No, it would make no sense. The street her mom is on is perpendicular to the street that runs in front of the shopping center and parking lot. If you want to see on Google maps, it's Twinning Drive. Her house is just a few houses down the street from the Burkhardt entrance and would have taken less than 5 mins to walk from where the car was parked, including waiting for traffic to cross. But you would never park in the lot and then walk to mom's house. Just pull in her driveway instead.
This sounds very suspicious to me. I just don't picture Cheryl doing this, tormenting her mother like that, by parking her car within her view.
I wonder, if the daughter hadn't traced her phone, just how long her car would have been there without detection? This sounds to me, if foul play is involved at all, that someone was trying to hurt someone close to Cheryl by parking the car there- her own mother. Right after she dropped her daughter off at school. She was home a matter of how many minutes? I wonder if Cheryl was upset and said she wanted to go to her mother's house after work or something along those lines, but didn't get a chance to?
I wonder, did Cheryl call anyone before she left the house or text someone? A friend, co worker, etc? So, technically, the last person to see her alive was her daughter, when she dropped her off at school.
Other than the neighbor's account of seeing both cars in the driveway, was there anyone else that saw Cheryl drive down her street to go home? I am just wondering if perhaps the neighbor confused the time, saw both cars there before she drove her daughter to school, and didn't go home after. Also, I forget exactly when she was reported missing, I need to look that up. I know it was said that her car was driven 8-9 minutes away from her home, but when was she reported missing? It's making me think that the neighbor did see both cars in the driveway, but before she drove her daughter to school. I could be wrong, though. Going to look up the time she was reported missing now.
EDITED TO ADD- I just saw that her car wasn't found until the following night? How would the neighbor know for a fact that Cheryl made it home after dropping her daughter off at school? I don't think she made it home at all!