Dark Legacy by Jen Talty (reading books for 4 year olds .txt) 📗

well may be true, but it’s the language. This isn’t her voice. It’s not how she would have chosen to tell you.” Shannon flipped open the file. “Not only are the words wrong, but she would have doodled over her signature. It’s her thing. Look.”

Greg glanced between the papers on the desk and Shannon. “I don’t understand.”

“When was the last time you spoke with Lilly?” Shannon asked as she lifted the phone.

“Yesterday, before she went to bed. We had all gone out for ice cream. We actually had a wonderful night.”

Shannon let out a long breath. “Have you called the police?”

Greg nodded. “They took a report, but they don’t consider her missing—”

“I know the drill. But do you mind if I call a friend who specializes in finding people?”

“Doc, you’re scaring us.” Julie swiped at her eyes. “We just thought something happened to her mother in rehab to set her back and that she went AWOL and came after Lilly. And you know the effect Sally has on her daughter when Sally’s deep in her addiction.”

“I do. And it’s a cycle that’s hard to break,” Shannon said.

“Do you think her mother has her?” Greg asked.

“That’s the likely scenario. With your permission, I’d like to ask my friend to go to all of Sally’s old stomping grounds to find them.”

“We can’t afford—”

“Let me worry about that for now.” Shannon had no idea how she would pay Jackson for this one, but she couldn’t let another patient down.

Not today.

She brought up his contact information. It rang twice.

“So, you missed me already,” Jackson said with a touch of sweetness.

“How far away are you?”

“I’m actually still in Saratoga. I had some business here,” Jackson said. “Are you okay?”

“Not really. Can you come back to my office? I have an underage patient who appears to have run away. Her father and stepmother are in my office. They’ve called the police, but she’s done this before, and they won’t do anything until it’s been twenty-four hours.”

“I’m on my way. Give me ten minutes.”

“Thanks.” She set the handle in the cradle. “My friend, Jackson, will be here shortly. For now, why don’t you get a cup of coffee and make yourselves comfortable? I’m going to call the rehab center where Sally was staying and see what I can find out.”

“Do you always go this far for your patients?” Greg asked.

“No,” she admitted. “But I don’t believe Lilly left that note, and I’m not about to wait for the cops to decide she’s in trouble.”

Chapter Eight

Jackson didn’t like checking up on the girl he currently wanted to date. It felt like a total invasion of privacy. He tried to convince himself it was about her adoption case.

But it wasn’t.

“Thanks for meeting with me,” Jackson said, sticking out his hand as he made himself comfortable on the park bench outside the village.

“My pleasure.” Jeromy Rimes couldn’t be older than sixty-five, but he wore his age like a badge of honor with his deep-set lines around his eyes, and his gray brows. He wasn’t a tall man at five-foot-eight, but he was broad.

And muscular.

A well-built machine, even at his age.

“I hear you work with Katie. How’s that going?”

“Interesting,” Jackson admitted.

“I bet. Her personality matches her fiery red hair. But deep down, she’s a sweet girl who’s been handed a raw deal.”

“Agreed.” Jackson glanced around. It was getting dark, and he had a million things to do, but he had to meet with Jeromy—for more than one reason. “I don’t have much time, so I hope you don’t mind if I cut to the chase.”

“Not at all.”

“What can you tell me about Ned Brendel and the sex club ring case you were working?”

Jeromy arched a brow. “Wow. That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time, though I just saw him a few hours ago.”

“Really? Where?”

“I had lunch with him.”

That wasn’t something Jackson had expected. “You’re friends?” He shifted, taking his cowboy hat off and setting it on the bench.

“I wouldn’t go that far. But ever since I arrested him, humiliated him, and ruined his marriage, we’ve kept in touch,” Jeromy said with a slight chuckle, shaking his head.

Jackson rubbed his jaw. He couldn’t tell if Jeromy meant his response to be flippant, tongue and cheek, or on point. “You made nine arrests after Ned, all related to men having sex with underage girls and boys.”

Jeromy nodded. “No thanks to Ned.”

“I’m sorry. But I’m not following any of this.”

“Let’s backtrack this,” Jeromy said. “Before I busted Ned, a teenage girl came to me and told me her stepfather had sold her into a sex club where his friends passed her around.”

“Jesus,” Jackson mumbled.

“It was fucking gross.” Jeromy raked a hand through his hair. “She had the name of one man, other than her stepfather, and that was Ned Brendel. So, we put a tail on him. I might have jumped the gun when I busted him in the park because I never got any names from him. But he did give me some information on where some of the club meetings were held.”

“That’s how you made your arrests?”

Jeromy nodded. “But no one would ever give anyone up, and this bullshit is still going on, as you know from this latest murder.”

“I don’t know that much. Westerfield isn’t giving me a ton of intel at this point.”

“Well, I’m a private citizen these days. What do you need to know to help you with whatever case you’re working on?”

What a fucking loaded question that was? And Jackson wasn’t even sure if he was asking to help find Lilly...

Or Shannon’s daughter at this point.

He might as well pull out all the stops.

“Do you think Ned’s brother was involved in this sex club?”

Jeromy arched a brow. “Before I answer that, why do you want to know?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Fair enough,” Jeromy said. “I know for a fact that Dwight Brendel was one of the leaders. I just could never prove it. But he’s dead. So, what are you going to do?”

“Where did