Free Girl Jacked by Christopher Greyson Page A

muttered under her breath, “Yeah, old.”
    Jack looked at the laptop. The case looked well worn and he didn’t see any brand name on it. The lid was closed but it looked powered on and it was connected to his computer too.
    “Yours?” he pointed.
    “She’s my baby.” She patted the case.
    “Just use the notebook. Write all the dates from the calendar down and what happened.” He instructed her as he went back to the kitchen to get a drink.
    He came back with two glasses of water and set one down in front of her. He noticed that her penmanship was beautiful, and he laughed.
    “What?” Replacement looked up.
    “Your handwriting is beautiful. I guess Aunt Haddie kept writing as a punishment?”
    “It sure sucked.” Replacement said with half a laugh. “I think I would rather have gotten spanked than to have to write.”
    Aunt Haddie had some unique punishments that she would use to correct the children in her care. Jack remembered having to transcribe pages and pages of books if he misbehaved. If his handwriting did not meet Aunt Haddie’s strict standards, she would tear it up, and he would have to do it again. His handwriting now was almost perfect.
    He looked down at Replacement’s intricate script and laughed out loud. “Boy, you must have been a pretty rotten kid!”
    “Thanks. I heard you were an angel, too.” She shot him a frown. “Don’t get me wrong. Aunt Haddie really loves you, but she said if there was ever a kid who liked to do the opposite of what he was told, it was you.”
    “She was just trying to make you feel good. I was a choir boy.”
    “Michelle backed her up.” Replacement gave him a knowing look.
    “Okay. Let’s go over the facts.” Jack continued. “First, Michelle is missing.” Replacement wrote that, but added ‘duh’. Jack let that slide. “Second, the campus police and the roommate said she transferred. Third, the roommate said ‘THEY’ told her Michelle transferred to a different school. Four, Western Tech said she applied and was accepted there according to Neil.”
    “Miss Piggy said Michelle took all her stuff,” Replacement growled.
    Replacement turned the page, wrote the title ‘EVIDENCE’, and stopped. She did not look up. Her back was still stiff, and Jack knew she was smoldering over the fact that Michelle’s belongings were now missing. He admired the fact that in spite of her feelings she was pressing on.
    “She would not leave you and Aunt Haddie,” Jack offered as the first piece of evidence. It wasn’t evidence that would hold up in court, but Jack didn’t care. He knew that fact was as real as a smoking gun. Replacement wrote ‘She would not leave Aunt Haddie.’
    “When did she come to visit?” Jack walked over to the window and looked out at the cars below.
    “She came by about twice a month.”
    Jack stared into the black night.
    Why walk away from a full scholarship?
    He walked back to the desk and traded places with Replacement in front of the computer.
    “Let’s back up a couple of steps.” Behind him, Replacement groaned and huffed as he connected to the police’s computer system. “I’ll run the plate.”
    Jack typed with two fingers and had to go back and forth between the photo and the screen three times. Fairfield had entered a BOLO for the car so law enforcement would be on the lookout for it but other than that, nothing.
    “She’s never even gotten a parking ticket.” Jack drummed his fingers on the desk. “Let’s see if anything was going on in the area.”
    “I’ll drive.” Replacement got right in his face. “You type like an old lady.”
    “I know the system. It will be faster if I…”
    “No. No.” Replacement shook her head and started to sit in the chair beside him.
    “Hey!” Jack moved over and almost fell out of the chair, so he stood up.
    “That’s much better! Where do you want to go?”
    “Start with recently reported crimes,” Jack said.
    With a few clicks, lines of information scrolled