Read Online The Reckoning by Jana DeLeon - Free Book Online Page B

“Just Alex when she awakened. I came into her room to tell her I’d make pancakes. She’s always loved my blueberry pancakes. Did she ever tell you about the time we ate fifteen of them one Saturday morning?”
    “No.”
    Sarah smiled. “We couldn’t play kickball with the other kids, our stomachs were so swollen, but Alex always says my pancakes were worth it. Right?”
    Sarah looked up at Alex, the smile seemingly affixed on her face. Alex forced a smile for her cousin and nodded. “Your pancakes are the best in the world.”
    She looked over at Holt, who shot her a worried look. It was as Alex had feared—Sarah seemed to be breaking with reality.
    “Sarah,” Alex said. “Do you have an extra blanket? I got a little chilly last night.”
    “Sure. I have some extras in my bedroom closet.”
    “Would you mind getting me one and leaving it on my bed? Just in case I have to leave and you’re asleep when I get back? I don’t want to have to wake you.”
    Sarah rose from the table and walked down the hall as if programmed to do so.
    “This is so not good,” Alex said.
    “She’s disassociating,” Holt said, as he watched her cousin walk away.
    “Yes. I was hoping to keep her calm and focused, but it’s too much for her. The deal with Bobby and now Erika missing. And all the weirdness surrounding it.”
    Holt frowned. “I know this is going to make you angry, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask…”
    “You want to know if I think it’s possible that Sarah hurt Erika.”
    Holt stared at her, clearly surprised.
    “Part of my work is with mental patients who got commitment instead of incarceration. I’ve seen and heard horrible things. I know how dark a place the mind can be.”
    Holt sighed. “I suppose you do.”
    “But the answer is still no. I don’t believe Sarah hurt her daughter.”
    “But you agree she’s capable of it?”
    “We’re all capable of it. We’re human. But that’s not what happened here. Sarah was completely lucid when I arrived yesterday. Her condition was normal given the situation, and I saw no indicators that there was a problem with her stability.”
    “And now?”
    “I think we better find Erika before I lose two family members in one week.”
    Holt started to comment, but Sarah’s home telephone interrupted him. Alex jumped up from the table, not wanting her cousin to answer any calls in her current state of mind.
    “Is this Mrs. Rhonaldo?”
    Alex frowned, not recognizing the voice. “This is her cousin. Mrs. Rhonaldo is ill right now. Can I help you with something?”
    “Yes, ma’am. I hope so. This is Al Johnson and I own a pawn shop in New Orleans. Mrs. Rhonaldo’s husband sold me a guitar yesterday and I wanted to verify that he was the only owner. It’s worth more that way.”
    Alex gripped the phone so hard her knuckles ached. Bobby owned only one guitar that was worth enough money to pawn, and the only thing he loved more than the instrument was his daughter.
    “Mr. Johnson, could you hold for just a moment, please?” Alex covered the phone with her hand and repeated what the pawn shop owner had told her.
    Holt jumped up from his seat and reached for the phone. “Mr. Johnson, this is Holt Chamberlain with the Vodoun Sheriff’s Department. Mr. Rhonaldo is currently missing, as is his six-year old daughter. Do you have security cameras in your shop?”
    Holt nodded to Alex and she felt her pulse increase.
    “Could you please pull the tape from when Mr. Rhonaldo sold you the guitar and hold the tape and the guitar until I get there? Thank you.”
    Holt hung the phone up and pulled his keys from his pocket. “I’ll let you know what I find out,” he said.
    “Wait,” Alex said, “I’m going with you.”
    “No, you’re not.”
    “You haven’t lived in Vodoun for ten years. You may not recognize whoever is on that tape.”
    “You mean, if it’s not Bobby.”
    “I’d bet everything I own it’s not Bobby. There’s no way