Hotel Ladd Read Online Free PDF

Casey. After all,
it was her property. The decision rightfully belonged to Casey, though it
was crazy how quick a mind could get infected when tempted with big
dollar signs. Big dollar signs. Huge. Half a million dollars would
change their lives. Pulling into her assigned parking space, Annie
cut the engine and wrapped a thick scarf snug around her neck.
Stuffing the rising tide of greed back into its corner, she
tightened the belt around her coat, braced against the chilled damp
mountain air and hurried up the stairs. Cold metal keys jangled in
her hand as she tugged them from the door. Flipping on a light
switch she called out, “Casey, I’m home!” Closing the door, Annie
surveyed the contents of her apartment. Sofa, table, television,
all were clear, the room silent. She walked farther into the living
room, dumping her purse on the dining room table.
“Casey?”
    No answer.
    Surprised, Annie walked down the
hallway to her daughter’s bedroom, an uneasiness setting in. Casey
had attempted an overdose once before. Had she done so again? Her
pulse jumped wildly out of control as Annie yanked open her
daughter’s bedroom door. “Casey?”
    Annie’s heart leapt into her throat.
There was nothing. No Casey, no nothing. Had she gone to work? Had
she gone out?
    A dreadful thought seized her and Annie
rushed to the bathroom, whipping open the door. Again, no Casey, no
nothing. Annie focused on the vanity. No toothbrush. A looming
sense of apprehension choking her, Annie marched back to the dining
room and dug into her purse for her cell phone. She dialed Casey’s
number but there was no answer. Next, she called Fran.
    “ Fran’s Diner.”
    “ Fran, its Annie. Did Casey
show up for work?”
    “ No, darlin’ and I’m going
crazy busy right now.”
    Fear fired hot in her chest. “Well, she
isn’t home, so I don’t know if she forgot or what happened,” she
said, unable to erase the empty toothbrush holder from her
mind.
    “ Tell her to call me first
thing, will you? Right now I’ve got to go.”
    “ Yes, sure. Will do,” Annie
replied, but Fran had already hung up the phone. Ending the call,
her hand began to tremble. Casey, where are
you ?

 
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    Annie stopped in at the diner first
thing in the morning. She had called Casey ten times over the
course of the night and the girl never answered, never returned her
call. Worried, Annie calmed herself with the fact that Casey’s
toothbrush was missing, which meant there was no foul play
involved. But it didn’t mean foul play couldn’t catch up to her. It
was a crazy world out there. Any one of a number of things could
happen to her. Her car could break down. She could run out of gas.
She could get lost. Annie had no idea where Casey could have gone
or why, but the scenarios for disaster grew by leaps and bounds in
her imagination. When the thoughts became too much to bear, she
called Candi and confided in her what happened. Candi called her
nephew right away, but Jimmy didn’t know anything. Not that Annie
would expect him to, but he was the closest thing Casey had to a
friend these days, and if she was going to run away, she might have
told him.
    Run away . It was beginning to be clear that’s indeed what her daughter
had done. Upon further investigation last night, Annie had
discovered that Casey had packed a suitcase, cleared out her
drawers and taken a few of her personal belongings. The framed
portrait of her and her mother was not among them. That detail
still hurt. The picture had been taken during happier times, a trip
to the fresh water aquarium in Chattanooga two years ago. Casey had
been thrilled with the wildlife, creatures she didn’t know existed,
many of which lived in the lakes and streams around their home. It
had been a great day. Two years ago, mother and daughter had been
happy and carefree.
    Today looked a whole lot different.
Bells clanged as Annie pushed through the front door of Fran’s
Diner.