Read Too Young to Kill for Free Online Page B

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    “Typical of Adrianne,” Jo remarked later, “because she loved to talk so much, we honestly believed at that time that she had maybe gone over a friend’s house, got to talking, and lost track of time.”
    Tossing and turning, every time a car drove by the house and the headlights bounced off the top of the wall in Tony’s bedroom, or an engine roared, maybe footsteps outside, he opened his eyes and looked up. A few times, he even got out of bed as a shadow passed by the head-level basement windows, because he thought someone was walking into the house.
    Adrianne?
     
    Nope, just the trees blowing in the wind. Kids out on the street messing around.
    Nestled back in bed, Tony considered tomorrow to be another day. If she didn’t come home tonight, they’d find her in the morning. It was a good bet Adrianne hightailed it back to Texas, and her mother was covering for her, allowing Tony time to blow off some steam. Adrianne was probably fed up with all those kids at school she called friends and decided she was better off in Texas.
     
    This thought, if nothing else, was enough to cradle Tony to sleep.

7
    Early the next morning, Saturday, January 22, Jo and Tony got up, had their morning coffee, showered, and hit the road. It was slow going, because the overnight snow had turned back into freezing drizzle, which put a slippery glaze over everything.
    There had been no word from Adrianne throughout the night.
    Something was wrong. Tony knew it.
    They drove out to Port Byron, a twenty-minute ride northeast, snaking along the bank of the Mississippi. Adrianne had a friend there. She had sometimes gone over to his house to hang out.
    “Nope. Haven’t seen her,” her friend said.
    They drove over to the Black Hawk College Outreach Center, Adrianne’s high school. Parked. Got out. Began searching around the premises, like detectives.
    “We were actually looking through the bushes at this point,” Jo recalled. “We knew there was a fight in the car”—something Sarah Kolb had told them the previous night—“and now our imaginations got the best of us and we were searching on our hands and knees through the bushes.”
     
    Looking for what?
    “Adrianne’s body,” Jo said.
    Anxiety now dictated their actions. So many different scenarios ran through their minds. Tony and Jo had a hard time keeping reality on track. They allowed their emotions to control their thoughts and what they did. There had been no indication that Adrianne was in trouble, other than her not calling and not coming home. Yet, they expected the worst.
    Then they didn’t.
    That roller-coaster ride had begun: one minute, things were fine and they presumed Adrianne was going to be home when they pulled in the driveway. The next, they were burying her, writing a eulogy.
    “Adrianne,” Jo said, “had never gone twenty-four hours without contacting us.”
    They were closing in on that hour.
    With no luck at the school, they drove home. Throughout this time, Tony and Jo had called the EMPD to see if the cops had uncovered any news of Adrianne’s whereabouts.
     
    The EMPD said they did not have any new leads, but they were working on the case.
    Jo called Sarah Kolb again to see if Sarah had heard from Adrianne throughout the night. If she was in trouble, Adrianne would likely call her friends first. She did not have a cell phone—so Jo and Tony could not track her down that way.
    “No, I have not heard from her.” Jo could tell Sarah was with someone. She heard voices in the background. “Here,” Sarah said, “talk to Cory. He might know what’s going on.”
    Jo waited.
    “Yup?” Cory Gregory said.
    “Have you seen or heard from Adrianne? We’re really worried about her.”
    Cory had a noticeable Midwestern drawl, with a heavy Southern effect. A cocky attitude.
    “We done let her off at McDonald’s,” Cory said. Then explained why, giving Jo the same answer Sarah had already given them.
    Jo and Tony did not know Cory that well,