Of Guilt and Innocence Read Online Free Page A

past. He could not say for certain if the man was at the mall that day, but he had been there the previous weekend and had been reported to security by two women who felt he was following them. The individual had been ejected from the mall when he refused to obey any commands given by the crime prevention officers, and the actual police officers assigned to patrol the mall that day were called to assist in his removal.  
    The detectives made stops in each store Lisa had told Dan she and Ashley had gone in, and were able to obtain security DVDs from two of them. No one they spoke to at the mall gave any indication that they had observed Lisa and Ashley being followed, nor did they advise that they knew of any problems occurring at the mall that day.
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    Lisa returned from the bedroom and resumed her position with Tom and Sergeant Stokes at the kitchen counter. As the Crime Scene Unit finished their work and began packing up to leave, Sergeant Stokes stood up to accompany them out. “All right, I’m going to get going. If anything comes up at all, please call us. I gave you my card before, and it has the main phone number to the department. You also have the detectives’ cards. Do not hesitate to call. If you notice or remember anything at all that might be important or if someone tries to contact you in reference to your daughter, no matter what they say, call immediately.”
    Tom acknowledged that they would and shook the Sergeant’s hand and walked to the front door. As the door opened, a fair amount of people standing on the sidewalk across the street perked up. Several boom mics and cameras maneuvered for better angles.
    â€œDamn it. And don’t hesitate to call if these idiots start harassing you either,” Sergeant Stokes said gruffly to Tom.   The sergeant had placed one of his patrol officers in the front of the house while the crime scene techs worked. Because the early indications were that Ashley may have been abducted from the area of the mailbox in front of the house, that area needed to be left undisturbed until it could be processed, and so the officer had put up yellow crime scene tape that spanned the perimeter of the Wooten’s property and all the way across the patch of road directly in front of their house. The media that had begun funneling in as the hours passed were told sternly to stay back from the tape and stay off of everyone’s property, which left them relegated to the small strip of sidewalk.  
    Sergeant Stokes walked slowly down the front sidewalk as Tom quickly closed the front door behind him. Sergeant Stokes told the officer to remove the yellow tape and reopen the road after he and the crime scene units left the area, but to make crystal clear to the media outlets that stayed that they were not to be on anyone’s private property or they would be arrested. The officer agreed and the sergeant lumbered forward across the street and to the edge of the taped off perimeter.
    â€œOK, folks,” he shouted, looking over the crowd. “We don’t have a statement to make right now, but one will be forthcoming. I just want to remind you this family has been through a lot today and to give them the privacy they deserve in this trying time. Thank you.”
    With that, Sergeant Stokes turned his back to the media personnel and began walking to his car, ignoring the questions shouted at him. Soon the yellow tape was taken down and the media made their descent on the house.  
    As Tom walked back in the kitchen where Lisa still sat on a barstool, the cold truth suddenly hit him. They were alone. All alone. No police officers asking questions, no radios chirping. No technicians dusting for prints or looking for clues. More importantly, no child’s laughter or constant questions. The eerie silence made the house seem lifeless and empty.  
    Fear gripped him again, but not the same gut-wrenching fear that had originally engulfed him when