Cast into Doubt Read Online Free PDF Page B

hesitated. ‘No honey, I can’t.’
    ‘Why not? No. I want to stay with you, Shep,’ he insisted.
    Shelby pulled him close and hugged him. ‘I want to stay with you too,’ she said, trying to keep her voice steady. ‘But I have to go.’
    ‘Why?’ he demanded, angrily this time.
    She had already decided, as she packed up his things, that she was not going to tell him what had happened. She was not going to say that his mother was missing. How could she make him understand, when she didn’t understand it herself? Besides, it was too soon. There was no need. It could all prove to be a horrible misunderstanding. ‘Your mom and dad need my help,’ she said, ‘so I’m gonna go help them. And you have to help too, by going to Molly’s and being a good boy. Can you do that?’
    ‘No,’ Jeremy protested.
    ‘Please. Shep needs you to do this.’
    Jeremy stuck out his lower lip and folded his pudgy arms over his chest.
    ‘Please Jeremy. I’m really in a fix. Nobody can help me but you,’ said Shelby.
    Jeremy hesitated. ‘OK,’ he grumbled.
    ‘That’s my boy,’ she said. ‘Now quick, put some clothes on. Molly’s waiting for us and we need to go.’
    It turned out not to be a lie. When Shelby pulled into the driveway of the large, stone house in leafy, upscale Gladwyne, Molly was the first person she saw. The girl was standing in the doorway in shapeless sweat pants and a Jonas Brothers t-shirt, peering anxiously out at the driveway through purple-framed glasses. Her long, dark brown hair was twisted into a ponytail, and her round face, marred by acne, looked ashen. When Molly spotted them, she turned and called into the house behind her. Then she opened the door and started down the front steps. She was wearing large, furry green slippers that made her feet look like a clown’s.
    Shelby parked, and lifted Jeremy, who was dozing again, out of his car seat. He fell against her chest, warm and completely relaxed. The young teenager came toward Shelby holding out her arms.
    ‘Molly?’ Shelby asked.
    Molly nodded, as Shelby gently shifted Jeremy to her waiting arms. A couple appeared at the front door. Lianna was immediately recognizable from Chloe’s descriptions of her. She was a slim, beautiful woman with fine features, huge dark eyes and black hair. She was barefoot, wearing a comfortable-looking bathrobe, and a worried, sympathetic gaze. Behind her, Harris Janssen, the neurologist who had stolen her away from Rob, was not at all what Shelby had expected. Knowing how good-looking Rob was, Shelby had pictured his rival as a lothario who looked like a movie star. Harris was a balding, stocky man of medium height with a round face and a gap between his front teeth. He was dressed in casual, Saturday clothes, a pair of baggy cords and an oatmeal-colored sweater. He looked like the sort of man women would confide in as a friend, while they slept with other guys. Of course, he was a doctor, Shelby thought. There was something very attractive about having an MD after one’s name. And Chloe had always said, during the year she had worked in his office, that Dr Janssen was the soul of kindness. He was well known for his volunteer work, and Chloe had once told her that he often treated patients even if they had no insurance.
    Harris was the first to offer his hand. ‘You must be Chloe’s mother. She’s such a lovely girl.’
    ‘Yes. Thank you,’ said Shelby. ‘She’s always spoken highly of you.’
    Lianna reached out her hands to accept the bag of toys and clothes that Shelby had lifted from the back seat of the car.
    ‘There’s a bag of his favorite foods too,’ said Shelby. ‘I’m sure I’ve forgotten things but if you need anything . . .’
    ‘Molly has a key to the house,’ said Lianna, shifting the bags in her arms. ‘I’m sure we can find anything we need for him.’
    ‘I’ll take that,’ Harris said, reaching for the bag of groceries.
    ‘I can’t thank you enough,’ said Shelby.