Shadow Of Suspicion. Christy Barritt

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ call from someone claiming to have abducted Sarah. The kidnapper wanted one-hundred thousand dollars and indicated that Sol should stay tuned for directions. Sarah had been placed on the other line as confirmation that she was alive. Before she was cut off, she’d mentioned a woman and she’d said Laney’s name.

      Mark could see Sol standing in his yard. The man’s eyes were glazed, his shoulders hunched and his expression haggard. Two officers surrounded him, making sure he didn’t do anything irrational. They were also monitoring his communications so they would know when Sarah’s abductors contacted him again and hopefully be able to trace the call and find out their location.

      “What do you think?” Mark asked.

      Jim Swanson shrugged. “She looked shocked when we came into the house. I didn’t see any guilt in her gaze. Only surprise and fear. You?”

      Mark looked back at his sedan and remembered the moisture he’d seen running from Laney Ryan’s eyes earlier. He’d been in this line of work for long enough to know not to let tears get to him. They could be deceitful. But, for some reason, seeing this suspect crying clutched his heart.

      “The woman across the street placed Sarah here at Ms. Ryan’s house before she disappeared,” Mark said. “They say the girl went inside and never came out.”

      Jim shook his head. “Sarah’s not in the house now. If that’s true, where did she go? Where could Laney have taken her?”

      “Our guys are checking out the backyard now to see if there’s any evidence of a scuffle back there, right?”

      “That’s right. But what about motive? That’s what doesn’t make sense.”

      Mark thought about the conversation he’d had with Laney in his sedan. “It’s hard to say, but she didn’t sound very impressed with Sol’s parenting skills. Maybe she was trying to help the girl in some kind of twisted way.”

      “We need to bring her in until we can thoroughly investigate,” Jim said.

      “I agree. I’m not sure we have enough evidence to keep her in custody, though.”

      “We can stall for as long as possible, until something turns up.”

      Mark turned back to the sedan and watched Laney for a moment. He hadn’t known what he’d expected, but certainly not the beautiful woman who’d been led out in handcuffs. The petite woman had light brown hair that was cut level with her chin. She was bookish and looked smart. Her green eyes had a hint of firecracker behind them while her voice had sounded soft and kind.

      None of those things meant anything, though. The only thing that mattered was finding Sarah Novak. He wouldn’t let another girl disappear forever.

      Just like Lauren had.

      He’d never gotten over the loss. It was one of the reasons he’d requested to be on the Missing Persons Unit here with the Richmond PD. He didn’t want other people to go through what he had.

      Just then, Sol began shouting into his phone from across the yard. His demeanor went from defeated to wired.

      “Sarah? Is that you?” he yelled.

      Mark rushed toward him. The man put his phone on Speaker, a frantic look on his face—a frantic expression Mark understood all too well. He’d lived it before.

      “Dad?” The line was broken and only bits of sentences were getting through. “Help...me.”

      “Darling, I want to help. Where are you?”

      “Dad...don’t know...” Static filled the line. “But Laney...”

      Sol’s face turned red. “Laney what? Laney took you?”

      “I’m...” Garbled words filled the silence until she ended with “Please help.”

      “Please, honey, can you tell me where you are? Who took you?”

      “...Laney,” Sarah said again.

      The line went dead.

TWO

      An hour later, Laney sat across from the handsome yet cold detective at the police station. Since they’d been in the room, he’d been even-keeled—not friendly, not angry. In fact, he’d been so calm that it was almost unnerving. He had eyes that didn’t easily trust. A gaze that was assessing. Body language that screamed cautious.

      She might be trained as a computer programmer, but her entire life she’d practiced reading people. She’d always preferred to stay on the fringe, in the places where she could observe and study others. Her peers had thought she was strange in high school because she’d been so quiet, but she’d always thought that she was being the person God created her to be. She’d rather be different than compromise her authenticity.

      Her gaze flickered around the room now. The space reminded her of the detective: stark and neat. There was no table, nothing to use as a barrier to separate herself from the man across from her. There were only two chairs. The setup left her feeling exposed and vulnerable.

      Laney was sure they’d planned it that way.

      She was the police’s number-one suspect, she realized. They weren’t focusing on anyone else right now—just her.

      That was a mistake.

      That meant that the real person who’d abducted Sarah was getting farther and farther away. The thought made her gut turn with disgust.

      Earlier, when she’d been given a phone call, she’d tried to reach Nicholas, her boss with the CIA. He hadn’t answered—and he always answered. What did that mean?

      Panic tickled her gut, her nerves, her thoughts.

      At the moment, silence filled the room—probably another method of trying to get Laney to talk. It was working.

      “You’re focusing on the wrong person.” Laney had already repeated that several times, but no one seemed to care. How could she get through to them?

      “Ms. Ryan, Sarah called. She said your name.” The detective leaned toward her, his gaze like a laser.

      Her heart lurched. She knew how it sounded. But she also knew the truth. “She was probably calling out for my help. She trusts me. She knows I’d never hurt her.”

      “Which makes it even worse that you would betray her like this.”

      “But I didn’t betray her!” Tears rushed to Laney’s eyes, and she pulled her sleeve-covered hands over her face as despair bit deep.

      This system seemed so messed up, and she was helpless to do anything about it. She was at the mercy of this detective. Of the justice system.

      She’d just started trusting again. After her husband’s murder, it had been difficult. Panic attacks had plagued her, as well as nightmares. She’d been making progress, but now this. Her therapist had his work cut out for him when all of this was over.

      Detective James СКАЧАТЬ