The Girl and the Unlucky 13 (Emma Griffin™ FBI Mystery) A.J. Rivers (historical books to read TXT) 📖

be ready soon. We’ve given up enough of our time for today.”

“I’ll be back,” I tell Ashley. “Thank you for watching that.”

She nods as she hands me back the tablet. “Do you think Wolf is out there looking for me?”

Misty’s eyes widen and snap to me, horrified.

“We’ll find him,” I say. “We just need to keep moving forward.”

I go right to Dean’s room when I get back to the hotel.

“What’s going on?” he asks, tugging his shirt on over his freshly showered head as he comes out into the hallway.

“Come to my room. I need to tell you about what just happened.”

A few minutes later we’re sitting in my room with the tablet on the table in front of us.

“Misty didn’t know what happened with Vivian and Allison?” Dean asks.

“No. I asked the investigators not to disclose that yet. I don’t want it to confuse other aspects of the investigation. Keeping those details confidential is our leverage right now. And Misty looked genuinely surprised when she saw them come into the hospital.”

“She didn’t want to know what happened,” Xavier points out.

“She asked who the people were and where they found her,” Ava says. “That’s what Emma said.”

“Yes,” Xavier nods. “But she didn’t ask what happened to her. She didn’t want to know why they were bringing her to the hospital.”

“Maybe she knew about Ashley’s drinking,” Dean offers. “It might not have been the first time something like this happened. It wouldn’t be the first time a mother tried to paint a rosy picture of what her child was actually like when something awful happened to that child.”

“Why would she do that, though?” Ava asks. “What would the point be of pretending Ashley was perfect? If Misty knew Ashley partied, maybe she knew people Ashley could have gotten wrapped up with.”

“The same reason people tend to forget how horrible their relatives really were once they die. It can be hard to have negative thoughts about somebody you might not see again. For a mother whose child is missing, it can feel that acknowledging anything unpleasant or controversial about that child makes it seem as though she doesn’t actually want the child back. Or as if it will somehow reduce the chances she’ll get the child back,” I say.

“As if she isn’t showing enough sincerity to the universe,” Xavier says.

“We’ve got to get her to that house,” I say. “Misty pushed back against it so hard. Ashley is an adult. If she wants to go, she should.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Ava asks.

“I’m assuming you don’t,” I say.

“It’s just that she was held captive at that house for five years. She went through horrible things there. And she escaped. Don’t you think that could create a damaging situation for her?”

“You sound just like Misty,” I say.

“Maybe it’s something to consider,” she says.

“And maybe you should consider I know better than someone who has no investigative experience. I wouldn’t put Ashley in danger. I’m not suggesting she walk up to the front door and ring the doorbell if she sees her captor through the window. The chances of his still being in the place where she was kept are next to nothing. He’s not stupid. And he’s also not disconnected from the world. Ashley said herself that he watches the news and he keeps up with things. He knows her situation is being splashed on every network in existence. He’s not just going to sit around and wait for the mob with the pitchforks and torches.”

“That’s not actually going to happen, Xavier,” Dean says, quickly adding the disclaimer he and I both know needs to exist.

“Are you sure?” Xavier asks.

“Yes,” Dean says out of the corner of his mouth.

“Can we arrange for it?” Xavier asks quietly.

“No,” Dean says.

“The thing is, I sincerely doubt the house she could lead us to is the only place she’s been kept this entire time. But getting there and seeing those surroundings could be a step toward finding where else she’s been,” I say.

“But couldn’t you look at the house and find out all the same things without her there?” Ava asks.

“I could look at it,” I say. “And I could research it. But, no, I couldn’t find out the same things without her there. She’s willing to do what needs to be done to find out what happened to her and stop it from happening to anyone else. I would think that if she is, other people would be, too.”

Forty-Five

“Hey,” Dean says, coming into my room the next morning. “You slept late.”

“Not exactly,” I say.

“Two hours and fifteen minutes,” Xavier says. “Give or take. Most likely between three and five-thirty.”

Dean stares at him. “Please tell me you didn’t embed a chip in her. Or bug her room.”

“Why was ‘embed a chip in her’ the first thing out of your mouth?” I ask.

“I didn’t do either one,” Xavier protests.

“Then how could you possibly know that?”

He points at the table close to the window. “The assortment of food wrappers and room service dishes. Based on observing Emma eat and creating an average of the amount she eats over a set time frame, combined with the imbalance of real food versus vending machine food when considering the posted hours of room service, I’m guessing that is the approximate amount of overnight time spent not snacking.”

“Some people read tea leaves, Xavier reads snack food wrappers and dirty dishes,” Dean says.

“Well, now that I’m resigned to eating nothing but raw fruit and vegetables for the next few weeks, let’s talk about what we’re doing today,” I say.

“I guess that depends on what Ava has to say when she gets back,” Dean shrugs.

“Where did she go?” I ask.

“What do you mean where did she go? Didn’t you send her somewhere?” he asks.

My spine stiffens. “No. I didn’t. How long has she been gone?”

“About an hour, I guess,” Dean says. “She slipped a note under my room door saying she had to go look into something.”

“Under your door?”