Free Never Ever by Sara Saedi Page B

voice mail every time. They could be hurt. Someone could have taken them.”
    â€œLet’s not jump to conclusions,” the police chief said. “Do they have credit cards or debit cards in their names they might use as a means to spend money?”
    â€œThey all have debit cards,” Maura responded.
    â€œWylie, our daughter, has a credit card as well,” Gregory interrupted. Maura looked at him, confused. “I gave her one in her name to use when she sees fit. The bills come to my office.” Maura shook her head. He knew what she was thinking—that he was trying to buy their daughter’s love.
    â€œLook, we have an APB out on your son,” said the police chief. “If he contacts you, you need to tell us. He’s in a lot of trouble. The other two, well, technically we can’t report them missing until it’s been twenty-four hours. I don’t mean to pry, but is it true that you’re in the process of getting divorced?”
    Gregory and Maura nodded, not sure what the state of their marriage had to do with their kids disappearing.
    â€œWe’ll do everything to find your kids, but when we consider your son’s criminal history and the fact that he was being sentenced today, and the current family situation, it’s highly unlikely we’re dealing with a kidnapping or a child-endangerment scenario.”
    â€œWhat are you implying, officer?” Gregory asked, his anger bubbling just below the surface.
    â€œOur working theory right now is that your children ran away from home.”
    Gregory and Maura let this sink in.
    â€œIn the meantime, if there’s no sign of them after twenty-four hours, we’ll start investigating. I’ll need their computers, passwords to their social networking accounts if you have them, anything else that could help us.”
    Maura shuddered.
    â€œI understand why you think they left home of their own accord, but I can’t shake the feeling that someone
took
them,” she said.
    â€œWell, we’re going to investigate all possibilities. Do either of you have any enemies? If you know of anyone who might want to hurt you, now would be a good time to let us know.”
    Maura and Gregory shook their heads. The only enemies they had at this point were each other.

    THE GIRL AT THE BOUTIQUE WAS RIGHT: THE DRESS fit Wylie perfectly. It hung off her curves and lengthened her legs. She felt glamorous in it, but also light and natural. Aside from the lip gloss she had brought with her, she had no makeup on. It had felt good to take a shower even if the water pressure left much to be desired. For the first time today, she smelled good. Her stomach was starting to growl, but the vegetable platter helped tide her over until dinner. Micah rationed what alcohol was left in his flask, while Joshua seemed slightly less on edge now. He lay down onthe bed and tapped his finger on the wooden headboard.
    It was hard to believe that just this morning they’d woken up on Phinn’s boat.
    Her brothers had changed out of their clothes into the linen pants and cotton T-shirts that had been left in the room for them. With their styles suddenly indistinguishable, Wylie realized how much they looked alike and how hardened Micah had become from wearing black every day. It was nice to see him in lighter colors for a change, even if he was visibly uncomfortable.
    â€œGuys.”
    Wylie turned to see Joshua now sitting up on the bed.
    â€œI feel like an idiot even bringing this up, because it sort of pales in comparison to everything that’s happening right now, but if I don’t get it off my chest, I’ll go nuts.” He looked down at his hands, clearly not wanting his siblings to see that he was close to tears. Wylie immediately sat next to him and put her arm around him.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” she asked.
    â€œAbigail broke up with me last night,” he answered, his voice breaking.
    â€œI’m