Vile Read Free Page A

tentatively scooped the little girl into her arms. Her small legs went around Jess’s waist, and her little head went against Jess’s shoulder. With the emotional vise that had clamped around her chest, it was all Jess could do to draw in her next breath.
    Someone somewhere would be frantically looking for this child.
    Unless they were missing… or dead .

3
    Jess tried three times to hand the little girl over to Officer Rice. The child was having no part of it. Each time Jess attempted to put her down or hand her off, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
    Harper stood by stoically, but Jess didn’t miss the amusement glittering in his eyes. Like the officer, Harper had a three year old of his own. Not that his experience was helping in the least little bit right now. Dammit.
    Desperate, Jess turned to Dan with a questioning look. He shrugged and reached for the little girl.
    She whimpered and held onto Jess more tightly.
    Jess sagged with defeat. “Fine. I’ll just hang onto her for now.”
    As if the good Lord decided to take pity on Jess, a woman entered the storeroom, the heels of her leather pumps clicking on the tile floor. Before she said a word, her stiff posture and polyester blend suit announced she was from Child Services. Or maybe it was the stern expression.
    Considering a woman in her position witnessed all manner of child abuse, who wouldn’t wear some form of armor?
    “Lois Wettermark, Jefferson County Child Services investigator.” She looked from Dan to Jess and then to the child. “We still don’t have a name?”
    Jess shook her head. “She’s not talking.”
    Wettermark walked straight up to Jess and reached for the little girl. The moment Wettermark’s hands landed on her, the child started to wail. The investigator manufactured a smile about as fake as the one Jess had been shoring up all morning. “This sort of reaction isn’t unusual. No need to be concerned, Chief. She’ll be fine. You can let her go now.”
    “Okay.” Despite the child’s desperate attempts and the wailing, Jess relinquished her hold on the little girl. Oddly, her entire being felt bereft somehow at the loss. Maybe it was just the little girl’s obvious unhappiness. More likely, it was hormones. If Jess survived the first trimester, she might make it through this pregnancy.
    “If someone can bring my car around to the back,” Wettermark suggested, “perhaps I can avoid the prying eyes of the press on our way out.”
    “Sergeant, would you see to that, please?” Jess instructed.
    “Right away.” Harper took the woman’s keys and headed out.
    Jess wished she were going with Harper. The way the little girl looked at her, reached for her was tearing at her heart. Jess scrubbed at her brow again and looked away. Dan appeared as unsettled as she felt. Though she doubted either of them felt as unhappy about this as the little girl did.
    Focus, Jess . “I’d like to interview the clerk when… this is finished.”
    Dan nodded.
    Wettermark’s efforts to cajole the child continued to fall on deaf ears. Jess hated to stand here and do nothing.
    Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She walked over to the other woman and reached for the child. The little girl’s wails quieted as she stretched toward Jess, making her heart ache all the harder. “Why don’t I hold her for a minute?”
    Wettermark shook her head. “That’ll just make leaving more difficult for her, Chief Harris. It would be best if you went into the other room. You may remind her of someone she knows and that could be upsetting her.”
    Jess didn’t see how her presence would be upsetting since the child stopped crying whenever she held her. Then again, she had little or no experience with children. What did she know? Obviously, everyone in the room, except maybe Dan, knew more than she did about the subject. “Well, all right then.”
    As wrong as it felt, Jess made her way to the front of the shop. Every step was a monumental exercise in