Molly Brown Read Online Free PDF Page A

tried to get a make on the guys who he imagined he knew, but just couldn’t place. There was something wrong in the picture he was seeing, something that didn’t add up, and he knew he was being thrown by it but couldn’t work out what it was. They had their backs to him and were still too far away for any kind of identification. Short of getting out of his car and introducing himself, squinting in the mirror was the best he could do.
    “I don’t know, Tommy. I can check and get back to you.”
    “Appreciate it, buddy.”
    “Are you in town, Tommy?”
    “Yeah, just hanging out, sniffing around for Gerry.”
    “What does Lizzie think about that?”
    “Lizzie is cool about everything I do.” He winced as he said it, waited to be struck down. Lizzie wouldn’t quit worrying until he pulled up in the yard. Who could blame her? He attracted trouble like a magnet and had the scars to prove it.
    “Are you playing me, Tommy?”
    “Hey, Lizzie is the best thing that ever happened to me, do you think I’m going to do anything to hurt her.”
    “You’re fooling around with Gerry. Somebody’s bound to get hurt.”
    “Lizzie loves Gerry …”
    “I’m guessing she loves you more.”
    Connell cocked his head. “What can I say, I’m a lovable guy.”
    “Yeah , sure,” replied Marty. “I had a dog just like you when I was a kid. Wagged its tail, licked your hand, nicest dog you ever met. Still didn’t stop it from getting flattened by the UPS truck.”
    “Gee, thanks, Marty, I’ll keep my eyes on the road from now on.” He did just that and discovered the guys had disappeared from his line of sight.
    “So what’s keeping you away from home?” asked Marty.
    Connell swiveled in his seat and craned his neck trying to check out his blind spot. With some relief he spotted the guys lurking three cars back, checking out the scenery. Lurking was fine, he decided, as long as there were three cars between him and them. “A missing child,” he replied “a freaky little kid who nobody gives a shit about. I’m just going to do some checking around, see what I turn up.”
    “You need some help?”
    “You could run a license plate for me.” He read out the details from the envelope.
    “Anything else?”
    “Sure, buddy, I need Charlene to take the big sister, so’s I don’t have to worry about her as well.”
    “You worry too much, Tommy.”
    “Tell me about it. I’m turning into you.”
    “Would that be so bad?” laughed Marty.
    “Sure it would, I’d have Charlene on my case twenty-four-seven.”
    Co nnell called the hospitals next while he waited for Charlene to come get Lydia, but no little girls had been admitted. Then he checked the morgue and was immensely relieved to find out that they were short on little girls too. So Molly was out there somewhere, he just needed to know where to start looking.
    When Charlene still hadn’t arrived and the guys in the suits had run out of hide and seek games, he began to get a little edgy.  He didn’t really want to sit and let his imagination come up with all sorts of possible outcomes and didn’t have the time for it either. He called Marty back, left Lydia’s address and got out of the car. He was pretty damn good at games too.
     

Chapter Three
     
    The bar where Lydia had met Terry was a block and a half from the apartment and the weather was warming up. It was going to be a hot one, so Connell left his car parked where it was and walked the short distance, casually glancing behind each dumpster as he strolled, just in case Molly, or something belonging to Molly, had been abandoned closer to home, and using each of those checks to keep an eye on his following fan club.
    He was aware , as he walked, they were closing the gap, but they kept just out of his line of sight and he chose to ignore them for now. If somebody thought it was worth their time to follow him around town, then he must be onto something. He just wasn’t sure what that might be. Either