Read Online Sufficient Ransom by Sylvia Sarno - Free Book Online

speak.”
    A lump so large had formed in Ann’s throat she couldn’t speak. They were non-believers, and Chet, a man of God, was offering to help them. Thankfully Richard expressed their shared gratitude.
    Looking away so Chet couldn’t see the emotion in her face, Ann heard her husband telling the pastor that the police were searching for Kika. Her thoughts turned to Travis, to the day of her screaming fit.
    His head on her shoulder, Travis had stopped crying
.
    “Let’s forget about the dentist and school, and my meeting. Everything,” she said. “We’ll go to Legoland. Go on the rides and have pizza. And a great big ice cream. Sound like fun?”
    Travis’s teary-eyed smile took the edge off her guilt
.
    “Let’s go now, Mom.”
    She kissed his head, his eyes, his cheeks, and his little hands. Her client, Douglas Stark, would be angry, but she didn’t care. Her son was more important than her business and money
.
    The doorbell rang
.
    Ann helped her son up. “Gather your things, sweetie, and we’ll leave as soon as I see who’s at the door.”
    She hurried down the stairs. “Coming!”
    A police officer appeared at the window by the front door
.
    Frowning, Ann wondered why the police had come to her house. She unlocked the door. “What can I do for you, officer?”
    “Are you Mrs. Olson?”
    Her apprehension growing, Ann confirmed her identity. “What’s this about?”
    “We received a call about someone screaming. Is everything all right?”
    Ann wondered if the guilt she felt showed on her face. “I’m sorry, Officer...” She glanced at his nametag. “Officer Wilson. It was just me. I was...I was a little upset.”
    Officer Wilson’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Was anybody hurting you?”
    “It was nothing like that,” Ann said, trying to sound light-hearted. “I lost my temper, that’s all.”
    She felt Travis’s head jostle her arm. She looked down. “Hi, sweetie.”
    When Officer Wilson’s eyes lowered to Travis, his face softened. “And what might your name be, young man?”
    Travis’s eyes were wide with terror
.
    Ann rubbed her son’s back. “Tell the nice policeman your name, honey.”
    Travis shook his head
.
    Ann looked at Officer Wilson then back at Travis. The policeman’s brow was furrowed with concern. She realized that her son’s behavior had alarmed the man
.
    Officer Wilson’s voice was peremptory. “Mind if I look around?”
    “Nothing’s happened, Officer,” she said, a little too urgently. “My son poured water all over my laptop. I got a little upset, that’s all. We’re all good, aren’t we, sweetie? In fact, we were just on our way to Legoland.”
    When Travis started to cry, Ann realized that he was crying because he thought that he was in trouble with the police over her ruined her laptop. Kneeling, she said, “Travis, honey, you’re not in trouble. Everything’s okay.”
    Travis cried more loudly. The strain of the morning had apparently been too much for him
.
    Chet was saying, “It was Pastor Todd’s idea. It’d be a good way to get more publicity and more people out searching for Travis. Thousands of people in one place, at night, with the candles.”
    Pastor Todd was co-founder of New Way Evangelical Church and an old friend of Nora and her late husband. Ann looked to Richard for an explanation.
    “New Way wants to organize a candlelight vigil for Travis and for other missing kids,” Richard said.
    A curious fire illuminated Chet’s eyes. “We want to help you, Ann.”
    Her heart filled with gratitude at the pastor’s kindness and his eagerness to help them. “Thank you, Chet. We’ll take all the help we can get. The Villarreals?” she asked. “Do they have any leads on their daughter?”
    Chet spread his hands in a questioning gesture. “They stopped coming to church. They’re not returning calls. I went by their place in Point Loma to see if there was anything more we could do. The shades were drawn. Old newspapers were