UNSEEN by John Michael Hileman Read Free Book Online Page A

had to fight the numbness, she had to let the pain in, or her son was as good as dead.
    She rolled the thought around in her head. If he intended to kill her son, why had he not done it already? Why show her a video and draw things out? Did he get some kind of sick pleasure from it?
    " Why is he doing this?" She spoke in a low voice without raising her eyes.
    Angela Grant looked up from her laptop. Holly could feel her eyes probing her as she searched for the calculated response. "Why is he doing what?"
    " This," said Holly, still looking at the cup.
    " He is a disturbed individual. We don’t know why he is doing this."
    Holly looked up. "No. I mean—he already has my son, why doesn't he just kill him? What is he waiting for? Didn't he kill the first two right away?"
    The subtle hesitation and slight stiffening of Agent Grant’s posture revealed her unwillingness to answer the question. It probably went against some rule in some handbook somewhere.
    " This isn't productive," she said in her gentle yet commanding way, dismissing the line of thought as one might discard a poorly chosen blouse. "Let's focus our energies on finding your son."
    Holly resented the way they all protected her like mother hens, as if it was anything more than another procedure. The agent did an impeccable job of hiding it behind her friendly smile, but Holly knew her mind was busy figuring out the next acceptable move in their elaborate game. Even her concern for Holly's emotional well being was a choreographed play. Agent Grant was merely an actress playing her part. Her lovely angelic face set Holly at ease, but she detested her calculated mind with its rules and processes.
    Holly glared. "Why won't you answer my question? It’s a simple question. Why doesn't he kill my son like he did the first two?"
    Agent Grant's eyes rested on Holly, the clickety click of her mind was almost audible. What was she allowed to say? Would she get in trouble for talking about the deaths of the other children with the distraught mother she was instructed to keep calm? She looked at her laptop screen, then casually at Holly. "How about we go over his mannerisms again and see if we can find a match. Can you think of anyone who has come into your life in the past year?"
    Angela Grant was a machine. Holly was sure of it.
    " I already told you. There's no one. No one talks like him. No one walks like him. Why won't you answer my question? This creep has my son. I want to know why he's doing this."
    Angela remained silent.
    " Is he toying with me? Does he get some kind of sick pleasure out of watching me suffer? Or is there..." She stopped herself.
    Angela's eyes leveled on Holly. "Is there what, Holly? Hope?" Her eyes grew warm. "There's always hope."
    Holly pressed her back into the couch cushion. "I just want to know if my son is different from the others."
    " This man never strikes the same way twice. He leaves the children's blocks as a calling card, and in each case there is a video, but beyond that there is no pattern. We have leads we’re following, and we have a ton of data on this guy. But now it's up to you; you can help us fill in the blanks. What you know will help us take this guy down, and rescue your son."
    Holly almost believed her.
    " You need to tell us who you know, and how they might have access to your apartment. Your son was not bound or in distress. That leads us to believe that he’s had contact with this man in the recent past."
    Holly hadn't thought of that. She remembered Gabe playing peacefully with his toys on the floor. He wasn't taken by force. He’d been lured out of his home by someone he knew. Holly set her drink on the coffee table, and put her feet on the floor. "He goes to daycare, and I bring him to the park sometimes."
    " We have an agent checking his daycare. Do you remember seeing anyone with the same size and build interacting with Gabe at the park?"
    " I don't remember."
    She tapped on the keys of her laptop. "What about the