Read Online Chained Guilt (Hidden Guilt (Detective Series) Book 1) by Terry Keys - Free Book Online

mad at me for sleeping through our scheduled romp. I was going to have to do something really nice to make up for this one. When I reached the living room, there was no sign of her. I frowned, my heart racing. I took a quick glance outside and didn’t see her car in the driveway either. I ran back upstairs to our bedroom and grabbed my cell phone. No missed calls. No missed text messages. I had just begun to punch in Miranda’s number when my phone rang.
                  “Hello?” I said in a panic.
                  “David, it’s Wilcrest. We just found Miranda’s car crashed into the barricades by the Ship Channel, but there’s no sign of Miranda.” He paused. “We found another note, written in blood and left on the driver’s seat. This one reads, ‘More blood on your hands, Porter, this time your own.’”
                  Before I could respond, I heard someone pounding on the door downstairs. I disconnected from Wilcrest and hurried toward the stairs. Karen stood in the hallway, wide-eyed and disheveled. I guess the banging woke her; I didn’t take time to ask. I took the stairs two at a time, Karen in close pursuit. 
                  “Daddy, what’s going on? I want Mommy!”
                  I didn’t answer but quickly opened the door. Two officers from the station stood there.
                  “David, we’re looking,” one of them said. “But we haven’t found anything, and with this rain . . .”
                  “Save it!” I snapped, my voice high pitched and quivering. “Find her!” 
                  I heard a noise and glanced around.  Hilary and Karen stood behind me.
                  “Dad, what’s going on?” Hilary asked, her voice tinged with alarm.  “And don’t lie to us.  What’s happening? Where’s Mom?”
                  I squeezed my eyes shut, praying the terror I felt inside wasn’t showing on my face. I had to be strong in front of my girls and my men, but the emotions threatening to overwhelm me left me stunned.
                  “Dad!” Hilary screamed at me again.
                  I pulled myself together as best I could and turned to my girls. “It looks like Mommy had an accident,” I told them. “Her car ran into a barricade, but she’s not in her car. They’re looking for her now.”
                  “Dad, what do you mean?” Hilary frowned, her voice rising. “Where is she?”
                  “Your mother sent me a text earlier tonight, saying she was on her way home . . .”
                  “It’s after one o’clock in the morning! Why are you just now looking for her?” 
                  “I was watching a game on TV when I got your mother’s text,” I explained. “I must have . . . I don’t know. I guess I fell asleep.” I felt the guilt and also saw it in Hilary’s eyes as she glared at me.
                  “So you fell asleep, knowing Mom was out there and on her way home? Maybe if you’d gotten worried sooner, we would know where Mom is!” Hilary spun around and dashed up the stairs.
                  “Hilary!” I called after her, but she didn’t stop. A moment later, I heard her bedroom door slam behind her.
                  The mood was somber as I stood holding Karen, wondering where my wife was and if she was even alive. I couldn’t help but wonder if the same maniac from the previous days had struck again. This time he had made it personal. I should have seen this coming. Somehow I should have known. The killer had been taunting me, but I hadn’t put two and two together.
                  As the officers moved toward the door, I set Karen down and stepped onto the porch with them.
                  “Is there anything we can do, David?” one of them