Cry Mercy by Mariah Stewart Read Free Book Online Page B

around.
    “So who wants to start things off?” Mallory looked around the table. She passed the extra copy of the file to Trula, telling the older woman, “I'd like your input as well.”
    Obviously pleased to be included in the decision, Trula opened the file and began to read. Robert met Mallory's eyes from across the table and winked his approval.
    “Anyone?” Mallory asked.
    “They're all worthy cases,” Robert said. “All three have merit. Missing daughter; missing brother; missing niece.”
    “I agree.” Kevin placed his open file on the table. “I don't know how we choose one over the other, unless we flip a coin.”
    “Would one of these cases be more likely to be resolved than the others?” Susanna wondered aloud.
    “I think they'd each have their challenges,” Mallory said, “so I'd have to say probably not.”
    “This one about the college girl.” Trula waved the sheet of paper. “How can a girl just disappear from a busy place like a college on a Saturday morning? How could it be that no one saw her?”
    “If the police could have answered that, they'd have been well on their way to finding out what happened to her,” Mallory told her. “I'm sure they asked around.”
    “Maybe they didn't ask the right people,” Trula grumbled. “She wasn't invisible, was she?”
    “Good point.” Robert closed his file. “I vote for that case.”
    “I don't know how you pick one over the other, so yeah, I'm okay with that one,” Kevin agreed.
    “No argument from me.” Susanna rested her forearms on the tabletop. “Mal? You all right with that?”
    “Sure.” Mallory shrugged. “I was intrigued with that one, too. And besides, geographically, it's within driving range. Not that that's going to be the criteria, but since right now we'll only have one investigator, maybe it's not a bad idea to have it somewhat close by. We'll be able to sit down and discuss the case as it plays out. So yes, let's do it.”
    “So what happens now? You're going to notify the uncle—this Nicolas Perone who submitted the case—and let him know you're going to be working his case?” Kevin asked.
    “I'd love to work this case.” Mallory frowned. “Unfortunately, there are a number of other applicants to interview and about another hundred cases to wade through.”
    “How can so many people just disappear into thin air like that? Where do they all
go
?” Kevin wondered. Realizing what he'd said, he turned to Robert. “Hey, Rob, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…”
    His cousin shrugged it off. “It's a fair enough question. The number of people who go missing every year is staggering. Beth, Ian … just two among many. All these others—they're missed, loved, too. Let's do our best to see if we can find a few of them.”
    The group fell silent for a moment, acknowledgingRobert's pain. His loss had been the seed from which the foundation had sprouted. Mallory knew that he was hoping to do for others what he'd been unable to do for himself.
    “So maybe you should call Emme back for another interview and decide. If you want to get this thing up and moving, you don't have time to dither,” Trula told her.
    “I'm not dithering, I'm just being cautious.” Mallory looked around the table at her companions, an odd collection of loners who, in a very short period of time, had become a family of sorts. She understood that whomever they hired would become part of that family: she would have to consider personalities as well as qualifications in filling every position for the foundation. She took the responsibility very seriously.
    “Here's an idea,” Kevin said as he poured a second cup of coffee for himself. He held up the pot, offering to pour for the others. Only Susanna pushed her cup forward. “Hire this person on a trial basis. Tell her she has six weeks or till the end of the case—whichever comes first—to prove herself. In the meantime, you'll be interviewing other applicants. If she doesn't pan out, at least