Craze Read Online Free Page B

driver’s seat, plopping the boy unceremoniously in the passenger seat.
    He dutifully buckled his seatbelt and she shot out of her parking space. When she checked her rearview mirror, she saw Mr. Lowe racing after her, eyes bulging, face red, and the other man with his back to her on his cell phone.
    Monsters.
    The quiet hum of her car engine offered a false sense of security, but her heart still pounded. Forcing calm into her voice, Krista whispered to the boy, “How did you end up there, sweetie?”
    Quietly, he started to speak as she drove to the police station. “They picked me up on my way to my aunt’s house. They told me my mom was sick and I needed to go back home. They were supposed to take me home.” Tears slipped down his cheeks, and Krista was relieved she’d gotten there before they’d done more than take some pictures. At least, she hoped so.
    “I’m going to take you to the police station, okay? They’ll get you home, okay?” She fought to keep her voice even, trying to keep him calm. “You’re going to be fine.” She stroked the steering wheel, desperate to calm her racing thoughts. “Everything’s going to be fine.” Nothing was ever going to be fine again.
    The little boy nodded and Krista drove, her mind tumultuous, turning over the events of the evening. She had no doubt Mr. Lowe and the unnamed man would hunt her down and make her pay for disrupting their freaky night of pedophilia. But she honestly didn’t care. They would pay for this.

Two hours later, she was in a room, having given her statement to a kind police officer, and watched the boy being led off by a female officer. She never got his name and regretted that. When she’d been in there long enough to feel like a criminal, a different officer came in and sat across from her, a placating smile on his face. This one didn’t seem as kind.
    “Ms. McLanaughan, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to ask you some more questions.” His voice didn’t sound the least bit apologetic, and Krista’s heart sank as she realized she’d be here much, much longer. He pulled a notebook out of his shirt pocket, and licking his fingers, flipped pages to a fresh one.
    “You say you found the boy in Ed Lowe’s office, correct?” She nodded. “As he was when you brought him in? Nude?”
    “Well, I covered him with my coat, but yes.” He nodded and wrote something, then looked at her again. His eyes were blue, arctic, and cold.
    “How long have you worked for Mr. Lowe?” The way he said ‘Mr. Lowe’ made it sound almost reverential, and a prickle of unease worked its way up her spine.
    “Two years,” she stated, her fingers twiddling nervously. This man seemed to be thinking something nefarious about her, and she didn’t really like it much.
    “And in that two years, have you ever noticed anything untoward about Mr. Lowe?”
    “Well, not really.” She tried to figure out how to tell them that sometimes Mr. Lowe gave off creepy vibes, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. “This week, he invited my nephew and me to his lake house in San Marcos,” she offered weakly.
    “That’s a nice thing, though, right?” The man was studying her, looking for faults, but she raised her chin and met his gaze.
    “He didn’t invite Tate’s parents. Just me. It’s not like I’m his guardian or anything.” The man wrote something in his notebook.
    “What is Tate’s address?”
    More unease slithered up her spine. “Why?”
    The man looked at her again and the coldness in his eyes seeped into Krista, making her shiver. “You think Mr. Lowe has targeted him. He may be in danger.”
    The man’s words said one thing but his body said something else. Krista was so on edge—from lack of sleep, stress, and an adrenaline crash—that she decided she was imagining things. This guy was a cop, for God’s sake. Reluctantly, she gave the man Tate’s address.
    “What’s a pretty young thing like you doing in a stuffy old office building so late on a