Read Online All Good Deeds by Stacy Green - Free Book Online Page B

of my former cases might have taken her.”
    “The little girl from Poplar?” Joan sucked in a whistling breath. “I saw that on the news this morning.”
    “Remember Justin Beckett?”
    “Yes. You were obsessed with that kid. I didn’t hear from you for nearly a month after he was arrested.”
    “Right. Well, he lives across the street from the missing girl.”
    “What do the police think?”
    I wasn’t about to get into an ethics discussion with my mother. “They’re looking at everyone.”
    “Well, I hope they find her. What her mother must be going through.”
    “She’s a mess.”
    “I’ve no doubt,” she said. “You know I’ve been having those heart palpitations again, ever since Mack’s incident the other night.”
    Typical. No one could direct a conversation back to the topic of herself better than Mother. “Have you gone to the doctor?”
    “I don’t want to. You know I’m afraid they’ll find something serious.”
    “Better they find it than to just hope nothing’s wrong. What does Mack think?” I’ve yet to figure out how my stepfather put up with my mother’s emotional manipulation. He was a decent, hardworking guy, perpetually optimistic. He deserved more than melancholy, damaged Joan.
    “He thinks I should go to the doctor.” Her tone cheered up the way it always did when Mother talked about herself. “I suppose I should. But I don’t know what I’ll do if they find something serious.”
    “You’ll let them treat it.” I checked my watch. Almost time to head to school. “I’ve got to get going, Mom. I have an appointment. I’ll call you.”
    “No, you won’t.”
    I forced myself to smile in hopes I’d sound semi-pleasant. “Of course I will.”

8
    M y fingers dug into the steering wheel as I answered Kelly’s call. I sat a few blocks down from Kipling Elementary, ready to head into the school when she called with a double whammy.
    Kelly didn’t bother to say hello. “Kailey’s Internet access has definitely been restricted because a lot of the stuff in her email is from game sites and whatnot. But, if you look in her trash folder, there are five emails from a RRangerFan1, and every single one of Kailey’s replies came when she was at the babysitter’s, within a half an hour after school.”
    “Did you trace the email back to anyone?”
    “It took me a while because I had to trace the email back to an online forum for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fans.”
    “Say what? Didn’t that show end a long time ago?” I was never much of a cartoon kid, but my oldest friend Kenny loved the Power Rangers. He still had a bunch of toys he insisted were valuable memorabilia.
    “Yeah, but there are still people who love it and do role playing stuff. Anyway, I found our guy. And guess who it is?”
    Stinging air rushed up my esophagus. I didn’t want to be right about this. “Justin Beckett.”
    “Yep. He’s not very smart because he registered that email to the message board under his real name. From what I can tell, he and Kailey have been emailing for a few weeks.”
    “What do the messages say?” Part of me didn’t want to know. As much as I was driven to stomp out the filth of this world, I constantly fought the urge to stick my head in the sand and pretend humanity was wonderful.
    “Here’s the weirdest part. He’s not hiding who he is,” Kelly said. “He signs it Jay, but he’s not trying to talk to her like he’s a kid. He clearly talks like an adult trying to cheer up a lonely little girl.”
    “Of course he does.”
    “Sounds like Kailey had been bullied at one point, and Justin may have stuck up for her,” Kelly continued. “I can’t get the whole story from emails, but it’s definitely enough for the police to get a warrant.”
    “If you found this, so will they. As long as Todd Beckett plays it straight.” That could be a big if . Stalwart cop or not, Todd was also human and fell into the messy tangle of loyalty versus responsibility. He