Read Online Vanished by Kendra Elliot - Free Book Online

And if she had been assigned to the command center, she’d want a healthier selection. One of the agents chimed in. “Good point. I’m trying to eat Paleo these days. Keeps the brain focused.” He caught a glare from Sanford.
    Ava bit back a smile and kept walking. She found herself drawn to the computer bank where Callahan and the Clackamas County deputy were in deep discussion about the report on the monitor, a city map with a few highlighted spots. She moved closer and her stomach clenched. Sex offenders.
    She stopped and stared at their screen, her focus zooming in on the Fairbankses’ location. Two dots appeared on homes in the same neighborhood. She exhaled. No doubt those were the first homes where Ben Duncan had ordered agents to knock on doors. Callahan looked up and met her gaze.
    “Both offenders were home when Clackamas County knocked earlier today,” he said. “They even agreed to a search. Nothing turned up. They’ve expanded the search and even sent special agents back to these two homes for a second visit already.”
    “Good.” Ava memorized the location of both homes. She’d drive by on her way back to the Fairbanks house. Daily. She’d jog or drive by daily. Real slow.
    “We’re lucky this didn’t happen in another part of Portland. In some neighborhoods, you’d see a dozen dots in a single block,” he added.
    She noticed Callahan’s expression was carefully blank. No doubt he’d had his share of sex offender cases. Two agents strode into the command center and made a beeline for the grouping of computers next to Ava and Callahan. Tension radiated from the two men, and every head in the center turned to look as if they’d been expected. Uneasiness spread through the room. Ava scanned the curious faces watching the agents and decided to step away to give them some space. Already, other agents were moving toward the other men.
    “Would you like a cup of coffee, Detective Callahan?” she offered. Now was as good a time as any to get some insight on the rest of the family. The blended Fairbanks family couldn’t be as cheery as they projected, right? If she was going to spend time with them, she wanted every bit of information she could get. The investigation would look at the family first. Possibly, she’d see something in the house that wouldn’t come across in a formal interview. She liked the parents; she hoped none of them were involved. But until the FBI cleared them . . .
    Callahan held her gaze for two seconds. “I’ll pass on the coffee, but I’ll take a bottled water and maybe a donut.”
    She smiled and jerked her head at the table of preservatives. Callahan excused himself from the deputy, who simply nodded, not looking away from his screen of dots.

    Mason followed Special Agent McLane in the direction of the food. He was starving. He hated to raid their food since he wasn’t part of the official team, but he figured they wouldn’t miss one donut. Besides, the pastries turned into rocks if they weren’t eaten right away. Hopefully they had a maple donut topped with bacon from Voodoo Donuts. That would be as good as a real meal; it had protein.
    He spotted his prey and took a bite of goodness, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Hungry?” he asked Ava.
    She shook her head. “I like donuts, but I don’t know what they put in those. I’m not twenty anymore. My body gives me hell for two days if I load up on preservatives or unpronounceable ingredients.”
    He nodded as he chewed. He understood that. Wine gave him headaches, so he didn’t drink it. That was an easy fix, since he didn’t care for wine anyway, but avoiding donuts must have sucked.
    Special Agent McLane was an attractive woman. He hadn’t noticed it before and suspected she downplayed her looks. Her dark-brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her makeup was minimal, but she had a freshness to her skin that spoke of good health and clean living. Her eyes were an intense dark blue that sparkled