Free Abduction by Wanda Dyson Page B

you can
find out and see if he’ll give you the keys. I’d like to take a look inside.
Maybe she left something behind that will give us a clue as to where she went
in such a hurry.”
    Nothing in the
house told them where the woman had gone, and one envelope found in the bottom
of the trash can muddied the waters even more. “It’s addressed to a Nancy
Darrington, but at a different address.
That’s three names now. Will the real name please stand up?” Gerry
tossed the envelope into a plastic bag and marked it for evidence.
    Matt walked
into the room, disgust written all over his face. “Nothing in the bedrooms.”
    JJ leaned
against the kitchen counter. Here was a woman who used three different names,
had a key to the Matthews’ home, quit a few days before the child disappeared
from the home, and left no trace of evidence to say where she was headed. She
was described by the neighbor as withdrawn, cautious, nervous, secretive. And
she was seen with a child’s car seat even though she didn’t have a child. It
all added up to one very strong suspect.
    JJ pushed off
the counter. “Find this woman.”
    “I’ll get
right on it,” Matt assured him.
    “And, Matt?
Find her fast.”
    Matt nodded.
“I hear ya.”
     
    #
     
    Karen twisted
the tissue in her hands, her head bowed, as Reverend Pollack continued to talk.
His words flitted in and out of her mind, barely registering. It had been a
mistake to come here and impose on his time. She should have realized that he
was a busy man. But he’d been honest with her. He could give her twenty minutes
just before choir practice.
    Suddenly his
words hit a chord and she lifted her head.
    “They were
already printed before we heard the tragic news, but we will have it in next
week’s bulletin.”
    Karen shook
her head as if to clear it. “In the bulletin?”
    “For prayer
requests,” he repeated slowly, as if he suddenly realized she wasn’t “all
there.” He lifted his hands with a shrug. “I had hoped to get it in this week,
but. . .”
    “Next week,” she parroted. “I can’t let myself
think that Jess might still be missing another week or more. I want her home
now.”
    “I’m sure you
do, Mrs. Matthews, but you have to understand the ways of the world. Most
abducted children are never found. That’s just the way it is.”
    The anger
she’d been suppressing for days erupted. She jumped to her feet. “I don’t want
to hear about the way it is or statistics or anything except that Jessica will
be returned to me. Alive and whole and in my arms. And I can’t believe I’ve
been attending this church all my life and not one person has bothered to call
and offer help! It took a neighbor that I barely know to show up with prayers
and support! Do you have any idea how sad that is?”
    Reverend
Pollack slapped his hands on his desk and used them to push himself to his
feet, his round face turning a bright red that crept right across his bald
head. “I’m sure you’re just upset, but. . .”
    Karen snatched
up her purse and rushed out of the office, not stopping until she was out in
the parking lot, ignoring the sideways glances of choir members making their
way into the church. Leaning against the car, she let herself sob.
    I’m sorry,
God. I don’t understand where You are in any of this. Where is my daughter? Why
did You take her away?
    “Like are you
okay, Mrs. Matthews?”
    Karen snapped
her head up to find herself looking at one of the teens who sang in the choir.
“I’m fine, Carolyn. Thanks.”
    “I heard about
your little girl. I’m so sorry. I want you to know you’re in my prayers.”
    The words pierced her heart with all the accuracy
of a Bowie knife. “Thanks, Carolyn. That means more to me than you could know.”
    “I wanted to
call, but. . .I just didn’t know if you’d appreciate strangers calling at a
time like this.”
    “You’re not a
stranger, sweetheart. But I appreciate your consideration.”
    “If there’s
anything I