Pursued Read Online Free

dad are twins. I take after the McGrady side of the family and Lisa looks more like the Calhouns.” She picked up the picture on her bedside table and showed it to them. “This is my dad.”
    â€œThen who was the guy with your mom? Are your folks divorced?” B.J. asked.
    Jennie closed her eyes. It still hurt to think about it. “My dad disappeared five years ago. He was on a special assignment for the government when his plane went down in the Pacific. They never found him. Gram and I think he’s still alive, but Mom’s given up. She met Michael at church a few months ago, and now they’re talking marriage.”
    â€œBummer.” B.J. handed back the picture. “My stepfather died when I was ten. Things sort of fell apart for Mom and me after that…” B.J. shifted and, as if she’d revealed too much, quickly changed the subject. “You don’t look too happy about your mom getting married again.”
    Jennie gave B.J. a penetrating look. “Would you be?”
    B.J. shrugged, looked at the photo and back at Jennie. “Have you tried to find him?”
    â€œI’m working on it. My grandmother said she’d help me. We’ll start the search as soon as she gets home. Unfortunately, I can’t do much until then.”
    Allison leaned forward and extracted a piece of candy from the bag and peeled off the silver foil. “Lisa told me about your grandmother. She sounds fascinating. Traveling to all sorts of exotic places…and getting paid for it.”
    â€œI don’t get it,” B.J. said. “Why would you need your grandmother to search for your dad? Seems like an old person would just slow you down.”
    Lisa and Jennie exchanged a conspiratorial look and said in unison, “You don’t know Gram.”
    â€œShe used to be on the police force here in Portland,” Lisa said. “Now she works for—”
    â€œShe writes…” Jennie interrupted, fearing Lisa would blab about Gram’s connection with the FBI, “…for travel magazines. That’s why she gets to travel so much. Sometimes she takes us along.”
    â€œRight.” Lisa glanced at Jennie, indicating she’d gotten the message. “For our birthdays, Gram took Jennie to Florida and she’s taking me on a cruise. I can hardly wait.”
    â€œShe used to be a cop?” B.J. chewed on the edge of her thumbnail.
    The way B.J. said it, Jennie wondered if the idea of being with a cop’s granddaughters made her nervous. “Gram was a detective. Which is why I need her help.” Jennie popped a second chocolate into her mouth. “Actually, I wish she were here now. She’d know what to do about Allison.”
    â€œYou saying you can’t work on Al’s case without your grandmother?”
    â€œNo. It’s just that Gram knows people. She has connections in the department.”
    Allison shook her head, setting her sleek blond hair in motion. “I don’t think connections would help, Jennie. Dad has a lot of clout in this town. He’s on the city council. It’s not like the police aren’t trying; they just haven’t been able to come up with anything. That’s why I talked with Lisa. I thought maybe we could do some investigating—I mean, four teenage girls might not pose a threat…Please say you’ll help, Jennie. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.”
    Allison’s voice faded. Her appeal hung on the air like a wintry mist, chilling the room.
    Warnings rang again in Jennie’s head. She could almost hear Gram saying, “This is a police matter, dear. Let them handle it.” Still, it would be great to find the creep responsible for the threats and turn him over to the police. Part of her said, You don’t have enough experience for this kind of case. Another argued, It won’t hurt to snoop around. Like Lisa said, you could just stay close