Crucified Read Free Page B

their feet, taking Chief Walker by the arm and ushering him
out the door.
    “ Did they find it at the post office again?” asked
Dianne.
    Chief nodded and plodded beside them as they made their way up
the street. The culprit seemed to take
great pleasure in taunting them. Why else would he or she have
risked posting the picture in the same place?
    She breathed a
sigh of relief when she saw that the picture remained on the board
untouched. Young Casey was no longer bound, oozing sores bled where
her wrists and ankles had been taped, the skin ripped from her
face. The young girl lay with her eyes closed, naked.
    Please let her be sleeping .
    Seth ordered
the chief to stand watch over the picture while they questioned
everyone and anyone who might have seen something. Nobody saw
anything out of the ordinary, and no one saw who put the picture up
on the board.
    He raked his
hand through his hair, his eyes ablaze. “Dianne, we need to send
for some more men. There’s no way in hell anyone should be able to
walk up to this board in broad daylight unnoticed.”
    “ I’m on it.” She’d keyed in the head office on her cell before
he’d finished his tirade. The entire time she hadn’t taken her gaze
off of the photo of Casey.
    What kind of
animal would do this to a young girl? More importantly, what would
he do next?

Chapter
Three
     
    Chief Walker
suggested they call a town meeting. He seemed to think they’d have
better odds of finding Casey if they got the town’s people
involved. Taylor had no desire to attend this meeting, since
everyone deemed him guilty. The chief made a rather convincing
argument. He pointed out that by being there Taylor would show them
he had nothing to hide. Like it or not, he’d have to make an
appearance.
    The silence
that permeated Johnstown slowly lifted as news of the town meeting
traveled. More and more people lingered in the streets, huddled in
groups speculating Casey’s demise.
    He arrived at
the Community Center at exactly seven o’clock. Just because he’d
agreed to come, didn’t mean he had to socialize. With standing room
only inside the hall, it looked as if every resident of Johnstown
had made it out. Preacher Adams occupied the front row, a skeleton
of the man he’d been a week ago. He sat with his hands folded in
his lap, his lips moving, undoubtedly in prayer for his little
girl.
    Chief Walker,
Deputy Lucas, and Agents Mann and Parker filed in through the stage
door. They seated themselves behind a long table in front of the
restless crowd. Chief Walker took hold of the microphone.
    “ If I can have everyone’s attention,” he shouted above the
noise. “Please, people, take your seats so we can get this meeting
under way.”
    It took a few
minutes for the room to fall silent in wait of what would come
next. Taylor leaned against the wall next to the exit. He wanted to
be able to make a quick escape in the event the crowd turned on
him.
    “ I want to thank you all for being here tonight. I know how
concerned you are about Casey. We are doing everything in our power
to find the animal responsible for taking her.” He cleared his
throat and wiped his brow with a crumpled hanky he’d pulled from
his pocket. “I’m sure by now you know we’ve got some visitors to
Johnstown. This is Agent Seth Mann and Agent Dianne Parker from the
FBI.” He gestured to each agent in turn.
    The crowd
erupted in a round of applause as the chief handed Seth the
microphone. Dianne sat rigid in her seat. Only once did her gaze
fall on his, just to divert it again in seconds flat. Her entire
demeanor spoke Fed.
    I wonder what
she’s like off duty?
    Seth explained
all about the watch group to the townspeople. There would be five
groups in total, rotating shifts to walk the streets of Johnstown.
If anyone saw anything out of the ordinary, they’d have hand-held
radios to alert the authorities. Headquarters had dispatched a
group of officers who would be on duty in shifts, around