Chapter 3 - What the Neighbors Saw
Lorraine Bell opened her door wearing pearls.
It was eight in the morning.
Behind her, the house smelled of furniture polish and fresh coffee.
“I assume this is about the little girl,” she said.
Natalie stood beside Marcus on the porch.
“It’s about Thursday through Sunday,” Marcus replied. “We need you to walk us through any contact you had with Ashley.”
Lorraine’s smile thinned.
“I told the officer last night. Her father was unreliable.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
Lorraine glanced past them toward the sidewalk.
Two neighbors had stopped beside a mailbox.
“Could we do this inside?”
They sat at her polished dining table. Natalie placed her notebook beside a vase of silk lilies.
Lorraine owned Ashley’s rental house and three others on the block.
Andrew had fallen behind after missing work for medical appointments.
That much she admitted readily.
“He always had an explanation,” she said.
“What was Thursday’s explanation?” Marcus asked.
“He said he’d pay part of the balance Monday.”
“Did he say where he was going?”
“The pharmacy. Grocery store. Something like that.”
“Did he ask anyone to stay with Ashley?”
Lorraine adjusted her bracelet.
“He asked me to look in on her.”
Natalie’s pen stopped.
“What did you tell him?”
“I said I would see what I could do.”
“His understanding?”
“I can’t speak for his understanding.”
Marcus leaned back.
“Did you go?”
“I was busy.”
“For four days?”
“I didn’t know he was missing.”
“Ashley knocked on your door.”
Lorraine looked at Natalie.
“Children get confused.”
“What did she say?”
“I don’t recall every word.”
“Try.”
The room went quiet.
Finally Lorraine said, “She asked whether I had crackers.”
Natalie heard the rain again. Saw the swollen stomach beneath the oversized shirt.
“What did you do?”
“I told her to go home. I assumed Andrew was sleeping or working.”
“Did you call him?”
“No.”
“Knock on his door?”
“No.”
“Call anyone?”
Lorraine’s gaze hardened.
“I am not that child’s mother.”
“No one said you were,” Marcus replied. “We’re asking what you knew.”
Before they left, he requested her messages with Andrew. She hesitated, then handed over her phone.
The thread was short.
Andrew had written Thursday at 5:41 p.m.
Heading out now. Ashley’s on the couch. Thank you for checking in. Door is unlocked.
Lorraine’s response came one minute later.
Fine. We still need to discuss Friday’s payment.
Natalie read it twice.
Outside, Marcus spoke first.
“We preserve everything. We give the prosecutor the facts. We don’t decide the law on a porch.”
Natalie nodded.
She knew he was right.
She still needed a moment before she could speak.
Across the street, a teenage boy waited beside a bicycle.
“You’re the officer who carried her,” he said.
“I am.”
“My name’s Caleb.”
He glanced toward Lorraine’s house.
“I’ve got something you should see.”
His mother, Denise, joined them at the curb. Her face was pale.
“We have a doorbell camera,” she explained. “I checked it after your department posted that Andrew was missing.”
She held out her phone.
The footage showed Ashley crossing the street Saturday afternoon.
Bare feet.
Buddy tucked beneath one arm.
She stopped at Lorraine’s door and knocked.
The audio was faint but clear.
“Mrs. Bell? Daddy’s not home. Can you help me?”
Lorraine opened the inner door.
The screen remained shut.
“You need to go back inside, Ashley.”
“I’m hungry.”
“I’m not doing this today.”
The door closed.
For several seconds, Ashley remained on the porch.
Then she sat down.
Denise covered her mouth.
“We were out of town,” she whispered. “I keep thinking if I’d checked the notifications—”
Natalie interrupted gently.
“You’re helping now.”
Caleb stared at the pavement.
“There’s more.”
The next clip showed Lorraine speaking to a delivery driver twenty minutes later.
She laughed.
She signed for a package.
Ashley’s empty house stood visible beyond her shoulder.
Marcus requested the original recordings.
As Denise went inside to retrieve them, Caleb said, “Everybody shared the video calling her dad a monster.”
Natalie looked toward the rental.
A small curtain hung crooked in the front window.
“Then everybody needs the truth.”
Her phone rang before she reached the patrol car.
Dr. Shaw.
“Andrew’s out of surgery,” the doctor said. “He’s asking for Ashley.”
Natalie let herself breathe.
May you like
Then the doctor continued.
“And Ashley’s test results are back. We need to speak with her father as soon as he’s able.”
