Read Online What a Mother Knows by Leslie Lehr - Free Book Online Page B

that, with anything, if only he’d stay. “I’ll miss you. I’ve been missing you forever.”
    â€œMe, too, honey.” He blew her a kiss and left.
    Michelle ran her hand through her hair, then saw the gray strand caught between her fingers. She hurried outside to the porch and waved to him frantically. When the passenger window rolled down, she called out. “How would you like me as a blond?”
    Drew smiled and rolled the window up as the Volvo backed out of the driveway. The tires bumped over the curb.

6
    Tyler had been home from the airport for over an hour before Michelle could shoo Elyse to the mall. Although the Van Nuys Police Station was open twenty-four hours, Saks closed early on Sunday. There was no time to waste.
    Michelle gazed out the window as they crested the on-ramp to the Ventura Freeway. From here, she could see the San Fernando Valley, lush and green and teeming with life. The mountains rimming the north side looked close enough to touch, with gray peaks edging the sky like knives. Michelle’s Hollywood coworkers used to make fun of her Valley life, but where else could you find sidewalks for skateboarding, public schools that won Academic Decathlons, and pristine baseball fields? Without winter? And yet none of that mattered now; all she could see was the grid of red traffic signals, like the flashing lights of an ambulance. Nikki could be strapped inside one, breathing her last breath.
    â€œYou all right, Mom?” Tyler asked. “You look sort of pale.”
    Michelle smiled at the irony. “Remind me to get a spray tan.”
    Tyler laughed. He had been so quiet when they started out that Michelle thought he was simply focusing on the road. But now she realized that this was the first time they had been alone since the accident. She had missed him so much that the air was awkward between them.
    His phone buzzed and he checked the number. “Cody. I forgot his dad wants you to call him.”
    â€œPlease tell him I don’t have a phone yet. And I already said you could play—my memory may be spotty, but it was only two days ago.” So much had changed in such a short time. She didn’t want to think about it. “Tell me more about your new school, honey. Any favorite teachers? Girlfriends?” Tyler began filling Michelle in on his life at Rutgers Prep. She cherished every word, every intonation, every moment of his attention.
    Michelle smiled and caught his eyes as he checked the right-hand mirror to exit the freeway. She marveled at their color—the same opaque green as his father’s. It reminded her of the algae-rich quarry she used to swim in when she was a little girl. Cool and refreshing, but there was no telling what swam below. Tyler’s thoughts were more transparent as he navigated the parking lot at the police station. He’d always been easier to read than his father.
    ***
    â€œMrs. Mason, hundreds of runaways end up in Los Angeles every month—and that’s the half we know about.” Detective Alvarez, a portly man with silver hair stretched like telephone wires across his head, opened the drawer of his scarred wooden desk and took a hit of Mylanta.
    Michelle scanned the bullpen, where cops interviewing witnesses and processing suspects created a mighty din. She raised her voice. “I didn’t come here for a lecture, Detective. I need you to find my daughter.”
    â€œWe may be close to Hollywood, ma’am, but this isn’t a TV show with an entire squad assigned to one case.” He tapped a stack of folders cluttering his desk. “These are from the last twenty-four hours.”
    â€œHow many Nicole Deveraux Masons could there be?”
    â€œNone, according to our records.” He tilted the computer screen toward her, revealing columns of names.
    â€œPlease, it has to be there. My husband said her calls couldn’t be traced.”
    â€œCould be misfiled, misspelled,