Read Take the Fourth for Free Online

involved.”
    “He’s not her father, Benjamin is, my ex is like an uncle to her… . I know what you are thinking, strange that I’m still on good terms, we were just young that’s all, we both had wandering eyes and both wandered quite a bit when we were in our twenties… . but still we have maintained a good friendship, Ben and Terry even go to ball games together.”
    “Can you call him?”
    “Will I call him? Yes, but not now, I just cannnn… can’t at the moment… . I just can’t tell him Ripley is… .”
    “The sooner the better.”
    “I’ll call,” and Ben pulled out his cell phone and dialed but the detective nudged him, “Can you use a land line, we want to tap and record this.”
    Ben felt guilty for Terry was a very good friend to him but he always had this feeling in the back of his mind, you just never know. So he complied with the detective in charge, put his cell away, and dialed a number he knew by heart. “Terry, it’s Ben.”
    “Hey Ben, what’s up? You ready for the game tomorrow night, I’ve got great seats.”
    “Terry, bad news, real bad, so listen to me.”
    “It’s not Lindsay?”
    “No… . Ripley,” he took a deep breath,” . . . . she’s missing”.
    “Dear god, when, where… . what can I do, where are you… I’m coming over,” the sheer panic set into his voice. With those words “she’s missing,” still lingering in the air it sucked the wind right out of Lindsay, she broke down and started sobbing. Ben as well, couldn’t keep his eyes from welling up. Samuel looked up at his mother and father crying and he too started to cry. He didn’t realize the situation with his missing sister; he was just upset because both his parents were upset—it was a natural reaction to a child of three. After that call, Ben was as visibly disturbed as his wife, reality was really beginning to set. Before the detective left he had just a few more questions.
    “Do you have an answering machine at home?”
    “Yes but… .”
    “Do you have the capability to check your messages when you are away?”
    “Yes but… .”
    “Please, check your messages for me.”
    With that Ben used the land line once again, entered his four digit pass code and waited.
    “You have no new messages.” Ben finally realized what the officer was suggesting… as in every missing person case there is a chance it’s a kidnapping and the ransom note/call is a possibility.
    “Please, there is nothing more you can do here, I have a few more people from the park to interview, you need to go back to your home and wait, I’ll send one of my officers with you.” And with that the detective parted ways for he knew time was of the essence and he didn’t want to spend precious time consoling emotionally distraught parents. It seemed callous but that’s what made him good at his job.
     
    Before his other interviews Detective Charles Lynch went to grab a cup of coffee and a smoke but before he could make his way to the break room he was stopped by one of the young rookies.
    “Detective Lynch, I was just coming to get you, a Camaro fitting the description was just found just a few miles from the park. A neighbor heard the news and called it in… The car is supposed to be in the garage.”
    “Yeah, but what are the chances this is our car?”
    “Well the neighbor who called it in, said he came home around an hour ago”
    “Who owns the car?”
    “Not sure yet sir.”
    “You have to know the address and who lives there?”
    “Yes, we’ve checked on that sir but the Camaro is not registered to any of the members of the household.
    “Okay, send a crew, now.” In the back of Lynch’s mind he knew the odds were against him, but this just might be a lucky break. Sure most cases were solved through hard work and dedication but every so often one just needed a little luck to push it towards closure. This could be just that break. Lynch grabbed his coffee, nixed the idea of having a smoke and