How does a child go from angry and determined to get...wherever...one minute to interacting with the construction guys and complimenting them on their work the next? It seems so odd to me. She took off from her siblings to make a point, I'd think, so why would she stop just 90 seconds or two minutes after the argument?
I guess maybe she was looking for a place to hide and thought she'd seek 'refuge' in the vacant house since she wanted to get out of the way and it was close. If she didn't know a stranger, as her mom said, I could see her trying to find a friend in these workers since she needed, in her mind, to not be seen by her siblings and friend. Maybe in her little mind she thought by complimenting him that she'd be endearing herself to these guys. Or guy. Maybe this all went down when one was on a break. Could we be looking at multiple suspects? Surely not.