Lowcountry Boneyard Read Online Free

control, and his daughter’s disappearance had left him completely helpless. He was coping as best he could by demanding action. “If we need to bring in more help, we have relationships with other agencies.”
    I glanced through the contract. He’d left several boxes unchecked. I hesitated. “Mr. Heyward, purely as a formality, I need your answers to these questions.”
    He frowned and reached for the document, glared at me while he put on his reading glasses. He read the first question on page three. “Illegal drugs,” he muttered and marked a large, bold x in the “no” box.
    For my own protection, legally and physically, I needed to know if my clients were under the influence of anything more than stress. “We ask these questions of every client. It’s nothing personal.”
    I also needed to know if they were armed.
    He glowered at me, his tone ripe with sarcasm. “Would you like a complete list of my firearms? I have an extensive collection. Shotguns, rifles, sidearms. I have a handsome pair of dueling pistols.”
    “Please just mark the box indicating that you own firearms.”
    He complied, then read the final question. His head jerked up. He squinted at me from under dark eyebrows. “Young lady, my family has served this state—this country—in various capacities for generations. I assure you, not one of us has ever been treated for mental illness.”
    “Good to know.” I gave him a smile that said, “Why of course I knew that . Damn all this bothersome paperwork,” and made a mental note to figure a polite way to ask about un treated mental illness and general bad temper.
    He made his final x and passed the contract back to me with a flick of his wrist. “Just find Kent.”
    Generally at this point I asked for a photo ID and made a copy. I decided to skip that step this once. “I will do everything I possibly can.”
    “Do whatever it takes.”
    “Mr. Heyward.” I kept my tone neutral. “In the interest of clarity, I need to make sure you understand the terms of the contract you declined to read. I promise to do my very best to find your daughter. Unfortunately, as much as I wish I could, I cannot promise I will be successful.”
    “Understood.” His voice rumbled like thunder. While his word signaled his comprehension, his tone indicated he didn’t care for the situation worth a damn.
    “I need a bit more information to get started.”
    He stared at me the way I imagine a bear would before he devoured me for dinner.
    “Was anything bothering Kent in the days leading up to her disappearance?”
    “Not that I recall. The police asked us that. Her mother had no recollection of it either.”
    “Can you think of anyone who might have a motive to harm Kent? Did she have difficulties with anyone?”
    “Don’t you think that would have been the first thing I told you?”
    “Of course,” I said, thinking he’d been too busy scrutinizing my wardrobe, age, and highlights to tell me anything of value first thing. “Is Kent employed?”
    “She works for The Martech Agency. Advertising. They’re on Broad. She’s in consumer research and social media.”
    I nodded. “Have you spoken with anyone from the company?”
    “The police interviewed them all. No one there knew a single relevant thing.”
    “How about Kent’s other friends, aside from Ansley and Matthew?”
    “She isn’t close to her friends from high school any longer. The only one of her college friends her mother and I know well is Ansley. She contacted everyone in their circle. The police have interviewed everyone Kent ever met. Several of them started a Facebook page—whatever the bloody hell that is.”
    “Did the police pull her cellphone records?”
    “Of course. There were no calls to or from strangers. She spoke with Ansley and the Thomas boy around lunchtime the day she disappeared. Unfortunately, Kent prefers texting to having an actual conversation these days. I understand there’s no way to know who she was in