âJocelyn, I need you to help me with this case.â
âWhy?â That meant spending even more time with Sam.
âWe always made a good team,â Sam said.
They had worked well together until that last case, when everything fell apart. The one person sheâd needed to read was Sam, and she had failed. But sheâd have to help Sam in order to find her missing friend.
In less than a week her peaceful existence had shattered. Her past had walked right into her present, rousing memories of her time in New Orleans. The cold embedded even deeper into her bones. Would she never be rid of the feeling of being lost?
WITHOUT A TRACE: Will a young motherâs disappearance bring a bayou town togetherâ¦or tear it apart?
What Sarah SawâMargaret Daley January 2009
Framed!âRobin Caroll February 2009
Cold Case MurderâShirlee McCoy March 2009
A Cloud of SuspicionâPatricia Davids April 2009
Deadly CompetitionâRoxanne Rustand May 2009
Her Last ChanceâTerri Reed June 2009
A patrol car was parked on Main Street in front of Farleyâs Pawn Shop. Approaching her office across the street, Dr. Jocelyn Gold shivered in the cool January air, remembering the same scene only five days beforeâwhen Earl Farley had been found dead, an apparent suicide, in his office right below his apartment on the second floor.
Was the sheriffâs department completing its investigation into Earlâs death? Sheriff Bradford Reed hadnât been very supportive when Earl died, but then the Farleys didnât belong to the elite of Loomis. After the deputy left, sheâd call Leah, Earlâs wife, to offer to come over if she needed someone to talk to.
Jocelyn pushed her office door open and entered, hoping everything was all right with Leah, who had instantly renewed their friendship from high school when Jocelyn had returned to town nine months ago. Quickly, she crossed to the window and opened the blinds to allow sunlight to pour into the room. After being gone for two days to speak at a conference in New Orleans on counseling children who were victims of crime, she was accosted by the musty smell of the closed office.
The blinking light on her phone drew her attention. When she played her messages, Leahâs voice blared from the speaker. âJocelyn, I need to see you. Iâve made a mess of everything. Iâll catch you when you get back tomorrow.â
Her neighborâs frantic tone heightened Jocelynâs concern. She placed a call to Leahâs apartment. What was going on? A new development in Earlâs death?
Please, Leah, pick up.
On the fifth ring a gruff-sounding man answered with, âHello.â
The rough voice snatched any words from Jocelynâs mind for a few seconds.
âWhoâs this?â the man demanded.
She tightened her hand around the receiver. âDr. Jocelyn Gold,â she said with as much authority as she could muster.
âSheriff Reed. Why are you calling, Dr. Gold?â
âLeahâs a friend. What happened? Is she all right?â
âWe donât know. Sheâs disappeared.â
Jocelyn jerked up straight. âDisappeared? When? I saw her on Friday right before I left.â Her friend had urged her to go and speak at the conference, that she had Shelby and Clint to support her while Jocelyn was gone a couple days.
âSheâs been gone hardly a day.â
âFoul play?â
âDonât know. Her brother seems to think so.â
Jocelyn instantly thought of Leahâs three-year-old daughter. âWhereâs Sarah?â
âClint Herald has her.â
Leahâs brother had her daughter. Relief trembled through Jocelyn. âYou might want to come listen to my recorder. She left me a message. She sounded frightened.â
âYouâre at your office?â
Jocelyn sagged back against her oak desk, all energy draining from her. âYes. Iâll be here catching up on some paperwork.â