few photos of his mom, but it sounded like Maria had an entire photo album.
Andrew suddenly thought of something. He’d reviewed the inventory list of the things they’d found in Maria Tindal’s house at the time she was killed. He’d been looking to see if a flash drive had been found. It hadn’t been. He pulled the list out of the file he’d brought with him and looked at it again. There was no photo album on the list either. “What happened to the photo album?” he asked.
Pamela looked confused. “I assume it’s where she always kept it.”
“And where was that?” Toni asked.
“The first drawer in her dresser. But then she’d began placing it on top of the dresser because she’d started to look at it often.”
Andrew glanced over at Toni. She had obviously picked up on his train of thought. “There was no photo album listed on the inventory sheet.”
“Maybe they forgot to list it,” Pamela Larkins reasoned.
“They know to list everything.” He didn’t want to mention, fearing she might begin crying again, that numerous photos had been taken of the murder scene, including all the items in all the drawers of the dresser and nightstand. There had not been a photo album.
“Someone must have taken it,” Pamela Larkins said, frustrated and clearly getting agitated.
To calm her down, Andrew offered, “Maybe she gave it to someone.”
“No, she would not have done that. She treasured that photo album.”
Then it must have been taken, Andrew thought, but he would not dare speak that assumption out loud and run the risk of agitating Pamela Larkins any further. However, he had to wonder if the killer took it, then why? Was there a damning picture in the album?
“Do you remember what kind of photos she had?” Toni asked.
“There were a lot of pictures of her and her mom when she was growing up, and then pictures of her, her mom, and stepfather. But her favorite was the one of the four of us.”
Andrew lifted a brow. “The four of you?”
“Yes. It was taken at our high school graduation. Since I was Maria’s best friend, Ms. Constance insisted I be included.”
“Where was Jennifer?”
“Umm, I think she was out of town that day. But even if she’d been home, she would not have come. She didn’t like Maria, even though Maria went out of her way to get along with Jennifer.”
“How did Jennifer treat her around school?”
“Jennifer didn’t attend our school. She went to private school all her life. When Ms. Constance married Mr. Morey, Maria was attending public school and that’s the way Ms. Constance wanted it to stay.”
The more Andrew heard about Constance Evans, the more he thought she had been a force to reckon with, but in a good way. She put a stop to her husband’s swinger days and kept her daughter well grounded.
“Did Jennifer and Maria attend the same college?” Toni asked Pamela Larkins.”
“No. Maria and I attended FAMU in Florida. Jennifer went to a private college in Boston.”
Toni nodded as she stood. “That’s all of our questions. Thanks for clarifying a few things. By the way, we have a copy of the missing flash drive. We’d appreciate it if you could come to headquarters one day this week to take a look at it, just to see if there is an item on it that you recognize.”
“Okay. I’ll just have to make arrangements with the pastor’s wife to sit with Nana while I go out.”
“Alright.”
“Detectives?”
“Yes, Pamela?” Toni answered.
Pamela was nibbling on her bottom lip in a fretful way. She was also nervously wringing her hands together. “I hope there was a mistake made and the album is found. I haven’t had the courage to go back there to see if any of Maria’s things are missing. I’d just assumed that since the house hadn’t been burglarized, nothing had been taken.”
Andrew also stood. “We assumed it hadn’t been burglarized because there was no sign of forced entry. However, we knew the flash drive Maria had in her possession was missing, and now, thanks to you, we’ve learned a photo album is missing, too.” There was no way he could not make that fact known to her now.
He rubbed his chin in thought. “I’m curious as to why you thought the one of the four of you was Maria’s favorite photograph.”
“She told me. We were all happy that day. That’s the reason she kept looking at it. Graduating from high school was a big deal for us.”