't perfect, but there would always be a lot of love there.

The Hendersons had two kids; Calvin who was four years old (he was at his daycare), and Haley was eighteen months old. Mason worked as a financial analyst, And Jenna was a home stager, and gathering from her own home, I guessed that she was very good at her job.

They had a very typical (rather boring sounding) routine. Mason was a nine to five guy, and Jenna worked part-time. She took Calvin and Haley to the daycare center, and then she went to yoga class, then did a few hours of work, picked up her children around four or five, and then always had a delicious homemade meal at the dinner table. Once or twice a month, they'd have a date night, and Mischa would sit for them. Really, they were perfection.

Only, they weren't, and I knew that. And Leo knew that, too. He and I would occasionally glance at each other during the interview, and through unspoken words, we told each other that something was up with them. We just didn't know what yet.

But most importantly, they had no enemies. No one who would ever want to hurt Haley. Everyone adored Haley, from her grandparents, the caretakers at her daycare, to strangers at the shopping center, to her babysitter, Mischa.

Detective Matt was the one asking most of the questions. He had a very soothing voice. It reminded me a little of Ace's voice (minus the British accent), the kind of voice you could follow anywhere. "We'll need to visit Haley's daycare center tomorrow as well as her babysitter," he explained.

Jenna nodded quietly. "Yes, we can easily arrange that. Mischa should be available after school."

Detective Mary nodded as she furiously scribbled in her notebook, a permanent scowl etched across the line of her brows. She was bad cop, and Matt was good cop; the intimidator and the charmer.

The report indicated that Haley did not have much contact with anyone except her maternal grandparents. Jenna was an only child, so there were no uncles or aunties, and she was too busy to have a bestie, so there was no unofficial auntie either. Mason was originally from Boston, so they only got a chance to visit with his family once or twice a year, always traveling to Massachusetts. Mason had some buddies he played baseball and soccer with, and had beer with, but no one he'd bring home to meet his family. They had a few 'couple' friends they'd share dinner with occasionally, and they were on the list, too, after the daycare aids, the babysitter, and the grandparents.

Detective Mary looked up from her notepad and her expression softened. "As we discussed before, the RAMS team would like to do a walk-through the house... is this okay with you, Mrs. Henderson? They will do so, only with your permission."

I got the distinct impression that the detectives were not crazy about our presence in their investigation. We were like the annoying little sister who eagerly wants to help. How much can she contribute, really?

Jenna straightened her back. "Of course, they can. I'm the one who contacted them. Anything to help find Haley. I'm willing to try anything."

Detective Matt cleared his throat. "All right, let's get at it, then."