Free Undercover in Six Inch Stilettos by Carolyn LaRoche Page A

as a smiling photo of a much younger Jade filled her vision. Obviously a yearbook photo, Jade—Shannon—appeared happy and content. The next link was to a news story highlighted by what appeared to be a family photograph. Jade with her mother and father and a younger girl, probably her sister, smiling at the camera from in front of a Christmas tree strung with hundreds of lights and glittering tinsel strands. A third link showed the Amber Alert that had been issued the night Shannon disappeared. Another school photo of a happy, well-adjusted high school student.
    So, what had gone wrong?
    Jade had always let everyone think she had left a bad family situation, but these pictures told a different story. Of course, Cyndi knew from four years of studying psychology that abuse wasn’t always visible, and it rarely left discernible marks. Still, article after article colored a bright, dedicated student with goals and a plan for the future. Nowhere, in any article, did Cyndi see that plan outlined as running away from home and becoming a child prostitute or exotic dancer.
    After clicking through several more links, one finally gave her a little clue as to why Jade had run away. It was a police report from the local newspaper in Jade’s hometown. The clip outlined in way too much detail the many methods in which Shannon Mallory had been violated by her stepfather, James Martin.
    So the happy family front was just a myth, as she had suspected. According to the article, James Martin had begun abusing Shannon when she was twelve. He currently had several dozen charges pending against him for the abuse Shannon had sustained at his hand.
    Further down on the page was another article about the death of James Martin. Apparently he had committed suicide in jail several months after he was convicted. Jade probably didn’t even know the bastard was dead.
    But if he went to prison, why did she still feel the need to run away? The bastard was locked up good and tight, even before he took his own life. She would have been safe. Unless there were other factors at play…did her mom blame her for James’s incarceration?
    What a mess. No wonder Shannon became Jade. New identity, new life. Forget the past and pretend like none of it ever happened.
    And become a prostitute.
    Something was seriously wrong in the world if a teenage girl would throw in the towel and flee to the streets, selling her body and fighting for survival.
    Cyndi slammed a fist down on the sofa cushion next to her, nearly knocking her laptop to the floor. The whole thing was disgusting.
    When the cuckoo clock struck midnight, Cyndi shut down her computer and headed to bed. The rest of the week would be a whirlwind, and she needed to rest her ankle so she could get back to work in a couple of days. Her afternoon tryst with Jason had used up enough of her excess energy so that she thought she might actually sleep through the night for a change.
    Maybe she ought to insist on spur of the moment, almost late for duty sex every day…

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    “Maybe you should take the night off, Cyn?”
    “I’m fine. I can’t just call in whenever you think I should. People depend on me to do my job.” Exactly what people she referred to, Jason didn’t need to know.
    “Come on, Cyndi…I will make it worth your while.” He flashed her his coy grin, the one that said ‘come on, baby’ and ‘I’ll rock your world . ’ Generally she found it near impossible to resist that smile, but she remained strong.
    “Sorry, Officer. You will have to wait a few hours before holding me prisoner.” She kissed Jason on the cheek and sashayed her way out of the house, swinging her hips in the exaggerated motion the working girls down by the oceanfront used.
    “You can bet I’ll be ready with my cuffs!” Jason called after her. Cyndi giggled as the front door closed behind her. She enjoyed the little exchanges with her husband. It was nice to know he