Taken Read Online Free PDF Page A

them from Becky. He knew she’d respect the privacy of this news and not share it. His business would be in good hands if he delegated the day-to-day to his Number Two. A call to his neighbor would take care of the house. He could have his assistant sort and forward his mail. A stop at a shopping mall to fill out his wardrobe would deal with the fact he hadn’t planned to be gone more than a few days. The page filled up with practical items ahead of him.
    The other list of events coming soon—where the only preparations he could make involved buying Kleenex—didn’t need writing down. There were necessary conversations that wouldbe tough on Shannon, some she’d have with doctors, others with cops, but inevitably some she’d have with him that he knew would wring his heart out. He’d been outwardly strong for his daughter, had listened with close attention, found ways to draw out the dark corners in her memories, to lance the pain of them . . . all the while feeling torn up inside. He honestly didn’t know if he had it in him to go through that again. He looked up from his notes and watched Shannon for a long moment.
    I’m surprised you let her choose me , God. I’m back to feeling . . . inadequate for this. Mainly because I know some of what it’s going to be. At least with Becky I was walking blind into what was coming. I didn’t know better. This time  . . . God, give me wisdom. Patience. The ability to listen. Help me hear what is really being said. I can’t afford to miss the nuances, not with someone whose way of coping is to hide.
    He looked down at the lists he had written and numbered the items he had to tackle first, aware he was simply killing time, waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for DNA to confirm what he already knew. Shannon Bliss had reappeared and had chosen him. Even if he didn’t want this, he wouldn’t turn her away.
    Life had been a lot simpler when he had been worried about such mundane problems as friends setting him up to meet a woman over dinner. He half smiled and put down his pen. Somehow he’d rise to the occasion. He glanced at his phone. But patience had never been his strong suit.

    His phone began to vibrate. Matthew glanced at the caller ID and answered it immediately, keeping his voice low. “Ann, that was fast.”
    “Theo likes me. And it helps that the Bliss case file has been digitized. Do you want to do this on the phone or do you want to come up to the suite?”
    He glanced over at Shannon. She hadn’t stirred in the last twenty minutes. “Give me the highlights—I’ll decide from there.”
    “It’s tough reading. Shannon disappeared over a Memorial Day weekend while driving home after staying with friends. Her car was never found. Cops looked hard at the family, at people around the family—her school, their church, the family’s business—but nothing popped as a solid motive or lead. Three similar cases in the Midwest over the prior seven years were pursued for any crossovers but didn’t generate much to work with. A ransom was paid after the disappearance went public, but there was no proof of life offered in advance, nor any contact after the money was paid. Three years after she disappeared, the parents divorced in a bitter fight that about bankrupted the family business. A year after that, the uncle committed suicide to avoid being arrested for having embezzled company money. During the contested divorce, the company books were audited by both sides—they were arguing over the valuation of the business—and it turned up the theft of company funds. There’s a suspicion that the uncle may have stolen some of the ransom money and handed over blank paper, used the money to try to cover up his fraud.”
    Matthew had been making notes as she spoke, but that last comment made him pause with a wince. “How certain is that?”
    “Ask me again tomorrow after I talk to Theo. I’m reading an eye-opening sixty-page summary of the case he wrote a