The Vanishing by Jana DeLeon Read Free Book Online

one.”
    “Assuming anyone still lives out here.”
    “Yep, which is questionable given that we don’t know if the source of the information is trustworthy.”
    “How did you do this every day?”
    “Ha. In all my years of police work, I never once tromped through a snake-infested swamp, but I assume that’s not what you’re asking.”
    “No. I meant questioning people and trying to figure out what was the truth. Considering that everyone is probably lying about something, and trying to figure out whether it’s about something important.”
    “I don’t know that it’s much different from what doctors do when diagnosing a patient. Basically, the symptoms are the answers, but some of the answers may be inaccurate or related to something else completely. Sometimes you have to track a symptom back to the root to determine it’s benign or unrelated to the bigger problem. It’s the same with answers.”
    “Yes, I guess you’re right.” Colette appreciated his take on her line of work. It was a perspective she hadn’t considered before.
    The light dimmed suddenly, and Colette looked up through the narrow slit between the trees to see a dark cloud covering the sun. “Is it supposed to storm today?” she asked.
    He glanced up at the sky and frowned. “No, but that doesn’t mean it won’t.”
    The last thing Colette wanted was to get caught out in the swamp in a thunderstorm. “How much farther, do you think?”
    “I’m just guessing at distance, but we should be close.”
    “Too close!” A burly man wearing overalls stepped out from the brush with a shotgun leveled directly at Max’s chest.

Chapter Five
    “You’re trespassing on private property,” the man with the shotgun said.
    An involuntary cry escaped from Colette before she could stop it. Max drew up short and put his hands in the air. Figuring it was a good idea, she followed suit, lifting the shotgun above her head. The man studied them, his finger never leaving the trigger.
    “I’m sorry, sir,” Max said. “We didn’t mean to disturb you. Danny, the gas station owner in Pirate’s Cove, thought you might be able to help us.”
    The man narrowed his eyes. “You got the stench of big city all over you, and the swamp ain’t no place for a woman lessin’ she was born here. What do you want?”
    “We’re looking for Cache.”
    The man’s jaw set in a hard line. “Wrong answer.”
    “Please,” Colette said. “My friend is missing. She told me she was from Cache. I just want to make sure she’s safe.”
    The man lowered his gaze to Colette and she reminded herself to breathe. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest under his scrutiny and hoped that her worry and sincerity showed in her expression.
    “No one leaves Cache,” the man said.
    “She told me she did. I’m not lying to you. I just want to find my friend. I’m afraid she’s in trouble.”
    “If she’s from Cache, how do you know her?”
    “She works for me at a hospital in New Orleans.”
    “You a doctor?”
    “No, sir. I’m a nurse. My friend is a nurse’s aide.”
    “What does she look like?” he asked.
    “She’s twenty years old and Creole. Tall, thin and has long dark brown hair. She usually wears it in a ponytail. Her favorite color is blue and she usually wore blue T-shirts when she wasn’t working.”
    The man studied her a bit longer then nodded. “I seen a girl the other day that looked like that. It was a ways back in the swamp. There was a boat pulled up on the bank and she was walking into the trees. She wasn’t dressed right to be back here—no rubber boots—and I didn’t see a firearm.”
    Colette’s pulse quickened. “Do you remember what day it was that you saw her?”
    “Don’t have much use for time out here, but I reckon I’ve slept five nights since then.”
    Friday.
    Colette looked over at Max, not sure which direction to take their conversation next, especially as the man had yet to remove his finger from the trigger of