her because she was such a Goody Two-Shoes.”
“Did Marsha have a boyfriend, maybe one she didn’t want your parents to know about?” Spencer asked.
“She dated a lot. Nothing that was ever serious. She was focused on school, and boys were kind of an afterthought.”
“Did Marsha ever mention any of the boys she dated?” Spencer asked.
“No. Mom called around, but no one had seen her. Finally, she called Dad at work, and he called the police. From there it just spiraled out of control. The cops came, then the FBI, and finally the reporters. It was next to impossible to go to work after that. I started spending more time with Mark and hiding out from the world. I found out I was pregnant a few weeks later. I’d just turned eighteen. Mark asked me to marry him, and it made sense for us to leave Virginia.”
“Your parents died within a year,” Vaughan said.
“Yeah. It was too much for Mom. Her health was bad then anyways, and Dad had a heart attack. After I left Virginia, we spoke on the phone a few times, but I never saw them again.”
Spencer’s brow knotted in thought. “Was there anyone who made threats against you or your family?”
“The cops must have asked me that question a million times,” Hadley said. “I didn’t know of any, and I don’t remember any unusual characters coming by the house. There were no red flags.” She touched the edge of the picture and pushed it away so that her sister’s brown eyes were not staring at her. “I still can’t believe she’s really dead.” She shook her head. “I always held out hope.”
“Would she have had a reason to run away?” Spencer asked.
“No. At least not that I knew of. She was going back to school. Mom and Dad were so proud of her, and they gave her the best education they could afford.” She sat back, plucking an invisible hair from her pant leg. “Do you really think, after all this time, you can figure out what happened to Marsha? It’s been eighteen years.”
“I don’t know,” Vaughan said. “Time can sometimes work to our advantage. People who didn’t talk before are willing now. Forensic technology has improved.”
“Why would someone talk to the cops now, if they didn’t back then?” Hadley asked.
“A killer confesses to a loved one or friend. The killer has a falling-out with this person, and they tell the police what they know. Or the killer dies, and whoever was holding their secret is now willing to talk,” he said.
“Don’t they forget details?” Hadley asked.
“Sure,” Spencer said. “But sometimes fewer details are better than none.”
Vaughan shifted tactics. “Your father’s business was in financial trouble. He was highly leveraged.”
“That’s why I couldn’t go to college. If you want the exact numbers, you should talk to Mr. Slater. Henry Slater. He worked for Dad, and he bought the business after Dad died. The paving business goes by a different name now, but it’s still at the same location.”
The front door opened, and footsteps sounded in the foyer. “Mom! Dad and I are home!”
“My daughter and husband,” she said. “Mark knows, of course, but we’ve never told Skylar about any of this. She doesn’t know what happened to my family.”
“We understand,” Vaughan said. “We’ll take our lead from you.”
Hadley stood. “In here.”
Mark and Skylar Foster appeared in the door, both pausing when they saw Vaughan and Spencer. Skylar was petite and blond like her mother. She wore capri pants, a loose top, and sandals. She clutched a jeweled pink phone case and had a red backpack slung over her shoulder.
Mark Foster was tall and lean and wore crisp black suit pants but had loosened his red tie and rolled up his shirtsleeves.
“What’s the deal?” Skylar asked. “Everything all right?”
“Of course,” Hadley said. She rose and crossed to Mark, kissing him softly on the cheek. He stood straight and did not lean into the kiss.
“This is FBI special agent Zoe Spencer and Detective William Vaughan,” Hadley said. “They had questions about an old cold case that, turns out, has nothing to do with me. They were just leaving.”
Vaughan and Spencer both rose. The appearance of her family clearly made Hadley very uncomfortable. Like it or not, she was not going to say another word.
Mark extended his hand to Vaughan and Spencer. “What cold case?” he asked.
“A girl went missing eighteen years ago,” Spencer said. “We thought she might have known your wife.”
Mark glanced toward Hadley, as if trying to