Have You Seen Her? Read Online Free PDF

unpaved dirt road that forked off the main highway. Which was how Samantha’s abductor had brought her here. And taken her away.
    “What exactly did you see when you first got to the clearing?” Steven asked gently.
    Bud swallowed. “I knew I’d see some blood—Pal bleedin’ like he was. I guess I didn’t expect to see so much blood. I got off the tractor to see if there was anything else, then I saw somethin’ white when I got closer.”
    “Samantha’s underwear?” They were in an evidence bag, on their way to the lab.
    The old man’s jaw clenched. “Yeah. Her underthings were off to the side, blown under the limbs of one of those pine trees.”
    “Did you touch anything, Bud?”
    Bud frowned up at him. “No, I did not,” he replied indignantly. “I may be old, young man, but I’m far from stupid.”
    “Sorry. I’m supposed to ask.”
    Bud settled back into the chair, arms crossed over his chest, slightly mollified. “All right, then.”
    “When you came close to the bloody area of grass, did you notice anything else?”
    Bud nodded, his ire suddenly cooled. “Yeah. The blood was still warm.”
    Steven’s brows came together. “I thought you said you didn’t touch anything.”
    “I didn’t. I could smell it. I slaughtered pigs on this farm for fifty years, boy. I know the smell of warm blood.”
    Steven drew in a breath and let it out. So close. Bud Clary must have stumbled on this clearing less than an hour after Pal was stabbed. At least they could pinpoint the time. Given twenty minutes from his house to the clearing, Bud would have arrived at twelve-thirty-five. That meant Samantha had still been here at eleven-thirty. “That’s helpful, Bud.” He pulled a business card from his pocket. “If you remember anything else, can you give me a call?”
    Soberly Bud took the card. “I will. Please find Samantha, Agent Thatcher. This is a small town. There’s not a soul around that doesn’t love Samantha Eggleston or her family. She baby-sits my great-grandbabies.” Then he bitterly added the phrase Steven heard far too often. “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen in Pineville. We’re a peaceful town.”
    Too bad evil people sometimes live in peaceful towns,
Steven thought. His job would be so much more uneventful if all the evil people congregated together, killing one another instead of innocent people.
    Steven was walking back to the grassy area when his cell phone jangled. One glance at the caller ID told him it was his assistant. “Nancy, what’s up?”
    Nancy Patterson had been his assistant since he’d been at his post. She’d been secretary to the special agent before him and the one before that. She was a computer whiz with invaluable experience and Steven trusted her as much as he trusted any woman.
    “You’ve had several calls from one of Brad’s teachers.” Her tone and his own growing worry over his oldest son made Steven stand straighter. About a month before, almost overnight, Brad had changed from a warm, happy boy to a sullen stranger. Any attempt to breach the wall Brad had built was met with sarcasm and anger. They’d been through teenage rebellion, years before. This was different. And now his teachers were seeing it, too. He forced his heart to calm. “What’s wrong?”
    “She wouldn’t tell me. She insists on speaking with you in person. She’s called twice already since lunch. She’s very... insistent.”
    Steven looked around him. They were still gathering evidence and he needed to stay. But his son needed him more. “Did she leave a number where I can call her back?”
    “Just the school’s main number. The first time she called on her lunch break, the second time between classes. She said she wouldn’t be free again until four o’clock.”
    Steven glanced at his watch. He could just about finish up here and make it to Brad’s school by four. “Can you call the school and leave her the message that I’ll meet her in the lobby at