“I have great news,” Detective Eric Pederssen declares, looking around at the families of the missing girls. They’re sitting in a room at the police station around a metal table. His face is mischievous, almost boyish.
“The news?” Art prompts him.
Eric turns in the direction of Sophie Moreno. “Your daughter is a thief.”
They all spin their heads to look at the detective, stunned and unable to speak.
“Your daughter Ashley stole your Kmart card and took it with her on the run,” Eric continues. “We’ve just received word that she used it to buy them new clothes the day after they were last seen at the farm.” He lets that sink in.
“Which means they left the farm alive and unharmed,” Bessie’s father comments.
“Which means there will be video surveillance footage from the store,” Leila pipe
