Dead River Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Daddy, what’s going on?”
    Adam didn’t answer. He motioned for Dawn to take her mother’s arm.
    The two slowly moved her limp body toward the master bedroom and placed her on the king-size brass bed.
    Adam turned to Dawn. “Get the white blanket out of our closet.”
    “Where—where’s Sara Ann?” Valerie said, choking out the words.
    “Try to relax,” Adam said, stroking the side of her face with the back of his hand.
    “Daddy, where is Sara Ann?”
    Adam put his finger to his lips, and Dawn said no more. He shut the bedroom door and pointed down the hallway. Dawn followed him to the study.
    “Sit down.”
    She slowly lowered herself into the leather reading chair in the corner of the study, her teary eyes were glued to her father’s face. Adam knelt on the floor beside her.
    “Daddy, what’s wrong? Something’s wrong.”
    Adam clasped both of her hands. “Sara Ann’s missing.”
    Dawn shook her head. “Missing?”
    “I found her empty car in the driveway with the door open and the engine running.”
    Tears flowed down both of Dawn’s checks and formed glistening streams on her soft skin. “We need to look for her.”
    “We’ll let the police do that. They’ve been here and searched the woods around the driveway before the storm. They’re forming a large search team to go back out later.”
    Leaning toward the desk Adam extended his right arm, clutching a square box of Kleenex. “Here,” he said, offering the box.
    Dawn slowly pulled out two tissues and wiped away the tears, then stared at her father. Her eyes widened into ovals of denial. “Maybe she’s with Brad.” She shifted in the leather chair to directly face her father. “Yes, maybe they had a fight and they’re out somewhere making up, or—”
    Adam reached out for Dawn’s forearms, shaking them gently as if he were trying to tow her back to a logical state of mind.
    “No. She’s not with Brad.”
    The optimism quickly faded from Dawn’s eyes, leaving them dark and hollow. Her head slumped until her chin nestled on her chest. “When will they start looking for her again?” she asked softly.
    “Soon. It had better be very soon.”

 5 
    ADAM CLOSELY INSPECTED the ID cards tucked in leather bi-folds held out by the two men standing outside his front door. They both read:
    Criminal Investigations Division-Special Investigations Section
    Orlando Police Department.
    There were several pieces of equipment at their feet.
    “I’m Detective Robert Averly and this is Detective Peter Carillo,” the blond-haired man stated with resonating authority. “We’re here for the wiretap.”
    Adam finished his inspection of the IDs and nodded his acceptance. The two men flicked their ID bi-folds shut and stuffed them into their inside coat pockets. Beside Averly stood a stocky, bald man sporting a thick, salt-and-pepper mustache. He was the shorter of the two men, standing poised like a boxer, his dark brown eyes darting about.
    “Come in,” Adam offered.
    The two men carried in the equipment, which included what appeared to be a small suitcase. They placed the gear on the tile inside the door.
    Averly explained how they would set up the wiretap, punctuating almost every word with some sort of hand gesture. His wavy blond hair shook loose as he spoke, dusting his forehead. Occasionally he smoothed it back into place. As he leaned forward pointing toward the equipment at their feet, his sportcoat stretched to the limit, and his steel-framed glasses dug into the sides of his large head. Leaning further, his already rosy face transitioned to a rich crimson.
    “Why’s your police department doing the wiretap?” Adam asked. “I thought the sheriff’s department or the FDLE would do this.”
    “Good question, Mr. Riley,” Detective Averly said, looking in Detective Carillo’s direction then back toward Adam. “The answer is simple. Our section of the Criminal Investigations Division specializes in missing children.”
    Adam