tow.
“Don’t you want to look a little more? You didn’t even go into the car,” Jeffries said, not impressed with Grant at all.
“I saw everything I need to see,” replied Grant curtly.
“I’m going to call in and have a forensic team sent down here; maybe they can tell us something.” Leonard reached for his phone.
“You would waste your department’s money,” Grant said. “But suit yourself.”
“Well, why don’t you just tell us what you figured out?” Jeffries asked. He did little to hide the smugness in his tone.
Grant was happy to accept his invitation. He stopped in the midst of the corn and turned toward his audience. All three of them were uncomfortable in their black suits, the standard RAG uniform, but Grant was dressed sensibly. He had opted for a lime-green polo with navy blue shorts, casual yet cool. He enjoyed making them sweat, but not nearly as much as he enjoyed showing off.
“One person was in this car when it was dropped. The door that was open in the field was the driver’s-side door. Since we know there are two girls traveling together, the car was a dump. The gas gauge was on empty. But those girls were smart enough to try to hide it. We know they were heading south, and this car was deserted a long time ago. Even if she were walking, she would have made it past our radius by now, so I’d stop the roadblocks.”
“Sir, it is policy not to release a picture to the public until an abductor has been identified. We can’t put it out there that she just ran away. It’s not worth the backlash of other girls thinking they could run. So, without the roadblocks there’s no way to get the word out,” Leonard said.
“Tell me something, are you married?” Grant asked. “Or at the least, do you know anything about women?”
All three agents stared at Grant, confused.
“Two little girls who have just ventured into the big, bad world are not going to leave each other’s side. At least not at this point in the game. So, why would one of them get out of the car while the other drove into the corn?”
“Maybe one was scared of the bugs and muck in the fields,” Jeffries said.
“More scared than she would be sitting on the side of a highway alone?” Grant asked.
Nobody responded.
“Gentlemen, I think these young ladies have some help. I think they both waited on the road while someone junked the car for them.”
“You got all this from some bent cornstalk by one of the doors?” Jeffries said. “I’m just not buying it.”
“That and the fact that the seat was slid all the way back.” Grant did a jogging backward motion, trying to make light of the other’s stupidity. “Neither of those girls would have been able to reach the pedals. Furthermore, the car’s owner, Mr. Morrissey, is not tall enough to have the seat set that far back. Someone taller set it that way.”
Grant did not wait for a response. He skipped to the SUV and slid into the front seat. With some hesitation, the other agents got inside.
“Alert the closest agents. Tell them to look out for three individuals. We need to head back to the Morrissey farmhouse. I think David has some explaining to do,” Grant ordered.
Grant’s devilish eyes flashed as the car turned around and headed north. His thoughts raced with pleasure at the prospect of getting information out of the old man. He hoped he might be required to use force.
Chapter 20
Married life is luxurious. Wives are surrounded by love and affection and need only worry themselves with pleasing their husbands. If a wife commits herself to that goal, she will never have a care in the world.
—The Registry Guide for Girls
F or the first time in days, Mia became aware of how bad she smelled. She was sure it was from the sweat and travel and not just the stink of the manure. She rolled the fertilizer body bag all the way to the back of the truck, picked up her and Whitney’s bags, and jumped down, slamming the back door.
She did her best to
“Don’t you want to look a little more? You didn’t even go into the car,” Jeffries said, not impressed with Grant at all.
“I saw everything I need to see,” replied Grant curtly.
“I’m going to call in and have a forensic team sent down here; maybe they can tell us something.” Leonard reached for his phone.
“You would waste your department’s money,” Grant said. “But suit yourself.”
“Well, why don’t you just tell us what you figured out?” Jeffries asked. He did little to hide the smugness in his tone.
Grant was happy to accept his invitation. He stopped in the midst of the corn and turned toward his audience. All three of them were uncomfortable in their black suits, the standard RAG uniform, but Grant was dressed sensibly. He had opted for a lime-green polo with navy blue shorts, casual yet cool. He enjoyed making them sweat, but not nearly as much as he enjoyed showing off.
“One person was in this car when it was dropped. The door that was open in the field was the driver’s-side door. Since we know there are two girls traveling together, the car was a dump. The gas gauge was on empty. But those girls were smart enough to try to hide it. We know they were heading south, and this car was deserted a long time ago. Even if she were walking, she would have made it past our radius by now, so I’d stop the roadblocks.”
“Sir, it is policy not to release a picture to the public until an abductor has been identified. We can’t put it out there that she just ran away. It’s not worth the backlash of other girls thinking they could run. So, without the roadblocks there’s no way to get the word out,” Leonard said.
“Tell me something, are you married?” Grant asked. “Or at the least, do you know anything about women?”
All three agents stared at Grant, confused.
“Two little girls who have just ventured into the big, bad world are not going to leave each other’s side. At least not at this point in the game. So, why would one of them get out of the car while the other drove into the corn?”
“Maybe one was scared of the bugs and muck in the fields,” Jeffries said.
“More scared than she would be sitting on the side of a highway alone?” Grant asked.
Nobody responded.
“Gentlemen, I think these young ladies have some help. I think they both waited on the road while someone junked the car for them.”
“You got all this from some bent cornstalk by one of the doors?” Jeffries said. “I’m just not buying it.”
“That and the fact that the seat was slid all the way back.” Grant did a jogging backward motion, trying to make light of the other’s stupidity. “Neither of those girls would have been able to reach the pedals. Furthermore, the car’s owner, Mr. Morrissey, is not tall enough to have the seat set that far back. Someone taller set it that way.”
Grant did not wait for a response. He skipped to the SUV and slid into the front seat. With some hesitation, the other agents got inside.
“Alert the closest agents. Tell them to look out for three individuals. We need to head back to the Morrissey farmhouse. I think David has some explaining to do,” Grant ordered.
Grant’s devilish eyes flashed as the car turned around and headed north. His thoughts raced with pleasure at the prospect of getting information out of the old man. He hoped he might be required to use force.
Chapter 20
Married life is luxurious. Wives are surrounded by love and affection and need only worry themselves with pleasing their husbands. If a wife commits herself to that goal, she will never have a care in the world.
—The Registry Guide for Girls
F or the first time in days, Mia became aware of how bad she smelled. She was sure it was from the sweat and travel and not just the stink of the manure. She rolled the fertilizer body bag all the way to the back of the truck, picked up her and Whitney’s bags, and jumped down, slamming the back door.
She did her best to
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