‘Well, until a little after midnight, I guess,’ said Mark. ‘But I went up to check on the kids …’
‘And what time was that at?’ said Ren.
‘I guess … eleven thirty? And then I came back down to Erica. We didn’t stay much longer. We went back to the room.’
Ren looked up. ‘Sorry … let’s go back to when you got to the room.’
‘Yes, sorry … uh, when I got to the room … the sitter was on the bed in her sweats, watching television. I asked her how the kids were, and she said they’d been really well-behaved …’ Tears welled in his eyes. ‘They were asleep. So … I went to their door, and stuck my head in, and they were fast asleep.’
‘They were in an adjoining room,’ said Ren.
‘Yes,’ said Mark. ‘The kids had twin beds, we had a double bed. That was where the sitter was. In the main room. Where Erica and I would be sleeping.’
‘OK,’ said Ren. ‘So when you checked on the children, they were sleeping. Was there any sign of a disturbance, anything out of place in their room?’
Mark shook his head. ‘Absolutely not. Nothing.’
‘Did anything happen while you were in the room?’ said Ren.
‘What do you mean?’ said Mark.
‘Did you have a conversation with Shelby Royce?’ said Ren.
‘Chit-chat,’ said Mark. ‘Hope they behaved for you, what time did they go to sleep, are you bored, that kind of thing.’
‘And what was her demeanor at this point?’
He shrugged. ‘Fine. She seemed a little bored.’
‘Did she seem at ease?’ said Ren.
‘Yes.’
‘Did you get the sense that she was eager to finish up?’ said Ren.
‘No more eager than most sitters at that age, I guess …’
‘Did she mention that she was going anywhere, or planning to meet up with anyone afterward?’
‘No,’ said Mark.
‘You understand I’m asking all these questions because you are the last person to have seen Shelby before she dis-appeared …’
‘Yes, I’m sorry if I seem a little … I suppose I want the attention focused on Laurie. I … know that sounds terrible.’
‘It’s understandable,’ said Ren. ‘But Shelby Royce, and her state of mind, and her actions, are crucial to us working out what happened here. Right now, we can’t call this an abduction, because we have no evidence that it is.’
‘What?’ said Mark. ‘But … what else do you think happened?’
‘That’s what we’re trying to establish,’ said Ren. ‘They may have left voluntarily.’
‘There is no way that Laurie would do that,’ said Mark. ‘No way.’
‘I’ll put that in my notes, so everyone is aware of how you feel about that,’ said Ren.
He nodded.
‘OK,’ said Ren, ‘after you had checked on them, what did you do?’
‘I went back down to my wife.’
‘Did you tell the sitter what time you intended to come back to the room?’ said Ren.
‘No, no … I … left. I went back to the restaurant.’
‘How long did all of that take?’ said Ren.
‘How long to get back to the restaurant?’ said Mark.
‘No,’ said Ren. ‘From when you left the table to when you returned to the table.’
‘Oh …’ he rubbed his chin. ‘Fifteen minutes?’ He paused. ‘Twenty?’
‘And how long did you spend in the restaurant before you went back up to the room and discovered that your daughter was missing?’
‘Twenty minutes, maybe thirty,’ said Mark. He paused. ‘Closer to thirty.’
Ren nodded. ‘Mr Whaley, do you have any reason to believe that someone would want to harm you or your family?’
‘No,’ said Mark. ‘No … why would someone …?’ The words caught in his throat. ‘Please, please, find her,’ he said. ‘Let me get out there and look for her. Please. I can’t stay here. This is … it’s been hours now,’ he said. ‘Please, I can’t just sit around here doing nothing …’
‘All the Sheriff’s Office detectives are on this,’ said Ren. ‘And more of my colleagues are on their way. I’m sorry that you have to stay here, but these answers could help us to find your daughter.’
‘Laurie …’ said Mark. He took in a breath.
‘Mr Whaley,’ said Ren, ‘who knew that you were coming to Breckenridge this weekend?’
‘Some of our friends, I guess. Erica probably mentioned it to some of hers. It’s … it’s our wedding anniversary this Tuesday; that’s why she pressed for going to dinner I think, even though we had Laurie. I wasn’t thinking that way, but she was.’
‘Mr Whaley, several witnesses have said that you and your wife had a heated discussion over dinner …’
He blinked. ‘I wouldn’t have called it heated …’
Ren waited. He didn’t fill the silence.
‘Can you tell me what the discussion was about?’ said Ren.
‘Couple stuff. It wasn’t about Laurie.’
‘It doesn’t have to be about Laurie to be relevant to the investigation,’ said Ren.
‘I know … it’s just … it was a private conversation that I didn’t think I’d have to share with anyone. Especially the FBI. My head is … please. Let me get my head around this. I’m thrown.’ He took a breath. ‘Erica thinks I’ve been distant. I disagree.’
Ren waited.
‘That was the crux of it.’
‘Your wife thinks you’ve been distant — is there any reason for that?’ said Ren.
‘I work hard,’ said Mark. ‘Long hours. And I take work home. If that makes me distant …’ He shrugged. ‘I’m doing it for my family. So, I guess, yes, it makes me mad … not mad … just … frustrated when she accuses me of being distant.’
‘She’s accused you of this before,’ said Ren.
‘No, not like that … just she asks me if I’m OK a lot.’
‘And are you?’ said Ren. ‘How are things going for you?’
He frowned. ‘They’re going well. Why do you ask?’
‘I’m trying to get a handle on everything,’ said Ren. ‘That’s all. Is everything going OK in your work?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘You work for,’ she checked her notes, ‘MeesterBrandt Pharmaceuticals.’
‘Yes,’ said Mark. ‘I’m the CFO.’
A flicker of something crossed his face.
‘How long have you worked with them?’
‘Since 1989.’
‘And what do you do there exactly?’ said Ren.
‘I’m head of the Finance and Administration Department.’
‘And how are the finances of MeesterBrandt?’
Mark Whaley gave a wry smile. ‘Well, have you heard of the drug Ellerol?’
‘It’s new, isn’t it?’ said Ren. ‘I’ve seen the TV commercials.’
‘It’s been on the market one year,’ said Mark. ‘And it’s already one of the top five revenue-producing drugs in the country.’
‘But … it’s an antipsychotic,’ said Ren. ‘In the top five?’
