“Dr. Keynes has apprised me of the situation,” Pam stated briskly.
“Okay.” D.D. shrugged out of her leather jacket, her motions awkward given the stiffness in her left shoulder. She took a seat. “I’m sure you can understand we’re operating on the QT for the moment regarding Florence Dane’s disappearance. Press gets a hold of this . . .”
“You mean the same media that raked the BPD over the coals on the evening news?”
“Thank heavens it was a Saturday,” D.D. commented, as the weekend news had notoriously lower viewer numbers than the weeknight editions.
Pam Mason arched a brow but kept the rest of her thoughts to herself. She folded her hands, placed them on the small table. “How can I help?”
Keynes reappeared. He bore two mugs of steaming coffee for them, nothing for himself. Man was so superhuman he didn’t even require caffeine? Figured.
“I understand that Rosa Dane is acting as a mentor for the Summers family.”
Pam Mason nodded.
“I’m wondering . . .” D.D. had to collect her thoughts, not sure how much she wanted to say. Not sure how much she had to say. “I’d like to understand more about the Stacey Summers case. From the family’s perspective. The father, Colin, called me this morning. At the first mention of Flora’s name, he already assumed she was involved in taking down Devon Goulding. Given we never released that detail to the press . . .”
“He knows things.”
“Exactly. Combine that with the fact Flora has taken a personal interest in Stacey Summers’s disappearance and now appears to have gone missing herself . . .”
Another arched brow, then it was Pam’s turn to collect her thoughts. She took a sip of coffee.
“I’m assuming you’re familiar with the details of Stacey’s abduction,” she said at last, “given that the BPD is handling the case.”
“I know we have the world’s most-watched kidnapping video, and yet no real leads.”
“Do you think she’s alive?” Pam asked abruptly, which was not the question D.D. had been expecting.
She found herself staring at Keynes, of all people, who sat with his long, elegant fingers steepled in front of him.
“What’s that expression?” D.D. replied finally. “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst? I hope Stacey is still alive. But given the statistics on missing persons cases . . .”
Pam nodded. No doubt she was as familiar with the primacy of the first twenty-four hours as the rest of them.
“I guess the question is,” D.D. found herself saying, “does the family believe? Or maybe”—she thought about it—“does Rosa Dane, as their mentor, believe?”
“The family wants to believe,” Pam supplied. “Most families do. But as the days stretch longer with no sign of their daughter . . . They are under a tremendous amount of stress, both feeling the pain of their daughter’s disappearance and the agony of their own helplessness.”
“How are they coping?”
“Interestingly enough, it’s the mother, Pauline, who is probably doing the best, though I’m sure Colin would disagree. By all accounts, the marriage is a solid one. Traditional New England roles. He’s a workaholic investment banker; she raised their daughter, tends the home, and is involved in the community. Church, local high school, various charities, the like. Stacey is their only child; Pauline suffered several miscarriages before her birth, which makes Stacey a miracle child.”
D.D. winced. She couldn’t imagine that kind of salt on the wound; to have already lost multiple babies, then, nineteen years later, having the lone survivor, no doubt the apple of her parents’ eyes . . .
“Stacey is described as kind, vibrant, happy, athletic,” D.D. said. “Mother or father?”
“Definitely takes after the mom. They’re very close, the kind of mother-daughter that are often mistaken for sisters. Pauline took the news of Stacey’s disappearance very hard. I’d never describe her as weak, but she’s one of those women who wears her heart on her sleeve, which makes her transparent in her pain.”
“Support network?” D.D. asked.
“Good. In addition to church ties, they have a close network of friends in the neighborhood, other families from Stacey’s school, that sort of thing. In the beginning, they were deluged with food, offers of assistance, et cetera, et cetera. One of my first jobs, in fact, was turning everyone away, given Pauline’s delicate mental state.”
“Delicate mental state?”
“The initial shock definitely overwhelmed Pauline. She fell apart. But, to be fair, she then let her support network help put her back together.
“The tight network of ladies from church, fellow moms, her own sisters, they give her strength. Colin, on the other hand, concerns me more. He’s the consummate alpha male. For most of his life, there’s been no problem he couldn’t solve. Now this. The very foundations of his world have been rocked. Pauline externalizes her pain, which allows others to help bear the load. Colin purely internalizes.”
“He was quite . . . angry . . . when he spoke to me by phone.”
The victim specialist merely nodded.
“And Rosa Dane’s role in all this?”
“She’s the equalizer between the two. She’s empathetic enough and optimistic enough for Pauline—Rosa’s daughter’s safe recovery one year later being an example of success. But Rosa is also tactical, which is what Colin wants. She’s well versed on media appearances, as well as the need in this day and age to work social media.”
“Bet the lead investigator loves that,” D.D. muttered.
Pam Mason shrugged. All detectives wanted to control their own investigations. And all families wanted to be involved.
“Was Stacey close to her family?” D.D. asked.
“Very.”
“Any reason to harbor any suspicions on the home front?”
“No. I’ve spent three months with the Summerses. They really were the postcard for family closeness. And frankly, I don’t say that lightly. In my line of work, I spend more time pulling skeletons out of closets than framing happy family photos.”
“So Pauline is leaning on family and friends to get her through, while Colin nurses his rage and rides the local investigators. Is he back to work?”
“Yes. Limited hours, but I recommended his return. Staying home isn’t good for him. Work is how he copes.”
D.D. couldn’t argue with that, given her own predilections. “Is the wife angry about that?”
“No. Like a lot of stay-at-home wives, she’s accustomed to the house being her domain. Her husband’s sudden appearance twenty-four/seven strained the patterns of their marriage more than it helped. Part of my job is to help a family understand that the more it deviates from its established rhythms during the time of crisis, the more everyone’s stress escalates. Normalcy is also an excellent coping strategy.”
“Does Rosa Dane agree with that?”
The victim advocate hesitated. “Rosa is a rare mentor. She listens to Pauline. She talks to Colin. I’ve . . . been impressed. Generally speaking, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s program . . .” Pam Mason made a noise in her throat.