Read Online Bitter Sweets by G. A. McKevett - Free Book Online

last as her breathing slowed and her eyes closed. Christy had drifted off to sleep without an answer to her question: Who would protect her mommy? And Lisa was thankful, because she didn’t have an honest answer, for her precious daughter, cuddled warm and trustingly against her side . . . . or for herself.
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    â€œI can’t believe you would haul me out of bed at four in the morning and not even bring me an apple fritter and some java.” Usually, Dirk’s voracious appetite was a source of mild amusement for Savannah, but, under the circumstances, she wasn’t in the mood.
    â€œDon’t hassle me, Coulter,” she said as she slid onto the chair in front of a police station computer and began to type furiously. “Take my word for it, this isn’t the time.”
    â€œThat bad?” Dirk asked, the pout dissolving from his face.
    â€œYeah, that bad.”
    â€œWhatcha looking for?” He leaned over her shoulder to study the blue screen that quickly switched to green. She had accessed the Department of Motor Vehicle files.
    â€œEarl Mallock.”
    â€œYour lost sister’s old man?”
    â€œYeah, but she isn’t lost anymore. I found her last night.”
    â€œGood work.”
    â€œMaybe. Maybe not.”
    Savannah’s pulse pounded in her ears as she punched in the necessary codes to find what she was looking for . . . . what she hoped to high heaven she wouldn’t find.
    Mallock’s name appeared on the screen, along with his basic identification stats.

    Name: Mallock, Earl R.
Address: 312 Elm Street, San Carmelita, CA
Height: 5’ 10”
Hair: Dark brown
Weight: 220 lbs.
Eyes: Blue

    â€œThat’s the same description Lisa Mallock gave me last night,” Savannah said, trying to feel better.
    Dirk read over her shoulder. “So, what’s the problem?”
    â€œI’m afraid I might have helped Lisa’s abusive ex-husband find her.” She peered at the screen. “But the guy who hired me looked completely different.”
    â€œMaybe he’s a friend of the husband’s, trying to help him out.”
    â€œCould be, or . . . .”
    She waited for the photo to appear, her hands and insides shaking . . . . and it wasn’t only because she needed a cup of coffee.
    A face materialized before her on the screen. Round, double-chinned. If he had been wearing a white beard and red suit, Earl Mallock could have been a department store variety Santa Claus. Unless you looked into his eyes.
    Savannah had seen that look before, too many times. Flat, emotionless, frightening more for what wasn’t there than what was. No sense of happiness, excitement, sorrow, or pain . . . . all the components that made up most lives. All that was reflected there was a void, a profound emptiness of the soul.
    She shivered.
    â€œRecognize him?” Dirk said.
    â€œWell, not really, but . . . .”
    Yes, she did. As much as she didn’t want to, she did recognize him.
    â€œIf you change the hair and eye color,” she muttered, staring at the screen, “if you take off the extra pounds . . . . oh, God. . . .”
    â€œIs it him?” Dirk placed strong, warm hands on her shoulders. But, rather than imparting comfort, as he obviously intended, the intimate gesture nearly made her burst into tears of fear and anger.
    â€œThat son of a bitch. He dyed his hair and cut it short.”
    â€œAnd his eyes?”
    â€œColored contacts, I’ll bet.”
    â€œBut you said he was fat.”
    â€œHe was. But apparently he lost the weight. Fast. That’s probably why he looked so haggard and run-down. This picture was taken less than a year ago, and he’s about 160 pounds now.”
    â€œWow, you’ll have to find out what kind of a diet he was on,” Dirk replied.
    â€œShut up,” she snapped. “Your timing stinks and you aren’t funny.”
    Instead of verbal retaliation, he continued to rub