One Last Breath by Sarah Sutton (speld decodable readers txt) 📗

the video, rewinding slightly, and then paused it again. He moved closer to the screen, squinting.

Tara hovered over Warren’s shoulder. She could see it too. Upon the street, coming in and out of shadows, was Reese Tanner, wearing her ripped blue jean shorts, her black top, and white Converse sneakers. She walked briskly and was soon out of view of the camera.

Warren swiveled in the chair. “Well, we now know she made it past here.”

Tara agreed. They did, and it narrowed the area down quite a bit. It was about a quarter mile, Tara estimated, from where they stood to the beach. Now they knew she went missing somewhere along that route. But where? Beyond the gas station was just a strip of homes. They had no other stores to enter to study the surveillance. And Tara thought it was unlikely they would see anything of substance if there were. She had a strange feeling that sat heavy in her gut that the killer perfectly planned this, and then she had a thought…

“I think we should walk the rest of the way to the beach.”

She knew it would be the only way to retrace Reese’s steps, and maybe she or the killer left something behind.

***

Tara and Warren walked slowly along the road, scanning the ground. They searched for anything, any sign of Reese being abducted, but so far they had walked a quarter mile without anything to show for it.

There was still an awkwardness between them. They had spoken only of the case, but Tara wanted to break the ice. After combing through some brush on the side of the road, she spoke.

“So did you and Dr. Harris date or something?” She knew he would ask, if it were the other way around.

Warren sighed and let out a slight chuckle, as if he knew the question was coming. It made Tara feel more at ease. “How’d you know?”

“Intuition, I guess.”

Warren nodded. “I wouldn’t call it dating; it was just a date.”

They continued toward the beach, still inspecting the ground. A woman on a beachcomber bike came up behind them, and they stepped aside as she passed.

“I guess it didn’t go well?” Tara asked over a gust of wind that tried to silence her.

He shook his head. “She’s a nice person. I just can’t do it.”

“Do what?”

“Date.”

Tara nodded with slight hesitation, as if she understood, even though she didn’t.

Warren studied her, the sun hitting his eyes, causing him to squint in an almost skeptical way. “No one ever told you, did they?”

“Told me what?”

“About my wife.” He looked down at the ground as he winced. “And my daughter,” he added.

Tara only knew that Warren once had a wife. She had figured he was just divorced. She had no clue about a daughter, and since she was still so new to the FBI, she was just beginning to get to know others in her department. If there was gossip, it was not something that had come up yet.

“No,” she replied. She felt a sudden tug on her heart at the sight of him. He could barely look up. It was evident it was a painful topic for him for whatever reason. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want.”

He waved a hand as if telling her not to be silly. He straightened up, sucking in any emotion from his exterior. “No, it’s fine,” he started. “I forget how new you are sometimes.” His face twinged at his words, but then he sighed and continued. “I lost my wife and daughter five years ago. Car accident.” He continued to scan the ground, still focused on their mission, as if to distract himself from what he just revealed.

No words could form on Tara’s lips. She had no idea, and yet she had spent so much time with him. Her heart ached for him. “I’m so sor—”

“Don’t,” he cut her off. “I know you are.”

Tara nodded, directing her attention back to the ground. She didn’t know what more to say.

“She would’ve been eighteen last week, actually, my daughter,” he muttered under his breath with a shake of the head. “That’s always a hard one.”

Tara understood far deeper than she’d like. Every holiday, every birthday, every new milestone. They all felt empty when she lost her mother. “I know,” she replied.

Warren finally lifted his head, placing his hand on her back, rubbing it slightly like a father would.

“I know you do,” he replied before pulling his hand back and abruptly shifting the moment. “And so that’s why I can’t date. Too early. I just still feel married,” he added to bring it to a slightly lighter subject. He then looked at her and smiled. “You’ll understand one day. When’s that guy going to pop the question anyway?” He chuckled slightly.

Tara shrugged. “We shall see.” But she knew perfectly well that it might happen soon.

“How’s his music going, by the way?”

It was clear that Warren was trying to move their conversation to something lighter. Music was something Warren enjoyed as well. He was a Beatles fan and a guitar enthusiast. He wasn’t great at playing, he had admitted, but in his spare time—the little he had—he liked to collect them. Tara had learned that he owned a few Gibsons, a couple Ibanezes, and a Stratocaster that he had signed by Eric Clapton in the seventies. The fact that John was in a classic rock band was something they had bonded over during their car rides. Tara didn’t know too much about music, but she did appreciate it, and it was something they had somewhat in common that filled the silence.

“It’s good. Keeping him busy,” she replied.

But they both knew now wasn’t the time to discuss music. They continued their walk, tracing the steps of Reese Tanner. They still had yet to find anything, and Tara thought that odd. No sign of struggle, but they knew it was the path Reese had taken. Homes lined the streets, yet no one heard anything. When they