Splintered Read Online Free PDF Page B

mom’s words trailing behind her.
    If Dad had been the one sitting beside me while I described the attacker to that idiot detective, it wouldn’t have been such a nightmare.
    Going into the station, Maddy had had a picture of the abductor in her head, but once the officer pelted her with questions about his complexion, the fullness of his lips, and whether he had wide-set eyes, she became confused. Detective Wallace had stared at her like he didn’t believe a word she’d said. And her mom was even worse, looking embarrassed to be there. Finally, Maddy had told everyone the sketch was correct just so she could leave.
    Maddy slammed her bedroom door and glanced at the time on her watch—a birthday present from her dad. For weeks, she’d agonized over which watch color to choose. She’d finally settled on yellow, and her dad laughed, saying he knew that would be her choice all along. The memory caused a sudden sharpness to shoot through her chest. The waterworks threatened to start up again. For the hundredth time, Maddy told herself she should take the damn thing off her wrist. It was a constant reminder of everything she’d lost.
    Why hasn’t he called?
    She grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand, wondering if the battery had died.
    Maybe he called Mom because he couldn’t get through. Then they probably got into a fight before he had a chance to talk to me. She always screws everything up.
    No, the phone was fully charged.
    Maddy couldn’t understand why almost being kidnapped hadn’t brought her dad back. Why didn’t he show up to rescue me from this pit of hell? I don’t know how much more I can take of being stuck with the Ice Queen. Even this morning didn’t thaw the coldness around Mom’s heart.
    Ever since Maddy was little, she’d felt like her mom had kept her at arm’s length. Not physically. She was always there to hug, kiss, and read her bedtime stories. But it seemed like she was only going through the motions and showing up in body, not in spirit. It made Maddy naturally gravitate toward her dad. He was everything her mom wasn’t—loving, playful, silly. He had a real zest for life.
    Her dad’s voice played in Maddy’s head now, extolling the virtues of patience, setting goals, and then working to realize them. “Maddy,” he’d say. “I remember when I was a kid and every time I saw a shooting star streak across the sky, I’d wish for a pet. My friends had cats, dogs, fish, and even lizards, but Pop thought I was too immature for my age and he wanted me to learn some responsibility before entrusting me with an animal. No matter how much I cajoled and begged, he wouldn’t give in. I finally realized if I wanted an animal to call my own, I’d have to do it his way. So I set a goal and made it happen. I had patience, and with a lot of hard work to prove myself worthy, eventually it paid off.”
    Maddy had heard her dad’s stories hundreds of times. She smiled thinking about them, and how he invariably tied each to a life lesson.
    Not in a preachy way though, like when Mom lectures me about how too much makeup gives boys the wrong impression or that young ladies should always have clean rooms.
    Being with her dad again was Maddy’s goal. No matter what it took, she’d make it happen.

(8)
DETECTIVE TERRANCE WALLACE
    After Lily and Maddy left City Hall, Wallace headed back to the Eastins’ neighborhood. It had been a long day, but he wanted to talk with the folks who’d gone into work and hadn’t been interviewed yet. Wallace parked his sedan at the end of the street, opposite Maddy’s bus stop. He walked down the broken sidewalk while checking his notebook, comparing the house numbers to the ones on his list to see who was left to interview. A couple of times, he had to step into the grass to avoid tripping over roots. Oak trees planted too close to the sidewalk were escaping their underground cement prison.
    Wallace met with a few neighbors, none of whom had witnessed anything.