The Vanishing
Gary Winston Brown
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Have you met gifted psychic turned FBI agent Jordan Quest? Get the series prequel and read her backstory here, for free.
A tragic accident brings with it an incredible gift. But is the price too high?
When a young Jordan Quest is discovered lying on the bottom of the pool at her family’s stately mansion she is pulled out of the water and pronounced “vital signs absent” by the attending paramedics.
Unwilling to give up on the girl, Jordan is rushed to the hospital in a desperate attempt to revive her. Teetering on the brink of death, aware of her surroundings but unable to communicate with the trauma team working frantically to save her life, a strange and mysterious presence makes itself known. In that moment, Jordan’s life is changed forever.
She calls it The Gift, and her newly discovered abilities will have a profound influence on the world’s understanding of psychic phenomenon. Hers is now the voice of the dead. And law enforcement is listening.
In helping the authorities locate and bring to justice killers who have long evaded capture, Jordan soon discovers an unsettling truth: Is her astounding ability really a gift? Or is it a curse that brings with it unimaginable consequences.
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“When evil men plot, good men must plan.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Contents
Start reading the Jordan Quest series today for free
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Also by Gary Winston Brown
About the Author
1
EXCEPT FOR A van travelling several car lengths behind him, the canyon road was especially quiet. The drive to the top of Zion Point was usually a pleasant ten minutes. Oliver Prescott was in no rush. He expected the traffic to be heavier considering it was the fourth of July and celebrations were already in full swing behind him in the small town of Paulo Brava. On just about any other night he would still be in his office at the Center nursing a snifter of warm brandy with Bach or Brahms playing softly in the background. But this evening was special. It was the celebration of his retirement. The end of the first chapter of his life and the long-awaited commencement of the next.
Elaine Prescott leaned across the passenger seat of the Porsche Carrera and nestled her head against her husband’s shoulder. Oliver glanced out his window and took in the ocean’s beauty glistening in the moonlight. He thought of his two beautiful daughters, Claire and Amanda. Claire would be out on the town tonight with her boyfriend, perhaps even watching the fiery display from Steve’s boat in Paulo Brava harbor. How time flies, Oliver thought. Claire was already in her third year at university. A naturally gifted student, she had made the dean’s list two years in a row, determined to follow in her father’s footsteps. Oliver knew several of her professors personally. All agreed Claire was one of their best and brightest students. He thought of Amanda, and his heart pained. She had disappeared two years ago without a trace. Despite the efforts of some of the finest law enforcement officers in the country, she could not be found. She had simply vanished. For six long weeks, the Prescott’s once peaceful household was transformed into a base camp for local and federal police agencies. Residential and business telephone lines had been tapped. Background and association checks were run on family, friends, professional acquaintances, and enemies. Sophisticated electronic equipment of various purposes had been set up to assist in every manner to monitor and track the progress of the search. A mobile command center had been posted at the entrance to the estate, manned around the clock. Only the Prescott family and those with on-premises security clearance were allowed access to and from the home. Both Oliver and Elaine knew the authorities had been excruciatingly thorough in their search for Amanda. Nothing, it seemed, had been overlooked, no stone left unturned. Yet despite their best efforts, hours soon turned into days, days into weeks, and the many leads the investigators valiantly pursued into dead ends. Over time it became necessary to reduce the intensive human resources being exerted in the search. Difficult though it was, they made the decision to pare down the investigation. The case, for all intents and purposes, had gone cold. Oliver could still recall the looks of disappointment on the faces of the investigators who had been a part of their lives for weeks, now forced by their superiors to pack up their equipment and move on to other cases. They offered their prayers and apologies and wished them luck. As a family they had been drawn into an unending nightmare, relentless in its determination to test them beyond their limits. Eventually, they were forced to confront the unthinkable reality that for some unknown reason Amanda was gone. And in all probability, they would never see her again.
Waves charged into the shoreline, crashing violently over the rocks at the foot of the canyon, their rhythmic mantra barely audible above the soft whine of the Porsche and the occasional boom of the fireworks.
Elaine Prescott clutched the spoils of the night’s affair in her arms. Oliver glanced at her in the mirror.
“Nice award,” he said. “Care to read the inscription to me one more time?”
“Okay,” Elaine replied. “If you insist.”
“I do.”
“The American Psychiatry Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
