The Murder of Janessa Hennley Read Online Free PDF Page A

took a sip out of an old bottle of water on the nightstand.
    H e stared at the ceiling a while before going to the bathroom. Then he dressed in workout shorts and a tank top. The gym wasn’t far from his condo, and he decided to walk, since the weather was pleasant.
    As he was stepping out the door, his cell phone rang. It was his daughter.
    “It’s noon there,” he said. “What’re you doing out of class?”
    “Just felt like calling you, Daddy. I wanted to catch you before you went to bed.”
    “How’s Jim?”
    “He’s good. He’s calling in sick today. Got some sort of throat thing.”
    Mickey walked to his Jeep and put the key in the ignition but didn’t turn it. “I got your birthday card. I liked it.”
    “Sorry I couldn’t afford a present. Being in college is more expensive than I realized.”
    “I told you to call me if you needed money.”
    “I know, but I want to save that for when I really need it. And you’re already paying tuition. We’re okay. Just some nights eating T op Ramen is all. How are you feeling?”
    “Not bad. I was just about to go to the gym and lift. How are your classes?”
    “Good. I have one on the history of the Byzantine Empire that you would love. The professor’s a total libertarian who critiques their social policies. Everyone in the class is arguing all the time. It’s really fun. How ’bout work? Any interesting cases?”
    “Nothing much. Just a case in Alaska that sounded curious.”
    “Are you going out there?”
    “I don’t go out anymore, sweetheart.”
    “Why not?”
    He paused. “I’m not entirely sure. Just thought the exposure for the Bureau might be too much.”
    “That’s ridiculous. You should get out, Daddy. I can’t stand the thought of you locked up in that dark basement.”
    “I retire in two years. I can take just about anything for two years , I think.”
    “Well, I think you should go. Life’s so short. You gotta do what makes you happy , and I doubt that’s following procedure.”
    He grinned. “I’ll think about it.”
    “It would make me happy if you did it.”
    “I said I’ll think about it.”
    “Okay. Jim’s getting up, better run. I love you, Daddy.”
    “Love you too.”
    He hung up and turned the key then pulled out of the driveway and headed to the gym. He thought of a young girl on a linoleum floor, screaming for help that never came.

8
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Sheriff Suzan Clay kicked the mud off her boots before stepping inside the police station, her phone glued to her ear. When the receptionist put her on hold, she hung up instead of waiting. She walked into the Sheriff’s Office. Two of her deputies, their feet up on their desks, sipped coffee and discussed the latest Icedogs hockey game.
    “Sheriff,” they both said in near unison.
    “Don’t you boys have speeding tickets to write?”
    “It’s like a hundred degrees outside, Sheriff. We’re just waiting for it to cool down.”
    “It’s seventy-eight. But can you at least wait with your feet off the desks? Lord Almighty, it’s like I’m at home with teenagers.”
    She walked past her secretary, who mumbled something ab out messages from the jail before returning to a phone conversation. Suzan removed her boots and placed slippers on her feet, then turned on her computer. She picked up the phone and tried calling the crime lab to check on some results from the Hennley case. Placed on hold again, she hung up.
    She flipped on her fan, aimed it at herself, and closed her eyes a moment, enjoying the cool wind. When you had winters that dipped to twenty below, seventy-eight degrees could get muggy.
    “Sheriff?”
    “What?” she said without opening her eyes.
    “Um, FBI called. They said they’re gonna send someone out.”
    She looked to her secretary. “When?”
    “Tomorrow, I think.”
    “Do they need us to pick them up from the airport?”
    The secretary stepped inside the office and put her hands behind her back like she didn’t know what