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

know you will find her. Stay calm. Work the case. You can do it .”
    My
father was not a very emotional man. When I was younger, I thought him
uncaring. But as I had matured, I realized that he cared deeply. He just cared
differently. He and I were closer now than we had been when I was a boy. At
least, I felt close to him. I understood what he was saying. And he was right.
I needed to be calm and rational.
    “You’re
right, Dad. And with Alex and Frank helping, I’m sure we’ll find her.”
    More
typing.
    “ If you need to talk, Son, give me a call .”
    “Thanks,
Dad.”
    My
tea was ready. I sat back and enjoyed a few sips and thought about how to
bypass army protocol in accessing Monica's case files from when she was an MP.
I decided to call Sargent Vincent Spearman. Vince and I worked together on a
couple of army-marine joint operations in Afghanistan. We were both snipers. We
got into a couple of tight spots. You tend to make friends quickly when you
have to depend on another person for survival. We had stayed in touch over the
years, so I knew that Vince was currently stationed at Fort Irwin, in the desert
near Barstow. I called him.
    “Spearman,”
he said.
    “Is
this the same Vinnie Spearman who once got lost in the Afghanistan hills and
had to have a marine lead him out?”
    “Jake
Badger. Ha! The way I remember it, you were the one who got lost and I had to
lead you out of the hills.”
    “Memory
problems already,” I said. “And you being such a young man. It's a shame.”
    Vince
laughed. “How you doing, Jake?”
    “Been
better,” I said. And I explained recent events and what I needed.
    Vince
took a deep breath. “Getting into her old case files without official
authorization is not going to be easy,” he said. “However, I have a friend who
works in records.”
    “How
good a friend is she?”
    “Who
said my friend was a she?”
    “Tell
me it's not a woman.”
    “Okay,
it’s a woman. And she's a very good friend.”
    “That's
the best kind,” I said. “Will she pull the files for you?”
    “ Gonna cost me,” Vince said. “Which means it's gonna cost
you. When you find Monica, we have to go out on a double date and you have to
pay.”
    “Deal.”
    “Email
is too easy to trace,” he said. “I'll have her print them and you can come get
them. I’ll call you when they’re ready.”
    “Thanks,
Vince. I really appreciate this.”
    “Anytime,
man. Anytime.”
    I'd
arrived at Alex's office at nine forty-three and had given him Monica's phone.
He was catching me up.
    “Only
prints in the apartment were Monica's and yours. They must have worn gloves.”
    I
nodded. There wasn't anything for me to say, so I waited for him to go on.
    “All
the tenants in the complex have been questioned. No one saw anything. Same with everyone at her office complex. No one saw or
heard anything.”
    “It
didn't happen at her office,” I said. “Wasn't anything for them to see. ”
    “How
about on your end?” Alex asked. “You got anything?”
    “Not
yet,” I said. “Waiting for three phone calls. Anything else in Monica's files
we can follow up on?”
    “Nothing
so far. But we're still looking.”
    We
sat quietly for a while. No point in talking just to be talking.
    Then
Alex asked, “Are we sure this is about Monica?”
    Before
I could answer, my phone rang. It was Jessie.
    “That
was fast,” I said.
    “I
told him it was important.”
    “Thanks.
So what were you able to come up with?”
    “Esposito
has a son. A lawyer. Benito Esposito. Does some work for the cartels. Reports say he has a temper. They also say he's a vicious son of a bitch. Likes
to hurt people.”
    I
thought about that for a moment. “And where can I find Benito Esposito?”
    “Lives
in Malibu. Got himself a little fortress out there.”
    He
gave me the address.
    “You
need some help on this, Jake? Be glad to go with you.”
    “Long
drive from San Diego just to go talk to the guy. I appreciate your offer, but I
got