Perilous Read Online Free PDF Page B

found in the morning, gagged and knocked out with chloroform. He hadn’t seen a thing.
    And someone had robbed the jewelry store.
    Thieves and kidnappers had two very different profiles, but maybe this one saw profit in stealing teenage girls. The jewelry store thief remained the number one suspect.
    He entered Sara’s room. Track medals dangled from the bedposts, stuffed animals lounged on the floor. “She’s a runner, huh?” Always careful to use present tense.
    Mrs. Yadle nodded. “Yes. She’s very good.”
    Carl picked up the pink Motorola camera phone on the bed. Expensive. “Is this Sara’s?
    “Mm-hm.”
    “Can I take it?”
    She nodded, clasping her hands together.
    He put it in his pocket. Lots of contacts in there, maybe some text messages. Cell phones were gold mines of information. “Does that computer have internet access?”
    “Oh—yes. But Sara hardly ever uses it. She’s always outside.”
    Right. That’s what all the parents thought. “Are there any passwords on it?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “I’d like to have a look at it before I go.”
    “Okay.”
    He braced himself. No parent liked the next question. “Did Sara have any boyfriends that you know of?”
    She shook her head as quickly as Callie’s mom had. “No.”
    The phone and computer would tell the truth. “How would you describe Sara’s personality?”
    “Cheerful. Always smiling. A little shy sometimes.”
    He pulled her picture out, examining the spread of freckles over Sara’s nose, the sandy-blond hair and the slender frame. Her smile revealed perfectly aligned teeth. Only braces could make teeth that straight. She looked nothing like her parents. “How was her relationship with you and your husband? Is he her father?”
    She frowned. “We’re her parents. But actually, Sara’s adopted. And… she just found that out three months ago.”
    Carl flipped open his notebook, pen and paper out before he realized it. “Tell me the story.”
    “We adopted her when she was a baby. We opted for a closed adoption. Her parents were dead, but there were some other family members who wanted to be a part of her life. Well, we didn’t think that would be good for her. Too confusing. We wanted her to think of us as her real parents. We didn’t ever want her to wonder if we loved her as much as we would a biological child. After the adoption was finalized, we never heard from her relatives again.
    “Honestly, Mike and I didn’t think about her adoption. She was our baby, our Sara. Well, then she found the adoption certificate in her baby book behind her birth certificate. She went nuts. We tried to calm her. But she was so angry with us.”
    The woman bit her lower lip. “I’ve never seen her so angry. She demanded to know more about her family. But we didn’t have any information.”
    Interesting. “Who does have that information? Where would she have to go?”
    “The courthouse, where the final documents were signed. I believe those are the only records of her previous family members.”
    “Does she know where that is?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Carl nodded. “I’d like to see that adoption certificate, if I may.” He didn’t think it likely that the four girls had decided to go on a quest to find Sara’s family, but he wasn’t going to rule it out.
    “I’ll get it for you.”
    She left the room, and Carl seated himself at the computer. Time to get to know Sara.

 
    Chapter 5
    Jaci opened her eyes. Had she slept at all?
    Claber slammed the attic door down with a thud that vibrated the wooden floor. “Come on, get up.” He stood over Jaci and kicked her in the side. She pushed herself up, blinking to clear her head.
    “Ow!” Amanda folded her arms across her face and received another kick. She jumped up, glancing at him once and then quickly lowering her eyes.
    Claber grabbed Jaci’s forearm, forcing her to look at him. “The basement needs cleaning.” He narrowed his eyes. “You better keep your