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them again into the lavish sitting room. There was a box of tissues on the stand beside where Amelia sat. A look at her face showed she appeared to have been crying. The lack of sleep was evident on her face as well. Photo albums were spread out on the coffee table. The room was quiet and still. They sat.
    Hank fumbled with a package he was carrying. He withdrew the picture of Chad and handed it to Mrs. James. “Amelia,” he asked, “do you recognize this man?”
    She took the photo and looked at it carefully. “No,” she said. “I don’t believe I’ve seen him before.” She looked up at Hank, a question on her face.
    “This appears to be one of Jenny’s friends,” he informed her. He withdrew the necklace from the bag. He looked at Jake, and then back at Amelia, reluctantly adding, “This was found in his car. Do you recognize it?” He didn’t want to mention the necklace had been found in the trunk.
    She gasped. She took the necklace and fondled it gently. “It’s Jenny’s. I’d recognize it anywhere. Her father gave that to her on her thirteenth birthday.” She looked at Hank again, puzzled, as if waiting for an explanation.
    Hank continued in a soothing voice. “Amelia, we have absolutely no evidence any harm has come to Jenny.” He pointed to the photo. “Apparently, she was seen with this man, Chad Bronson, several times in the past. He seems to be missing too, although we were able to locate his vehicle. It appears they may’ve been together the day she went missing.” He quickly added, “There could be a perfectly logical explanation.”
    Annie interrupted, pointing to the necklace. “As you can see, it’s undamaged. It wasn’t forced off or broken off. The clasp was undone, and it was removed. By Jenny herself, we believe.”
    Hank spoke. “And we have an APB, an all-points bulletin, out on Bronson. If he’s around anywhere, we’ll pick him up.”
    A mixture of hope and despair was in Amelia’s voice as she spoke. “Jenny’s out there somewhere. Please find her.”
    Hank leaned forward and gently placed his hand on Amelia’s. “Don’t give up hope,” he said. “Just don’t give up hope.”
    Amelia smiled weakly and thanked them.
    After they’d left, Hank followed them to their vehicle.” I didn’t want to mention this to Amelia,” he said, “but I got the forensics report back on the vehicle this morning. They found some hair in the trunk as well. They match Jenny’s. I think we can definitely conclude she was in that trunk.”
     
     
    Wednesday, August 10th, 1:25 PM
     
    EARLIER THAT afternoon, Hank had faxed over a copy of the Police Forensics Report. Annie grabbed it from the machine and studied it for some time. There were several pages, and she went over it thoroughly.
    Picking up the phone, she dialed MacGlen Forensic Services. MacGlen was a private forensic firm located in the downtown area. As a licensed forensic service, MacGlen could gain access to Bronson’s vehicle. It was not that she didn’t trust the police forensic report, but she had a question the report didn’t seem to cover. Specifically, she wanted a botany test of the tires and underside of the car. Forensic botany is the application of plant sciences to criminal investigations.
    She spoke with Sammy MacGlen. Sammy was an expert she’d dealt with in the past, and he took her call immediately. “Annie, what may I do for you today?”
    She explained the situation to him, and outlined her needs. He agreed they could get at it right away and try to get back to her in a day or two. As a private for-profit firm, they were unhampered by red tape and backlogs. With a team expert in every forensic field, she was confident she would get accurate results, and fast.

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 8
     
     
     
    Wednesday, August 10th, 1:55 PM
     
    AMELIA picked up the phone. “Hello,” she said.
    It was Hank.
    “Hi Amelia, it’s Hank Corning. I have something I’d like to talk to you about. Is this