Switchback by Catherine Anderson Read Free Book Online

handshake.
    â€œI’m Officer Maloney. It looks as if your daughter has wandered off into the woods, ma’am.”
    â€œDid you already question the children?” she asked.
    â€œYes, but they weren’t much help. It seems they left Emily holding the Shetland’s halter while they ran into the barn to get some oats. Evidently the pony isn’t a very cooperative riding mount unless she’s bribed. They had trouble getting the feed-room door open and took longer than they meant to. When they came back out, Emily was gone. Mrs. Hamstead had gone inside and wasn’t watching them, as I understand it.”
    Beth approached, her eyes taking on a glint of anger. “I
was
watching them. I just went in to answer my phone.”
    The officer cleared his throat. “I don’t think there’s any cause for alarm. She’s been gone less than two hours. We have four squad cars on the roads, three officers on foot. We’ve asked all the neighbors, and no one has seen her. But most people are busy this time of day preparing dinner, so that’s not really odd. We’ll have her home for her own dinner if my guess is right. Too many roads around here for her to wander far.”
    Mallory nearly groaned in exasperation. Em wouldn’t take off without permission. The child
knew
better. And Mallory never left her here without cautioning her against leaving the yard. In one direction, there was a busy highway, and in the other, a lake.
    There was a horrible, quivery feeling in the pit of Mallory’s stomach, a feeling that seemed somehow connected to her throat.
Emily?
She searched the faces of the other children, willing her daughter to appear. This was every mother’s nightmare, the sort of thing you read about in the paper but never dreamed would happen to you.
Oh, please, God, not my baby.
    â€œIt’s not like my daughter to leave the yard without permission,” Mallory said, struggling to keep her voice calm. “Have you considered the possibility that she might have been kidnapped?”
    Mac Phearson stiffened and cast Mallory a warning glance, which she presumed was meant to silence her. She lifted her chin and met his gaze head-on before returning her attention to the policeman.
    â€œKidnapping is always a possibility, Mrs. Christiani, but we’ve no reason to suspect that at this stage. Mrs. Hamstead hasn’t noticed any strangers hanging around. This is a quiet area, not much off-the-highway traffic. Who’d be up here to spot an unattended child and take her that quickly?”
    â€œUnattended?”
Beth protested. “What are you implying? I watch the kids more closely than most mothers, especially with a lake so close.”
    Mallory doubled her hands into fists. Her nails bit into her palms. Her daughter was missing. This was no time for Beth’s ego to get in the way.
    â€œI— Don’t misinterpret what I’m saying, Mrs. Hamstead,” the officer said patiently. “I didn’t mean that you were neglecting the child. Kids will be kids. They forget rules sometimes and wander farther than they realize. Unfortunately a turn of the head is all it takes and they’re gone. Especially in a wooded area like this. Emily probably didn’t intend to go more than a few steps and simply got turned around. Where is this lake?”
    â€œRight up the road.”
    The alarm that flashed across the officer’s face was impossible to miss. “Did Emily know about the lake?”
    â€œYes!”
Mallory cut in. “I’ve warned her about it.”
    â€œDoes your daughter like the water?”
    Mallory stared at the policeman, scarcely seeing him as she pictured Em standing on the diving board at home, poised to do a back flip.
Mommy, look at me!
The memory made her eyes burn with unshed tears. The trees in her peripheral vision seemed to be closing in, spinning. “Yes, she loves the water.” Her voice