"Broussard, John A - Gone Missing" - читать интересную книгу автора (Broussard John A)

"Leilani was really a very bright girl. I taught her in seventh grade, before I switched over to counseling. She was really interested in school, was a good reader, and was doing well in just about all of her subjects. I don't know what her IQ was, but I'm sure she was well above average." She paused, then went on, "After she turned thirteen, I guess her hormones cut in."

The counselor's expression was impenetrable as she continued. "She wasn't very attractive, so she did what a lot of plain girls do at that age. She chased the boys, and was only too ready to offer them the only thing she could."

Corky had the feeling the counselor, who could at best be called plain, might well have been looking back at what adolescence had held for her. But surely that was fairly typical for a girl of that age. Certainly Corky, who was far from plain and had never needed to chase anyone, had cut a wide swath during those trying years.

"By the time I was counseling her here in high school, it all seemed pretty hopeless. She'd completely lost interest in school. She was using drugs, of course, but then I'd be hard pressed to find any of the students who haven't at least smoked pakalolo. She skipped classes more than she attended, disappeared a couple times, and when she was here, she got into several fights. She was a big girl, and strong, so most of the damage was to others. That didn't set too well with the parents of the girls she fought with.

"She had problems at home, too. Her father is a minister in some small Christian church. He apparently was very strict with her, and she took out a lot of her hostility toward him right here at school. I got the impression she was really terrified of her father, yet kept right on crossing him. You know how it is. I wasn't looking forward to it, but we were about to have a final conference with her parents when she disappeared."

"Incorrigible?" Corky phrased the word as a question.

The counselor nodded. "We call it 'attention deficit disorder' these days. Not that that makes much difference, since she was headed for a special school on Oahu." She smiled, and added, "We also have to be politically correct these days, but you know as well as I do, a reform school by any other name is still a reform school."

No, the interview didn't help much, and the first real break in the case came almost two weeks to the day after Leilani's disappearance. A relieved Mrs. Johnson called to say she'd received a letter from her missing daughter. Corky's reaction was immediate. "Please don't handle it any more than you have already. I'll be over in just a few minutes."

The letter was brief.

Mom. Dad. I know you been worried but Stan and me decided to go to Oahu. He always arguing with his parents and beside he got good job here. I am fine if you want to write me just send letters to Honolulu general delivery. I write more when I got the time. I got a job too. Lele

There was no date on the letter. The envelope was postmarked Honolulu, the previous day. Leilani's fingerprints were on the letter and envelope. Her mother was adamant. There was no question but that the writing was Leilani's. A comparison with some of her schoolwork convinced Corky the mother was right.

And later, at the station, Hank agreed, then asked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking."

"That Stan made her write the letter two weeks ago and saved it until now?"

Hank nodded.

"It's possible, but doesn't seem too likely. Her counselor said Leilani was no dummy. He wouldn't have been able to get her to just write a letter like that. And from what little I can make out about Stan, he wouldn't have had that kind of smarts." She shook her head and kept puzzling over the letter.

The break came almost a week later. The Honolulu PD reported they had Leilani Johnson in custody. Fingerprint identification was positive. She had been picked up for soliciting, had resisted arrest, and had two joints and three amphetamine pills in her purse, along with three hundred dollars in large bills. The weary-sounding sergeant Corky spoke to seemed eager to turn her over to the Elima PD on any pretext.

Hank had been listening to the conversation over the speakerphone. Knowing Corky's aversion to flying, he grinned and said, "Here's your chance to fly to Honolulu. And all at the County's expense."

"Why me?"

"It's gotta be at least a sergeant to take over custody, and you've been working on the case. Besides, how many women sergeants do we have on Elima?"

Corky looked grim. "Thanks. The only good thing about the flight is that it lasts less than thirty minutes. With enough tranquilizers beforehand, maybe I won't know I'm flying."

The pills didn't help much on the flight. They helped even less after she got there. Still groggy from their effects, Corky was in no mood to interview Leilani. Talking to the sergeant who had called her didn't help matters.

"Since she's a minor, we had to bring in a juvenile defender before we could do any interrogating, and he's a piss-ant."

"So what did you find out?"

"Just what I told you over the phone. I haven't seen her since. They're both waiting for you." He gestured toward the interrogation room. As Corky started off in that direction, he added, "Good luck."

As it turned out, the interview went surprisingly well. The defender was only too glad to divest himself of his client, and Leilani was obviously seeing in Corky a free return trip to Elima and a way to avoid the existing charges against her. Whatever the reason, Leilani was ready to cooperate, and Corky was pleasantly surprised to find her to be as intelligent as the counselor had described.