Read Online Cross Hairs by Jack Patterson - Free Book Online
Authors: Jack Patterson
Tags: Fiction, thriller, Suspense, adventure, Crime, Mystery, Nora Roberts, Action, Hard-Boiled, Reporter, trilogy, Deception, james patterson, conspiracy, Lee Child, New York Times bestseller, new release, mystery and suspense, award winning, award, fbi, &NEW, Stephen King, bestselling, cj lyons, Joshua Graham, George R.R. Martin, like John Grisham, John Grisham, popular, Steig Larson, Kindle eBook, like James Patterson, like Christine Kling, deal, newspaper, John Locke, David Baldacci, similar to Dean Koontz, similar to Nora Roberts, winning, like Aaron Patterson, Aaron Patterson, William Landay, punishment, five star review, Millennium, top rated, kindle ebooks, like Lee Child, Andrew E. Kaufman, New York Times best seller, Cal Murphy, like David Baldacci, 5 star review, Amazon eBook, national award-winning, like Joshua Graham, The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest, Dean Koontz, Christine Kling, similar to James Patterson, like Dean Koontz, Stieg Larsson, 5 stars, Steig Larsson, similar to Joshua Graham, similar to John Grisham, Kirk Russell, Dani Amore, Mary Higgins Clark, five stars, similar to John Locke, like William Landay, like Dani Amore, like John Locke, like Nora Roberts
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career. Outsiders working at The Register rarely did. Statenville was a blinking yellow light along a two-lane road to somewhere else. It was a cup of coffee.
But as the day’s events unfolded, Gold grew leery of a foreigner mucking about in a family matter. Gold’s son had died—and he was struggling to suppress the grief he felt. He had to. There was more at stake than the personal embarrassment of his son overdosing on drugs and the paper etching it into town lore on microfilm. Statenville was at stake.
Cal had no idea what he was doing, but it made no difference to Gold. As the mayor of Statenville, Gold prided himself on his moral and ethical conduct. But it was easy to justify a temporary restraining order on such morals and ethics when your way of life is being threatened. Gold knew it would be a tough decision to make, but it was for the good of the whole. At least that’s what he told himself.
He took a long pull on his glass of scotch. He pondered his next move.
His phone rang and a voice on the other end gave him the news: “Cal’s gone.”
“What? Where is he? What about the girl?”
“His car veered off the road and wrecked near the river, but he was nowhere to be found. The girl’s still waiting for him at The Mill, but she’s lost without him. She still thinks that one day she might run The Register . She’ll not want to jeopardize that pipe dream, so don’t worry about her.”
“Well, find him. And when you do, make sure he doesn’t go anywhere. Who knows where is he, now that we can’t track him.”
Gold hung up his phone. Grieving in peace would have to wait.
CHAPTER 20
KELLY FINISHED TROUNCING HER third darts opponent at The Mill. Beating drunk farm boys who thought they had a chance with her amused Kelly. She even dated a few of the regulars in high school, back when she thought being a farmer’s wife was her destiny. She wasn’t completely opposed to the idea, but working for the student paper at Arizona State gave her a taste of real journalism—one that couldn’t be quenched by whipping up lunchtime feasts, changing little ones’ diapers, and serving on the Statenville PTA. Of course, working for The Register wouldn’t guarantee her more than a skimpy serving of real journalism either, but she thought it could be palatable, especially if she were in charge.
Kelly picked up her phone to call Cal. Where is he? Surely he would have called me if something came up.
Kelly accessed his number on the screen—and hesitated. She had already called him three times and left messages. But a fourth ? That might be pushing it. He was only about an hour late. No need to seem desperate, especially for a guy she wasn’t completely sure she liked romantically. Although the exciting day’s events had changed that. Adventure proved to be a powerful elixir for her cold feet.
A basket of fries, two more dart annihilations and 45 minutes later, Kelly decided Cal wasn’t coming.
A thought crept into her mind. It was not worth mulling over, but Kelly couldn’t make it go away.
