Allison said carefully, “If you answer my questions truthfully, I’ll see if we can get you back there.”
It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. Even if Starshine’s father was innocent, too many people now knew that the two of them were living in the middle of what was a public park, no matter how wild it might seem. It wasn’t like everyone could look the other way and pretend it wasn’t happening.
She reached across the table and touched the girl’s folded hands. Starshine looked up, startled, and Allison pulled her hand back.
“This is an important question, Starshine, so I want you to think about it seriously. Has anything bad happened recently?”
Allison phrased it broadly enough that it could apply to Starshine’s father beating or molesting her. And it could also apply to the dead girl and how she got that way.
Starshine pressed her lips together and looked back down at her hands. “No.”
“There was a girl in the woods, Starshine. Not far from your camp. She was wearing a navy blue coat. She probably came there with a dog, a black Lab. About three weeks ago. She had blonde hair down to her shoulders. She was seventeen. Her name was Katie Converse.”
Getting up, Allison went to her desk and found the photo of Katie and Jalape?o. She held it out. After a moment’s hesitation, Starshine took it. She stared at it, expressionless.
“Have you seen her before?”
Starshine tilted her head to one side. “That photograph is stapled to most of the telephone poles when we go into town.”
“That’s not what I mean, and I think you know that. Have you seen her in real life?”
There was a long pause. Allison waited. Her face was calm, but her pulse was racing.
Finally, Starshine nodded, a nod so slight that it was nearly imperceptible.
“Where?”
“She’s dead. Her body’s under a rhodie by a tamarack tree.”
Jennifer sucked in her breath.
Allison had to take the girl’s word for it. Forest Park was filled with trees, but that’s all they were to Allison. Trees, not cedars and spruces and tamaracks.
“This is very important, Starshine. I need you to tell me the truth about what happened to her. How did this girl die?”
“I don’t know.” She looked up at Allison with pleading eyes. “Father says I have to stay in the cabin. He told me not to ever come out no matter what.”
“Did your father have anything to do with this?” Allison asked softly. “Maybe there was some kind of accident?”
Starshine’s eyes grew wide with shock. “Father didn’t kill her. He just found her body. That’s all. He didn’t kill her! Don’t take him from me, don’t!” She blinked, but the tears that brimmed in her blue eyes remained unshed.
PORTLAND FBI HEADQUARTERS
January 5
Where’s my daughter?” Tim Chambers demanded when Nicole and Allison walked into the interview room.
His impatient words overrode Allison introducing herself. His left eye was nearly swollen shut and his words were distorted by a fat lip.
“Where is Starshine? Is she okay? She’s not used to being away from me. She’s probably freaking out.”
Chambers had not requested a lawyer, which Allison had been glad to hear. Questioning was always easier when there was no one making objections.
“I understand your concern, but she’s fine,” she said. “Right now, she’s eating lunch.”
When Nicole had told her that the autopsy had shown that Katie had definitely been murdered, Allison’s sympathies had shifted away from Chambers. Clearly, he had done a good job raising Starshine. And just as clearly, he would have had the motive, means, and opportunity to kill Katie.
“We just need to clear some things up,” she continued, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “So why don’t you start by telling us why you’re living out there in the woods, Tim.”
“Is that really any kind of life for a child?” Nicole interjected, turning around the chair next to Allison and straddling it.
“Hold on,” Allison said, raising a cautioning hand. “Let Tim tell us his side of the story. I’m sure he has his reasons.”
With a sigh, Chambers sat down on the other side of the table. “Starshine’s mother is in Dammasch.”
Dammasch was the state mental hospital.
“We never got married to each other, but we lived together until Starshine was two. We were fighting a lot, so I took off. I’m not proud of it, but I only saw Starshine about twice a year, because my ex made it clear that she didn’t want me coming by. Then two years ago her sister-in-law sent a letter to my PO box saying my ex had attacked another boyfriend and been committed. She told me that if I didn’t take Starshine off their hands, they would put her in foster care. Of course I couldn’t have that. Starshine’s my flesh and blood.”
“But why live in the woods?” Allison asked.
“I get a $400-a-month disability check. There’s no way to live on that.” His tone was matter-of-fact.