Read Gone The Next for Free Online Page A

film, and literature. They don’t post often, but when they do, it’s never about politics or religion. Examine either page more closely and you’ll notice that there is hardly any identifying information. No high school listed, no college, no job history. Just a hometown and some favorite musicians, books, and movies.
    But it works, especially when Linda Peterson contacts a young, single guy. You’d be surprised how many men will accept a friend request from a strange woman if she is a pretty redhead. Sometimes I have to pretend I’m a forgotten classmate, or a former co-worker, or whatever works. Sometimes I’ll get a “Do I know you?” in response, but I can usually make up something that gets me in, especially if their wall is visible.
    Did I want to do that now? I had a hard time thinking of a reason not to, so I went ahead and sent Brian Pierce a request. I mean Linda Peterson did.

10
     
    It took me several hours to fall asleep, but I was finally snoozing soundly when my cell phone rang at 7:17 the next morning. Mia calling.
    “What?” I croaked.
    “Love you, too.”
    “What are you doing up this early?”
    “You watching CNN?”
    “No, I’m busy organizing my stamp collection.”
    “They’re talking about Tracy Turner’s parents. Her mom and her stepdad. You need to turn it on.”
    I grabbed the remote off my nightstand and powered up the small flat-screen mounted on the wall opposite my bed. Punched in the numbers for CNN. One of their anchors was speaking with one of their crime reporters.
    The reporter was saying, “ — with Kathleen Hanrahan last night, until she refused to answer any more questions and walked out of the interview.”
    Kathleen Hanrahan was the mom. Remarried, so she had a different last name than Tracy Turner. I sat up in bed.
    The anchor asked, “At this point, do the investigators think she had anything to do with the disappearance of her daughter?”
    “No, they are saying that they were asking routine questions, but Kathleen Hanrahan was no longer willing to speak with them. They did acknowledge that Mrs. Hanrahan has spent more than twenty hours in interviews so far, and she has been a willing participant.”
    “Interesting, huh?” Mia said in my ear.
    “What is this I hear about witness fatigue?” the anchor said. “Isn’t it true that even the most agreeable witness can reach a point where she’s simply had enough and needs a break?”
    “Oh, absolutely, Roger.”
    “Could that be what’s happening here?”
    “There’s no real way to know for sure.”
    “Oh, come on,” I said. “This is all bullshit.”
    “What? Why?” Mia said.
    “Hold on.”
    The anchor asked, “Has she brought in an attorney?”
    “Not yet, no, but that might be the next step.”
    The reporter was on audio only, because now they were showing photos of Kathleen Hanrahan. Photos of her alone, with Tracy, with her husband, all three of them together. She was an attractive and well-put-together woman. Maybe forty years old. Impeccable clothes, precise makeup, expensive jewelry. Your garden-variety affluent white woman with good taste. The headline at the bottom of the screen said: MISSING TOT’S MOM ENDS INTERVIEW.
    “What about Patrick Hanrahan?” the anchor said. “Where does he stand in this? Is he still speaking with the police?”
    “That’s a good question, and we’re looking into it. The interview last night took place in the Hanrahan home and it’s unclear if Patrick, Tracy’s stepdad, took part. However, he has been interviewed at length several times already and we’ve seen no sign that there has been any sort of problem as it relates to him. I also understand that he has offered a one million dollar reward for information that leads to her safe return.”
    “Are the investigators making any comment about the possibility of kidnapping?”
    Good question , I thought. A lot of people lump kidnapping and abduction into the same category. They are a world