Ellie was walking back to the Trumans’ house when Deputy Landrum called.
“Hey,” he said, “I’ve been talking to Ms. Truman’s neighbors. Man across the street said he saw Ava run down the sidewalk this morning, but lost sight of her when she veered around the curve. Lady next door, Dottie Clark, said she didn’t see her, but she did mention that the couple was having marital problems.”
“I know. They were separated,” Ellie replied.
“She said that, too. Said she heard them have some heated arguments. That the father accused Lara of not taking good care of Ava, of leaving her alone sometimes.”
Ellie frowned. “That’s odd. Lara told me she works part-time but was always home when Ava got off the bus.”
“Neighbor was a little batty. Crazy cat lady, cats everywhere. She could have got mixed up,” Heath said.
Ellie had heard the woman’s name—some of the other women in town talked about her. Dottie Clark was trying to organize a neighborhood watch program. Of course, Carol Sue from the Beauty Barn—who fed the gossip mill—was doing the talking, and Ellie didn’t put much stock in what she said.
“True.” Or Lara could have lied. “Has the neighbor seen the father around lately?”
“She saw him drive by a few times,” Heath said. “Once he stopped and went to the door, but the wife refused to let him come in. Screamed that he scared Ava when he got mad.”
Ellie’s stomach tightened. So Jasper had a temper. Maybe he’d snatched the little girl to get back at his wife. “Did any of the neighbors see anyone else watching Ava?”
“Three of the families work full-time and have no kids so they aren’t home much. I have one more neighbor to check with.”
Her phone buzzed with a call from Derrick, so she said thanks and clicked over.
“I’m at Jasper Truman’s place,” Derrick started, filling her in on what he’d found.
“Lara said he hadn’t seen Ava much, but lately had hinted at wanting shared custody. They argued about that.” Ellie hesitated. “Derrick, I found Ava’s stuffed bunny at the park across from the bus stop. It was in the bushes as if she dropped it. It looks like she was taken.”
Derrick cursed. “The father’s suitcase is gone. He may have run off with her.”
“Let’s issue a bulletin for his vehicle and for him.”
“I’ll handle it. Don’t know if it means anything, but it looks like the man was behind on his bills. After I checked the closet, I skimmed through them. He owed the children’s hospital a big chunk. I’m going to dig into their financials and see if they owe anyone else, someone who might have kidnapped Ava to send a message to them.”
“Definitely dig into the husband.” Ellie sighed. “Lara didn’t mention anything about Ava having been in the hospital,” she said, wondering why. “I’m on my way back to the house. I’ll find out the reason.”