word.
He swallows. “You
would feel really bad if I choked.” He points to the box on the desk. “Eat.”
Beth snatches a
piece out of the box and plops down. “Find Mrs. Freedman’s first name while I
find out how many Freedman’s are in the Boston area.”
“You should search
the newspaper archives to see if anything comes up,” Elliot mumbles with a full
mouth.
“I had no idea
there were so many Freedman’s in Massachusetts.” Beth stares at her monitor.
Elliot opens Mrs.
Freedman’s dossier. “Her first name is Margaret … her address is … She’s
widowed. Her husband’s name was Walter Freedman.”
“Nothing peculiar
comes up for Margaret Freedman. The address is confirmed by two independent
sources,” Beth interjects while continuing to type. “Her address of ten years.”
“Does it say where
she lived before?”
Beth opens a new
browser window to cross reference the dossier’s data. After searching five
minutes, Beth relents. “Nothing. There are no other addresses.”
“She probably
moved here after her husband died,” Elliot says. “Do a search on Walter
Freedman and find all the previous addresses under that name.”
Minutes become
hours as Beth types away at the keyboard, hoping to come up with something,
only to find nothing. Beth glares at Elliot sound asleep in the chair with his
feet kicked up on her desk. Too tired to push him off his expensive perch, she
closes her eyes to rest for a moment.
Thud!
Startled by the
sudden noise, Beth wakes from her sound sleep. Half out of her chair, she
watches Elliot pick himself up from the floor. “Thanks for the wake-up call,”
she says while laughing. “Maybe next time you will keep your feet on the
floor.”
“Very funny; you
might want to take some of that energy and hit your messages. Sarah just
called.”
Reeled back to
reality, Beth presses her messages.
“You have one new
message. Message number one …”
“Hi, Beth, it’s
Sarah. Call me, She’s willing to talk to you about Mrs. Freedman.”
Beth grabs the
phone and dials Sarah.
“Hello?” Sarah
answers.
“Hi, Sarah. When
can I speak with Vicky and her mom?”
“Her name is Jade.
You can meet her this morning if you want.”
“Excellent, let’s
meet at Odell’s for coffee and go from there.” Beth grows excited.
Elliot’s face
brightens as he catches Beth’s enthusiasm.
“What time?” Sarah
asks.
“How close are
you? I can be there in twenty minutes.”
“Sounds great.
I’ll meet you there.”
Beth hangs up the
phone. “Hey Elliot, which car do you want to take?” She grabs her coat and
purse.
Chapter
7: Abduction
Elliot pulls the
jeep in front of Odell’s. “I’ll keep it running so it’s warm. Make mine a
double espresso.”
“Got it.” Beth
opens the door and gets out. The wind’s extra bitter this morning. She
pulls her coat tight to her as she hurries to the front entrance of Odell’s. As
she opens the door, the wind gusts through causing it to jump out of her hand
and bang against the building. Fighting against the strong wind, she grasps the
handle and pulls it shut. “Windy out there.” She nears the counter.
“Can I help you?”
the new counter person asks dryly.
“I need two large
mocha lattes and one double-shot espresso.”
“That will be
sixteen forty-five.”
“Where’s Odell?”
Beth hands the girl a twenty.
“Day off.”
A sweet brunette
behind the counter soon has Beth’s order ready and packs it neatly into a
divided cardboard carrier. She hands it to Beth. “Have a great day, Beth!”
“You too, Cindy.”
Beth proceeds to the door. Oh good, there’s Sarah. Beth sees her friend
ready to cross the street as a white van pulls to the curb in front of Sarah to
park, blocking her view.
* * *
Waiting to cross
the street, Sarah watches Beth with the coffees in hand and heading toward
Odell’s front door. Beth’s got the coffee. Tires chirp as a white
utility van comes to an
He swallows. “You
would feel really bad if I choked.” He points to the box on the desk. “Eat.”
Beth snatches a
piece out of the box and plops down. “Find Mrs. Freedman’s first name while I
find out how many Freedman’s are in the Boston area.”
“You should search
the newspaper archives to see if anything comes up,” Elliot mumbles with a full
mouth.
“I had no idea
there were so many Freedman’s in Massachusetts.” Beth stares at her monitor.
Elliot opens Mrs.
Freedman’s dossier. “Her first name is Margaret … her address is … She’s
widowed. Her husband’s name was Walter Freedman.”
“Nothing peculiar
comes up for Margaret Freedman. The address is confirmed by two independent
sources,” Beth interjects while continuing to type. “Her address of ten years.”
“Does it say where
she lived before?”
Beth opens a new
browser window to cross reference the dossier’s data. After searching five
minutes, Beth relents. “Nothing. There are no other addresses.”
“She probably
moved here after her husband died,” Elliot says. “Do a search on Walter
Freedman and find all the previous addresses under that name.”
Minutes become
hours as Beth types away at the keyboard, hoping to come up with something,
only to find nothing. Beth glares at Elliot sound asleep in the chair with his
feet kicked up on her desk. Too tired to push him off his expensive perch, she
closes her eyes to rest for a moment.
Thud!
Startled by the
sudden noise, Beth wakes from her sound sleep. Half out of her chair, she
watches Elliot pick himself up from the floor. “Thanks for the wake-up call,”
she says while laughing. “Maybe next time you will keep your feet on the
floor.”
“Very funny; you
might want to take some of that energy and hit your messages. Sarah just
called.”
Reeled back to
reality, Beth presses her messages.
“You have one new
message. Message number one …”
“Hi, Beth, it’s
Sarah. Call me, She’s willing to talk to you about Mrs. Freedman.”
Beth grabs the
phone and dials Sarah.
“Hello?” Sarah
answers.
“Hi, Sarah. When
can I speak with Vicky and her mom?”
“Her name is Jade.
You can meet her this morning if you want.”
“Excellent, let’s
meet at Odell’s for coffee and go from there.” Beth grows excited.
Elliot’s face
brightens as he catches Beth’s enthusiasm.
“What time?” Sarah
asks.
“How close are
you? I can be there in twenty minutes.”
“Sounds great.
I’ll meet you there.”
Beth hangs up the
phone. “Hey Elliot, which car do you want to take?” She grabs her coat and
purse.
Chapter
7: Abduction
Elliot pulls the
jeep in front of Odell’s. “I’ll keep it running so it’s warm. Make mine a
double espresso.”
“Got it.” Beth
opens the door and gets out. The wind’s extra bitter this morning. She
pulls her coat tight to her as she hurries to the front entrance of Odell’s. As
she opens the door, the wind gusts through causing it to jump out of her hand
and bang against the building. Fighting against the strong wind, she grasps the
handle and pulls it shut. “Windy out there.” She nears the counter.
“Can I help you?”
the new counter person asks dryly.
“I need two large
mocha lattes and one double-shot espresso.”
“That will be
sixteen forty-five.”
“Where’s Odell?”
Beth hands the girl a twenty.
“Day off.”
A sweet brunette
behind the counter soon has Beth’s order ready and packs it neatly into a
divided cardboard carrier. She hands it to Beth. “Have a great day, Beth!”
“You too, Cindy.”
Beth proceeds to the door. Oh good, there’s Sarah. Beth sees her friend
ready to cross the street as a white van pulls to the curb in front of Sarah to
park, blocking her view.
* * *
Waiting to cross
the street, Sarah watches Beth with the coffees in hand and heading toward
Odell’s front door. Beth’s got the coffee. Tires chirp as a white
utility van comes to an
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