Something else that I thought was extremely sad about the movie was that after Amanda was found, Helene McCready stated she wouldn’t let Amanda ever see her Aunt Bea McCready (Amy Madigan) again. Bea was the one who used her own money to pay for the detective services of Kenzie because she loved and cared for little Amanda so much. Little did Bea know that her husband Lionel was behind the plot to kidnap Amanda. Lionel planned it out with the detective because of how shitty of a mother his sister Helene was. Doyle was nearing retirement and was the perfect solution (in their minds). To whomever suggested it above, the drug dealers were never actually involved. Kenzie was chasing a red herring, so the detectives had to set up a fake drop to make it look like Amanda died and to shut up the drug dealers for good.
There is no right answer. No matter what, the situation is going to suck and be unfair to someone.