Free Nightwatch by Valerie Hansen Page A

Everybody knew everybody here. There was no one he could think of who would be so bold as to break in and steal a child this way.
    Except for Natalie Stevens, he told himself, gritting his teeth and praying he was wrong. There had to be another explanation. After all, kids loved to play hide-and-seek. Maybe the little girl was teasing them.
    He caught a glimpse of Tim’s ashen face peeking around the corner. “I have a job for you and Paul,” Mitch said. “I want you to help Miss Jill look, really carefully, and see if Megan is hiding and playing a joke on us. Will you do that?”
    Tim’s mop of tousled brown hair shook as he nodded rapidly.
    â€œGood boy.” Mitch looked to Jill. “All of you stay inside, stay together and search the house while I check the yard.” Lowering his voice he meant his next statement for only her. “And call Harlan. Tell him exactly what we’ve found and that we can’t locate Megan. Tell him we’ll call back the minute we’re sure she’s not here.”
    Jill grabbed his arm. “Do you really think she’s still in the house?”
    He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. They both knew that Megan Pearson had probably been stolen from right under their noses.
    Â 
    Making her way cautiously to the open bedroom window, Jill shivered in the chilly air as she reached into her pocket, pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911 to report the crime.
    â€œNine-one-one. What is the nature of your emergency?”
    â€œThis is Jill Kirkpatrick out on Farm Road 19. One of the Pearson kids is missing.”
    â€œWhen did you last see the child?”
    â€œMaybe twenty minutes ago. She was taking a nap. Somebody kidnapped her.”
    â€œDid you actually see the child being abducted?”
    â€œNo, but…” She bit her lower lip. “I’m positive, okay? Sheriff Allgood was just out here a little while ago. He knows what’s been going on.”
    â€œAll right. Please calm down, ma’am, and stay on the line. All our deputies are busy right now. We’ll send someone out as soon as we can.”
    Jill could barely speak. “I’m not going to stay on the phone and I’m not going to stay calm. I’m going to go look for that little girl. Tell Harlan. He knows how important this is, even if you don’t believe me.”
    Frustrated almost to the point of anger, Jill ended the call. There was so much she didn’t know. Couldn’t possibly guess. Such as, how had anyone known about that particular window? Had they simply tried them all until they’d found a weakness in her safety measures? Or had they been casing the place before, maybe when they’d attacked Mitch?
    She paused and peered out into the side yard, trying to form a clear picture. The exterior screen had been taken down and cast aside. A six-foot-tall forsythia bush that was in bloom next to the house had obviously been disturbed, too, because hundreds of tiny, yellow petals lay strewn on the ground at its base, the pattern extending onto the lawn.
    Her jaw muscles clenched. Some of those flowershad landed atop the discarded window screen, meaning they had been dislodged after it had been removed. Something had jostled the cascading branches, brushed against the delicate flowers and caused them to shed petals.
    Filled with a sense of escalating dread she called, “Tim. Paul,” and hurried toward the living room. “Where are you? We need to check the house together like Mitch said. Maybe you guys can get Megan to come out if she’s hiding from us.”
    There was no response. She frowned. “Boys? Where are you?”
    A quick look up and down the hallway showed no one. Hurrying through the rest of the house, Jill found Paul still half-asleep on the sofa.
    With trembling fingers she touched the child’s shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. “Paul? Wake up, honey. We have to go look for your