Chasing Shadows by Terri Reed Read Free Book Online

wandering.”
    â€œI—”
    A door slammed. Sadie shuffled quickly to a window facing the service entrance. Reluctantly, Kris followed. A white van had backed up to the double doors off thekitchen. The rear doors of the van were open, but at this angle Kris couldn’t see the contents. Ms. Faust and two men stood talking.
    â€œHey, that’s the van that passed me on the way here,” Kris whispered.
    â€œI’ll bet they put the dead body in there,” Sadie said. “I wish the detective would hurry up.”
    â€œHe’s probably out front. Come on,” Kris urged Sadie away from the window.
    One of the men shut the doors before rounding the vehicle and getting in on the passenger side. The other man climbed into the driver’s seat. Ms. Faust waved curtly and disappeared inside the center as the van drove away.
    â€œWe better get you out of here before she sets the alarm.”
    Sadie’s urgent whisper galvanized Kris into panic mode. “Let’s get you to your room first.”
    â€œI can take care of myself,” Sadie groused. “You need to leave before we’re caught.” She shuffled back toward the side entrance.
    With a rueful shake of her head, Kris followed. Just as Sadie reached for the handle, Kris noticed the black box on the wall next to the door. The green light hadn’t been flashing when they came in. Now the light seemed as bright as a camera flash.
    â€œGrams, no!”
    Sadie pushed the door open and a loud screeching siren filled the air. Kris’s warning came a second too late.
    Sadie groaned. “Rats!”
    â€œBusted,” Kris said and sagged against the wall.
    For the next several minutes chaos reined as thesecurity guard, the night nurses, Ms. Faust and several blurry-eyed residents flooded the hallway. Ms. Faust turned off the siren. The ensuing peace was welcome.
    â€œWhat is the meaning of this?” Ms. Faust bellowed, looking decidedly uptight. Her gray eyes flashed behind square-framed glasses. Her brown wool dress hung on her broad shoulders. Her stiff posture revealed her distress.
    Before Kris could explain, police sirens and flashing lights brought more chaos. Perfect. Gabe rushing to her aid. How embarrassing.
    Her glower deepening, Ms. Faust instructed the staff to take the residents back to their rooms. With the security guard standing watch over Kris and Sadie, Ms. Faust motioned for them to follow her to the foyer.
    Two cars came to a screeching halt. One a police cruiser and the other, Gabe’s SUV.
    Gabe stalked forward. The thunderous expression on his face let Kris know she was in deep trouble.

FOUR
    â€œD etective Burke, whaddya doing here?” asked the older of the two officers who’d responded to the alarm.
    Gabe held up his hands, palms out. “Just observing.”
    Kris flashed him a frown. Great, he was going to stand by and watch her humiliation. He raised an eyebrow in return.
    Ms. Faust introduced herself to the officers and then turned to Kris. “Please explain what you are doing here in the middle of the night.”
    Sadie spoke up. “There was a—”
    â€œGrams was having trouble sleeping and wanted some company,” Kris interjected, hoping to save them from having to explain everything. She avoided making eye contact with Gabe.
    Ms. Faust’s hairline rose along with her dark eyebrows. “You know the rules. No guests after visiting hours.”
    â€œI apologize,” Kris said in as contrite a tone as she could muster. Needing to change the subject, she took a more direct approach to the question burning in her mind. “What was that van doing here?”
    Ms. Faust hesitated for a fraction of a second. “Delivering food. Now I suggest you leave, Miss Worthington, and let Sadie get her rest.”
    Before Kris could stop her, Sadie sidled up to the officers and explained to the two men about Carl and Lena disappearing.
    Ms. Faust