Read Online Deadly News: A Thriller by Zooey Smith - Free Book Online Page B

she was. Although, she would have remembered soon enough, since she was almost at that part in the story.
    She looked up from her screen, looking around the hotel room and past Fe. Then she rubbed her eyes and focused on Fe and smiled. “I guess so. You always hear keeping a journal’s good for you. It’s one of those rare sayings that’s right.”
    “You writing about what happened? A story?” She lowered her voice, grinning, “Am I in it?”
    “Nothing so formal. Just a freewrite of what happened. I’d never publish it like this. Becky wouldn’t let me—that’s my boss. And you’re not in it.”
    “Oh,” Fe said. “Well, that’s… good I suppose.”
    “Yet,” Abby added.
    “Gee Abby, you nearly hurt my feelings.”
    Abby laughed. The situation was almost normal; just two friends talking. But then, she was suddenly overwhelmed with the situation, and the smile vanished from her face. “Ecks,” she said. “I don’t know— For— I mean, I miss him. I’m worried about him—but I miss him too.” She let out a laugh. “I didn’t even like him.”
    “It’s okay,” Fe said. “We’re doing everything we can. I’m sure we’ll find him.” She stood, walking over to the table with her gear on it. “Here, how about we check in, see if they found anything?”
    Abby nodded. “Yeah, okay. Would have called if they found him, but could have something small.”
    “Exactly.” Fe sorted through her stuff until she found her phone, called up a number, then held it to her ear. “Hey Delano.
    “Just checking in.
    “I know, couldn’t hurt.
    “You’re not that busy.
    “Oh? Why didn’t you call us?
    “Calm yourself officer.
    “I’ll let you get back to work then.” She lowered the phone and stared at it.
    “What is it?” Abby asked.
    Fe sat back down on the other bed. “Your friend Sellwood’s car. It was broken into. A smash and grab apparently.”
    “Ecks’s car? Was anything missing? What were they looking for?”
    Fe shrugged. “He didn’t mention anything, though they wouldn’t really know, not without Ecks giving a list of everything that was in there.”
    “This is good though, right? More chance for fingerprints.”
    “If it’s the same suspects, they were wearing gloves.”
    “Hm, that’s right. Maybe they’ll find some hairs.”
    “It’s possible. I wouldn’t bank too much on it though.”
    “Don’t get my hopes up too much, huh?”
    Fe shrugged. “I’m just saying that’s a long shot.”
    “Just like Ecks still being alive.”
    “Abby.”
    “What? Aren’t I right? Most kidnappings after a certain point, the victim is dead?”
    “This isn’t a normal situation.”
    Abby had no response to that, and the conversation died. It
wasn’t
a normal situation, and it just made things that much harder to figure out.
    “I’m hungry,” Fe said after a while. “You?”
    “I could eat I guess.”
    “Room service?”
    Abby sighed. “I’d rather go out somewhere, but I guess that’s not an option.”
    “It is, just not a good one. If you were followed to Ecks’s apartment…”
    “Yeah,” Abby agreed, setting her laptop aside and lying down on the bed. “What about trapping them?” she asked, staring at the ceiling. It was tiled, giving it a regal feel, in contrast to the room itself. If she just stared at the ceiling, she could imagine she was somewhere nice she’d never been, like the Plaza Hotel, or the Taj Mahal.
    “Let me guess, you’d be the bait.”
    “Why not? It would be worth it.”
    “That’s not necessary right now. If we don’t find something in the next day or two—”
    “It will already be too late.”
    “Don’t think like that.”
    “It’s true, isn’t it? I don’t know the numbers, but most people who are kidnapped, the chance of them being found alive decreases with every day they’re missing.”
    “Like I said, this isn’t a typical situation.”
    They sat in silence. Then Fe said, “Tomorrow.”
    Abby rolled her head