Perilous Read Free Page A

lamp. “Kristin.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “Kristin, it’s one in the morning. Who would be calling you?”
    Kristin pulled the pillow off her head, blinking in the lamplight. “Hmm?” Her short blond hair stuck out in all directions. “Oh.” She lifted her elbow. “It’s your phone, not mine.” She handed it back and buried herself under the pillow again.
    Carl frowned and looked at the call log. Two missed calls, both from work.
    He swore under his breath and rolled out of bed. He’d forgotten he was on call. He was supposed to be off, but he had agreed to switch shifts with another detective at the department. He better watch it, or Chief would follow through with the threat to make him get a landline.
    Kristin was already asleep. How could she sleep like that? Flipping on the light in the kitchen, he held down the speed dial for the station.
    “Idaho Falls police dispatch.”
    “Monica, it’s Carl.” His voice was groggy with sleep. “Who’s working tonight?”
    “Carl, there’s a missing persons report for four teenage girls. Boss wants you on it right away.”
    “Lieutenant Stokes?” Stokes was over the detectives.
    “No. Chief Miller.”
    Carl straightened. If someone had woken the chief, this was expected to be hot. “How long they been missing?”
    “Four hours.”
    He ran a hand through his buzzed hair. “No answer on their cell phones?”
    “No cell phones on them, Carl.”
    He grunted. “Did someone check their boyfriends’ houses?”
    “No known boyfriends, either.”
    Carl frowned. “Is there a parent present?”
    “Yes.”
    “All right. I’m coming to the station.” He flipped his phone shut and changed into a suit.
    Before walking out the door, he opened the fridge and scanned the contents. He needed brain food. His jar of bread and butter pickles was almost gone. He grabbed the baby dills instead and headed out.
     
     
    Seven parents waited for him at the station. He spotted them through the glass windows in the lobby before he entered the building. Carl opened the door, nodded at Monica, who was answering the 911 calls, and approached the parents.
    “I’m Detective Hamilton. Give me a moment to get briefed on the situation, and then I’ll sit with you and ask a few questions.”
    He motioned to a corner of the room. “We have a coffee pot and sugar. Help yourselves.”
    “Monica.” Carl leaned his head toward the opening in the plastic window. “Who took the call?”
    She took a sip from her white Styrofoam cup, leaving red lipstick on the rim. “I did.”
    “Okay. Tell me what happened.”
    She hit a switch on the computer, pulling up a black screen with green letters. “The 911 call came in at ten thirty-two. Woman hysterical. She had left her daughter and three friends at the mall. There was an accident on Yellowstone Highway outside of Shelley around ten to nine, and both lanes of traffic were closed for thirty minutes. By the time she reached the mall, it was nine forty and the girls were nowhere. I asked her if they were sitting in the shadows. She said she’d checked. I asked her to check the local gas station. She said she had. I asked her to call their friends. She said she’d called her husband and had him call everyone. At this point she was ballistic. I sent a patrol to the mall to scout the area and bring her back to the station.”
    Ten thirty. That was two and a half hours ago. “Did they find anything?”
    “No. Everything appeared normal. But the mother said the street lamps were off. She said they turned back on around ten o’clock.”
    “And the mall security guard? What did he say? Did he see them?”
    Monica raised a thin, penciled eyebrow. “The patrol couldn’t find him.”
    Carl nodded, making a list in his mind. Suspect number one. “I’ll go speak to the parents.”
    Stepping back into the lobby, he pulled up a chair to the shaking mass of parents in front of him. “Please sit down. I know this is very hard on you.”