Stolen Daughters (Detective Amanda Steele)

Amanda wanted more specifics about their reunion. “What was the name of the vintage clothing store where you ran into Ashley?”

“Second Treasures.”

Amanda was familiar with the store. It was in Dumfries. “That must have been emotional.”

“There were lots of tears.” As if on cue, more fell. “She felt so trapped, ya know? She wanted out but couldn’t see a way. When we were at the store, there was this guy standing in the corner watching us, mainly Ash. He came over and broke us up and grabbed her arm. I’ve never seen such fear in a person’s eyes in my life. She was terrified, but she pressed on this smile, ya know, for me, to make it look like everything was okay, but I knew it wasn’t.”

Maybe they’d concluded too soon that the sex ring wasn’t behind Ashley Lynch’s murder—but where was the motive? And how did Fox and the two recent victims fit in? Either way, there was a question Amanda needed to ask. “Can you remember what the man from Second Treasures looked like?”

“He had the face of the devil. The whites of his eyes were black.”

“You’re sure?” Amanda asked.

“I’ll never forget his face. He was a monster, and he stank of cigarettes and had deep pockmarks in his neck.”

“What about age, hair color, build?”

“I dunno… Average and blond.”

Not the person described by eyewitnesses and not the mystery man in their photos. “I can understand why you were outside the house where you and Ashley spent some time, but what brought you to watch the scene unfold down the street where that woman was murdered?”

“As I said, curiosity.” Crystal’s voice trembled.

Amanda nodded. She’d been curious if Crystal would say something different when asked again. “And to the fire that happened on Clear Mountain Circle?”

“Curiosity.”

“Again. Okay. How did you even know about it?”

Crystal glanced at Simon, then said, “We have a police radio scanner.”

Those things should be banned. Amanda rested her gaze on Crystal’s face again. So young to have been through so much. Her mind turned back to Ashley, and she asked Crystal, “Did you give Ashley your dragonfly pin?”

“How do you know about… You found that?” Her voice was small, more like a child’s than ever. “Was it on her?”

“It was,” Amanda confirmed gently.

“Can I get it back?”

“Maybe after the investigation is over.”

“Please. I know it’s worth a lot. I told her to pawn it or something, run far away.”

She didn’t want to lay any guilt or blame on Crystal, but she had other questions that needed answers. “Why didn’t you do that a long time ago, and why not go home?”

“I thought of it, but that’s when I met Simon and—” she touched his arm “—he made me feel safe and loved, more than my parents ever did.”

“You’ve been together a long time?” Trent asked.

“For almost three years.”

So he was the reason she didn’t go home. “Your parents love you. They want you to go home. And, Simon, you should have encouraged her to.”

“That was no home!” Crystal yelled. “My parents didn’t even raise me—or know me. They had hired help for that. Mom and Dad loved their business far more than me.”

There was still obvious hatred and hurt charged around the subject. Amanda raised her hand as a truce—for now. “Why didn’t you and Ashley go to the police about her situation? She was able to sneak away for ‘pockets at a time,’ as you said.”

“Ash was convinced they’d kill us both. And now—” Crystal sniffled and pinched the tip of her nose. “They killed her.” She sobbed, and Simon hugged her tighter.