Chapter 74

Ashley and I hurried to the police station, where I recognized the officer with the dog from the school sleepover. “Tell him,” I said. “I’ll bet he remembers you.”

“Who did you lose this time?” the officer said, smiling.

“Can we talk to you about Danny?” Ashley said.

“It’s not really my investigation. What do you want to know?”

“Is it true he confessed?” Ashley said.

The officer frowned. “I really can’t talk about specifics. . . .”

I pulled out my recorder. “We think the girls are lying.”

He dipped his head. “Really?”

I punched the Play button. The officer leaned close, and I turned up the volume. When the recording finished, he stood. “Stay right here.”

A few minutes later he reappeared with the chief of police, who introduced himself and showed us into a room.

“Can we keep this?” the chief said.

I nodded.

The chief rubbed his cheek. “We’ve believed those girls from the start. Everything they said checked out. Even found some duct tape in that shed. Still had the price tag on it.” He turned to the canine cop. “Officer Ormsby, go to the hardware store and have them go over the register receipts. See if anybody bought some tape about that time.”

The chief thanked us and said he’d be in touch. Then he saw Ashley’s candle catalog. “Dance studio?”

She nodded. “Bought anything yet?”

“There was this little thing I’ve been thinking about for the dining-room table.”

Officer Ormsby stared at him.

The chief cleared his throat. “It’s for my wife, Bill. Now didn’t I give you an assignment?”