Free Chained Guilt (Hidden Guilt (Detective Series) Book 1) by Terry Keys Page A

Mommy.”
                  I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and looked around.  Daylight had arrived. It was supposed to be in the low seventies today with no wind. It would be a gorgeous Texas morning, boasting an orange-sherbet sunrise, but for the fact that my wife was out there somewhere. I had to find her.
                  The scene overflowed with officers and the media. Some of Miranda’s coworkers had also arrived, including her boss, who offered to help in any way possible.
                  As we talked, I spotted Wilcrest walking in my direction. I thanked Miranda’s boss and met the captain half way.
                  “David, we need to talk.”
                  I followed my boss a short distance away. He pointed toward a cluster of smeared footprints near the side of the road.
                  “It looks like a car could have been here on the side of the road before Miranda approached. We can now see a trail of spots where traffic cones had been placed. Maybe someone was faking car trouble and put out the cones to divert her attention. Maybe a light was flashed at her car, or maybe someone stepped out in front of her to flag her down. We don’t know. Miranda has the biggest heart in the world. You know she would have stopped if she thought someone needed help. What we do know is the cones are gone. We checked with the city, and they said no work was being done on this section of road last night. We’ve been scanning the lake all morning. Nothing. No jewelry, no clothing, no reason for us to believe she went into the water. We’re treating this as a kidnapping now, David. We definitely believe foul play was involved. Is there anyone—?”
                  I knew where Wilcrest’s next words were going. “No.  No one. She has no enemies.” The harshness of my tone registered on Wilcrest’s face.
                  “Obviously she does.”
                  I frowned. He was right. “Only John Carter would have done this,” I said, my calm voice belying my raging emotions.
                  “You mean the investigation we talked about last night?  Do you really believe Carter is behind this?”
                  “Like I said, I have nothing concrete,” I told him. “As far as I know, the story was still under wraps, but I suppose she’d been snooping around and asking questions. Still, I don’t think anyone had put it all together. She was careful not to let that happen. That’s one reason why the project took so long. She spaced out interviews and file searches weeks apart to try to keep suspicion down.”
                  Wilcrest nodded. “You may have something there. But be careful and tread lightly. If Carter is behind this and thinks we’re on to him, any trail you might have picked up will vanish.”
                  I had to think like a cop now and not a husband. I wondered about the details of the story Miranda was working on.  Maybe someone had caught wind of her investigation, and Carter indeed wanted to silence her.
                  Wilcrest told me I should go home and be with my girls; there was nothing else I could do at the scene. I hated to agree with him, but he was right. My adrenaline drained, I felt fatigued from head to toe, both mentally and physically.
                  Wilcrest signaled for an officer to drive me home. I rode the entire way in silence. As we pulled up to the house, I saw Karen sitting in the living room window, her elbows perched on the sill. She flung open the front door and raced toward me as I scrambled from the police car.
                  We were all devastated, and I knew my little girl didn’t understand what was happening. Neither of us said a word. I held my crying daughter close and tried my best to comfort her. I happened to look at the upstairs windows and