Sara's Game Read Online Free PDF

involved, Detective.  He’s been missing for two years.”
    “Missing?  Do we have a file on him?”
    “Two years ago, he left for the gym one morning and never came back.  You guys found his car in a grocery store parking lot across from Hollywood Bowl.  Said there weren’t any signs of foul play, no blood, no strange DNA.  No leads whatsoever.  He just vanished.”
    “I remember that case.  That was your husband?”
    “Unfortunately.”
    “I feel like I’m doing nothing but apologizing, but I’m sorry to hear that.”  DJ took the opportunity to scribble on his notepad again.  Cleared his throat.  “I’ll take a look at the files later, but right now, we really need to focus—”
    A knock at the door interrupted him.  “Come in,” he said.
    The door opened just far enough for Dave to poke his head inside.  “There’s a pho—”
    Sara blurted out, “Did you find him?”
    Dave shook his head.  “Phone call for you on line two, Mrs. Winthrop.”
    “For me?  Who is it?”
    “Didn’t say.  Some woman.  Said she needed to speak to you.  You can pick it up there at Mrs. Bennett’s desk.”
    Sara exchanged puzzled looks with the detective.  “Should I answer it?”
    “Yes ma’am.  Could be good news.”
    “I hope you’re right.”  She stood up, rushed over to the desk.  “Hello, this is Sara Winthrop.”
    The voice on the other end of the line wasn’t female.  It was deep.  Electronic.  Synthesized. 
    It said, “The game begins now.  You have twenty minutes to get to the Rose Gardens.  Alone.  Park.  Leave your keys in the ignition and the van running.  Leave all personal belongings in it.  You will be given further instructions.  Don’t tell the police where you’re going.  If you need proof that this is real, pay attention.” 
    She almost fainted when she heard the single-word scream that followed.
    ***
    In her van, driving, it played over and over in her mind.
    “Mommy!”
    The ensuing silence had signaled the end, and the beginning.
    Sara had recognized Lacey’s voice.  She and Callie both sounded so much alike on the phone, but Lacey’s voice was one note higher than her sister’s.  She was terrified, and in pain. 
    All of her children’s voices took on a distinct tone whenever they were hurt.  Call it a mother’s bond, but she was able to tell the difference between the yelp of a stubbed toe and the wail of a broken arm across all three of them.  Lacey’s scream lay somewhere in between.
    Sara’s remorse bulged underneath the surface like a volcano moments before eruption.
    She drove hard, taking every shortcut she could think of, dodging traffic, ducking across parking lots to avoid stoplights and long lines.  She eased up on the gas pedal when she crossed paths with a police cruiser, and then floored it again when it was out of sight.  She cursed the lack of acceleration in the hybrid, damning the peer pressure from her friends to go green. 
    Conservation had nothing to do with her circumstances, she knew, but she had to have some outlet for her rage or she risked exploding right there in her seat.  With no idea as to who was behind this stupid game, she had nothing to focus her outbursts on, so taking it out on something she was aware of would have to suffice.  For now.
    At that point, she wasn’t beyond choking the life out of whoever was doing this, but until that chance presented itself, cursing the environmentally conscious would suffice.
    She took the Burnside Bridge and glanced down at the minivan’s clock.
    Ten minutes left.  I’ll never make it. 
    She wondered what Detective Johnson must be thinking or doing after her frenzied dash out of the office.  She’d slammed down the receiver, the flush in her cheeks and flared nostrils revealing that the call wasn’t the good news she’d been hoping for.
    Before he’d been able to ask, she’d said, “I have to go.  Do not follow me.  But here’s your first clue.” She’d