Abiding Conviction by Stephen M. Murphy

Author:Stephen M. Murphy [Murphy, Stephen M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Published: 2022-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

BY THE TIME I got home I was overwhelmed with despair. I was no closer to finding Ginnie than I was the night she was taken. Today’s mail did not contain any manila envelopes, which, strangely, disappointed me. At least those mailings had been tangible evidence of Ginnie’s existence. Now all I had was my hopes, fears, and memories.

Even though it was getting late, I felt wired, unable to sleep. Just for something to do, I turned on my laptop and scanned Maureen Garcia’s Facebook page, which was open to the public. There were recent posts from people saying how much they missed her, hoping her husband got what’s coming to him. I thought it strange that people would post to a dead woman’s Facebook page.

Her page revealed a woman who enjoyed hiking, bicycling, and nature. There were many references to the fresh air, New Hampshire’s natural beauty from the White Mountains to the seashore. She seemed to take advantage of all that the state had to offer. Her friends list had 156 names. There was no indication that this was a woman who would take her own life. In fact, there were some photos of her husband and her together, both smiling with their arms around each other. In many of the photos, Maureen wore dark glasses with stripes on the frames. Her profile photo showed her wearing hoop earrings, fully made up with bright red lipstick, her brown hair combed back from her head. One post she had copied said, “Don’t underestimate me because I’m quiet.”

A recent post also caught my attention. It was from The Citizen, a small-town newspaper in Merrimack, about a dozen miles south of Manchester. It said: “Breaking news: Judge Carlos Garcia held over for trial for murdering his wife. Don’t worry, Mo, that murdering husband of yours and his scumbag lawyer will take a fall.”

I don’t think I’d ever read The Citizen. I certainly never met any of its reporters or editors so I was puzzled why they called me a scumbag. Was it simply because I was defending an accused murderer? That seemed over the top, but I had bigger things to worry about.

When I finished reading Mo Garcia’s page, I moved to Ginnie’s. There were hundreds of recent posts, people who claimed to have seen her. Some said they’d caught a glimpse of Ginnie walking in a mall, driving on the freeway, or amidst a crowd at a sporting event. They all seemed unreliable but I decided to tip off Delahunty in the morning.

Just when I was about to shut off the laptop and go to bed, a text message appeared on my screen; it didn’t seem to be a normal text message. The box was large and the letters were all caps: SAW THE WEAK SKETCH ON CHANNEL 9. SERIOUSLY? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE YOUR WIFE AGAIN?

My heart sank. Could this be the kidnapper? Finally, he had contacted me. It took me a while to figure out how to reply.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.