Gone Before Goodbye (Love &Mystery in the--6-oh-3 Book 1) Read Free Page A

the bag with the mall store, Men’s More for Less, printed across the bag.
    “Who am I impressing? The criminals?” he’d asked and given her a kiss.
    His wife’s face faded, and a pain settled in his chest. Since her death two years ago, he couldn’t predict when bits of their past would surface to spark the hurt and regrets. If only he’d been with her the day she’d gone out on the boat. Instead he’d skipped out to do paperwork.
    He forced his misgivings into silence and knocked on the office door.
    “Come in.”
    Noah walked into the eight-by-ten-foot office and crossed to the desk where the sunlight shone from the single window above the chief. A bookcase of law books stood in a corner and diplomas and certificates decorated the beige walls.
    His boss wore a crisply starched, white shirt as though he expected a surprise inspection from his former military years. He kept his head bent over a form beside the computer, probably giving the document his legal eye. When confronted by the press or defense lawyers, he spouted off laws wheeler-dealer prosecutor-style. Chief Banks was a tough, by-the-book leader.
    The hum of the window’s air conditioner filled the silence. A floorboard under Noah’s feet squeaked when he stirred. He’d forgotten to avoid the plank loosened by nervous officers shifting from foot to foot.
    The chief raised his head, and the green eyes in his long face narrowed with a frown while he ran his gaze over Noah. “You missed our morning briefing.”
    “High winds delayed takeoff, sir. I returned as soon as my flight got into the Manchester airport. My drive north took an extra thirty minutes because of the summer traffic on the interstate.”
    The chief stabbed a finger at him. “Next time, book an earlier departure.  Are you ready to work today?”
    “Yes, sir.” Noah didn’t bother protesting that he couldn’t have predicted the weather or road conditions. Not that it mattered. The last question was prompted by the chief’s concern over Noah’s mental health.
    His boss sat forward in his chair and snapped, “Right answer. You’re needed here. We’ve another missing girl. The FBI acts as consultants on both cases now.”
    The chief’s voice held steady, but Noah caught the man’s wince on the word ‘another’.
    “I understand, sir.”
    “We’re putting most of our resources into the search. After the dead ends in the Kara Linn disappearance, I don’t need to remind you the city is clamoring for an arrest and for the girls’ safe return. The media roasts us every day.” He grabbed the paper from under a file and slapped it on the desk in front of Noah. “One of the editors, Vic Taylor, is Kara Linn’s uncle, and he uses his blog and daily column to keep track of the days she’s been gone. The guy’s odd, but he has a knack for pressing the right buttons to set off public reaction.”
    Under the headline ‘ And Now There Are Two ’, Noah read aloud the first paragraph. “Why do we no longer hear Kara Linn’s name mentioned or details of a search for her? The police prefer to focus on parking meters. Are they more precious than the missing children of our community?”
    Since the chief handled criticism like a sore he constantly picked until it grew worse, Noah chose his words with care. “I don’t think the editor understands the scope of our investigation. The fact we continue working on Kara Linn’s case isn’t as obvious as when we went door to door. Any connection between the two teenagers?”
    “We’ve found none so far.”
    “One missing girl is unusual for Hawick Falls. Two seems too much of a coincidence for them to be runaways.” If they could discover similarities, they might find a single predator.
    “Taylor describes us as heartless and inept.” The chief tossed the front section into the wastebasket. “All the readers’ letters to the editor condemn the police department. I expect pitchforks and torches instead of cameras and lights at