Abducted: A Jake Badger Mystery Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page A

stood up. “I'm sorry if I hurt you Kyle. Monica's very
special to me and I'm worried about her. I need to find her quickly.”
    “Want
me to talk to James? See if he had anything to do with it?”
    “You
would do that?” I asked.
    “For
you? You bet. I can go see him tomorrow afternoon.”
    “Will
he tell you the truth?”
    “He
will if I threaten him with Thrasher.”
    “Thrasher?”
I said.
    “Thrasher
runs the cell block Jimmy's on. Thrasher's big and mean and he owes me a favor.
If I threaten Jimmy with Thrasher, he'll tell me the truth.”
    The
business card I'd given to Kyle was on the floor next to him. I pointed to it. “You've
got my number. Call me?”
    “You
bet.”

 
    Chapter 5
    Monday Afternoon and Evening … Tuesday Morning

 
    It
was almost four when I left Kyle and Nikki. I called Alex as I was getting on
the freeway to head back to Studio City.
    “How'd
it go with Dell?” he asked.
    “A
rough beginning, a good ending. Turns out he's a fight fan.”
    “He know anything about Monica?”
    I
told him what Kyle had said and what he'd offered to do.
    “You
think he'll get the truth out of James?”
    “He
thinks he will. We'll see what he comes up with tomorrow. You have time to make
any calls about Monica's military files?”
    “Yeah.
It's not going to be easy or fast if we go through channels.”
    I
went by Mildred's and picked up Wilson. She asked how things were going, so I
spent five minutes updating her. Then I took Wilson to the park so he could
sniff and mark his territory and I could try to calm down and think. I was
angry and worried. No, not worried. Scared. I had just realized I loved Monica,
and now someone had taken her. I wanted her back. I needed her back. And I'd
get her back. I'd go through an army if I needed to. But I needed to calm down
and work rationally. Beating people up wasn't the most effective way to get
what I wanted… what I needed. Thinking my way through it was better than
fighting my way through it.
    On
the way home, I stopped by the deli and got myself a pastrami on rye and a turkey on whole wheat. When we got home, I fed Wilson his normal
dry food and ate the pastrami. When Wilson finished his dog food, I gave him
half of the turkey sandwich. I ate the other half. I watched a few minutes of
the evening news and then put Kenny G on the stereo. I downloaded Monica's
contacts list and began calling everyone I thought she might contact. She
hadn't contacted any of them. Tomorrow I'd give her phone to Alex so the FBI
could go through it.
    I
had just put Monica’s phone down when my phone rang. It was Monica’s mother.
    “I
know you haven’t had much time yet,” she said, apologetically. “Only a few
hours, really. But, have you found her?”
    “Not
yet,” I said. “Has anyone contacted you?”
    “No.
I was just hoping you might have some good news.”
    “Not
yet,” I said, again. “I’m sorry. We’re working on it though.” I explained about
going through Monica’s files and interviewing two people of interest. She
listened patiently.
    “I
know you’re doing everything you can,” she said, “and I don’t mean to be a
bother.”
    “Patty,
you’re not being a bother. You’re concerned about your daughter. I understand
that. If I were in your place, I’d be calling all the time.”
    “You’ve
very kind. Monica said you were.”
    “We’ll
find her, Patty. We’ll find her.”
    I
could hear her struggling with her emotions.
    “One
time,” she said, “ when Monica was seven, she ran away from
home. She wanted to play little league baseball. Her father said, no. Back
then, girls weren’t allowed to play. It hadn’t integrated yet. She didn’t
understand. She thought her father was just being mean, so she ran away. She
took a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut better, a kitchen knife, a change of
clothes and her teddy bear, stuffed it all in a pillow case and went into the
woods on the other side of the train tracks. She was gone about