Susan Sleeman - Christmas Conspiracy

“And yet you did so,” Skyler said.

“Yes, for Pam,” Rachael said. “But you should also know if the schedule needed to continue beyond this week, I would have called my licensing rep and asked to change my hours. Also when my teacher was late and Pam needed to get to work, I should have made Pam wait, as licensing regulations require two staff members be on-site when children are present.”

Rachael paused and looked away. “You must think I’m a terrible person, but I strive to follow the rules, and I realize I made a mistake. It’s not an excuse, but I did it for Pam and Kelly. If Pam lost her job, she would have to apply for government subsidies and that could be endangered by her past drug use. She’s afraid she would lose custody of Kelly. That wouldn’t be good for either of them.”

“What will happen when licensing learns of your actions?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. Since I’ve never had a violation before, I hope they’ll give me the benefit of the doubt.”

“Let’s hope so,” Jake said.

“So you took Kelly,” Skyler said, moving them back to the incident.

“Since she was sleeping, Pam laid her in the crib, and then she went to work.” At the thought of precious Kelly lying there oblivious to the masked man, Rachael’s voice caught, but she forced down the anguish, just as she did whenever she thought of the child she’d lost in a miscarriage.

Detective Hunter raised an eyebrow. “I don’t pretend to know anything about child care centers, but it seems odd to me that even if one teacher was late, there weren’t other teachers present.”

“That’s typical for us. Staffing is the largest expense in child care, and very few children arrive when the center opens. To save on staffing dollars we combine all age groups when we open, and ramp up the staffing as the morning progresses. My next teacher was due in at seven.”

“I’ll need to see your time cards to confirm this is the norm.”

Rachael couldn’t imagine why the detective had to confirm that, but she had nothing to hide. “I can get them for you once I’m allowed back in the center.”

The detective jotted down a few notes on a small notepad, then looked up. “So, you were alone in the room with Kelly. What happened next?”

“I was putting fresh sheets on the other mattresses when a masked man pried the door open and pointed a gun at me.”

“I noticed you have an alarm system at the center. Didn’t this set off an alarm?”

She shook her head. “During times when children are present, we turn off the burglar alarm for the building. The front door remains locked for safety reasons. During open hours, each parent has a code to enter on a keypad to gain access through the front door.”

“This keypad is only at the main entrance?”

“That’s right. When I arrive, the first thing I do is turn off the burglar alarm, and then, when I’m ready to open, I activate the parent controls at the front door.”

“Okay, the man is in the baby room and holding a gun on you,” the detective continued. “What does he do next?”

“He told me he was going to take Kelly, and he threatened to hurt me if I didn’t cooperate. I tried to protect her, but he overpowered me. He gave me that shot, and I fought him off. I don’t know what happened after the drug took effect.”

“You fought hard,” Jake added. “You should be proud of the way you stood up for Kelly.”

Her ribs ached from the man’s grip, and her arms were bruised from trying to escape, but only she and the intruder could possibly know that he had manhandled her.

She eyed Jake. “How do you know what happened?”

“We accessed your center’s closed-circuit video.”

“Oh, right. The video. I should have thought of that.”

“You have quite a system.” An accusation of some sort lingered in the detective’s tone.

“I installed it for parents to be able to check on their children any time of the day. They can all log in to view a live feed.” She shook her head. “Thankfully there wasn’t a reason for any of them to watch this morning.”

Jake pulled a chair up to her bed. A hint of his musky aftershave drifted over, and she peered at him. This close, she could see striations of black and gold in his eyes, and she couldn’t pull her gaze free.

“Forget I’m a deputy,” he said softly. “I’m just Jake. The guy who held your hand in the ambulance. I’m sorry we have to question you after all you’ve been through. It’s just routine. We’ll make this as quick and painless as possible. Then I’ll give you a ride to your center.”

Detective Hunter pointedly cleared her throat.

Rachael suspected Jake was breaking the rules of questioning, or maybe he didn’t care about the rules but truly wanted to help her through a difficult time. Either way, the detective didn’t seem to like it.

“We were unable to see the intruder’s face on the video,” he continued. “But I know you ripped off his mask. Can you describe him?”

“Other than getting to see Kelly and Pam and talking to my center families, I’ve thought of little else, but I can only call up a vague image of his face. It’s too fuzzy to see in detail. I do remember his eyes though...his eyes and his breath.”

“Go on,” Jake encouraged her.

“His eyes were mean and hard. Like he enjoyed hurting us. They were gray, almost black. His breath was minty fresh, like a man who takes good care of himself.” She paused to calm her nerves. “I know it’s a weird thing to remember, but I didn’t expect a kidnapper to have good hygiene.”

Detective Hunter pushed off the wall and stepped forward. “Since you’re the only one who can identify him, I need you to keep trying to picture his face.”

“What about one of the neighbors?” Rachael asked. “Or someone on the street, or the person who called 911? Maybe they saw him before he put on his mask.”

“Deputies are canvassing the neighborhood right now, but the woman who called this in didn’t see his face.”

“Go back earlier in your day,” Jake said, changing the subject. “On your way to work, or even in the last few days, did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”

“Like I said, I expected to see my teacher waiting for me in the parking lot, but she wasn’t there. She called to tell me she had a flat tire and had to take the bus.” Guilt crowded out other thoughts, and Rachael bit down on her lip.

“What is it?” Jake asked.

“If I’d waited for her to get there before letting Pam go, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

“If an armed man wanted Kelly,” Jake said, “he would’ve taken her even with two people present, and something bad could have happened to Ms. Baldwin or your teacher.”

“Unless, of course, Ms. Baldwin is involved in this somehow,” Detective Hunter said.

“Pam? Involved? But why? She has full custody of Kelly. She has no need to kidnap her.”

“You mentioned that she had a past drug problem. Maybe she started using again and needed money,” the detective said bluntly.

“No.” Rachael shook her head hard. The room spun, so she waited for it to still before continuing. “Pam is clean, and if you think she’d fake a kidnapping to sell Kelly to someone, you’re wrong. Pam loves Kelly, and she’s a good mother. She’d never hurt her child.”

The detective fixed her eyes on Rachael. “What about you?”

Rachael swiveled to face her directly. The room swam, but she grabbed the arm of Jake’s chair. “You think I’m involved in Kelly’s attempted kidnapping? That’s unbelievable. I would never do that. Never. Not in a million years.”

Jake stood. “I think this is enough for now.”

Rachael shot him a look. “You think I did this, too?”