The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner Read Free Book Online Page A

breath, counted to ten, and debated her options. “Perhaps there is a family member or neighbor who could watch Clarissa for a bit, Mr. Jones.”
    “No.”
    “No, there is no one who can watch her, or no, you won’t do it?”
    “We look after our daughter, Detective …”
    “Sergeant. Sergeant D.D. Warren.”
    He didn’t blink at the mention of her title. “We look after our daughter, Sergeant Warren. No point in having a child if you’re simply going to let others raise her.”
    “Mr. Jones, surely you understand that if we’re going to help find … Mr. Smith … we’re going to need more information, and more cooperation, from you.”
    He didn’t say anything, just held his daughter close.
    “We require the keys to your truck.”
    He said nothing.
    “Mr. Jones,” D.D. urged impatiently. “The sooner we establish where Mr. Smith isn’t , the sooner we can establish where she is.”
    “He,” came Ree’s muffled voice from against her father’s chest. “Mr. Smith is a boy .”
    D.D. didn’t respond, simply continued to study Jason Jones.
    “Mr. Smith is not in the cab of my pickup truck,” Jason said quietly.
    “How do you know that?”
    “Because he was already gone when I came home. And just to be safe, I checked the vehicle myself.”
    “With all due respect, sir, that would be our job.”
    “Mr. Smith is not in my truck,” Jason repeated quietly. “And until you get a search warrant, you’ll get to take my word for it.”
    “There are judges who would grant us a warrant based on your lack of cooperation alone.”
    “Then I guess you’ll be back shortly, won’t you?”
    “I want access to your computer,” D.D. said.
    “Talk to the same judge.”
    “Mr. Jones. Your … cat has been missing for seven hours now. No sign of her—”
    “Him,” Ree’s muffled voice.
    “Him , in the neighborhood or at the usual … cat haunts. The matter is growing serious. I would think you’d want to help.”
    “I love my cat,” Jones said quietly.
    “Then give us access to your computer. Cooperate with us, so we can resolve this matter safely and expediently.”
    “I can’t.”
    “Can’t?” D.D. pounced. “Or won’t?”
    “Can’t.”
    “And why can’t you, Mr. Jones?”
    He looked at her. “Because I love my daughter more.”
    Thirty minutes later, D.D. walked with Detective Miller back to her car. They had printed Jason Jones and Clarissa Jones as a matter of protocol; in order to determine if there were any strange fingerprints in the house, they had to start by identifying the prints of the known occupants. Jones had volunteered his hands, then assisted with Ree’s, who thought the whole thing was a grand adventure. Most likely, Jason had realized that one act of cooperation cost him very little-after all, there was nothing suspicious about his prints being in his own home.
    Jason Jones had washed his hands. Jason Jones had washed Ree’s hands. Then he’d basically kicked the police officers out. His daughter needed to rest, he announced, and that had been that. He escorted each and every one of them to the door. No What are you doing to find my wife ? No Please, please please I’ll do whatever I can to help. No Let’s organize a search party and tackle the entire neighborhood until we find my beautiful, beloved spouse.
    Not Mr. Jones. His daughter needed a nap. And that was that.
    “Cold?” D.D. muttered now. “Arctic is more like it. Clearly, Mr. Jones has never heard of global warming.”
    Miller let her rant.
    “Kid knows something. Notice the way she shut down the moment we got past bedtime? She heard something, saw something, I don’t know. But we need a forensic interviewer, someone who specializes in children. Quick, too. More time that girl spends around dear old Dad, harder it’s going to be for her to recall any inconvenient truths.”
    Miller nodded his head.
    “’Course, we’re also gonna need doting Dad’s permission to interview his child, and