“Brandon Pierce. Nice to meet you, ladies.” Brandon shook their hands.
Zoey’s gaze darted between her mom and David. “You two know each other?”
He started to answer, but Jennie piped in before he could respond. “I met Detective Whitman at the hospital last night.” She rested her hands on Zoey’s shoulders. “Why don’t you gentlemen come on in and have a seat. Since my daughter contacted you, I’ll let her explain.”
The young girl straightened, and David could have sworn she glowed with pride.
He and Brandon sat on either end of the tan couch while Jennie took the navy-blue easy chair off to the side. Removing the floral pillow from behind her, Jennie hugged it to her chest.
Zoey propped herself on the armrest next to her mom and filled them in on the text message gone wrong. “So, you see. I thought I was talking with Aunt Tina. But it wasn’t her. Mom says I got two numbers mixed up.”
Tapping his pencil on the notebook he’d used to record the information, David set his jaw. The girl’s story made sense. Onesimple transposition of numbers. An unfortunate mistake that had dire consequences.
“Thanks, Zoey.” He lifted his gaze to Jennie. Tension snaked across her features, causing him to pause. Her response last night spoke of a brutal past. Had today’s incident been fallout from that? Or had he read her reaction wrong?
He hated to ask the woman, but he had to cover all the possibilities. “Is there anyone who’d want to scare or hurt you or your daughter?”
Zoey jerked. Her wide blue eyes focused on her mother.
A protective hand rested on the girl’s back. Jennie cleared her throat. “Detective, with all due respect, this was purely a misdial. Nothing more.”
The evasion of his question hadn’t gone unnoticed. The woman hid something. “Please understand that I have to do my job and ask the hard questions.”
She nodded.
“I’m curious why Zoey didn’t have her aunt’s number programmed into her phone.”
Jennie’s shoulders relaxed. “Tina’s not technically her aunt, and I purchased the phone a week ago. It only has my number, her great aunt’s number, and a couple of approved friends. I bought it so she could get a hold of me if needed. I’m a single parent. I don’t have backup.”
Brandon leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. “May I ask where her father is?”
Relieved his partner took that question, David settled back against the couch.
“Her father died before she was born.” Jennie gritted her teeth. “Drunk driving accident.”
Brandon’s voice softened. “Sorry to hear that, ma’am. Was the driver convicted?”
The woman threaded her fingers through her daughter’s hair and sighed. “My late husbandwasthe drunk.”
David glanced at Brandon and returned his attention to the two ladies in front of him.
Time to rescue his partner. David cleared his throat. “How about social media? Anyone bothering you online, Zoey?”
The young girl shook her head. “I don’t have any accounts, and neither does my mom.”
No social media? Law enforcement officers tended to stay away from those sites but to have nothing… “Really? That’s unusual for today’s world.”
“We like our privacy, detective. Is there anything else? I need to feed Zoey and get her ready for bed. Tomorrow’s a school day.”
David had struck a nerve with his question, which increased his curiosity. What had happened to this woman? He slapped his knees and stood. His partner followed his lead. “I have nothing more for now, but I’d like to take Zoey’s phone to figure out who this guy is.”
Jennie nodded at her daughter, and Zoey headed to the kitchen. When she returned, she held out the device to David.
He lowered himself to eye level with the fifth grader. “I’ll get this back to you as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.” Zoey smiled.
The lack of protest from the girl puzzled him. Most preteens would have thrown a fit about losing their phones.
