Stolen Lives: A Detective Mystery Series SuperBoxset by Roger Hayden, James Hunt

name?”
    “Allison,” the girl said meekly.
    “Allison, I’m going to take you out of here.” She stood up and took the girl by the hand. “Follow me. We’ll get you home. Where do you live?”
    “Miami,” the girl answered with a vapid stare. They began walking as Miriam urged her not to look at the ground. Just as they passed the talker’s body, his cell phone started ringing in his suit jacket.
    Miriam stopped. “Wait one minute, honey. Just stand right here for me and don’t look at any of the men.” She turned Allison to the wall, stage right, and moved swiftly over to where the long-haired talker lay, another fresh corpse who died a pointless death. She winced as she reached into his blood-soaked pants pocket to retrieve a small flip phone. There was a number displayed—indicating a Lee County area code. It was a long shot, but she had little recourse.
    She opened the phone and held it to her ear, saying nothing.
    “What’s the story? You bring her back here yet?” a voice—ominous and familiar—asked.
    Miriam didn’t respond.
    “Cat got your tongue? Gimme an update,” he asked.
    “They’re dead,” she answered.
    A pause, and then a halting response from the other end.
    “Miriam?”
    “You lied to me,” she said. “Where is my daughter?”
    Clearly taken off guard, Phillip stumbled over his words. “How—what happened there? Where’s Milo?”
    “If this is his phone, I shot him. Who is Allison, and where’s Ana?”
    Phillip sighed. “That’s too bad. I was hoping you’d play ball.”
    “I had nothing to do with what happened to your brother. Give me Ana, and you’ll never have to deal with me again.”
    “Oh, Miriam. What kind of leverage do you think you have here?”
    “Where are you?” she asked.
    He laughed again. “You had a chance to find out, but you’d rather shoot my friends instead. There’s going to be a price to pay for that.”
    Desperate, Miriam couldn’t suppress her anguish no longer. “Give her back, you son of a bitch!”
    “Tell you what. You want Ana so bad, come and get her. I want to see what a good cop you really were. You have twenty-four hours.”
    “I wouldn’t even know where to start. Enough!” she shouted.
    “Start at the beginning, and go from there. I’ve escaped you twice, Miriam. Let’s see if you’re up for it this time .”
    An avalanche of tears rushed down her face. “Please don’t do this. I’m not…”
    “You’re not what?” he asked.
    “I’m not a good cop. I’m nobody. All I have left is Ana, and you can’t take her—”
    “You’ve ruined my life, Miriam, and it’s only fair that I repay the favor.” He stopped, letting out another sigh. “But I’m giving you a chance here. Everyone deserves a chance. Even you.”
    Miriam held the phone away from her ear and examined the number again. She then looked to Allison, who stood facing the wall. “What happens when I find you?”
    “Then we can talk about where to go from there. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn that I’m not such a bad guy after all.”
    He ended the call abruptly, without any final words or directives. The dial tone sounded. Miriam held the phone away from her ear again, examining the screen. There had to be something she was missing. She needed a clue. Some kind of hint. Lou’s words about going at it alone came back to her. He was right.
    She put the cell phone in her pocket and then knelt down next the talker, searching for a wallet or some kind of identification. He had nothing. She rose and walked over to Allison, taking her by the shoulders and turning her around to face her.
    “It’s okay now. We can go.”
    Allison looked up at her with a distant stare. Whatever she had been through, Miriam was certain that it was traumatic. She held the girl’s hand as they walked down the steps of the stage to the aisle where a few candles still burned.
    “Allison, I’m going to ask you something. Are you listening?” Miriam said.
    “Uh-huh,”