Black Diamond Read Online Free PDF

office number into the phone and put it into the bouquet of cut flowers I had my florist friend, Max, deliver to Colleen. A floral delivery would seem natural to anyone watching the house.
    The note I enclosed with the flowers told Colleen to drive to Revere Beach Boulevard and park on the ocean side close to Kelly’s Roast Beef sandwich stand. It told her to buy a Coke, and drink it on the public benches by the ocean across the street. The traffic around Kelly’s Roast Beef is always brisk. It would give Tom Burns a chance to get a lock on whoever might be following her without blowing cover. My note said to then walk into the public women’s restroom down the shore to the left and call our office using the phone she’d find in the flowers. The assumption was that anyone following her would likely be a man, so she’d have about four safe minutes in the ladies’ room.
    The briefing of Mr. D. was quick. The wait that followed seemed interminable, although it was only ten minutes. Julie put the call through to Mr. D.’s office, and we hovered around the speakerphone.
    â€œColleen, are you where I think you are?”
    The response was punctuated with barely restrained sobs.
    â€œMike. Thank God. I’m so sorry for before. I didn’t know what to do.”
    â€œI know, Colleen. It’s all right. Did you go where I told you?”
    â€œYes. I’m here now.”
    â€œGood. Then we have just a couple of minutes. Mr. Devlin is here. Tell us everything you know about Erin.”
    â€œDear God, Mike. Someone has her.”
    She got that far before sobs choked off her voice.
    â€œColleen, you’re not alone. We’re going to get her back. I promise.”
    It was a wild promise, but I put it in the hands of God and said it with all the assurance I could muster. Wild as it must have sounded, I could sense the tiniest bit of calming creep into her voice.
    â€œWhat can I do, Mike?”
    â€œExactly what I tell you. First, fill us in. What happened?”
    â€œYesterday morning, early, Danny was going to the stables on the backstretch at Suffolk. He was riding Black Diamond in one of the early races before the MassCap. He wanted to ride him out to get the feel of him before the race. Erin liked to go with him to the morning workouts, so he took her. There was never a problem. That area of the stables is more secure for the sake of the horses than any daycare center. Dear God, Mike, if we had only known then.”
    â€œIt might not have made any difference. Go on, Colleen.”
    â€œI got a call from Danny about eleven. He said—” Her voice choked off again.
    â€œColleen, I wish I were there to help you, but you’ve got to pull it together. You only have a couple more minutes to talk. Danny said what?”
    â€œHe said someone took Erin. He said I had to stay in the house, that somebody’d be watching from the outside. He said he was taking care of it, and he’d get her back.”
    â€œDid he say how?”
    â€œNo. He just said I had to stay in the house in case the phone rang. He also said I couldn’t tell anyone, or Erin would—you must know how much I wanted to tell you this afternoon.”
    â€œYou did tell me. That was a great trick with the ring. You’re a trooper, Colleen. Think about this. How did Danny sound on the phone?”
    She gave it a few seconds. “I don’t know. Of course he was frightened for Erin, but he sounded stiff, like he was being told what to say.”
    â€œOkay. We have to keep this short. I want you to calm down, wash the tears off your face, and go back to your car. Drive directly home and stay there. I know it’s hard, but I want you to know that people are working on this for Erin that you don’t know about.”
    â€œMike, Danny said we couldn’t call the police or they’d hurt Erin.”
    â€œWe won’t. This is not the police. You have to trust me. No