Hannah Grace Read Online Free PDF Page A

office."
    "Now, just-wait-a minute," Mr. Fisher huffed. "You must have proof-before you make such an accusation, my dear."
    "Oh, I have proof!" she blurted.
    "What sort of proof? Did you-actually witness himmanhandling this-child?"
    "Well, not exactly, but..."
    "You need to sit down, Mr. Fisher," Maggie ordered, running to retrieve a folding chair by the door and hurrying back to prop it under him.
    With assistance, he sat down with a thump, snagged hold of the curved handle of his cane with both hands, and leaned forward on it, looking up at Hannah. "Now then, who was this man?"

    His tall, rawboned physique materialized in her headand then that handsome, square face, giving her a chill despite the warm, August air filtering through the door and open windows. "Quite frankly, I don't know. I've never seen him before. That doesn't mean anything, though. We get tourists through here all summer long."
    "True," Mr, Fisher said with a thoughtful nod. "Can you describe his looks?"
    "His looks?" Frustrated that the man might now skip town before she even had a chance to file a complaint against him, she shrugged impatiently. "I don't know. It's hard to describe him. Big. Yes, big and-tall. That's about all I can say. But the little boy-oh, he couldn't have been more than seven or eight, with bruises running up and down his arm and smattered on his forehead. Not only that, but I saw a mess of scratches on his hand,"
    "Oh, dear," Maggie murmured.
    "I'm going to see that new sheriff."
    "But are you positive he's even there yet?" Maggie asked. "I thought he wasn't to start work till next week."
    Mr. Fisher shrugged, indicating he hadn't a clue.
    "Oh, he's there all right. I heard he showed up first thing this morning."
    "Really?" Maggie looked slightly interested. "Who told you that?"
    "I don't..." She paused to think for a moment. "He did!"

    "He, who?" Mr. Fisher asked. "The fellow making all the racket?"
    The pair wore equal looks of confusion, which Hannah had no way of easing, for her own head reeled with uncertainties.
    She moved to the door. "I'm sorry that I don't have more time to explain. Maggie, will you please mind the store for me?" she asked. "I shouldn't be long."
    "But what about this huge mess of glass? We can't have customers coming in here until we clean it up. You have to stay."
    Hannah's eyes traced a path to the pile of shattered glass, which had, no doubt, scattered several feet in every direction. Annoyance rushed like water through her veins.
    She sucked in a monstrous breath of air and let it out slowly. "Oh, all right. I'll clean it up. But then you'll have to watch the store till I get back,"
    "Oh, fine,"
    "Fine, indeed,"

    Gabe sipped on a cup of coffee that was set kindly on his desk by Kitty Oakes, the one accounts clerk in the City Hall building who appeared to be offering him the most assistance.
    "Here. Drink," she said. "And try to relax. He's sleeping now." Standing on the other side of his desk, she cast him a sympathetic eye.
    "Thanks. Go ahead and unlock the cell, but keep your eye out for the rascal. He'll likely try to run again as soon as he wakes up. The boy's easily spooked. As far as I can tell, he doesn't want anyone coming too close." An overwhelming sense of responsibility gripped him from the inside. "I need to get to the bottom of this thing, figure out who he is."

    Kitty winced. "I wouldn't unlock that cell just yet. He'll shoot out of here like a cannonball, I'm afraid, and he's just too little to be out on his own."
    Gabe considered her words, too tired to think. He'd thought he had the kid all settled down until he'd taken him to that store for some supplies-and then she stepped in. It vexed him anew to remember it.
    "Whatever you say. I can't keep him locked up forever, though." They'd had no choice but to put him in a cell like a caged bird until he quit kicking, biting, and flailing. "How old do you think he is?"
    Kitty shrugged. "Seven, perhaps."
    Gabe nodded. "I thought he was