Read Online Survivor: 1 by J. F. Gonzalez - Free Book Online Page A

right," Frank had said. He had cornered the officer as he strolled in to begin his two-to-midnight shift.
"And everybody I've talked to in this fucking building
says they can't do anything about it because she can't be
considered missing yet!" He spat that last sentence out
with an air of contempt. "Fucking bullshit, if you ask me."
    "Come with me a minute," Officer Lansing said. He led
Frank through the office to a desk where a young officer
with a crew cut was at a desk in front of a computer. "Can
I borrow your computer for a moment, Doug?"
    "Sure" Doug moved aside, and Officer Lansing sat behind the terminal.

    'In my right-hand drawer there is an arrest file on a
citizen's arrest by a Mr. Caleb Smith. Can you pull that
for me?"
    Doug retrieved the file and Officer Lansing flipped
through it. He entered Mr. Smith's name and address in
the system, hit a key, then waited. A moment later, a message appeared on the screen: NO MATCHING RECORDS
FOUND.
    'Shit' Officer Lansing retyped the information as
Frank peered over his shoulder at the screen. The query
returned the same message.
    Officer Lansing turned to Frank.'"Ihis system hooks up
with the DMV's central database. I should have gotten Mr.
Smith's DMV record, which would have included any outstanding warrants or other records, but there's nothing."
    Frank looked at Officer Lansing. "You saying this guy
gave you a false address?"
    "1'm not saying anything yet." Officer Lansing handed
the file to Doug. "Run a complete check on Mr. Caleb
Smith, then run a DMV check on his vehicle. When you're
done, bring the printouts to me. I'll be in Ken's office." He
rose from the desk and began heading toward an office
at the rear of the building. "I'll have to get back to you, Mr.
Miller. Will you have a seat in the waiting room for me?"
    That had been the longest wait in Frank's life. When Officer Lansing came back, he was accompanied by a lieutenant. The lieutenant appeared to be his age, with
salt-and-pepper hair and ruddy features. "We're sending a
pair of detectives to the Days Inn now, and another to
talk to your son!
    Flank had risen to his feet. "Does this mean you can let
him go?"
    For the first time, he realized that Officer Lansing
looked embarrassed. Lieutenant Young gave Officer
Lansing a cursory glance, then looked back at Frank.'Un- fortunately, because your son was placed under citizen's
arrest in pursuant of a felony, we can't release him until
Monday morning."

    "Christ!" Frank ran a hand through his thinning hair.
    "We're doing everything we can to find Lisa," Lieutenant Young said, trying to muster a positive smile. "We'll
find her. Don't worry."
    Frank relayed all this to his son that afternoon, trying
to break the news as gently as possible. Brad could only
listen with a growing sense of dread; he didn't know how,
but somehow Mr. Smith had something to do with this.
He could feel it in his gut.
    Brad's parents stayed with him at the jail until five PM.
By then a search had been conducted at the motel
room, and no signs of foul play had been found. Officer
Lansing had remained at the station to ferry the news
back to the Millers and comb through the files for any information on Mr. Smith. He broke the news shortly before five o'clock. "Something happened to her," Brad
said, his voice threatening to break. "Find this Mr. Smith
guy and-"
    "We're working on it," Lieutenant Young said. "Believe
me, we want to find this guy ourselves."
    "What's his story?" Frank asked. "Did you run his license plate? Was that fake too?"
    Officer Lansing looked grim. Me DMV check we ran
on his plate came up reported stolen six months ago. The
plates belonged to a Chevy Suburban in San Diego. I
didn't get a PIN number on Mr. Smith's vehicle at the time
of your arrest because ... well .. "
    "I was the criminal yesterday, not him," Brad said, feeling the cloud of anger return.
    Officer Lansing ignored the comment. "Every check
we've done through