Silent Scream by Maria Rachel Hooley, Stephen Moeller Read Free Book Online

forth, they grunted in protest from the dry windshield.  Truth be told, Gabriel was looking for stupid distractions, like windshield wipers, to keep his mind away from what he couldn’t help.  Maybe there wasn’t anything he could do for her, but that didn’t mean he had to accept feeling helpless and fail to do anything at all, even if it meant driving to the scene where her car had been found.
    The landscape passed in a blur of white, at least until he arrived at the scene just behind the fire engine and four cop cars whose lights flashed, bathing the snow an alternate pastel pink and blue with each turn.  Cops milled around the area, and as Gabriel scanned their faces, he recognized a few of them.
    He stepped from his truck and walked to the fire engine where Ramsey and the others stood. “I knew you couldn’t stay away from us,” Ramsey said, smiling.
    “Yeah, right,” Gabriel said.  “What’s the scoop?” 
    Ramsey pointed off into the trees where the hose was still stretched and two other firefighters stood close by.  “It’s over there.  Not much left of it, but the cops think it’s hers, considering the plate is still partially legible.  Most of it was burned up before we arrived.  We just cooled it down a minute ago.”
    “Has she been notified yet?”
    Ramsey shrugged.  “I don’t think so.  Probably won’t be until they’re sure it’s hers.”
    Gabriel nodded and followed the hose until he reached the embankment where the underbrush had been trampled.  He looked down and saw the vehicle, upside-down and still smoldering, with wisps of smoke rising indifferently into the cold air. 
    “Not much left for the cops,” Ramsey said from behind him, and Gabriel turned to face his friend, rubbing his chin lightly with his thumb and forefinger.  “So much for fibers or hairs.”  He shook his head as he continued.  “Still, she’s damned lucky.  The SOB could’ve killed her and left her in the car when he torched it.”
    Coldness swept down Gabriel’s spine as the image of a charred body fused to the car seat jumped into his mind.  “Yeah,” he replied, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and latching onto his keys.  “She is lucky, even if she doesn’t feel that way.”  He turned away from the car.  “And I can’t say I blame her.”
    “Meaning?” Ramsey asked, matching Gabriel’s pace.
    “Meaning maybe she doesn’t see surviving this as all that lucky.  Maybe being attacked feels worse than dying, if that makes sense.”
    “That’s crazy,” Ramsey said, yanking at the straps of his hat and pulling it off so he could scratch his head.  “How do you figure that?   I know he hurt her, and God knows I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve hell for it, but in time, she’ll heal.  He didn’t invade her home, which should be some small consolation, and she can replace her car.”
    Gabriel stopped walking, and a twig snapped beneath his shoe.  “It’s not about having to replace her car.  Yes, her body will heal.  But how will she ever stop feeling like any guy out there might actually want to hurt her?”
    “We’re not all like that, and you know it,” Ramsey retorted as he set his hat back on his head. 
    “I know that, but it only takes a handful like that sonofabitch to give her a reason to fear.  How can anyone replace the sense of security she once felt?”  He started walking again, shaking his head.
    “I don’t know,” Ramsey answered quietly.  “But this case is getting to you.  It’s under your skin.”
    “Have the cops said anything else?” Gabriel asked as the two of them reached his truck.  “Where did she actually hit his truck?”
    “I haven’t heard anything new,” Ramsey replied and pointed back in the direction from which Gabriel had come.  “There’s a tree back about 100 yards.  It was right in that area.”
    Gabriel gritted his teeth and felt his fingers curl inward, forming fists.  It’s just like Jessie’s