Dream Chasers Read Online Free

filled with the roar of speedboats and the high-pitched squeal of small children towed behind on tubes. So much for peace and quiet.
    By noon, Tony’s enthusiasm for coloured stones had waned, and a temper tantrum was brewing over the sandcastle that refused to stay standing. What do I know about sandcastles, Green thought irritably as the walls caved into the moat yet again. His parents had come from a small village in Poland, and from their limited immigrant perspective, beaches and water were dangers to be avoided. They had confined family holidays to picnics on the Rideau River in Strathcona Park, where they had all watched the ducks from the safe embrace of a distant shade tree.
    With a cheerful announcement about lunch, Sharon scooped Tony into her arms and headed up to the cottage. Green picked up his phone and checked its battery, which was still fine. He dialled home. Voice mail. Hannah’s cell phone. Voice mail. Finally he gave up and phoned Sullivan. To his credit, the man didn’t utter a single gripe about interference.
    â€œNo breakthrough yet,” he said, “but we’re narrowing our search down to the most likely spots. Lea works at McDonald’s, and she told a co-worker on Monday that she hoped the weather would stay warm, because she was planning to go to the beach. So we’re focussing on area beaches.”
    Green did a quick mental inventory. Ottawa was located at the convergence of three large rivers, all of which had swimming areas. As well, the wilderness playground of Gatineau Park, with beaches on its three lakes, was only a short drive across the Ottawa River into Quebec. He visualized the city map. Alta Vista was bordered on the west by the Rideau River, with its magnificent beach at Mooney’s Bay. He pointed that out to Sullivan.
    â€œYeah, and Mooney’s Bay has the most parkland, so it’s the best for parties. We’re concentrating there, but according to her friends, she didn’t like the crowds and noise there, so she preferred to go somewhere more private.”
    â€œLike where?”
    â€œAnywhere in the park, as long as it was by the water.”
    Which doesn’t narrow it down much, thought Green. Almost all the waterfront in Ottawa was parkland. “Did she have access to a vehicle?”
    â€œHer mother doesn’t own a car, so that leaves out the beaches in the Gatineau Park.”
    â€œUnless someone else had a car. If she has a secret boyfriend, they may have been looking for privacy.”
    Sullivan paused. “I’ll ask Ron Leclair to alert the Sûreté du Québec and the RCMP , since strictly speaking, Gatineau Park is in the RCMP ’s jurisdiction. Meanwhile, we’ve got guys combing the beaches at Britannia and Westboro for her too. We’ve also got officers at her school trying to shake loose a clue about a possible secret boyfriend, but you know how teenagers are. Misplaced loyalties and all that.”
    Despite the blazing noon sun, Green felt a chill as he hung up. Misplaced loyalties, conspiracies of silence, a pack mentality of us against them. How little he knew about Hannah’s friends and the places she hung out. But he did know that, coming from Vancouver, she loved beach parties, and Westboro beach on the Ottawa River was a mere stone’s throw from their house in Highland Park.
    It seemed irrational to fear that there was a connection, but why the hell wasn’t she answering her phone?
    * * *
    Jenna accompanied the anxious student from her office and glanced out into the main guidance room. Students, mostly girls, still filled every seat in the waiting area, and the guidance secretary was busy on the phone, fielding calls from parents. Despite the admonition not to talk to each other, the girls were excitedly sharing the rumours they’d heard and the tidbits of knowledge they possessed about Lea’s life. None of them looked too stressed, she noted with relief, but then