Free Bumpy Roads - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery (Book 11) (The Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series) by Terri Reid Page A

Celia sat back in her chair. “It could have been
that they were far enough apart from each other that the connections weren’t
made,” she said. “And it didn’t help that the police department had to install
a brand new computer system four years ago. A lot of the cases never got
transitioned to the new system.”
    “So there might be other cases, older cases,
that relate to Courtney’s case?” she asked.
    “Yes, I suppose so,” Celia said. “But we have to go into the
archives to get them.”
    Standing up and putting the files into her briefcase, Mary
was ready for action. “Let’s go down to city hall and get access,” she said.
    “But how are we going to get permission?” Celia asked.
    Mary smiled. “Let me worry about that,” she replied. “I know
a guy who owes me.”

Chapter Nineteen

 
    The preschool playground was empty, so Maggie and Clarissa
hurried to the swing set as soon as they were released for recess. Through an
unspoken agreement, neither child said anything until they had seated
themselves on adjacent swings and set them barely moving.
    “So, what happened last night?” Maggie asked. “Did Mike tell
on you?”
    Shaking her head, Clarissa smiled at her friend. “No, he
just checked on me before I said my prayers and asked me if I had learned my
lesson,” she replied.
    “So, what did you say?”
    “I told him I learned my lesson really well,” she said with
a grin. “But he doesn’t know the lesson was not to get caught.”
    Maggie didn’t laugh. “I’m still worried about that man,” she
said. “I think we need to tell someone.”
    Clarissa swung in silence for the next few moments. “Bradley
didn’t come home last night,” she said quietly.
    “What?”
    “He didn’t come home from work,” Clarissa replied. “It’s
already starting.   He doesn’t want to
spend time with me.”
    Skidding her swing to a stop,
Maggie turned to her friend. “I just can’t believe that,” she said. “He loves
you.”
    Shrugging, Clarissa continued to swing. “Well, maybe he
did,” she said. “And Mary was pretty upset about it too. I’m sure she doesn’t
want to be stuck taking care of me.”
    “Did she say that?” Maggie asked.
    Forcing herself to be honest, Maggie shook her head. “No,
she didn’t. She was nice to me and she was trying hard to be happy. But I could
tell she was upset,” she said. “And later on, I heard her talking to Mike. And
Mike asked her if Bradley was abandoning Mary and me.”
    Pushing her feet against the sandy dirt, Clarissa started
the swing moving higher into the sky.
    “What did Mary say?” Maggie demanded, jumping off her swing.
    Clarissa shrugged once again. “I don’t know,” she said. “I
didn’t want to hear any more, so I closed my door.”
    “Well, was he there when you got up this morning?” Maggie
asked.
    Shaking her head, Clarissa pumped her legs to bring the
swing even higher, trying to hide her watery eyes from her friend. “No he
wasn’t,” she said. “And I don’t even care. If he wants to abandon me, I’ll be
fine. I did just fine by myself in Chicago and I can do fine in Freeport.”
    Maggie climbed back onto her swing, angrily pushing off the
ground. “Of course you care,” she said. “You can’t lie to me, Clarissa. Did you
ask Mike about it?”
    “No,” Clarissa replied angrily. “’Cause all he would do is lie to me.”
    “Angels can’t lie,” Maggie said. “So he would tell you the
truth.”
    Clarissa continued to swing in silence while Maggie waited
for her response. Finally, after a few minutes, Maggie sighed and just swung
next to her friend in silence. They swung back and forth, the metal chains
squeaking as they moved back and forth over the round casings that held them in
place.   The sun came out from behind a
cloud and the girls could see their shadows gliding back and forth over the
playground sand.
    Finally Clarissa spoke. “Maggie.”
    “Uh, huh?”
    “I didn’t ask Mike