Reunion Read Online Free Page A

she
wasn’t anywhere in the backyard. I checked the alley, then came back inside. I
kept calling her name—looking in the same places over and over. Finally, I ran
out the front door. I just couldn’t fathom she was gone, you know? The note was
stuck on the front door.” He raked his fingers through his hair and fought the
urge to vomit. “What if—” God, he couldn’t say it—couldn’t even think it…
    “Okay, everyone back in the living room.” Graeme
said, spreading his arms wide and herding them into the other room. “I think
that solidifies our supposition that there are at least two people involved.
They clearly had an idea of your house layout and your habits around
dinnertime. So that rules out a spur of the moment crime. That means there’s a
motive behind this, Grant—not likely some neighborhood pervert, okay? Just take
that part out of your mind.”
    Despite Graeme’s reassurance, Grant’s knees buckled
at the thought of what his daughter might be facing. He collapsed onto the
couch and Patti scooted next to him, the reassuring presence of RJ at his back.
    “Who is the first person that comes to mind as
likely to have done this? What about the baby sitter?”
    Grant’s jaw dropped open. “Who? No one! I’m a high
school government teacher, for Christ sake. I don’t have any money, I don’t
belong to any weird groups, I don’t know anyone important. Annie goes to day
care during the day and the babysitter is a high school girl who lives next
door.” He started to stand but two pairs of hands held him down.
    “Just think, Grant, honey.” Patti’s voice was
calm, but he heard the slight waver, and knew her emotions were close to the
surface, too. Somehow that made it easier to rein in his own feelings.
    “Tell me about her mother,” Graeme asked. “Could
this have anything to do with her?”
    Grant shook his head. “I don’t see how. About six
months ago…an attorney contacted me to tell me Michelle had passed away and
named me as guardian of her child. I didn’t even know she had a kid. We dated
years ago but nothing came of it and we sort of drifted apart—so it was a huge
shock. It was an even bigger shock when I met with the lawyer and found out
Annie was actually my biological child. But when I saw her…” The smile felt
good. “She looks just like me when I was a kid—I mean if I was a girl.”
    “Okay, is there any family who might be
contesting? Did Michelle have any other relatives?”
    With another quick shake of his head, Grant
answered quickly. “No. It was one of the things that drew us together in the
first place. I met her at the school where I work—she was a substitute teacher
there for a couple of weeks. The holidays were coming and neither of us had
family. Like I said, we drifted together, had a brief thing, then drifted
apart. We were together about six months. I never heard from her, and I had no
idea she was pregnant.”
    “What about students? Anyone with a grudge?”
    Grant gripped his head between his hands, wanting
to shut out the other man’s words. “A student couldn’t…wouldn’t do something
like this.” He whispered his words, shaking his head. This whole situation was
impossible.
    “Is there any reason to believe you’d have access
to fifty-thousand dollars?”
    “No! For God’s sake, I’m a teacher. I barely swung
the down payment on this place when I found out about Annie.”
    “I said I would cover the ransom, Grant,” RJ
reminded him. “It’s too late to call the bank tonight, but with the time
difference, I can call early tomorrow. I just wish we knew—”
    The ringing phone was like an icy shot through the
room. Grant jumped and started to reach for the phone, but Graeme got there
first, and he covered the device with his hand. “You have to trust me. You
listen, you write or mouth anything you think I need to know.”
    Graeme snapped the phone up and answered. “Who is
this?” There was a long silence, and Grant