said. "She came down here, and she's answering your
questions. She's just trying to be as accurate as possible."
He looked at my father, nodded, and turned
back to me.
"Did she ever talk about a place she would go,
somewhere she wanted to go?"
"The city," I said.
"The city?" He looked at Detective Simon as
though I had given them a brilliant lead.
"New York City?" Simon asked.
"That's the only city people up here mean when
they say 'the city,' " Chief Keiser said.
"All right. If you think of anything that might
help us understand this situation more, you call the
police station here, and ask for Chief Keiser. He'll get
to us right away, especially if Karen Stoker calls you,
understand?" Lieutenant Cooper asked me.
"If she calls me, call you right away," I
promised. She would never call me in my own house.
"Thank you, Mr. Stein," the chief said, standing and
offering his hand.
Daddy rose to shake it, and I stood.
"No problem," Daddy said. "Good luck with the
investigation," he told the detectives, and then he led
me out of the police station. He didn't speak until we
were in the car. He inserted the ignition key and
started the engine first. Then he turned to me. "You
did real well, honey. Don't let the detectives upset
you."
"I'm not upset," I said.