Free Stolen Lives: A Detective Mystery Series SuperBoxset by Roger Hayden, James Hunt Page A

Child Predator —were just a few of the most recent Internet banner headlines.
    Lee County PD was in the midst of losing the narrative on the case. Captain Porter was trotted out to stand before the flashing cameras to try to change that. He wore his dress-blue police uniform, complete with pins and badges, and stared into the cameras with all the confidence he could muster.
    Chief Walker stood quietly to the side, and gave a knowing nod to Porter before he reached the podium. “Don’t screw this up,” he mouthed.
    Porter stood directly behind the microphones on his podium and looked down at his prepared statements. He brought a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat, looking up at the cameras.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here tonight. There have been some developments that we will release in due time. The Lee County Police Department takes full responsibility for the way this case has been, and will continue to be, conducted. As it stands now, we are in pursuit of our number-one suspect, Phillip Anderson, owner and operator of Anderson Auto Salvage. He has been on the run following the discovery of an underground bunker on one of his properties in the Palm Dale area. Investigators believe this to be the place he imprisoned his six young victims, children he abducted with the possible aid of a local mechanic, Ray Gowdy, who is currently in custody.”
    Those listening remained quiet, hungry for information, and eager for a new headline. The police officers behind Porter stared ahead—some pensive, others stoic. It was Chief Walker’s idea to have them standing behind Porter as a show of unity. Porter knew, however, that they wouldn’t be able to shield him from the barrage of questions that were to come his way after his prepared statement.

 
     
    ***
     
    Greg Anderson, the third eldest son, rode home in the back of an unmarked police car with the window down, taking in the nice breeze. Whatever his brother, Phillip, did had paid off. He was a free man. Though Greg knew that the damage done to their family name was irreversible.
    His wife, Barbara, worked as a teacher’s aide for the school district. Would she have to quit her job? What was to become of the salvage yard? The police and feds had taken it over and set up camp. Everything was different, all because of their older brother. A man who had singlehandedly sunk their family.
    Greg should have seen it coming. He should have stood up to Phil when he had the chance. But they were all responsible in some way. When it came to drugs, gambling, and racketeering, no one in the family had any trouble taking the money. They were all culpable.
    Phil, however, had taken it too far. The screwed-up bastard had to go after children. Greg always suspected that their parents covered for Phil. They could have stopped him. They should have. He scratched his beard in contemplation as Sergeant Lutz, his escort, kept his eyes on the road. Throughout the drive, they had said little to each other. Suddenly, however, something seemed terribly wrong.
    “Two-two-four, this is Officer Lutz. We’ve got a situation here with some local residents. Requesting immediate backup…”
    “What the hell?” the shaved-headed Lutz said.
    Greg squinted through the windshield. There was a line of cars blocking the rural road ahead. In front of the cars were at least thirty people, standing together, armed with weapons—some with baseball bats and crowbars, others with shotguns and automatics. Lutz was as perplexed as his passenger. He slowed down and turned his dashboard lights on, reminding them that the unmarked Dodge Charger approaching them was police. They didn’t seem to care.
    “Don’t slow down,” Greg said.
    The officer ignored him, further decreasing his speed. The closer they got, the more Greg could see that the roadblock was deliberate. Lutz unclipped his radio mic from the dashboard.
    “Two-two-four, this is Sergeant Lutz. Looks like we’ve got a