Novel.53.Hello,Darkness.2003 by Brown Sandra

Author:Brown, Sandra [Brown, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Google: eZ5FwqBi9U0C
Amazon: 1416537775
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Paris stared at the clipping one last time, then refolded it exactly as Jack had done and replaced it behind her photograph in his wallet. She returned the wallet to the box, sick with the knowledge that if Jack had ever connected the night of the standoff to what transpired afterward, he might not have saved the clipping, but would have ripped it to shreds.

Chapter Twenty

She was a small woman. The hands twisting the damp tissue could have belonged to a child. Her legs were crossed at the ankles and tucked beneath the chair. She was as jittery as a piano student at a recital, awaiting her turn to play.

Curtis introduced them. “Mrs. Toni Armstrong, this is Dr. Dean Malloy.”

“How do you do, Mrs. Armstrong?”

Curtis was being as gallant with her as he had been with Paris.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“No thank you. How long do you think this will take? I’ve got to pick up my children at four.”

“I’ll have you out of here well before then.”

Prior to this meeting, Dean had been briefed for all of thirty seconds, the time it had taken him to walk to Curtis’s cubicle after seeing Gavin and Liz off. He didn’t have a clue as to why he’d been summoned to sit in on this interview. He remained standing, propping himself against the wall, for now a silent observer.

Mrs. Armstrong wasn’t the shrinking violet her dainty appearance implied. It must have appeared to her that she was being ganged up on, because she put a stop to the pleasantries and cut to the chase.

“Mr. Hathaway said you had asked to see me, Sergeant Curtis, so I’m here. But no one has explained why you wanted to talk to me. Should I call my lawyer? Is my husband in some kind of trouble that I don’t know about?”

“If he is, we don’t know about it either, Mrs. Armstrong,” Curtis replied smoothly. “But he has violated the terms of his probation, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“And Hathaway says you’ve recently noticed other troubling behavior.”

She lowered her head. “Yes.”

Curtis nodded sympathetically. “Hathaway called one of the SOAR officers, who then brought your husband to my attention.”

Dean was beginning to see where this was going. SOAR—Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration—was under the auspices of the CIB. The detectives who specialized in sex offenses would know about Curtis’s investigation. Too often those crimes and homicide overlapped.

“Could you please fill me in on the background?” Dean asked.

“Eighteen months ago Bradley Armstrong was convicted of molesting a minor and sentenced to five years’ probation, mandatory group therapy, and so forth. Lately he’s been skipping meetings.

“His probation officer scheduled two appointments with him today. He didn’t show. Mrs. Armstrong notified his attorney, who went to his office—he’s a dentist—to urge him to comply, get his act together. He’d split, although he had appointments with patients scheduled for this afternoon. Nobody knows where he is. He isn’t answering his cell phone.”

Toni Armstrong said, “I’m glad Hathaway called you. I’d rather Brad be arrested for violating his probation than…than for something else.

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