Vampire Games by J. R. Rain Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t have a lot of money. She wasn’t addicted to drugs and didn’t have a boyfriend. At least, as far as I knew.
    Truth was, I had a hard time getting a psychic handle on my own kids. I could read their auras, but that was about it. It was the same with my sister and with her kids; and the same with my parents, although these days I didn’t see them very often.
    Mary Lou had confirmed that some toiletries were missing, along with her gym bag. We even confirmed that a jar of peanut butter and some saltines were gone, too. Tammy’s favorite snack.
    Still, a child walking the streets alone with a gym bag was trouble, and it was all I could do to stay calm. Running outside and screaming for my baby wouldn’t help anything, although that’s exactly what I felt like doing.
    Easy, Sam, came Sherbet’s words. A child walking around with a gym bag would just as easily get the attention of police. And I have my best men out there looking for her.
    “ Does she have a cell phone?” Spinoza asked. We were grouped around Mary Lou’s living room.
    “ It’s off,” I said.
    Spinoza and Sherbet winced. We all knew that a phone had to be on to be used as a tracking device.
    “ Laptop or tablet computer?” pressed Spinoza. “Anything with GPS?”
    I shook my head. “No.”
    “ Does she know anyone with a car?”
    “ She’d better not.”
    “ Does she have access to a bike? Anything she can move quickly on?”
    “ The bikes are at home.”
    Spinoza glanced over at my sister. “And all bikes are accounted for here?”
    “ Yes. Bikes and skateboards.”
    I was having a hard time concentrating, focusing, and remembering what I should do in an investigation like this. But it’s not an investigation, I thought. It’s my daughter—and she’s gone.
    Sherbet glanced at me again and then looked over at my sister. “Do you have any recent pictures of Tammy?”
    “ I do, yes. On my cell phone.”
    “ Can you print me out a half dozen?”
    She nodded eagerly and dashed off to where I knew her husband had his own office at home.
    While she was gone, we finalized our plan. Sherbet would work with the local beat cops and cruise the streets in a coordinated effort. Spinoza would hit every Starbucks, fast-food restaurant and store within two square miles. I would contact all her friends and head straight to all her known hangouts.
    Mary Lou came back with the color photos. Seeing her photo, with her happy, smiling face made me almost lose it right there.
    Easy, Sam, came Sherbet’s soothing voice.
    The detective next instructed Mary Lou to email the same image to his department. An APB had already been sent to all units with a description of my daughter, including her current, assumed clothing. Now they would have a corresponding photo.
    It’s real, I thought, listening to Sherbet instruct his department. She’s really missing.
    I fought to control my breathing. To control myself. Finally, Sherbet clicked off his phone.
    “ That’s all we can do on this end,” said Sherbet, turning to us. “Let’s hit the streets.”
     
     
     
    Chapter Fifteen
     
     
    After we split up, I sat briefly in my minivan, searching for a psychic hit that wasn’t there. Despite the many abilities I’d been given, a psychic connection to my own kids was not one of them.
    For now, I was just a mom with a missing daughter.
    I had just put the vehicle into gear, mentally going through a list of her friends and where they lived, when my cell phone rang. I gasped and swerved a little and reached for my cell.
    Kingsley Fulcrum.
    Shit.
    I switched on my Bluetooth. “Hey.”
    “ Sam! I just got your text. Have you found her?”
    I had indeed sent him a text, but now I regretted doing so. Kingsley Fulcrum was the last person I wanted to think about now.
    “ Not yet,” I said, as I turned right onto Commonwealth. My sister lived closer to downtown than I did. People were everywhere. I scanned the streets.
    “ I’m coming out now. Where are