Torn Apart by Sala Sharon

Author:Sala, Sharon [Sala, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-07-05T05:00:00+00:00

Talking to Katie Earle had been difficult for Hershel. On the one hand, he’d given her hope, but then, on the other, he’d taken it right back. He was close to convinced that J. R. Earle was the one who’d taken Bobby.

Couples separated. Kids got caught in the middle. Every so often one of the parents flipped out and went on the run with the kid. It happened all the time. Just because he knew these people, that didn’t automatically preclude them from acting irrationally. Still, he knew he had to cover all the bases.

By the time he got back to headquarters, he had a running list of avenues to investigate regarding Bobby Earle’s abduction, and they needed to be followed up ASAP.

He needed an up-to-date listing of all the registered sex offenders in the parish, as well as a listing of everyone who owned a blue and, from Holly’s description of it as “shiny,” late-model pickup.

He strode into the office with his hat jammed on his head and a frown on his face. It was a look that Vera, the dispatcher, had seen before, and she knew it meant trouble.

“Call Tullius. Get him back here on the double,” Hershel snapped.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Hell, no, everything’s not okay, and you know it. I’ve got four missing prisoners. We buried three of Bordelaise’s finest citizens today, and I have a child whose status has gone from dead to just plain snatched.”

Vera’s mouth dropped. “Bobby Earle? Are you talking about Bobby Earle?”

Hershel yanked the hat off his head and slapped it against his thigh in frustration.

“Yes, I’m talking about Bobby Earle. According to Frances Maxwell, her daughter witnessed a man in a blue truck snatch the boy while the siren was blowing last Sunday.”

Vera gasped. “Lord have mercy! Why is she just now telling?”

Hershel sighed. “It’s complicated, but it only works if you’re thinking like a seven-year-old with very specific ideas about God and how you get to heaven.”

“What in the world?”

Hershel nodded. “That’s what I first thought. But it seems that Holly Maxwell heard all the adults around her talking about Bobby being in heaven and safe with God—you know the drill—and what she saw got tangled up with what she heard, until she decided that what she’d seen was God coming after Bobby in a blue pickup truck.”

Before Vera could comment, Lee Tullius burst into the room.

“Chief! Is it true what I just heard? About Bobby Earle being alive?”

Hershel’s shoulders slumped. “How fast news does fly,” he said. “And yes, it seems to be true, only we don’t know where he is. However, I’m glad you’re here. Whoever took him has more than four days’ head start on us. There’s something I want you to do.”

The phone rang, and Vera answered.

Hershel moved away from the desk so that their voices wouldn’t interfere with the call.

Lee followed, anxious to hear more. “I don’t understand, Chief. If we know he’s alive, why don’t we know where—”

Before Hershel could answer, Vera called for his attention.

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