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Her features were finely drawn: sht nose, and lips thinned by age Usually, I think of beautiful wo eyes, plump lips Hers was a beauty of a different kind--soft, subdued Her cologne smelled like fresh soap, and if she wore makeup at all, it was discreetly applied I can’t make small talk with someone whose only child has been kidnapped and killed, so I left it up to her

"I spoke to Lieutenant Dolan thisin touch withyour naard to Mary Claire’s disappearance He tellsman named Michael Sutton has co"

"I don’t knohat to say May I call you Joanne?"

"Of course"

"Michael rong about the date This ca to the disappointment He was a kid at the time, six years old, and the incident he remembered actually happened a week earlier, if at all"

"I don’t understand Lieutenant Dolan said he carave two days after Mary Claire was kidnapped You’re saying his report was false?"

"He made a mistake There was no malice intended He read a newspaper article and Mary Claire’s naered a vivid recollection His story sounded reasonable Detective Phillips thought it orth pursuing and so did I

"Yesterday, Michael’s sister ca he wasn’t anywhere near Santa Teresa on the date he claimed, so it looks like he conjured theto do with Mary Claire I e had more, but it’s not there"

"Well" She stared down at her hands

"I know all of this is hard on you, and I’m sorry"

"Not your fault I should be used to it by now I should have detached years ago, but I’ve never found a way to do it So like this coainst ment, I feel a flutter of hope I can’t tell you how many people have come up with ‘clues’ in the last twenty years They write, they call, they stopto know Mary Claire’s whereabouts Any reference in the paper and the ‘tips’ co out Some ask for money and some just want to feel i this for gain He was hesitant about going to the police and uneasy when they sent him over to me As odd as his story was, it seemed to hold an eleether"

"I’ anyone It’s all just so endless"

"Look, I know this is none of my business, but can you tell ine what it h My husband and I divorced It ht have been unfair to fault Barry for the way he handled the situation, but watching his I hadn’t fully understood He took over He called all the shots I was relegated to the sidelines while he dealt with the police and the FBI My opinions andto him For the first time, I saw the sort of man I was married to"

"What would you have done if it had been up to you?"

"Exactly what they asked I’d have kept thein the police I’d have paid the ransoht That’s what the Unruhs did and their daughter survived I’m sure the FBI would have deemed it the worst possible tactic, but what did they have at stake? Twenty-five thousand was nothing to us I found out later Barry had twice that much in a secret account--money he used to establish his new life after we separated For all I know, that was always his intention, saving up so he could leave I reached a point where I didn’t care one way or the other I suppose if Mary Claire had been savedif she’d cos over and gone on as we had before"

"Is he still in town?"

"He moved to Maine I think he wanted a location as unlike California as he could find He remarried and started another family So eted?"

"Barry owns a wealth-o and he’s always done well He felt that’s what put us in the line of fire That and because Mary Claire was an only child"