AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not today they won’t,” she said. Her sleepy voice tugged at his heartstrings.
“You used to be a heavy sleeper, but I wasn’t sure if that stuck,” he admitted.
“I’ve slept through a tornado alarm that was right outside my bedroom window,” she said. “So, yeah, some things will never change.”
He didn’t need to pay too close attention to what did or didn’t change when it came to Reese.
She curled up on her side. From this vantage point, he couldn’t see if she’d closed her eyes, but suspected so. After grabbing his laptop, he hit the power button, bringing his screen to life. Time to do a little digging into the cases and see if he could find any similarities.
The first name he typed in was Camree Lynn’s. There were a couple of social media accounts with the name but no news stories of her disappearance. Then again, she’d been classified as a runaway. That fact was going to make this harder than he wanted it to be.
They would have to gain information by talking to folks. He could start with Stacie. She’d grown up not far from here. Her parents might know something. But the people who would remember the most were related to Reese. Her mother would have taken a keen interest in the case, considering it was her daughter’s best friend. Then there was Granny. She was a firecracker with a great memory. She might have paid special attention to what was going on.
Between him and Reese, maybe they could piece together what happened or get enough to find a similarity with the Tandra disappearance. At least her parents were on the same page.
Based on the photo of Tandra, she and Camree Lynn were similar-looking with dirty blond hair and cobalt-blue eyes. Both were fifteen and Tandra’s parents admitted to talking about divorce, which was hard on any kid, but especially a teenager going through an independent streak.
The crimes occurred in neighboring counties. Darren suspected they could be related. He wondered how many other missing teens around the state had the same physical attributes. It was impossible to tell whether or not Tandra was the same height as Camree Lynn, but they had similar builds.
Scanning the search results of “missing or runaway teenage girls” in the news section, he located three other females in between Camree Lynn and Tandra who looked similar to them. All from Texas and spread around the state. He opened a document and made a note of their names and any family information he could find. If the same person was responsible for Camree Lynn and Tandra’s disappearances, he’d chosen girls who had tumultuous family lives.
It was tempting to wake up Reese with this find, but he didn’t want to disrupt her soft, even breathing.
A possible pattern was emerging, though. And Sheriff Courtright needed to be asked some hard questions.
Chapter Twelve
Reese opened her eyes, stretched and yawned. Light filtered through the slats of the miniblinds, so it must be morning. A figure was slumped over in a chair in the living room. A shirtless figure. The figure was Darren. Had he slept in that uncomfortable position all night long so she wouldn’t be alone?
The least she could do was make coffee and cook breakfast. She freshened up in the bathroom before folding up her blanket and then stacking it on top of the pillow. With care, she sidestepped a squeaky toy and made it into the next room quietly.
The supplies for coffee were easy to find. His kitchen was orderly, so mugs were in the cabinet above the machine.
The living area might be messy with all the kid stuff lying around, but the kitchen had a place for everything. There were no dishes in the sink. He’d come a long way considering his mother used to be on him almost constantly to put his dishes in the dishwasher.
Darren Pierce was a grown-up now. She smiled. Sleep put her in a better mood. It helped that her head didn’t feel like it was split in two this morning. Caffeine would clear the cobwebs. Food would keep her from getting queasy.
Once the coffee was working, she checked the fridge. There was a carton of eggs. There were green onions and bell peppers. She snagged shredded cheese and milk. With these ingredients, she could fix a mean omelet.
“What is that smell?” Darren asked. His deep voice raised goose bumps on her arms and caused warmth to spread through her. “Heaven?”
“My version,” she said, turning her head enough to see him push to standing. The six-pack in his stomach was more like a twelve-pack. She forced her gaze back on the frying pan. “Almost done.”
“What can I do to help?” he asked.
Being independent and taking care of twins wasn’t something she could imagine pulling off on her own. It was high time someone took care of him for a change. “Take a seat at the table.”
“You sure?”
The fact that there was a twinge of guilt in his voice, like he believed he should be helping, indicated that this man rarely got a break.
“Positive,” she reassured him as she plated the food. She poured a cup of coffee for him and brought both to the table while he rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Eat. Drink. Once you get some caffeine inside you, I’d like to hear about what you found last night in your search.”
Reese set down breakfast in front of Darren, who looked impressed by her cooking skills. A sense of accomplishment brought a smile to her lips. She had no doubt this day was going to be heavy once it got going, so it was nice to have a few quiet minutes this morning to share a meal.
After making her own breakfast, she joined him.
“When did you learn to cook?” he asked with a grin.
