Caught by Harlan Coben Read Free Book Online
Authors: Harlan Coben
would be to bring their older sister back home.
When that happened, and only when that happened, would the rest of them have a chance to survive.
But the sad truth was, it wasn't as though Marcia spent all day looking for Haley. She tried, but a horrible exhaustion kept creeping in. Marcia wanted to stay in bed in the morning. Her limbs felt heavy. Even now, making this odd pilgrimage down the corridor was difficult for her.
Ninety-three days.
Up ahead Marcia could start making out Haley's locker. A few days after the disappearance, some friends started decorating the metallic front like one of those curbside shrines you see when someone dies in a car crash. There were photos and wilting flowers and crosses and notes. "Come home, Haley!" "We miss you!" "We will wait for you." "We love you!"
Marcia stopped and stared. She reached out and touched the combination lock, thinking about how many times Haley must have done the same thing, getting her books out, dumping her backpack onto the bottom, hanging up her coat, chatting with a friend, discussing lacrosse or maybe what boy she had a crush on.
A noise came from down the corridor. She turned and saw the principal's office door open. Pete Zecher, the high school principal, stepped out with what Marcia assumed was a set of parents. She didn't know either of them. No one spoke. Pete Zecher stuck out his hand, but neither parent took it. They turned and moved quickly toward the stairs. Pete Zecher watched them disappear, shook his head, and turned toward the locker.
He spotted her. "Marcia?"
"Hi, Pete."
Pete Zecher was a good principal, wonderfully accessible and willing to break the rules or piss off a teacher if it was best for the kid. Pete had grown up here in Kasselton, gone to this very high school, and his lifelong dream had been achieved when he landed the principal's job here.
He started toward her. "Am I intruding?"
"Not at all." Marcia forced up a smile. "I just wanted to escape the stares for a bit."
"I saw the dress rehearsal," Pete said. "Patricia is really great."
"That's nice to hear."
He nodded. They both looked at the locker. Marcia saw a decal with the words "Kasselton Lacrosse" and two crossed sticks. She had one on her car's back window.
"So what was up with those two parents?" she asked.
Pete gave her a small smile. "Confidential."
"Oh."
"But I could tell you a hypothetical."
She waited.
"When you were in high school, did you ever drink alcohol?" he asked.
"I was kind of a good girl," Marcia said, almost adding, "like Haley." "But yes, we used to sneak beers."
"How did you get them?"
"The beers? My neighbor had an uncle who owned a liquor store. How about you?"
"I had a mature-looking friend named Michael Wind," Pete said. "You know the type--shaving when he was in sixth grade. He'd buy the booze. That wouldn't work now. Everyone gets carded."
"So what does that have to do with our hypothetical couple?"
"People think that the way kids get alcohol nowadays is with fake IDs. There are some examples of that, but in my years I've confiscated less than five. And yet drinking is a bigger problem now than ever."
"So how do the kids get it?"
Pete looked toward where the couple had just been standing. "From the parents."
"Kids sneaking into their liquor cabinet?"
"I wish. The couple I was just talking to--hypothetically--were the Milners. Nice people. He sells insurance in the city. She has a boutique in Glen Rock. They have four kids, two in the high school. Their oldest is on the baseball team."
"So?"
"So on Friday night these two nice, caring parents bought a keg and held a party for the baseball team in their basement. Two of the boys got drunk and egged another kid's house. One got so wasted he almost had to have his stomach pumped."
"Wait. The parents bought the keg?"
Pete nodded.
"And that was what you were meeting about?"
"Yes."
"What did they say in their defense?"
"They offered up the most common excuse I get: Hey, kids
When that happened, and only when that happened, would the rest of them have a chance to survive.
But the sad truth was, it wasn't as though Marcia spent all day looking for Haley. She tried, but a horrible exhaustion kept creeping in. Marcia wanted to stay in bed in the morning. Her limbs felt heavy. Even now, making this odd pilgrimage down the corridor was difficult for her.
Ninety-three days.
Up ahead Marcia could start making out Haley's locker. A few days after the disappearance, some friends started decorating the metallic front like one of those curbside shrines you see when someone dies in a car crash. There were photos and wilting flowers and crosses and notes. "Come home, Haley!" "We miss you!" "We will wait for you." "We love you!"
Marcia stopped and stared. She reached out and touched the combination lock, thinking about how many times Haley must have done the same thing, getting her books out, dumping her backpack onto the bottom, hanging up her coat, chatting with a friend, discussing lacrosse or maybe what boy she had a crush on.
A noise came from down the corridor. She turned and saw the principal's office door open. Pete Zecher, the high school principal, stepped out with what Marcia assumed was a set of parents. She didn't know either of them. No one spoke. Pete Zecher stuck out his hand, but neither parent took it. They turned and moved quickly toward the stairs. Pete Zecher watched them disappear, shook his head, and turned toward the locker.
He spotted her. "Marcia?"
"Hi, Pete."
Pete Zecher was a good principal, wonderfully accessible and willing to break the rules or piss off a teacher if it was best for the kid. Pete had grown up here in Kasselton, gone to this very high school, and his lifelong dream had been achieved when he landed the principal's job here.
He started toward her. "Am I intruding?"
"Not at all." Marcia forced up a smile. "I just wanted to escape the stares for a bit."
"I saw the dress rehearsal," Pete said. "Patricia is really great."
"That's nice to hear."
He nodded. They both looked at the locker. Marcia saw a decal with the words "Kasselton Lacrosse" and two crossed sticks. She had one on her car's back window.
"So what was up with those two parents?" she asked.
Pete gave her a small smile. "Confidential."
"Oh."
"But I could tell you a hypothetical."
She waited.
"When you were in high school, did you ever drink alcohol?" he asked.
"I was kind of a good girl," Marcia said, almost adding, "like Haley." "But yes, we used to sneak beers."
"How did you get them?"
"The beers? My neighbor had an uncle who owned a liquor store. How about you?"
"I had a mature-looking friend named Michael Wind," Pete said. "You know the type--shaving when he was in sixth grade. He'd buy the booze. That wouldn't work now. Everyone gets carded."
"So what does that have to do with our hypothetical couple?"
"People think that the way kids get alcohol nowadays is with fake IDs. There are some examples of that, but in my years I've confiscated less than five. And yet drinking is a bigger problem now than ever."
"So how do the kids get it?"
Pete looked toward where the couple had just been standing. "From the parents."
"Kids sneaking into their liquor cabinet?"
"I wish. The couple I was just talking to--hypothetically--were the Milners. Nice people. He sells insurance in the city. She has a boutique in Glen Rock. They have four kids, two in the high school. Their oldest is on the baseball team."
"So?"
"So on Friday night these two nice, caring parents bought a keg and held a party for the baseball team in their basement. Two of the boys got drunk and egged another kid's house. One got so wasted he almost had to have his stomach pumped."
"Wait. The parents bought the keg?"
Pete nodded.
"And that was what you were meeting about?"
"Yes."
"What did they say in their defense?"
"They offered up the most common excuse I get: Hey, kids