Free The Abducted Book 0 by Roger Hayden Page B

restaurants—quaint
and old fashioned with brick buildings, old signs, and
narrow roads with cars parked on the side of the street.
    O’Leary pushed a button, rolled down both
passenger and driver windows, and leaned his arm out as the cool
air flowed inside the car. Beyond the business district,
residential neighborhoods had grown by the dozens over the years.
Initially a retirement community, Palm Dale had grown into suburban
sprawl with modestly priced housing for families that had come from
all over. There were schools, a library, lakes, parks, and hiking
trails. That was the Palm Dale most people in the area knew. But to
venture beyond the suburbs was a different world all together among
the wilderness and wide-ranging marshes.
    It was late in the evening when they pulled
into the Safeway lot. An entire row of spaces had been cordoned
off. There were police cars everywhere, their lights still
flashing. A news van was parked off to the side. A female reporter
stood in front of the Safeway with the bright lights of the camera
on her face as she spoke into her microphone.
    O’Leary parked near a line of police tape
and turned off the ignition. Miriam looked at the police officers
standing around—twenty or so of them—trying to see if she
recognized anyone. She felt immediately out of place.
    “ Let’s do this,” O’Leary said, opening
his door.
    She turned to face him. “What do you want me
to do?”
    “ Just observe. See if you can put some
fresh eyes on this scene. Where was he parked? How did he get Emily
into his vehicle without notice?”
    “ What could I possibly find that the
twenty officers on site haven’t already?” she asked.
    O’Leary offered a smile of confidence.
“Plenty. Just stick with me.”
    He got out of the car, giving Miriam an
encouraging smile, and watched as she pushed open her door,
hesitating for a moment before stepping out. They approached the
scene unnoticed by the other investigators and officers, who were
deep within their own work. The area cordoned off had been cleared,
with the exception of Karen Beckett’s blue Nissan Sentra. O’Leary
approached one of the investigators there, an older man named Hayes
who wore a suit almost identical to O’Leary’s.
    He introduced Miriam as his consultant.
Hayes didn’t seem to bat an eye or even recognize her, for which
she was relieved. Detective Hayes led them to the car, where
another investigator was taking pictures, his camera flashing in
bursts that came in quick succession.
    “ Knocked her out right here,” Hayes
said, pointing at the pavement next to the car. A helicopter flew
by in the distance with its spotlight on. Miriam scanned the area.
There were at least a dozen other media vans parked along the front
of the Safeway store with their antennas raised high in the air.
She could feel it in her bones. They were going to have a field day
with this one. The Lee County Police Department had not only failed
to catch the Snatcher the first time. He had struck again, and they
were no closer to figuring anything out than they had been a year
ago.
    “ I don’t get it,” O’Leary said to
Hayes, frustrated. “Not a single witness? How is that
possible?
    “ So far nothing. But we’re still
interviewing a slew of people who were around here when it
happened,” Hayes said.
    Recognizing her own words in O’Leary’s
bafflement, Miriam split from the group, making her way around the
scene. Apparently, search teams had already been deployed
throughout the surrounding area, intending to search up to a
ten-mile radius. Mandatory checkpoints had been put into place. It
seemed impossible that anyone could get away so easily without
drawing notice—especially given the suspect’s appearance.
    Dressed down and looking out of place in her
jean jacket and pants, Miriam approached the cart-return slot
across from the Nissan and examined the line of carts haphazardly
pushed into it. A thought occurred to her as she walked back to
where