Free Light of Day by Allison van Diepen Page A

they were getting hundreds of tips every day, the investigation clearly wasn’t getting anywhere. The beadsof sweat on his bald head said it all.
    It was surreal. The girl I’d been friends with since freshman year was now the missing person in the photo. The girl who might end up on a milk carton.
    Everybody at school had a theory. Crazed cults, drug-induced fugues, amnesia—nothing was off the table. Any of those theories was better than the more realistic one—that she’d been the victim of a killer. I couldn’t bear it.
    The only thing people agreed on was that the longer she was gone, the less likely it was she’d turn up alive.
    Sunday it rained, which fit perfectly with my mood. Church mass was the longest ever, and I was pretty sure Mrs. Suarez was giving me the evil eye. That evening, the rain escalated to torrential, which made for a white-knuckled drive to WKTU. But it also meant more people would be listening.
    I’d thought the roofies show was the most important one I’d ever do. Not anymore.
    Caballero pushed back his headphones and smiled. “Hey, Gabby girl. What’s up?” The guy never seemed to be in a bad mood, even on a dreary night like tonight.
    â€œI’m going to talk about the missing girl, Bree O’Connor. She’s a friend of mine. I think our listeners might be able to help.”
    He nodded solemnly. “Good idea. Make sure you give thenumber of the cops’ tip line. We don’t want any tips being directed here and getting missed.”
    â€œOkay. I emailed Olive a picture of Bree for our website. She’s going to tweet it during the show.”
    â€œExcellent idea. You’re using your show to make a difference, Gabby. I’m proud of you. You’re a natural at this. Our Sunday night ratings are awesome, thanks to your show.”
    â€œThat’s good to hear.” Caballero was one of the few people I’d met who could give a compliment and mean it. Because he was confident in who he was, it didn’t diminish him to boost others up. I wanted to be like that someday.
    I headed to the lounge, where I read over my notes, did some vocal exercises, and drank decaf green tea.
    Less than an hour later, I went live.
    â€œThis is Gabby Perez with Light Up the Night coming to you on a rainy night from the miracle street of Miracle Mile. Straight like an arrow and sharp as a tack, I’m gonna get serious with you tonight. I’m sure you’ve all heard about the missing girl Brianna O’Connor. Bree’s what her friends call her. I know because I’m one of them. And her disappearance has shaken me up.
    â€œIf you don’t know who I’m talking about, Bree is the blond Catholic schoolgirl you’ve been seeing on the news. She went missing last weekend. She left a party planning to take a cab home, but she never arrived. There’s no evidence that sheeven got into a cab. No one knows what happened to her. It’s as if she vanished into thin air.
    â€œBut people don’t vanish, especially people like Bree. She’s responsible. She always let her parents know where she was and when she was coming home.
    â€œI don’t know what happened to Bree. But I’m scared for her. She might’ve trusted the wrong guy to take her home. Or someone might’ve grabbed her off the street.”
    I took a second to breathe. Caballero and Olive looked at me anxiously through the glass.
    â€œIf you have any clue what happened to her, please call the police tip line at five-five-five, three-five-four-three. You don’t have to tell them your name. Whatever you do, don’t give up on Bree. Her friends and family won’t give up either. Ever.
    â€œTonight I’m going to play songs that Bree loves. She’s a huge fan of Pitbull, so I’ll start with ‘Red Wine.’ Hope you’re listening, Bree.”
    I was relieved to go to music, because I was on the verge