Amanda rapped quickly on the office door before entering her husband's office. "Are you busy, honey?"
"No, not at the moment," he said moving the papers on his desk aside. "What's going on?"
"Well, I was just looking up some information and making a few phone calls and I found out some really exciting news. I probably should have waited until the end of the day to tell you, but I just couldn't."
"What are you so worked up about?"
"Adoption. I checked into a few agencies and with our backgrounds and our salaries, they're sure we would be approved. We would just have to go through a quick review process, but it sounds like we could have a little baby in our arms anytime we wanted."
"Adoption? I thought you were dead set against adopting. I thought you wanted to have our own baby or nothing at all."
"I did and I still do, but I was thinking this could be our backup plan if we find out we can't get pregnant. By the way, I'm going to make appointments for us with a fertility specialist and see what other options we have. I found out there are some very good specialists in the area." Noticing Andrew's confused expression, she asked. "Is that ok? You do still want to have a baby, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm just a little caught off guard. Why the sudden change of heart?"
"I was thinking it over and a lot of things Vanessa and Alma have said really make sense. Maybe I was being too narrow minded and not really looking at our other options."
"Vanessa? She's the reason you're thinking about adoption and special doctors?"
"Yes, a big part of it anyway. We had a really good talk when we were at the spa. If it's ok with you, I want to go ahead and set up a few appointments."
"Fine. Go ahead. I'm fine with whatever you want."
Andrew watched skeptically as Amanda skipped out of the room. Something seemed odd about this situation. All along Amanda had been adamant about getting pregnant on their own and this sudden complete turn around in her attitude made no sense to him, especially since the advice had come from Vanessa, who she had never thought much of. She had been acting odd ever since Vanessa's disappearance, he thought. Not at all the way he would have expected someone to act in this situation.
Wondering if a second perspective would help him make sense of this, he picked up the phone and called the one person who knew Amanda as well as he did, her sister, Alma.
Justin sat nervously in the uncomfortable metal chair across from the two police officers in the interrogation room. He wanted to ask them what this was all about and why they had brought him here, but he thought it best to wait for them to speak first.
"Mr. Jordan. Can you tell us about your relationship with Vanessa Summers?"
"Vanessa? We met at a country club function. I was the events coordinator at Pheasant Run and she was starring in a play that was hosted there. We tried dating, briefly, but when we realized we didn't have any romantic chemistry, we decided to remain friends."
"When was the last time you saw or spoke to Ms. Summers?"
"I don't recall," Justin said, thinking back. "We didn't keep in touch often. The last time I tried to call her there wasn't an answer. I left a message on her answering machine, but she never returned my call." Unable to hold back his curiosity any longer he asked, "What is this about? Has something happened?"
The police officers looked at each other, before Logan answered. "Ms. Summers was reported missing and is assumed to be kidnaped. She's had threatening notes sent to her, her apartment was broken into, and a ransom note was delivered to her family."
"I had no idea."
"The reason we brought you here is because we discovered your message on the answering machine in her apartment and some of the speech patterns we noticed in your message were similar to the notes we found. We're going to need a sample of your handwriting."
"You think I might have had something to do with her disappearance?"
"At this point we aren't ignoring any possibilities. Where were you on the evening of the 16th?"
"I, um," he hesitated as his mind went back to that evening.
"Mr. Jordan, everything will go more smoothly if you give us your full cooperation."
"I was at Pheasant Run with Mrs. Sexton, looking over job applications for a new events coordinator. I've resigned from my job there."
"What time were you there exactly? Was anyone else there to verify your whereabouts?"
"We were the only ones there. We met about 5:00 or 5:30 in the afternoon. My job with Mrs. Burgess kept me a little late that evening."
"And what time did you leave the country club?"
"Late. Shortly after midnight, I believe."
"That's a long time to spend reviewing applications."
"We got off task and um, discussed other matters."
"Thank you, Mr. Jordan. Could you wait here a moment, please?" the Lieutenant asked as he and Logan left the interrogation room. "So what do you think?"
"His story seems a little sketchy to me."
"I think so too. Let's follow up on it and see what this Mrs. Burgess and Mrs. Sexton have to say."
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