Read The Darkness Inside: Writer's Cut for Free Online

morning,” Hall said. “The weather hasn’t helped, though.”
    “No trail?”
    “Some, but it was confused and we couldn’t get a clear abduction point. The handlers say her traces may have faded out a couple of blocks from the Aitkens’, but they weren't certain. We’ve had forensics take away anything they could find from the roadside at that point.”
    Agostini drummed his fingers on the kitchen worktop. “You have any luck with that?”
    “No. Nothing promising anyway.”
    “In that case,” I said, “keep on trying to trace anyone else Holly might have gone to see, or anywhere she might have gone on her own. If she’s just with a boyfriend or something and hasn’t caught the news, I’d be very happy.”
    “Probably too young for a boyfriend,” Hall said.
    Agostini shook his head. “Hey, my kid sister had her first crush when she was, like, ten.”
    “It doesn’t matter. There’s no boyfriend that we know of.”
    “No?”
    “No.”
    “Well, in addition to that, get anything you can dig up on traffic in this area last night. Vehicles, drivers, anything and anyone we can put in the right place at the right time. Particularly the point where her scent trail went cold. Keep us posted on anything interesting.”
    “Sure,” Hall said.
    Agostini looked at me. “What about me? What do you want me to do?”
    “Drive up to the Aitkens’ house and wait for me there. We’ll need the car. If you don’t mind the rain, you can walk back to meet me on the way. Once we’ve spoken to them we’ll play it by ear. See what comes up.”
    “What do you think our chances are?”
    I didn’t answer him. Let the silence do the talking.
    “Shit,” he said.
    I stepped back outside and the storm hadn’t let up at all. Driving pellets of rain sliced through the air like buckshot, slapping into my suit jacket. Agostini looked at me like I was crazy again as I waved away the offer of an umbrella. In the wind, it wouldn’t have held up anyway. I passed the news vans and left the sad gathering of vehicles outside the house behind.
    The neighborhood felt closed-off, abandoned, like the streets in some disaster movie after the killer plague had hit and everyone but the lone survivor was dead. The houses looked to be mostly family residences; people with similar jobs, similar kids, similar lives. Similar times for going out and staying home. The small yards were pleasant, but boxed-in. Most had hedges, or a couple of small trees, or a fence — something to form a barrier between each property and the public street. Even down the cross-streets I couldn’t see any bars, clubs, late-night malls, anywhere local people might go after work. At nine on a weeknight, I doubted there’d be anyone much out at all. People who had to go out of their way to catch a movie or get drunk tended to make a night of it if they could. Otherwise they’d stay indoors and watch TV. In a crime-free neighborhood like this, too, who’d give a second glance to traffic on the streets?
    Holly Tynon’s abductor had chosen his area well, if he’d deliberately chosen it at all and wasn’t just passing and got lucky.
    The spot where the K-9 teams thought her scent might have gone cold was fairly obvious, at least now I knew what to look for. Despite the rain, it was easy to see the five-yard stretch of gutter by the curb swept clean by forensics techs looking for any kind of trace evidence. Twenty-five feet or so from the nearest intersection. I pictured the driver pulling up, asking for directions, asking the time, offering a ride. Hitting Holly, knocking her out cold so she couldn’t scream for help. Pulling a knife. Pulling a gun.
    My cell phone rang, Agostini’s number on the screen. I picked up, said, “Yeah?”
    “Alex, I’ve just heard from the cops. They’ve found Holly Tynon’s wallet in a park a mile or so away. Whereabouts are you?”
    “The likely abduction site.”
    “I’ll come pick you up.”
    Less than a minute later,