Free Evil Without a Face by Jordan Dane

picture of his niece. Smiling, the young girl looked so much like her mother, but something in the eyes hinted of Nikki’s father, a guy Payton knew nothing about. Susannah had her only child without the dubious benefit of marriage, and she’d never confided the sperm donor’s name.
    It reminded Payton of the troubled times following the gaping wound caused by the tragedy of their parents, when his already fragile link to his sister nearly swirled down the drain too. The memories came at him in a rush, like a blitz he never saw coming. At the time, he had put his life on hold and took control, helping Susannah deal with the unexpected pregnancy. All this came on the heels of pro football scouts courting him. The added pressure, coupled with the instantaneous celebrity, had not been a good mix. He knew that now, but back then he thought he was bullet-proof. Mr. Teflon.
    He stuffed Nikki’s photo into his shirt pocket, but an empty frame on the desk by the computer caught his eye.
    “What was in this frame?” He held it up, showing it to his sister. “Didn’t she used to have—”
    “The photo of her thirteenth birthday, yes.” Susannah reached for the frame with trembling fingers, using both hands to hold something precious to her. “I remember.”
    “Maybe she took it with her, sis. That’s got to mean something, right?” Payton sat beside her on the bed, putting his arm around her shoulders again. The unexpected glimmer of hope bolstered his spirits too. Nikki hadn’t completely severed the link with her mother.
    “Tell me what happened with the state troopers.”
    “One of them came here, took a report and a photo of Nikki. He also took something of hers for fingerprinting and asked about dental records. Said they’d post her picture on the Internet and get the word out through some kind of database clearinghouse for bulletins.”
    He knew the trooper’s request meant something more. Dental records and fingerprints were used to identify a body, if it came to that. The gravity of their situation hit him hard. And by the look on his sister’s face, she knew it too.
    “Before, you said they were handling this like a missing person case. Why aren’t they treating it like an AMBER Alert?” Payton asked.
    Joe stepped in, to save Susannah from having to explain something she probably didn’t fully comprehend in her condition.
    “Nikki has a history of running away,” he said. “And she left a note and took clothes. Not good. If they don’t have evidence of an outright abduction, they make a judgment call to treat this like a missing person case.” Joe set his jaw and fixed his gaze on Payton. “Plus, she’s seventeen. Different jurisdictions have lower age restrictions. It varies state-to-state.”
    “What difference does that make?” Payton asked.
    “An alert may not get transmitted across every state line.” Joe crossed his arms, a pained expression on his face. “They make rules about AMBER Alerts for a reason. Overuse of the system would undermine its effectiveness. I know it’s hard to understand, but—”
    “No, I tell you what’s hard to understand, Joe.” Susannah’s face had turned bright red. She pointed a finger at the former lawman, aiming all her anger and frustration. In the quiet room, her raised voice shocked him. “The law is supposed to help. My little girl is out there somewhere with a stranger. For all we know, it could be a sexual predator. And no one is lifting a finger.”
    His sister had made the leap toward blaming someone else, a convenient lifeline in a raging sea of desperation.
    “Susannah, Joe is only trying to help,” Payton whispered, and stroked her hair. When she settled down, he kissed the top of her head and pulled her to him. “We’re gonna find her, but we need your help too.”
    He glanced up at Joe.
    “Joe and me, we’re gonna get answers from the state troopers’ office. Then we’re gonna plaster this town with posters, even into Anchorage.