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Rather lax , wouldn’t you say. How long has she been missing?”
    “Over twenty four hours.” Just what was going on with these cops? He felt the need to make excuses on their behalf. “The police department is stretched at the moment, Sir. I’m sure you’re aware of the man hunt. I’m just one of many who’ ve been drafted in to help out, to do the leg work, so to speak.”
    “I see,” replied Hogre and Connell felt the guy’s eyes boring into him, seeking out untruths. Kids told stories - it’s what they did, he should know. Joe told whoppers and this guy had spent a lifetime sniffing them out. He did it for a living, rooting out all of those dog-ate-my-homework or ‘I had to go to my Grandmother’s funeral’ for the twentieth time stories. Connell was no match for him.
    Hogre steepled his fingers and tapped them gently against his chin. “What you’re as king is strictly confidential. Why do you imagine that I would disclose confidential information to a man who walks in off the street?”
    “Because I’m trying to find a little girl who nobody seems to care about, and I’m interested to know why that is, because call me old fashioned , Principal Ogre …”
    “The name is Hogre.”
    “... but I tend to think missing children should be found as quickly as possible.”
    The P rincipal nodded. He may well be an ogre, but that didn’t stop him from making a decision. “There’s not a lot that I can tell you, Mr. Connell. Molly is a brighter than average child with some socialization issues.”
    “What does that mean?”
    Hogre sighed, removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. “In layman’s terms ...”
    “Sure.” Layman’s terms , was fine by Connell.
    “She reads well, is academically ahead of her peers , but lacks the communication skills to put her thoughts and ideas into words.  Simply put, she’s a loner, doesn’t mix, doesn’t share and doesn’t have any friends.”
    “She’s a kid , for God’s sake. What makes a kid turn out like that?”
    “There could be many reasons. Some children just don’t develop the skills they need for life.”
    Why did that sound like bullshit? She was a kid, a little kid with no friends and no one had thought to do anything about it. “When did you last see her?” asked Connell.
    Hogre picked up the phone, asked his secretary to bring him the register , and did well to hide his discomfort when it revealed that Molly Brown hadn’t been to school for almost four weeks.
    “You don’t check up on these kids who fail to attend?” asked Connell. He was sure if they didn’t, they should. He’d only had to skip an afternoon and the school would have been on the phone to his mom.
    Hogre shuffled through some paperwork and bought himself some time while he composed himself. “Letters were sent to the home. They remained unanswered.”
    “That’s because Molly’s parents up and disappeared two months ago. Did no one notice that this kid came into school for four whole weeks hungry and unwashed?” Connell was losing patience and tried hard not to let it show.
    “This is a disadvantaged neighborhood, Mr. Connell. Many of our children fall into that category. We feed them while they’re here and teach them to wash their hands when they’ve been to the bathroom. Beyond that there’s little we can do. We pass on information regarding our vulnerable youngsters but we are at the mercy of Social Services who are sadly overburdened.”
    Connell shook his head with exasperation. “Have you any idea where she might have gone?”
    “Gone? You don’t think she’s been taken?”
    “I don’t know what to think, but taken is t he least preferred option. ‘Gone’ implies some measure of choice in the matter.”
    “I’m sorry, Mr. Connell. I don’t k now where she might have gone, nor do I have any thoughts on who might have taken her, should you arrive by default at option two.”
    Connell got to his feet, disillusioned by his lack of progress.