First Family (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 4)

“We think they gained access through the back door. It wasn’t locked. There’s a rear stairs to the upper level from there.” He pointed to his left. “Just down that hall.”

“So is the idea that the attackers came in via the unlocked door in the rear and worked their way through the house, room to room, back to front?” said Michelle.

“Drugged Colleen, then John, knocked out Tuck, and then killed Pam and took Willa?” finished Sean.

“That’s one theory,” said Waters.

“Why not drug Tuck too? He told us he opened the bedroom door and something hit him.”

“He’s a big guy, not a kid. Maybe they didn’t want to take a chance with the drugging part. Blow to the head was better.”

“What drug did they use?”

“The docs took some samples from residue on the kids’ faces. Looks to be a liquid form of general anesthetic.”

Sean said, “And is your theory that Willa was the intended victim all along?”

“Not necessarily. It might just be that they ran into Willa first and grabbed her. Pam Dutton comes in the room, sees what’s going down, and starts fighting to protect her daughter. Only natural. They kill her and take the kid.”

Sean shook his head. “But the living room is in the front of the house. If they came in the back like you think they did and worked their way through the rooms, they would have come on Tuck first, John next, then Willa’s room, and Colleen last. And only then gotten to the front. And if Willa had been in her bedroom they would’ve got her before Colleen. And I can’t believe they would have killed Pam first and then taken the trouble to knock out Tuck and drug the other kids.”

Michelle added, “And when we drove up we heard a scream. Probably Pam’s dying one. The bad guys were already in the living room by then. Tuck and the other kids were already taken out.”

Sean said, “So Willa probably wasn’t in her bedroom at the time. She was maybe in the living room. She was the oldest, it was her birthday; Mom let her stay up late, or got her up when Dad got home so he could wish her a happy birthday.”

Michelle picked up the train again. “Mom leaves the room, maybe goes to the kitchen for something, Tuck goes upstairs to change. Maybe the other kids are already drugged. They knock out Tuck, hustle to the living room, grab Willa, Mom comes back, sees what’s happening, fights, and it costs the lady her life.”

“But the point is,” added Sean, “that Willa was the intended target. They would have already had access to the other kids.”

From Water’s expression the man had clearly not thought any of this through yet. He said, with as much confidence as he could muster, “It’s early yet.”

Michelle’s face telegraphed her opinion of this answer. Lame.

“Did the ME say how much of Pam Dutton’s blood was missing?”

“More than could be accounted for by the wound leakage and what we found on the rug.”

“Who’s the ME on this?”

“Lori Magoulas. You know her?”

“Name rings a bell. Any idea why they would take her blood?”

“Maybe they’re vampires.”

“How about the trace under the fingernails?”

“We’re processing it,” he said tersely.

“Prints? How about on the vials?”

“They must’ve worn gloves. They were good.”

Sean said, “Not that good. They lost control of Pam and had to kill her, at least it looks that way.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Waters said evasively.

“Did you find the Tundra?”