What Janie Saw(76)

                “What I couldn’t live with,” Helen said, “is something happening to Amanda or Tommy.”

                “Mom.” Amanda hardly ever attempted speech. That she did so now was what Janie needed to break through the wall she’d put between herself and the girl.

                Reaching forward, Janie put her hand on Amanda’s arm. “Can you draw him? This man?”

                Amanda shook her head.

                “Can you give me the details, so I can draw him?” Turning to Helen, Janie added, “And I’ll sign my name to the drawing. That will keep Amanda safe.”

                Amanda apparently didn’t care what her mother thought because she was already nodding.

                It took the rest of the afternoon, every magazine that Katie could find and fifteen pieces of paper. Janie didn’t even count the pencils she went through.

                They used People magazine to get the body type, settling on a young Bruce Willis. The nose was Bruce Jenner’s but a little wider. The forehead was Hugh Jackman’s. While Amanda asserted that the hair color was similar to Jackman’s, the style was not. They went through seven magazines before switching to the office computer and the internet. Finally Amanda reacted when they came to the picture of an army man with his hat tucked under his arm.

                Military cut? Interesting.

                The internet photos also helped Amanda identify bushy eyebrows, close-to-the-head ears and broader shoulders than even Bruce Willis boasted.

                All the while, Janie drew. Because Amanda was a budding artist herself, she added her opinions and sometimes wielded her own pencil.

                In the end, they had the image of a twentysomething male, slightly stocky, probably just under six foot, with short brown hair and an angry expression.

                Amanda nodded.

                Janie reached for her phone. The image was very similar to the one she’d re-created from Derek’s sketches. Maybe, just maybe, she and Amanda had just drawn Chad or Chris.

                * * *

                “I’LL GET THIS to the campus police Monday morning,” Rafe said, standing beside Janie in the now very crowded office. “They can show it around, see if they have any student ID photos that are familiar.”

                What Rafe didn’t mention was that he’d personally deliver the drawing. He wanted to watch how each member of the campus police reacted to it. Somehow, Derek’s art book had been lifted from the safe in their office. One of them might know more than they were letting on.

                “So,” Amanda signed via Katie, “this guy will be someone under suspicion.”

                “Yes,” Rafe said. “This might be one of the best breaks we’ve had.” He’d been about to say if only you’d come forward sooner, but the red-rimmed eyes of both Amanda and her mother stilled him. Then, too, there was Amanda’s recounting of the threat to Tommy. When this was over, he was going to have a little talk with Tommy Skinley. And, if his parents complained that Rafe had overstepped his bounds as sheriff, let them. The boy needed to hear some hard facts and hard truths. It could just as easily have been Amanda as Brittney.

                He thanked Amanda and shook her hand as she and her mother left.

                “I think that girl stood a bit taller on her way out the door,” Katie said.

                “And they’d both stopped crying,” Janie added.