Read Online The Buried (The Apostles) by Shelley Coriell - Free Book Online

driving the truck must have said something to her because she walked to the passenger door and spoke to him.”
    “Him?” Grace asked.
    “Did you see the driver?” Lieutenant Lang added.
    “No, but the truck seemed like a guy’s truck. Big, a lift kit, mud covered, and those oversized tires. Of course a girl could drive it. We’re going to avoid all those gender stereotypes. Callie can play with trucks and play football.”
    Grace couldn’t help but notice everything kept coming back to the baby. The young mother was consumed. And this was why Grace didn’t have a family. There was no time in her life for a dog, let alone a child who deserved this kind of attention.
    “Did you hear any of the conversation?” Lieutenant Lang asked.
    “Nothing. My bedroom window was closed.”
    The baby kicked, and Grace rocked faster. “What happened next?”
    “They talked for quite a while. I must have walked back and forth a hundred times. The girl was resting her arms on the truck windowsill. It looked like a pretty intense conversation. And then when I walked by and looked, the woman and the truck were gone.”
    “Did they leave together?”
    “I kind of assumed they did.”
    “Can you tell us anything else about the truck? License plate number? Make? Model?”
    The young mother shook her head. “I’m sorry. I had my hands pretty full that night.”
    Lieutenant Lang asked a dozen more questions and took the young mother’s contact information. Grace made a mental note to see if the medical center or nearby businesses had any security cameras. Plus she needed to—
    “Excuse me.”
    Grace turned to the young mother. “Yes?”
    “Callie.” She pointed to the bundle in Grace’s arms. “I need my baby.”
    Grace stopped swaying and stared at the baby now sleeping deeply and peacefully in her arms. “She’s sweet and beautiful.” She handed the bundle to the new mother, her arms heavy despite the emptiness. She gave her arms a shake. “I’m sure she’ll do great things.”
    With the witness gone, Lieutenant Lang picked up her phone. “I’ll put a BOLO out on the truck. It’s unique, and chances are someone will remember it. I’ll also get CSU on the scene and check for tire tracks.”
    Grace nodded absently. All good, but they needed more. She looked out the window. “Clouds are coming in.”
    “And with the clouds come rain,” Lieutenant Lang said.
    Grace didn’t say what they both were thinking. And with the rain would come mud which would seep into any cracks letting in air. “We need more help.”
    “We have more than a hundred searchers. Every news outlet within a hundred miles has given the story coverage. Even the Girl Scouts have joined the hunt. Lia Grant was a Girl Scout leader, and her troop is passing out flyers door to door.”
    “It’s not enough.” They needed manpower and resources and experts. Grace stopped pacing. “Have you called the FBI?”
    “That first night. They’re checking ViCAP for similar abductions and have offered tech support. Why?”
    “Remember that stranger abduction last summer in Orlando?”
    “Wasn’t that the eight-year-old girl in the princess costume?”
    Grace nodded. “Orlando police called in one of the FBI’s foremost missing and endangered child specialists, an agent from Parker Lord’s team. He wrapped up the case in sixteen hours. He was also involved in the hunt last month in northern Nevada for that old blind Vietnam veteran who was captured by the Broadcaster Butcher.”
    “Sounds like the kind of man we need on our side. If you can get him here, I’ll make you friendship bracelets for life.” The lieutenant tried to smile, but it came across as a grimace. “Do you know him?”
    Grace took a deep breath. She could do this. For Lia. “I’m acquainted with one of Parker Lord’s team members who is in town this week.”
    The lieutenant did an about-face. “You have an in with Parker Lord’s team?”
    And an out. Breathe in, two, three.