Someone Must Die Read Online Free Page A

this. In the last couple of years, Jonathan had become Mama’s main support system, not only helping her through the malpractice lawsuit and problems with her medical-practice partners, but also keeping her from falling apart when things went wrong. Like now.
    “Excuse me.” A woman jumped in front of Aubrey and shoved a microphone in her face. “Are you a member of the family? Is there any news on Ethan? How is the family holding up?”
    Aubrey pushed past the woman and hurried down the cracked coquina walkway toward the front door. These people didn’t care about Ethan. They just wanted a good story. She fumbled through her handbag for her house keys.
    “Will the police activate an AMBER alert?” one of the reporters called out. “Have they confirmed Ethan has been abducted?”
    Aubrey got her key into the lock, opened the door, then slammed it behind her. She dropped her coat and suitcase and leaned against the door. She stood there, wanting to be strong when she saw her family, and took in the familiar musty smell, like old, damp towels—the result of roof leaks that had dripped through the walls. A smell Mama had been trying unsuccessfully to erase all the years they’d lived here, but which was as much a part of the house as the creaky Dade-pine floors and coral-stone fireplaces.
    But there were sounds that didn’t belong. Constant ringing, like phones in a telethon. And a droning noise, like from swarming bees.
    “Are you Aubrey?”
    She turned toward the stranger who had stepped into the foyer: a woman with too-thick eyebrows and jet-black hair, pulled back from a face that had been scarred by acne. She was probably in her early thirties, a few years older than Aubrey, and wore a gray, crumpled pantsuit. Her thumb was hooked on her waistband, over a gold badge.
    “Yes. I’m Aubrey Lynd.”
    “Detective Gonzalez with the MDPD Missing Persons Unit.” She had an accent Aubrey recognized from growing up in Miami—northeastern with a hint of Latino. “Your mother said you were coming.”
    “Tell me about my nephew. Is there any news?”
    “Nothing yet, but we’re doing everything we can.”
    “Where is my mother? I need to see her.”
    “In the other room, speaking with the FBI.”
    “The FBI?” Aubrey wasn’t sure if she should be alarmed. “Are they involved?”
    “Apparently your brother’s in-laws have quite a bit of clout,” the detective said. Aubrey picked up an edge of irritation in her voice. “The FBI deployed a CARD team to work with us.”
    “Card?”
    “Child Abduction Rapid Deployment.”
    Aubrey’s heart bounced. “Has Ethan been abducted? The reporters were asking about an AMBER alert.”
    The detective scratched a tattoo that stuck out from under her wristwatch. It could have been a nervous tic, not a good sign. “We don’t issue an AMBER alert without a known suspect or a vehicle,” she said. “We have neither. But we’ve put out a media alert. We’re being aggressive in trying to find Ethan quickly.”
    They’re trying to find him quickly. Aubrey wanted to believe the detective’s confident words, not her faltering body language. He’s going to be fine.
    She took a deep breath to settle herself and glanced around the small foyer.
    The walls were plastered in thick swirls, as had been the style in the 1920s, but the pattern made her dizzy.
    Or maybe it was lack of sleep.
    She caught her reflection in the mottled mirror over the foyer table. Her long, dark hair and stick-straight bangs looked the same as always, but her eyes were wrong—too large and shadowed, like a terrified character in a silent film.
    Aubrey turned to the detective. “I have to let my mother know I’m here.”
    “You can’t interrupt right now, but she should be finished soon.”
    “What about my brother? Is Kevin here?”
    “He and his wife left a little while ago with Kimberly’s parents.”
    “Left? For where?”
    “They’re all staying at the Coconut Grove Ritz.”
    So she