do that.”
“But we did counsel her, we tried to show her how bad it would be,” said Susan.
“Let’s get back to what happened to your daughter,” said Decker.
At this comment, both Milton’s and Susan’s eyes filled with fresh tears.
Jamison handed them both Kleenexes, which they used to wipe their eyes.
“Pammie was . . . bored with life at the Colony,” began Milton. “And because of that we let her go and stay with my cousin’s family in San Antonio last year. She got a taste of . . . life outside. She apparently liked it very much. When she got back she told us she wanted to leave, go back to San Antonio and enroll in some classes, find a job and—”
“—start living her life,” finished Susan.
“But then you tried to talk her out of it,” said Jamison. “Like you said.”
“And we were unsuccessful, as we also told you,” replied Susan stiffly.
“When exactly did she leave the Colony?” asked Kelly.
“A month ago,” answered Milton brusquely.
“But she didn’t go to San Antonio?” Decker pointed out. “She was still here. Unless she went out there and came back.”
“She . . . she hadn’t gone yet,” said Milton in a small voice.
“What was she waiting for?” asked Jamison.
Milton was about to answer when Susan cleared her throat. He glanced at his wife, who was staring at him with such a rigid expression that it was like she had been transformed from flesh to wood.
Milton shut his mouth and looked away while Decker watched this interaction closely.
She said, “We . . . we live a communal life here, and have no personal resources, but we could have asked the community to provide her with some means to travel to San Antonio and given her a bit of a cushion until she became self-sustaining.”
“But you didn’t,” said Jamison.
Susan could only shake her head.
Milton said, “We thought it would be a way to make her come . . . home.” He broke down entirely now and rested his forehead on the table, his body quaking. His wife didn’t look at him, but she did pat him gently on the back.
Decker eyed Kelly and said, “We’ll need to check her movements, friends, whether she had a job. Where she was staying and what if any connection she had to Hal Parker.” He stopped and stared over at Susan. “Before, you said that Parker never came to the Colony. But then you said that you had never required his services, which implies that you knew what he did for a living. Did you know Hal Parker, Ms. Ames?”
She glanced at her husband, who was still bent over, weeping quietly.
“I . . . I knew him, yes. Unlike Milton I . . . I have not always been here at the Colony. When I was younger, much younger, I lived in London with my parents. Hal was older than I was, but our families were neighbors, so I would see him a good deal when I was a child. I’ve . . . I know what he does for a living.”
Jamison said, “So did Pamela know him? Might she have gone to him for help when she left here?”
“It’s possible,” said Susan. “I don’t know for sure.”
Jamison frowned. “You didn’t keep in touch with her?”
Susan said defensively, “She didn’t have a cell phone.”
“I find that hard to believe,” said Jamison. “Even if she wasn’t used to having access to one at the Colony, it would be hard to do without one once she had left there.”
Kelly added, “And London’s not that big. Surely you could have gone to see her.”
“I chose not to see her,” snapped Susan. “She had made her choice. She didn’t want to be a part of our world anymore.”
Decker pushed off the wall, came forward, and said offhandedly, “So she might have been staying with Parker. And if someone came there to take him away and she was there, she might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Kelly nodded in agreement. “That could be, yes.”
Jamison said, “But, Decker, it’s a one-bedroom house. And we didn’t find any clothing or other things that would indicate that Pamela Ames was living there. And there was no vehicle other than Parker’s.” She gazed up at him, puzzled. “You know all that.”
Decker kept his gaze on Milton. “That’s right, Alex. So now maybe Milton can tell us what his wife doesn’t want us to know.”
All eyes turned to Milton as he slowly sat back against