Page 1 of Stolen Angels

Prologue

Savannah, Georgia

The police thought her little girl was dead. Worse, thatshekilled her.

Renee Wilkinson fidgeted in the metal chair and stared at the detective seated across from her in stunned shock.

His cold stare cut through her like a knife.

Twisting her hands together, she bit back a sob as she pictured her six-year-old daughter’s bright green eyes lighting up with a smile. She could not believe Kaylee had been missing for seven days and the police had arrestedher.

They’d already arraigned her and set bond at two hundred thousand. Worse, she didn’t have money to pay bail. And no one was listening to her…

The detective, a barrel-chested man named Forrester, had already condemned her. His voice was even colder as he stood, towering over her. “I’m going to give you one more chance to make a deal before you go into lockup to await trial.”

He laid Kaylee’s fuzzy pink blanket on the table, the one she always slept with. Her daughter was so attached to it she hid it in her backpack when she went to school. Hot tears gathered in Renee’s eyes, and she reached for the blanket, desperate to hold it and inhale Kaylee’s sweet scent.

But he shook his head and snatched it away. Anger seized Renee at his cruelty, then he laid Kaylee’s kindergarten school picture on the table. A lot of little girls wore frilly dresses for picture day, but Kaylee hated dresses, and Renee just wanted her to be happy. So Kaylee had chosen the yellow T-shirt with kitty cats on it, her favorite, and denim shorts. She’d added a purple barrette to her shoulder-length silky blond hair.

The detective tapped the picture. “If you love her as you say, then tell me what happened.”

“I told you I don’t know,” Renee cried. “We had a picnic at the beach and made sandcastles and… then I must have fallen asleep.” God help her, how had that happened? She always made it a point not to take her eyes off her daughter at the beach. She glanced at the public defender who fidgeted in his chair and looked at his manicured nails. So far, he’d been worthless. Did he believe she was guilty, too?

“Or did you just push her out to sea and let her drown and be eaten by the sharks?” Detective Forrester snapped.

Emotions clogged Renee’s throat. “I did not hurt Kaylee. I would never. Iloveher.” She gripped the edge of the chair with clammy hands, her stomach heaving. Terrifying scenarios tormented her, like they had for days. Where was her baby girl? Was she safe? Who had taken her?

“I don’t believe you, Ms.Wilkinson.” He pinned her with accusing eyes. “I understand you have a drinking problem.”

Renee shifted uncomfortably. “No, I don’t.”

“You belong to AA,” he said curtly.

She looked down at her own nails, which she’d chewed to the nubs. “I did join a couple of years ago, but I haven’t had a drink since. You can ask my sponsor.”

Damn him.He’d already tried and convicted her.

“I will be doing that. But for now, you’re facing criminal negligence charges,” he said bluntly.

Disbelief roiled through her. “Why aren’t you looking for Kaylee instead of grilling me?”

“We’re still searching for her.” A muscle ticked in Forrester’s wide jaw. “But I have no patience for anyone who hurts or neglects children. And neither will the fellow prisoners where you’re going.”

Renee gaped at him then angled her head toward the public defender, her heart hammering. But the scrawny young man simply looked away, his leg jiggling as if he had some place more important to go.

“Please listen to me,” she said in a pained whisper. “I didn’t hurt Kaylee. I love her with all my heart. Someone must have taken her, and they could be out of the state by now.” If Kaylee was even alive. When she’d first insisted that her daughter had been kidnapped, the police had warned her that every day that passed diminished their chances of finding her.

Detective Forrester gestured to the guard at the door. “Get her out of my sight.”

“Please find her! She must be so scared right now,” she pleaded as the guard gripped her arm and hauled her through the door. Tears rained down her cheeks with every step they took. They passed through a hallway then another door to a block of cells. The nauseating stench of urine and mold swirled around her. The concrete walls were a faded pea-green, the floor cement, the toilet in the corner of the cell was rusty and stained with God knows what.

The guard’s keys jangled as he unlocked the cell, unfastened her handcuffs and pushed her inside. The sound of the door slamming echoed, and she gripped the bars with white knuckled hands. “Please tell them to keep searching for Kaylee,” she begged. “Whoever took her could be hurting her now.”

He simply stared at her, his expression hard, then he strode away, his shoes squeaking on the floor as he disappeared.

Despair and shock crushed her, and she staggered to the cot against the wall, sank onto it and began to sob. Christmas was two weeks away. Kaylee had begged for a swing set, and she’d already put one on hold. She’d pictured her daughter’s face when she saw it, Kaylee’s hair blowing in the wind as she pumped her legs in the swing, and she choked on another sob. If the police were convinced she was guilty and that Kaylee was dead, they would give up looking for her.

She might never see her daughter again…

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