Eye of the Abductor Read Online Free PDF Page B

brought up the damn roses?
    His mother placed her hand on his
arm. “Are you coming over for lunch?”
    “Nah, I have some reports to fill
out, and I need to gather up my laundry and wash it.” He hesitated. “What’d you
think of her?”
    “She seems nice and very pretty.”
    “But very uninterested.”
    His mother smiled. “She’s
interested.”
    “Then why’d she return my roses?”
    “It’s not from a lack of finding
you desirable. I saw it in her eyes.”
    Brance remembered Linda had said
almost the same thing. “Then why is she refusing to go out with me?”
    “I’m not sure. Maybe she’s
recently divorced or widowed and isn’t ready to date.”
    “That never occurred to me.”
    “How much do you really know about
her?”
    “Very little.”
    "You're a cop. Do your
homework."
    ***
    The next day Brance whipped into
the parking lot of Fred’s Dollar Store to investigate a burglary that had occurred
in the pharmacy.
    As he scanned the layout of the
shopping area, he caught sight of Allison’s old, blue Dodge parked behind the
Little Pal’s Daycare. It had to be the only car in town painted in two shades
of blue. If she hadn’t mentioned working at Malden Brother’s, he would’ve
assumed she worked in the area.
    Inside the store, he spoke to the
manager. After being given the details, he filled out the report and called in
for help to process the scene.
    Immediately, he recognized the
same MO as two other burglaries, stealing prescription drugs that carried a
street value such as Viagra, Xanax, and a variety of painkillers. It didn’t
take a rocket scientist to realize the same people had pulled it off.
    When he left the store, the Dodge
was still parked behind the daycare. Being curious, he climbed in his car,
started the engine, and slowly cruised closer. He parked midway in the lot
where he had a good view. He removed a pair of binoculars from a case and
peered through them.
    Allison sat behind the wheel, her
gaze lingering on the children playing on the other side of the chain-linked
fence. Her face appeared withered and pale as she wiped away tears. He didn’t
like seeing her in this weak and vulnerable condition. Where was the
fire-breathing she-dragon who’d cooled Linda down?
    His chest tightened, empathizing
with her obvious pain.
    Once the children were escorted
back inside, Allison started her car and drove away.
    At the light, the gold sedan he’d
seen before remained a few cars behind her. Coincidence? Maybe. He didn't have
a view of the license plate, but next time he saw the sedan, he'd run it.
    He set the binoculars beside him
and pondered over what Allison had been up to. Did she have a connection with
one of the children? The only thing he knew for sure was that Allison Davenport
was a lot more complicated than he’d ever suspected, and he wanted to find out
more about her.

Chapter Three
    Allison tried to concentrate on
the assigned chapters but couldn’t. The relentless need to see her son or at
least be near him clawed at her sanity. She tossed the book aside and sighed
with defeat as she grabbed her keys.
    She drove the four miles to the
Wilsons' home in the Oak Forest subdivision where she parked two houses down on
the opposite side. Though it was late, the downstairs lights indicated the
Wilsons were still awake. She doubted Nathan was. She studied the darkened
upstairs rooms. Which one belonged to her son?
    Where are you my precious
little boy?
    If only she could hold him and
tell him his mommy loved him and would never leave him. She’d read him a
bedtime story, say his prayers with him, then give him a goodnight kiss. A pain
squeezed her throat.
    She didn’t have a glimmer of hope
of getting him back anytime soon. The most she could hope for was visitation
rights. And the courts would probably insist they be supervised by some stuffy,
insensitive social worker.
    Despair burrowed in her soul like a
parasite feeding on her fear and depression. An important part of