Who is Cecil Lockhart from The Deep End of the Ocean and what is their importance?

Cecil Lockhard is the one person in Beth Kerry Cappadora's high school class who has attained a similar level of fame and recognition. She is an actress, and she works in both television and theater. As a girl, Cecil was beautful, delicate, and very talented. At the class reunion when Ben disappears, Cecil is there with very white hair. It is only later that we learn that Cecil took Ben from the hotel lobby, and left his tiny shoes as some kind of twisted message to those who are looking for him—once when he disappears, and again at the next class reunion five years later. By the time Ben is found, Cecil is completely catatonic and unreachable. She is not held responsible for her actions because she cannot even communicate. Candy and Beth learn that prior to kidnapping Ben, Cecil had lost a one week old baby.