Body Hunter by Patricia Springer Read Free Book Online Page A

husband. “She was very responsible. I can’t figure it out. It’s a mystery.”
    Although police cautioned them not to jump to conclusions, friends began to gather together to form a search party. Ellen Blau had to be found.
    As police began to investigate Blau’s disappearance as they would any other missing person’s report, Janie Ball had one thousand posters printed and asked citizens of Wichita Falls to join the search.
    â€œWe just want to find her,” Janie told reporters tearfully. Her best friend was gone without a trace. She intended to do everything she could to find her.
    The Wichita Falls police weren’t prepared to rule Ellen Blau’s disappearance a homicide. There were no signs of a struggle. No clues leading to a theory of abduction. No body.
    Six SWAT team members searched the area where the abandoned car was found, but there was nothing that suggested Ellen hadn’t left the car voluntarily. The car was impounded and processed for clues but, again, leads were elusive. And even though the case had many similarities to the murder of Toni Gibbs, an abandoned car found with her purse, keys, and blood on the interior, authorities still believed they were dealing with separate killers.
    Rima Blau, Ellen’s mother, had arrived in Wichita Falls from Shelton, Connecticut, soon after she had received news of Ellen’s disappearance. She was tired. Her eyes were drawn, the lines in her face deepened by concern. Ellen’s father had been forced to remain in Connecticut to operate his business. Ellen’s brother had stayed behind with their father, leaving Rima Blau alone in an unfamiliar city. She welcomed the generosity of Janie and Danny Ball, staying at their apartment while she waited for word about her daughter. There wasn’t much she could do, but waiting in Texas was better than being in a vacuum of silence in Connecticut. At least in Texas she could talk to Ellen’s friends and to the police. She would know what was being done to find her daughter.
    â€œI’m just trying to understand everything,” she told Janie, her New England accent laced with confusion.
    Janie Ball put her arms around the attractive, dark-haired woman. She loved Ellen like a sister, but she couldn’t imagine what Mrs. Blau must be going through. She was facing a mother’s worst fears. Although Mrs. Blau was greatly distraught, she refused to believe anything bad had happened to her daughter.
    â€œShe’s very practical by nature,” Mrs. Blau told Janie. “She has a very strong sense of responsibility. She knows the meaning and purpose of doing a job well. She was an A student in high school.”
    Mrs. Blau couldn’t help but reflect on the future she had hoped would be her daughter’s. But the headstrong young woman had left home three years earlier to pursue a relationship that had only lasted six months. By then, Ellen had made friends in Wichita Falls and decided to remain and attend school at Midwestern State. She knew the importance of education and wanted a degree.
    â€œIf I don’t go back to school, my mind is going to get stagnant,” she had told her mother.
    Ellen’s mother recalled her daughter’s stubbornness, which had started at birth. She had been weeks overdue, not coming until mid-March after Rima Blau’s father died. Her mother had been told by doctors that it was nature’s way of taking care of her until the loss of her father passed. She knew now it was just the beginning of her daughter’s strong-willed presence.
    Through the years the headstrong young woman had shown courage in pursuing whatever interested her, even if it had meant conflict with her parents. Rima Blau now wished that she could have somehow talked Ellen into staying at the Choate School. She wished her daughter had never come to Wichita Falls.
    Making every effort to help find Ellen, Mrs. Blau spent hours with the police. She