The girl, whose name apparently was Shannon Reynolds, nodded and she hurried over to a waiting taxi. Sandra suddenly felt very much like an ass. The woman was probably very good at what she did, and there had been no reason to make light of the woman's speech impediment. While Sandra was normally cool, she usually tried not to be cruel. But she was tired, scared and shaken, and she was in no mood to apologize.

"Officer Tyler, could you escort Ms. Lopez here through the premises? Get an inventory of anything that's missing, then escort her wherever it is that she wants to go." Detective Jones looked right at...