Cast into Doubt Read Online Free PDF Page A

vision narrowing, growing darker.
    ‘Shelby, are you still there?’ Rob asked.
    ‘Overboard?’ she whispered.
    ‘The captain called the police in St Thomas, and the Coast Guard has been searching for several hours now. That’s the droning sound you hear. The planes and the helicopters are searching these waters.’
    ‘Overboard? Into the ocean?’
    ‘Yes. That’s what they’re afraid of.’
    Shelby had the sudden, impossible wish that she had never picked up the phone, that she could rewind time back to before she had heard this news. Shelby started to shake from head to toe.
    ‘I don’t know any more than that right now, Shelby. I’m sorry. If I find out anything I’ll let you know.’
    Shelby could tell by the distracted tone in his voice that he was finished with her, that he was about to hang up. ‘ No ,’ Shelby shouted into the phone. ‘No. Wait a minute.’
    ‘Take it easy. I’m still here,’ said Rob.
    ‘No.’ Shelby was shaking her head. She stood up, clenching the phone in her hand, and started pacing the room.
    ‘No, what?’ Rob asked wearily.
    Shelby was shaking her head, trying to collect her thoughts. ‘No, I don’t understand any of this. Chloe . . .’
    ‘I don’t either. Look, I promise I will call you back as soon as I know anything,’ Rob insisted.
    ‘No,’ said Shelby stubbornly.
    ‘I have to go,’ said Rob. ‘Just sit tight. I’ll be in touch.’
    ‘Oh no you don’t. You can’t just brush me off like this.’
    ‘I’m not doing that, Shelby,’ said Rob in a strangled tone of voice.
    ‘Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not just gonna sit here and wait for the phone to ring . . .’
    Rob did not reply.
    Shelby made up her mind. ‘I’m coming down there,’ she said.
    ‘Shelby, you can’t. I need you to stay there. To take care of Jeremy.’
    ‘I don’t care what you need,’ Shelby cried. She could feel her own heart beating wildly in her chest. ‘Chloe is my . . . baby. I can’t . . . I won’t . . . I have to be there.’
    ‘What about your grandson?’
    Shelby thought of Jeremy, fast asleep in his bed, and her heart felt as if it were being sawed apart. ‘Just tell me where he can stay. Do you have any friends who can take care of him?’
    ‘It’s so complicated . . .’ Rob said.
    ‘Complicated?’ Shelby cried. ‘I’m sorry but my daughter is missing and I am coming down there. Don’t try to argue with me. Just tell me who I can get to watch Jeremy.’
    Rob sighed. ‘Call Lianna,’ he said. ‘She and Harris won’t mind. And Molly will watch over him. She adores him.’
    ‘Are you sure they’ll do it?’ Shelby asked.
    ‘I don’t know. You were supposed to do it,’ Rob protested.
    ‘You were supposed to take care of my daughter,’ Shelby cried.
    Rob was silent.
    ‘Look, Rob. I need to be there.’
    ‘I guess you do,’ said Rob, miserably. ‘Give Lianna a call. I’m sure they will mind Jeremy.’
    ‘I’ll handle it,’ Shelby said. Before he had a chance to protest or rethink his decision, she said, ‘I’ll get Jeremy situated and then I’m coming. If they find her in the meantime . . .’
    ‘I’ll call you, of course,’ said Rob dully.
    Shelby ended the call, and tried not to think of what the worst could be. Right now, she had to find a safe place for Jeremy to stay, buy a plane ticket – whatever the cost – and go. And not think. Try not to think.
    As she stared at Chloe’s emergency numbers, written in Chloe’s sweet, familiar hand and posted on the refrigerator, Shelby’s finger hovered over the keypad of the phone. It was too early to call anyone, but Harris Janssen was a doctor. They would probably be used to calls at all hours. And even if she had to wake the house, it didn’t matter. What she needed could not wait. She hesitated for another moment, and then dialed the number. A man’s voice answered gruffly.
    ‘I’m sorry to call so early. Is Lianna there?’ Shelby asked bluntly.
    ‘Just a