Scream for Me by Karen Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

where I’m going.” She narrowed her eyes, back in control. “And by God, this Vartanian better not even consider ignoring me now.”
    Monday, January 29, 7:50 a.m.
    He’d expected the call ever since he’d picked his paper up from his front porch this morning. Still, when the phone rang, he was angry. Angry and afraid. He snatched the receiver, his hand trembling. But he kept his voice neutral. Even a little bored. “Yeah.”
    “
Did you see?
” The voice on the phone was as unsteady as his own hand, but he wouldn’t allow the others to see his fear. One sign of weakness and the others would fall like dominoes, starting with the one who’d taken a stupid risk in calling him like this.
    “I’m looking at it right now.” The headline had grabbed his attention. The article had grabbed his gut and squeezed, leaving him nauseated. “It’s nothing to do with us. Say nothing and it will just go away.”
    “But if somebody starts asking questions . . .”
    “We say nothing, just like we did then. This is just some copycat. Act naturally and everything will be fine.”
    “But . . . this is really bad, man. I don’t think I can act naturally.”
    “You can and you will. This has nothing to do with us. Now stop whimpering and get to work. And don’t call me again.”
    He hung up, then read the article again. He was still angry and afraid. He wondered how he could have been so very stupid.
You were just a kid. Kids make mistakes.
He picked up the photo on his desk, staring into the smiling face of his wife with their two children. He wasn’t a kid any longer. He was an adult with far too much to lose.
    If one of them broke, if one of them told . . .
He pushed away from his desk, went to the bathroom, and threw up. Then pulled himself together and got ready to face his day.
    Atlanta, Monday, January 29, 7:55 a.m.
    “Here. You look like you need this more than I do.”
    Daniel smelled the coffee and looked up as Chase Wharton sat on the corner of his desk. “Thanks. I’ve been looking at these missing persons printouts for an hour and I’m starting to see double.” He gulped down a swallow, then winced when bitter dregs slid down his throat. “Thanks,” he repeated, far less sincerely, and his boss chuckled.
    “Sorry. I had to clear the bottom of the pot before I made a fresh one and you really did look like you needed it.” Chase looked at the stack of printouts. “No luck?”
    “No. We got no hits on her prints. She’s been dead two days, but that doesn’t mean that’s when she disappeared. I’ve gone back two months and nobody stands out.”
    “She might not be from around here, Daniel.”
    “I know. Leigh’s requesting missing person reports from departments in a fifty-mile radius.” But so far their clerk hadn’t found anything either. “I’m hoping she’s only been gone the two days and nobody’s missed her, since it was the weekend. It’s Monday morning. Maybe somebody will report her today when she doesn’t show up for work.”
    “We’ll cross our fingers. Are you going to have an update meeting today?”
    “At six tonight. By then Dr. Berg will have done the autopsy and the lab will be finished with the crime scene.” He drew a breath. “Until then, we’ve got other problems.” From under the stack of printouts, he pulled the three pages that had been waiting for him on the fax machine when he’d arrived that morning.
    Chase’s face darkened. “Sonofabitch. Who took that picture? What paper is this?”
    “The guy that took the picture is the same one that wrote the article. His name is Jim Woolf and he owns the
Dutton Review
. You’re looking at today’s headline.”
    Chase looked startled. “Dutton? I thought this victim was found in Arcadia.”
    “She was. You might want to sit down. This could take a few minutes.”
    Chase sat. “All right. What’s going on, Daniel? Where did you get this fax?”
    “From the sheriff in Arcadia. He saw it when he stopped to get