Vanished by Margaret Daley Page A

the kidnapper could be someone J.T. knew.
    When J.T. emerged from his office with Matthew, he came over to Madison. “I just got off the phone with the lab in Central City. There weren’t any useful leads derived from Ashley’s clothing. The poison used on the Morgan’s dog was boric acid.”
    â€œIs it common?”
    â€œIt can be found in a medicine cabinet as an antiseptic. I’ll have Derek do some checking around to see if any has been purchased lately, but if the kidnapper poisoned the Morgans’ dog, you can bet he didn’t buy it nearby.”
    â€œIf the kidnapper took Ashley out by the gravel road, he had to go right by the Morgans’ yard.”
    â€œBuddy liked to bark at anyone who came around his place. It often drove the neighbors crazy.” J.T. sat on the corner of the desk, folded his arms over his chest. “Sothe dog was probably barking at the exact time of the abduction which means six o’clock.”
    Madison walked to the dry erase board and wrote the dog’s poisoning on it as well as when it was barking. She noticed the metallic blue car that Mrs. Goldsmith had seen pulling out of the side street near the gravel road had been at five-forty. The timeframe didn’t quite jell, but it was still a lead that needed to be tracked down. “Now if only we could find this car and who was driving it.”
    â€œSince one that fits the description has been reported missing in Central City, it might turn up soon.”
    â€œOr it’s being sold for spare parts as we speak.”
    Â 
    Inky blackness pressed in on Ashley. Her body curled into a tight ball, she huddled under the itchy blanket on the cot. Warmth evaded her. A chill that always hung in the air caused her teeth to chatter.
    Where was Daddy? Why hadn’t he come?
    She didn’t like the bad man. She’d tried to be good so he would leave the light on, but he always turned it off after she’d eaten. She wanted to tell him she would be good, but she never saw him. The last time when a peanut butter and jelly sandwich had been delivered, she’d shouted the words near the doggy door, hoping he would hear her, right after she had started eating her food. He’d switched off the light a couple of seconds later.
    With the sandwich clutched in her hand, she’d stumbled down the stairs and missed the bottom one. The pain in her ankle still hurt. Ashley rubbed it. Tears filled her eyes.
    Hunger pangs competed with her throbbing ankle for her attention. The bad man had been gone a long time. What if he had left?
    For a moment relief at the thought that he might be gone pushed her to a sitting position. Then fear of being left alone forever drove all joy from her. Tears slid down her face and fell onto her lap.
    â€œDaddy, where are you?”
    Day two, 1:00 p.m.: Ashley missing forty-two and a half hours
    â€œDad, Kim and I are going with Emma and Colin to put up posters in Central City.”
    J.T. lifted his head and stared at his son in the doorway into his office. “I thought Kim wanted to help down here?”
    Neil gestured toward his sister. “I don’t think she counted on it being so hard on her. She wouldn’t say anything to you, but she’s getting more withdrawn as the day passes. She’s not even answering the phone anymore. She’s sitting in the break room, staring at the floor.”
    J.T. surged to his feet, nearly toppling his chair in his haste. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?” He should have realized Kim wasn’t handling this well. But he’d been holed up in his office making calls to parole officers and police trying to get information on the people he’d put behind bars. Rachel, Paul, Madison and himself had finally narrowed the list down to eight ex-cons, a much more manageable number.
    He crossed the large outer room and entered the back one used for breaks. The sight of Kim sitting on