Awash (The Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Series Book 6) Read Online Free Page A

From her kitchen,” Wyatt said. “So maybe he thinks he knows something about Florida law, but not as much as he thinks he knows.”
    “Yeah. Not a deadly weapon, and the fact that he didn’t bring it with him means he might argue against premeditation if he ever gets to trial. But still, she’s over twelve, but she’s under eighteen. Won’t make much difference to his sentencing.”
    “In any event, tells me he’s probably not new to this,” Wyatt said. “We need to revisit the argument against castration,” he said.
    “You won’t get any argument from me,” Maggie muttered.
    “I called in a couple of our guys to help PD with the canvassing, but so far nothing.”
    “Anybody seen anyone new or out of place hanging out the last week or so?”
    “Not that they’ve said.”
    They stopped just short of Zoe’s back door. Wyatt turned to look at her. “You look like crap,” he said.
    “You’re awesome. I just haven’t had any coffee.”
    “Want me to grab you some, bring it to Weems?”
    “It’s Sunday. Café con Leche is closed and Apalachicola Coffee doesn’t open until eleven,” Maggie said. “There’s no place to get a real coffee.”
    “I think I read about that in Revelation,” Wyatt said. Then he opened the back door and held it for Maggie.

W eems Memorial Hospital was smaller than most elementary schools, but it served most of Apalachicola’s needs.
    Located a few blocks outside of the Historic District, on the other side of Hwy 98 or Avenue E, it was a low-slung, one-story building that had looked quite modern when it opened in 1959. The hospital handled most of the medical needs of the small town, had a decent emergency department, and even made space for Larry Davenport to conduct his duties as coroner, but many residents were sent to Tallahassee for “big” medical procedures.
    Dwight followed Maggie in his cruiser, while Zoe sat up front in the Cherokee, and the aunt sat silently in the back. The hospital was only a few blocks from Zoe’s home, but Maggie had sensed that the aunt couldn’t wait to get out of the Jeep and light up.
    She was proven right when they’d parked, and the aunt was the first one out of the vehicle. As soon as the back door slammed, Maggie turned to Zoe.
    “You get along okay with your aunt?’ she asked quietly.
    Zoe looked at her a moment, then shrugged. “She’s okay,” Zoe answered.
    Maggie decided to accept that for now. She turned in her seat so she could face Zoe.
    “Okay, listen. Dr. Broderick is on today, and she’s very good, very nice,” Maggie said. “She’s handled sexual assault cases before.”
    “Okay,” Zoe said, but she didn’t look at Maggie, looked instead out the windshield.
    “She’s going to check you for cuts and bruises, that kind of thing, then she’ll need to do a gynecological exam. She’ll be looking for signs of assault and checking for DNA. Okay?”
    Zoe looked down at her lap, where her hands began twisting around each other. “Okay.”
    “You’ll be covered, and she’ll get it over with as quickly as she can,” Maggie said. “Your aunt can go in with you.”
    Zoe looked over at Maggie then, and Maggie swallowed when she saw the girl blinking tears away.
    “Can you come with me instead?” Zoe asked quietly.
    “Your aunt is your guardian,” Maggie answered. “I can’t tell her not to be in the room. But yes, I can be with you if you want.”
    Zoe nodded and looked back down at her hands. “Thanks, Coach.”
    Maggie felt her throat thickening. She glanced over her shoulder at the closed back passenger window, saw that the aunt had wandered a few yards away to a grassy median to smoke. Maggie had yet to see the woman hold or even touch her niece. The closest they’d gotten physically was in the car.
    Maggie looked back at Zoe. “Zoe, why did you call me?” she asked.
    Zoe glanced up at her, but then ducked her head again. “You were really nice to me when I was little. I knew you cared about