All Good Deeds Read Online Free Page B

when our petition went before the judge. He wore his dress uniform and refused to look at me. He’d been seventeen when Justin committed his crime, an angry teenager who couldn’t stand his stepmother and hated me on sight. “So?”
    “He’s the detective in charge. Kailey Richardson’s disappearance is in his jurisdiction.”
    “You’re kidding me. Why hasn’t he recused himself for conflict of interest?”
    Kelly raised her eyebrow. “No idea yet. I’m trying to find out how he’s handling his brother because he’s got to consider him a suspect. From everything I’ve been able to find out about Detective Todd Beckett, he’s by the book. We’ll see how it goes when little brother is back on the seat.”
    “Nothing on the scanner?”
    “No. But I’ve got a call in to a friend at the Philly PD about it. Hopefully I’ll hear something soon.”
    I tried to think my way around this. “What do we know about Justin’s current life?”
    “He works at Jiffy Lube within walking distance of his place. I’ve been doing the pedo-crawl on the various creep chat rooms, and so far I can’t find any illicit online activity. He does have a driver’s license.” Kelly tucked her legs beneath her and sat cross legged in a position that made my back ache from just looking.
    “So I need to get into his car and his apartment.”
    “Not yet,” Kelly said. “Police are all over the area, so you’d be busted. And unless Todd’s completely blind to what his brother is capable of, he’ll do that. Or see to it that someone else does.”
    She was right. “What about other registered offenders in the area? You know, since Justin gets to go without that label.”
    “Two in an eight-block radius,” Kelly said. “One for statutory of his consenting girlfriend, and the other exposed himself to a group of teens.”
    “And Justin.” My chin dropped to my chest, my shoulders sagging until the muscles ached. I hated being right about this. There were no special cases when it came to pedophiles. The state of Pennsylvania had failed Kailey Richardson. Guess I had, too.
    “I need to find out if Justin’s been skulking around Kailey,” I said. “You said the older kids realized she wasn’t with them about halfway home? So it’s likely the police are focusing their search around the school right now. Hopefully that’s where Todd is. I’ll head over to Kailey’s apartment, see what I can find out. See what Justin’s up to.”
    “Your best bet is to talk to the mother,” Kelly said. “You’re a private investigator. See if you can get her to accept your help.”
    The breakdancers were still going strong when I left Kelly’s, the rhythm of their heavily synthesized music bleating into my skull and providing me with inappropriate exit music. I didn’t understand the song they were playing, but its spirit was positive and upbeat–a far cry from the dark pit my mind was in.
    A chilly, late-October wind nipped at my skin, and I hastily buttoned up my coat. Kelly’s place was a decent walk from my parking spot, and I wished I’d worn long sleeves. My stomach grumbled, the lunch from hours earlier threatening to reappear. Was Todd running interference for his brother?

4
    P hiladelphia’s ever-changing neighborhoods whipped by as I drove. Irish pubs and Italian eateries blended with sports bars and blue-collar businesses until I reached the Richardson’s apartment building in Poplar, a working class suburb.
    Three police cars lined up in front of the three-story complex. Several uniformed officers milled around the sidewalks and at the intersections. Neighbors peeked from their windows, home from work and probably wondering what the police were doing hanging around in the darkness of the evening.
    I went back over the information Kelly gave me. The mother’s name was Jenna, a single mom and a nurse. Came off a shift at two. Kailey should have been home due to an early dismissal, but there was no sign of her. Mom