Read Online The Belial Stone (The Belial Series) by R.D. Brady - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: R.D. Brady
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sweater, her shapely body was evident. A man would have to be blind not to notice Cleo.
“He didn’t even ask me for a date until after he’d walked me home for a week. He was a perfect gentleman. It was as if he was trying to make everything perfect.” Cleo paused, trying to hold back her tears. “He wouldn’t have just left, Jake. I know he wouldn’t.”
He spoke with Cleo for a few more minutes about their routine - where they had gone, who they had spoken with. But then Jake was out of questions.
Cleo stood up to leave. “Tom told me about you. He said you were a good man who’d made something of his life, after a childhood of pain. He was working towards being as good a man one day.” She grabbed his hand. “Find him, Jake. Please find him.”
Jake watched her leave, his thoughts heavy. He’d hoped that Tom had just run off. Then he’d just have to track him down, talk some sense into him, and bring him back. He knew now that wasn’t what had happened. Tom hadn’t left on his own. But unfortunately, none of Tom’s friends had been able to offer any clues as to where he might have gone.
Walking out of the church, he debated his next move. He stared at a beat-up Buick driving slowly down the street, leaving a trail of black smoke in its wake. That’s what he needed: a clear trail to follow. He sighed, pulling out his cell.
“Any luck?” Henry Chandler, Jake’s friend and boss, asked as soon as he answered.
“No. No leads, no possibilities. I’m at a dead end. Did you guys come up with anything?”
When Jake had explained about Tom going missing, Henry had laid all the resources of the Chandler Group at his feet. As a global think tank reputed to have the top analysts in multiple fields, Jake was extremely thankful for the help.
“Not sure.” Henry replied. “It’s probably a long shot but-”
“Henry, right now a long shot seems to be the only shot I’ve got.”
“Well, I put Danny on the case.”
Jake smiled at the mention of Chandler’s youngest and most brilliant analyst. He’d joined the group two years ago at the ripe old age of twelve. Danny Wartowski was an immeasurable genius: his IQ was so high, no standardized tes t could accurately capture it.
Jake knew that if Danny was the one who came up with the lead, there would be nothing long about it.
“Danny did his usual wizardry and found that New York state has a higher number of parolees going missing than the surrounding states. Coincidentally, they all seem to go missing in the first week of the month. It’s been going on for about a year. And none of the missing men have shown back up - not in hospitals, morgues, or anywhere. They’ve all disappeared.”
Jake didn’t like the sound of that. “What does Danny think is going on?”
“He wasn’t sure, initially. He ran more and more data, pulling together the links. He found that at the beginning of each month, a political group called AFP has been chartering a cargo plane out of New York. He couldn’t trace where they went. They’ve been filing false flight plans.”
“Wouldn’t they be able to track the plane through air traffic control?”
“Generally, yes. But they always leave through one of the bigger hubs, meaning they could fly using visual flight rules and they’d just get lost in all of the air traffic. You’d need a really diligent controller for them to notice.”
Jake closed his eyes in frustration. “Great. What about this group, AFP? Who are they?”
“Americans for Progress. They’re a political action group that supports extremely conservative policies and political candidates. Their members are pretty high profile: U.S. senators, agency heads, law enforcement officials, as well as wealthy citizens. They’re very powerful, although they tend to keep their activities out of the public eye. The president of AFP is Jackson
“He didn’t even ask me for a date until after he’d walked me home for a week. He was a perfect gentleman. It was as if he was trying to make everything perfect.” Cleo paused, trying to hold back her tears. “He wouldn’t have just left, Jake. I know he wouldn’t.”
He spoke with Cleo for a few more minutes about their routine - where they had gone, who they had spoken with. But then Jake was out of questions.
Cleo stood up to leave. “Tom told me about you. He said you were a good man who’d made something of his life, after a childhood of pain. He was working towards being as good a man one day.” She grabbed his hand. “Find him, Jake. Please find him.”
Jake watched her leave, his thoughts heavy. He’d hoped that Tom had just run off. Then he’d just have to track him down, talk some sense into him, and bring him back. He knew now that wasn’t what had happened. Tom hadn’t left on his own. But unfortunately, none of Tom’s friends had been able to offer any clues as to where he might have gone.
Walking out of the church, he debated his next move. He stared at a beat-up Buick driving slowly down the street, leaving a trail of black smoke in its wake. That’s what he needed: a clear trail to follow. He sighed, pulling out his cell.
“Any luck?” Henry Chandler, Jake’s friend and boss, asked as soon as he answered.
“No. No leads, no possibilities. I’m at a dead end. Did you guys come up with anything?”
When Jake had explained about Tom going missing, Henry had laid all the resources of the Chandler Group at his feet. As a global think tank reputed to have the top analysts in multiple fields, Jake was extremely thankful for the help.
“Not sure.” Henry replied. “It’s probably a long shot but-”
“Henry, right now a long shot seems to be the only shot I’ve got.”
“Well, I put Danny on the case.”
Jake smiled at the mention of Chandler’s youngest and most brilliant analyst. He’d joined the group two years ago at the ripe old age of twelve. Danny Wartowski was an immeasurable genius: his IQ was so high, no standardized tes t could accurately capture it.
Jake knew that if Danny was the one who came up with the lead, there would be nothing long about it.
“Danny did his usual wizardry and found that New York state has a higher number of parolees going missing than the surrounding states. Coincidentally, they all seem to go missing in the first week of the month. It’s been going on for about a year. And none of the missing men have shown back up - not in hospitals, morgues, or anywhere. They’ve all disappeared.”
Jake didn’t like the sound of that. “What does Danny think is going on?”
“He wasn’t sure, initially. He ran more and more data, pulling together the links. He found that at the beginning of each month, a political group called AFP has been chartering a cargo plane out of New York. He couldn’t trace where they went. They’ve been filing false flight plans.”
“Wouldn’t they be able to track the plane through air traffic control?”
“Generally, yes. But they always leave through one of the bigger hubs, meaning they could fly using visual flight rules and they’d just get lost in all of the air traffic. You’d need a really diligent controller for them to notice.”
Jake closed his eyes in frustration. “Great. What about this group, AFP? Who are they?”
“Americans for Progress. They’re a political action group that supports extremely conservative policies and political candidates. Their members are pretty high profile: U.S. senators, agency heads, law enforcement officials, as well as wealthy citizens. They’re very powerful, although they tend to keep their activities out of the public eye. The president of AFP is Jackson
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