A Step of Faith by Richard Paul Evans Read Free Book Online Page B

know where Falene is. Or if she does, she’s not telling. But I found her brother. Deron Angelis, twenty-three years old, born January 20, 1989, in San Joaquin County.”
    “How did you find him?”
    “Hunting drug addicts and gang members isn’t hard.Eventually they end up in one of three places: hospital, jail or the morgue.”
    “Which one was it?”
    “He’s in the King County jail.”
    “King County?”
    “In Seattle. He was caught in possession of meth and was sentenced to prison for several years, but had the sentence suspended. He has to serve a county jail sentence for six months, then when he’s released, he’ll be on probation for a couple of years.”
    “I can see him there?”
    “Visiting hours are determined by inmate location. I checked on it for you. He’s assigned Sundays from noon to one-thirty and Tuesdays from five-thirty to seven.”
    I wrote down the information.
    “In the meantime I’ll keep hunting your girl. My secretary has called at least fifty modeling agencies so far, but only found one Falene, and she’s from Brazil. Your friend didn’t go by a different professional name, did she? You know, like movie stars sometimes do if they don’t have a fancy enough name?”
    “Falene isn’t fancy enough?”
    “It is to me, but all my taste’s in my mouth.”
    “Not that I know of. She went by Falene in Seattle.”
    “Oh, one more thing. I should have asked you last time if you know any of her past employers.”
    “I’m her past employer,” I said.
    “Holy cow, why didn’t you tell me?”
    “I guess I thought you knew.”
    “No, I didn’t. Can you track down her Social Security number?”
    “I think so. I just need to call my old accountant.”
    “That’s our golden ticket. As soon as she applies for a job, or welfare benefits, we’ll find her.”
    “I’ll track it down,” I said. “Thank you.”
    “Don’t mention it. I’m happy to be able to do something for your pop. He’s been a lifesaver to me.”
    “He’s a good man,” I said.
    “You said it. You’ve got to be grateful for an old man like that. Mine just beat the crap out of me, then threw me out when I was seventeen. You count your blessings.”
    Within the hour I had Falene’s Social Security number, which I passed on to Carroll. He called back a few hours later.
    “Nothing on her yet,” he said. “But she’ll turn up. Unless she’s bypassing the system.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Sometimes people pay under the table.”
    “Maybe I’ll go visit her brother. I can’t imagine that she won’t be looking for him.”
    “Good idea,” Carroll said. “No stone unturned.”

CHAPTER
Ten
We have found Falene’s brother. I hope he knows where she is almost as much as I hope she doesn’t know where he is.
Alan Christoffersen’s diary

I called the King County jail to confirm Deron’s visiting hours, then booked a one-day flight into Seattle for the Sunday after next. I was still struggling with my health and I wanted to be up for the encounter. I also figured this would give Carroll more time to track Falene down and possibly save me the trip.
    He didn’t find her and nine days later, my father drove me to LAX. The flight into the Sea-Tac airport was around three hours, and I had planned my trip to arrive an hour before visiting hours were scheduled to begin. I had no luggage and took a cab from the airport to the jail. It was surreal being back in Seattle. It was my first time back since I had walked out ten months ago. I had purposely scheduled my return flight for the same day so I would spend as little time in Seattle as possible. I wasn’t ready to face all of the memories that the city held for me.
    At the jail I went through a security screening into a long, open visiting room. I was given a booth number, then sat down in front of a thick Plexiglas window. I could see my reflection in the glass. I had forgotten how odd I looked—bald-headed with a row of staples running horizontally