Wicked Dreams by Lily Harper Hart Read Free Book Online Page A

Kelly Sisto. She didn’t tell Ivy anything else, but it’s somewhere to start.”
    “Well, let’s see what we can come up with,” Brian said, starting to type. “Are you going to sit there and daydream about Ivy, or are you going to help?”
    “I’m not daydreaming about Ivy!”
    “Keep telling yourself that.”
     
    “WHAT do you think?” Jack asked from the passenger seat of Brian’s cruiser as they studied the small ranch house from their spot on the street.
    “It looks like a normal house,” Brian said thoughtfully. “There are toys on the front lawn. The grass is long, but not so long they’re risking getting a notice from the township.”
    After searching through state records, Brian and Jack found a sixteen-year-old girl with the same name who matched Kelly’s description. She was living with a foster family – Derek and Emily Gideon – in a neighboring town, and from all outward appearances, the foster family didn’t appear to be abusive.
    Brian spent an hour on the phone with Kelly’s caseworker, an overworked woman who said she dropped in on the Gideon household once a month. Brian worked overtime not to be accusatory, but he was well aware that state agency caseworkers had more files to follow-up on than hours in a day. Still, the woman insisted she saw Kelly on a regular basis.
    “How do you want to do this?” Jack asked.
    “Very carefully,” Brian said. “We do not want to accuse these people if they’re not guilty, and yet we need to be firm enough to scare them. We don’t have any evidence, and it looks like there are more kids in this house. We have to be pleasant and act like we’re merely trying to find answers, not trying to blame someone.”
    “I get it,” Jack said. “Are you worried I’m going to fly off the handle?”
    “I’m worried that an abused girl is going to set us both off,” Brian said. “I’m saying it for my benefit, as well as yours.”
    “Let’s do this,” Jack said, pushing open his door and climbing out of the car. “The faster we get some answers, the faster … .”
    “Ivy will be alone in her house again?” Brian suggested.
    Jack scowled. “The faster we can help Kelly.”
    The woman who answered the door looked tired. She was dressed in simple jeans and a T-shirt, and her dark hair was pulled into a loose ponytail. She was holding a crying toddler in one hand, and another shy child was hiding behind her legs.
    Brian pasted a bright smile on his face as he greeted the woman, flashing his badge to let her know it was an official visit. “Are you Emily Gideon?”
    “Yes.”
    “Is your husband home?”
    “He’s in his office. Can I ask what this is about?” Emily asked, shuffling nervously.
    “It’s about Kelly Sisto,” Brian said.
    “She’s at the library.”
    Jack and Brian exchanged a look.
    “No, ma’am, she’s not,” Brian said. “Can you please get your husband? We have a few questions for you.”
    “But … we haven’t done anything,” Emily said.
    “Ma’am, get your husband.”
     
    DEREK Gideon was a short man with a big waistline. His ample stomach hung over his waistband, and his round face was red as he greeted Brian and Jack with a welcoming – and yet forced – smile.
    “How can I help you?”
    “We need to ask you some questions about Kelly Sisto,” Brian said, shaking his head when Emily offered him a glass of iced tea. “We understand that she’s your ward.”
    “She’s been living here for the past fifteen months,” Derek said. “Has she done something?”
    “No,” Brian said. “We’re trying to find out what happened to her.”
    “I’m not sure what you mean,” Kelly said, clasping her hands on her lap. “Nothing has happened to her.”
    “When was the last time you saw Kelly?” Jack asked.
    “This morning,” Emily said. “She got up early and said she was going to the library to read. She doesn’t like to spend a lot of time with the younger kids.”
    “Ma’am, we know that’s