What if someone doesn’t want Cal to write that story? What if someone did something to him?
Her efforts to dismiss such depressing thoughts only served to stir her angst. She grabbed her purse and coat. She needed to put these hair-brained ideas to rest.
She left the bar without a word or a glance over her shoulder. This wasn’t about a sudden crush on Cal. This was about her co-worker who was being threatened for doing his job.
Paranoia settled over her like a thick fog. She began scanning the parking lot for any suspicious activity or likely suspects in dark cars awaiting a certain patron. She spotted one man who looked out of place in Statenville. A new black Chevy Blazer in Statenville? He might as well have painted the car fire engine red. This was Ford country, save a few granola types who preferred Subarus. But she quickly dismissed him as her guy. He was looking down at his phone and talking to someone
But as the day’s events unfolded, Gold grew leery of a foreigner mucking about in a family matter. Gold’s son had died—and he was struggling to suppress the grief he felt. He had to. There was more at stake than the personal embarrassment of his son overdosing on drugs and the paper etching it into town lore on microfilm. Statenville was at stake.
Cal had no idea what he was doing, but it made no difference to Gold. As the mayor of Statenville, Gold prided himself on his moral and ethical conduct. But it was easy to justify a temporary restraining order on such morals and ethics when your way of life is being threatened. Gold knew it would be a tough decision to make, but it was for the good of the whole. At least that’s what he told himself.
He took a long pull on his glass of scotch. He pondered his next move.
His phone rang and a voice on the other end gave him the news: “Cal’s gone.”
“What? Where is he? What about the girl?”
“His car veered off the road and wrecked near the river, but he was nowhere to be found. The girl’s still waiting for him at The Mill, but she’s lost without him. She still thinks that one day she might run The Register . She’ll not want to jeopardize that pipe dream, so don’t worry about her.”
“Well, find him. And when you do, make sure he doesn’t go anywhere. Who knows where is he, now that we can’t track him.”
Gold hung up his phone. Grieving in peace would have to wait.
CHAPTER 20
KELLY FINISHED TROUNCING HER third darts opponent at The Mill. Beating drunk farm boys who thought they had a chance with her amused Kelly. She even dated a few of the regulars in high school, back when she thought being a farmer’s wife was her destiny. She wasn’t completely opposed to the idea, but working for the student paper at Arizona State gave her a taste of real journalism—one that couldn’t be quenched by whipping up lunchtime feasts, changing little ones’ diapers, and serving on the Statenville PTA. Of course, working for The Register wouldn’t guarantee her more than a skimpy serving of real journalism either, but she thought it could be palatable, especially if she were in charge.
Kelly picked up her phone to call Cal. Where is he? Surely he would have called me if something came up.
Kelly accessed his number on the screen—and hesitated. She had already called him three times and left messages. But a fourth ? That might be pushing it. He was only about an hour late. No need to seem desperate, especially for a guy she wasn’t completely sure she liked romantically. Although the exciting day’s events had changed that. Adventure proved to be a powerful elixir for her cold feet.
A basket of fries, two more dart annihilations and 45 minutes later, Kelly decided Cal wasn’t coming.
A thought crept into her mind. It was not worth mulling over, but Kelly couldn’t make it go away.
What if someone doesn’t want Cal to write that story? What if someone did something to him?
Her efforts to dismiss such depressing thoughts only served to stir her angst. She grabbed her purse and coat. She needed to put these hair-brained ideas to rest.
She left the bar without a word or a glance over her shoulder. This wasn’t about a sudden crush on Cal. This was about her co-worker who was being threatened for doing his job.
Paranoia settled over her like a thick fog. She began scanning the parking lot for any suspicious activity or likely suspects in dark cars awaiting a certain patron. She spotted one man who looked out of place in Statenville. A new black Chevy Blazer in Statenville? He might as well have painted the car fire engine red. This was Ford country, save a few granola types who preferred Subarus. But she quickly dismissed him as her guy. He was looking down at his phone and talking to someone
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