‘I’m not going to sue anybody. I just want to find my daughter.’
‘I understand that, but their response is an institutional one. The board and the lawyers are advising them now.’
‘But I’m worried about Anna. Aren’t they?’
‘I really can’t say more. I should go. I wanted you to know that I care about Anna, and they’re going to do the best they can. I’ll make sure they do.’
‘Just let me ask you this, Anna’s friend Jamie Covington went missing from school too. Did you treat Jamie?’
‘I can’t answer that.’
‘Does that mean you did? It must.’
‘I’ve been asked not to speak with you directly. Roger wants the information to flow through him.’
‘Can you just text me Jamie’s parents’ contact information? I won’t say where it came from.’
‘No, I can’t do that.’
‘But I think Jamie was helped to run away by people named PG and Connie. Do you know them? I’m thinking they might know where Anna is. I keep thinking they’re connected because –’
‘Please, I shouldn’t stay on the line. Take care, Maggie. Good-bye.’ Ellen hung up.
‘Damn.’ Maggie ended the call and entered the town of Congreve, which was hunkering down for the storm. The shops had closed, switching their lights off.
‘Pull over here. It won’t be long before we go back.’
‘We’re going back?’ Maggie parked in front of a boutique with darkened windows. Snow hit the windshield, and the wipers flapped madly.
‘You’re darn tootin’.’ Kathy nodded, eyeing the phone. ‘We’re going to snoop around.’
‘Good, I say we start with Parker. Somebody has to be there.’
‘Agree, and look. This is a virtual tour of the school. It’s on the Congreve website.’ Kathy held up the phone screen, which depicted a bird’s eye view of the campus, with its classy brick buildings surrounded by lush green plantings, hedges, and trees.
‘Notice they don’t show it in winter.’
‘They’re not that stupid.’ Kathy swiped right, then left, navigating around the campus. Names popped up next to each building, with a description of its use. ‘See? Daley Auditorium, Palumbo Lab Center, the Janet Baker Library. Parker Hall.’
‘I know where Parker is. I was there.’
‘But do you know this?’ Kathy navigated to a white Victorian house with turrets, its eaves painted violet, lavender, and mint green. She read the pop-up description aloud, ‘ “This is Steingard House, home to the school’s award-winning poetry magazine, The Zephyr.” ’
‘Nice. I see how to get there from the entrance. Take a hard left and go straight.’ Maggie noted the street that ran in front of the Victorian house, which was on the far west side of campus. Dickinson Way.
‘We have to wait until the suits leave the Administration Rotunda. Whitaker and Amundsen live on campus, and the map shows their houses. They live on the east side of campus, near the lake.’
‘So they won’t see us. What about the security guard?’
‘We’ll make up something. Say I left something in the office or wanted to take a picture or something. We couldn’t look more harmless, two moms and a little boy.’
‘I’m not little!’ Caleb called from the backseat, and Maggie thought he heard more than she’d generally suspected.
‘And the lawyer, I doubt he lives on campus.’
‘No, he lives under a rock.’ Kathy looked up. ‘But he has to drive by us when he leaves. This is the only street out of the school, right?’
‘Right. When he drives by, the meeting is over. The lawyer is always the last to leave.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘I learned it at work. Once the lawyer leaves, the conversation isn’t privileged anymore, so the meeting’s over.’
‘Whoa.’
‘I know things, too,’ Maggie said, checking the rearview.
Maggie, Kathy, and Caleb hurried up the path to the front door of Parker Hall, which had been salted and shoveled, leaving drifts almost waist-high on either side of the sidewalk. They had waved their way past the security guard at the gate, who must have recognized the car from before and hadn’t even bothered to open the window, maybe because of the snow.
Maggie remembered Parker Hall, a lovely brick mansion, and there were plenty of lights on inside, so some of the Parkers must have been home. Maybe somebody could help them. They reached the covered entrance doors, which were wood with small glass windows, and through them they could see an entrance hall with Shaker benches, brass floor lamps, and another Oriental rug in front of a curving paneled staircase.
‘Somebody’s home.’ Maggie knocked again.
‘Is there a Housemaster or something like that?’
‘Yes, I think so.’ Maggie knocked harder, then looked around for a buzzer or intercom, but there wasn’t one. She looked over at a lit window on the first floor, but she couldn’t see inside because the shade was pulled down. She made a megaphone of her hands and shouted, ‘Hello, on the first floor, can you come to the door? Please?’
‘Hey look!’ Kathy said, and Maggie turned to see a young student in Congreve sweats, padding into the entrance hall in moccasins. She wore hip black glasses, and her hair was up in a long ponytail.
Maggie called to her, ‘Please let us in, we’re two frostbitten moms! And a big boy!’
The student came to the door, opening it with a smile. ‘Are you parents or something?’
‘Yes, hi, I’m Maggie Ippoliti, and this is my son Caleb and best friend Kathy. We’re from Pennsylvania, and my daughter lived here. Her name was Anna Desroches. Is Anna Desroches.’
‘I’m Madison Leone. What’s the problem? Did your car break down?’
‘No, but to make a long story short, my daughter went missing last year and we’re looking for her. She lived here. Did you know her?’
Madison frowned, buckling her smooth forehead. ‘No. What class was she in?’
‘She was a junior last year.’
‘Oh, I wasn’t here then. I transferred in this year.’
‘Do you know anybody who can help us? I just want to ask a question or two. We’re trying to find her.’
‘I would have told you that Kurt and his wife can help you. He’s our Housemaster. But he and his wife went away for Thanksgiving. I’m taking care of their cat.’
Kathy interjected, ‘We’re working with Morris Whitaker on this, so it’s okay.’
Madison nodded. ‘Right, I know what you’re talking about. They were here today, talking to Sofia about Anna. Sofia lived upstairs, next door to Anna. I know about it because I heard them talking. My room is on the first floor, right over there.’ She pointed. ‘I hear everything. That’s how I heard you knocking.’
‘Oh.’ Maggie realized that Sofia must have been the student who told Whitaker that the imposter had posed as a paralegal. ‘Is Sofia around? Maybe we can talk to her.’
‘No, she left for the holiday.’
Maggie wanted to pick Madison’s brain, too, just in case. ‘If you’re new, you didn’t know Jamie Covington, did you?’
‘No, that name doesn’t sound familiar.’
‘Do you know if a girl named PG lives here? Or Connie? These were friends of my daughter’s.’
‘No, I never heard of them.’
‘Do you know who else we can speak to? Anybody who might know Anna, Jamie, PG, or Connie?’
‘Sure, hold on.’ Madison took a phone from her sweatpants pocket and thumbed in a text. ‘I’m asking Genevieve, she’s a senior. She’ll be right down. She knows everybody.’
‘Great, thanks.’ Maggie turned to the staircase, and in a few moments, a short African-American student in a red sweater and jeans descended and approached them.
‘Hey, I’m Genevieve,’ she said, with a sweet smile. She wore her hair pulled back, and silver bracelets jangled on her forearm. ‘How can I help you?’
Maggie smiled back. ‘I’m looking for my daughter, Anna Desroches. Did you know her?’
‘Yes, but not well. You’re her mom?’
‘Yes.’ Maggie realized that until this very moment, she hadn’t met another student who knew Anna, the real Anna. She didn’t want to get emotional now, so she suppressed the thought.
‘I heard she went to live home with you, didn’t she?’