Burn Out Read Free Page A

the
office.
    It didn’t take Rachel long to get
everything she needed for the trip. She always kept a suitcase
packed since she travelled on the road quite a bit. Ever since
Mallory disappeared, her longing to help others got
stronger.
    Rachel heard her phone beep, letting
her know she had a text message. She checked her Blackberry. Janine
had sent the phone numbers she needed to get started with the
case.
    She called the fire marshal’s office
to make an appointment with the lead investigator, Jeff Stanton.
Jeff said he was familiar with her work. Rachel Scott and Florida
Omni Search made national headlines when they were involved in
finding Amber Knowles, the only daughter of Florida governor, John
Knowles. They agreed to meet at his office the next morning at
eight a.m.
    She threw everything in the back of
her Tahoe and went inside to get Maggie and her things. When she
took Maggie to Janine’s, she always packed extra food and toys in
case she was gone longer than she expected. She grabbed the bag of
Science Diet dog food and reached into the wicker basket for
Maggie’s favorite squeaky toys. The purple dinosaur, a yellow duck,
and a red plastic ball all went into a baggie.
    Maggie sat watching Rachel with great
interest, her thick black tail wagging. Her tail was so long and
heavy it would probably be illegal in some states. One
unintentional whip of her tail would leave a bruise on someone’s
leg.
    The loyal black lab jumped in the
Tahoe. Rachel rubbed Maggie on top of her head. “Good girl. You’re
going to Jack’s house for a few days. Aren’t you a lucky
girl?”
    Maggie gave a cheerful
bark.
     
     

Chapter Five
    Santa Rosa Beach, FL Monday
10:30 AM
     
    Ken Collins paced in his eight by ten
jail cell thinking how fucked up his life had become in such a
short amount of time. He reflected back to just a few days ago when
he got the worst news of his life.
    “ Get up, Ken. You got a
visitor.” The prison guard rapped on his cell.
    Ken threw his legs over
the top bunk and jumped down. He wasn’t expecting anyone. His
lawyer came by every Tuesday like clockwork to discuss his case.
But today was Friday. He wondered what was up. Ken walked with the
guard down the long hallway towards the visitor’s room. However,
the guard kept walking.
    “ Where are we going?” Ken
asked, puzzled since they past the visitor’s room.
    The guard kept walking in
silence.
    “ I thought I had a
visitor,” Ken mumbled as they kept walking, going through two
security doors. They stopped in front of the warden’s
office.
    What the hell, Ken
thought. This could be really good or really bad. The warden wasn’t
known for having social visits.
    The guard rapped on the
door and opened up. “Ken Collins,” the guard announced as he opened
the door.
    “ Thank you. You can
leave,” the warden said to the guard. “Ken, please, have a seat.”
The warden gestured to a chair across from his desk.
    Buster Radcliffe, the
nameplate read on the putty-colored metal desk.
    “ Ken, I know you are
wondering what you are doing here,” Buster began.
    Ken nodded his
head.
    “ Well, you do have
visitors, but before you see them I wanted to talk to you first.”
Buster straightened up in his chair. He was six-foot- five and even
though he was on the skinny side, he was solid muscle. With thick
red hair and a smattering of freckles across his face, he looked a
lot younger than his fifty-four years. Ken thought he looked like
Howdy Doody.
    Buster and Ken had a long
friendship which started when Ken was promoted to Captain at the
police department. Ken sent many men to this same jail. They had
appeared in court together. They were both members of the local
Kiwanis and Rotary club. They ran in the same social circles. Yet
Buster treated Ken like any other prisoner. He acted like he never
existed outside the prison walls.
    “ Ok,” Ken said. He was a
man of few words.
    “ There is no easy way to
say it. Your wife has disappeared.”
    Ken came