The Little Grave (Detective Amanda Steele)

Phoebe’s bedroom would have been any little girl’s dream. The walls were pink, the bedding was pink, some of the furniture was pink. Any adult and antique pieces that were spread about the rest of the house had no place within these four walls. This space had unmistakably belonged to a princess.

Amanda would have loved to ask if she could be left there alone for a few minutes, especially after her gaze settled on the doll—the one in the photograph. It was sitting on a bench beneath the window next to a bookcase full of children’s books. She walked over but didn’t touch the doll, though she desperately wanted to do just that. She looked outside to the beautiful backyard. Only illuminated by the moon, she could see it would be an absolute retreat in the summer with its gardens, stone statues, and tiered fountain.

She tried to keep her mind outside, off the effects in the room, off the fact that it had all belonged to a little girl who’d lived a horrible life at the hands of evil, perverted men and how she’d met her end with a bullet to her head.

Amanda pinched her eyes shut. Yes, there might be worse evils than death.

Tanya walked up behind her and stood next to her at the window. “We set up a memorial for her out there, not really a grave, but someplace to visit and think of her.”

She stopped talking, as if she expected Amanda to speak, but she was having a hard time not falling apart.

Tanya went on. “Phoebe loved it when we’d sit here, and I’d read to her.”

She looked over at Amanda and Amanda forced herself to look at the grieving mother.

“I’d just gotten so busy with setting up fundraisers… I missed out a lot on my daughter’s last couple of years with us. Do you have children?”

“Yeah.” Amanda wasn’t getting into the fact that both were dead—one before she’d even got to know them.

“How nice? What are their names?”

“Lindsey and Nathan.” She’d named her unborn baby after her father despite not knowing its sex. “Lindsey had—has—a doll just like that one.” She gulped roughly when she realized her slip and then her awkward correction.

“Is your daughter…”

She looked back out the window as she answered, “Five and a half years ago.”

Tanya put a hand on Amanda’s shoulder and squeezed. No words were spoken, but none were needed. In that moment there was an unmistakable bond between the two women made of pain that no one should ever need endure.

“Ah, I guess I should be hitting the road,” Amanda said and turned.

“You were looking for a brush or something that might have Phoebe’s DNA,” Tanya reminded her.

“Right.” Amanda smiled at her. “It’s been a long day.”

Tanya didn’t speak, though her eyes seemed to say that it had been a long fifteen and a half years.

“I can get you her toothbrush.” Tanya disappeared for a few seconds and returned. “I can put it into a plastic bag for you.”

“That would work. Thank you.” Amanda’s heart ached that Tanya still had her daughter’s toothbrush after all these years. She went to leave the room and spotted a framed casting. She stopped in front of it.

“That’s Phoebe’s toes and fingers.” Tanya’s voice took on a wistful tone, as if she’d been transported back to pleasanter times when there was still excitement for the future.

“Could I take it too?” Amanda asked. Sometimes DNA degraded and wasn’t viable, so having her prints could help. She was surprised that the detectives investigating Phoebe’s disappearance hadn’t taken it with them.

“Sure.” Tanya took it off the wall and said, “I’ll put it into a bag too. But please be careful with it. I’d like to get it back.”

“I understand.”

Tanya dipped her head and blinked softly. Again, no words were needed.

A

manda thanked the Baldwins for their time and promised them she’d pass on whatever information she could, when she could. They expressed their appreciation at her offering, but there was a darkness in their eyes that made her think they’d heard such assurances before to no real avail.

She got in the department car and looked up Elise Pierce, Osborne’s friend. She figured if she was in Williamsburg, she’d just get a hotel room and pay her a visit in the morning, but it turned out Elise was in Woodbridge, just like Osborne.

Were the friends still in touch and, regardless, what had brought them both to Prince William County?