Buried Innocence - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery - Book Thirteen (Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series) by Terri Reid

in
frustration, Mary picked up her pad of paper and scanned her notes. “Well, this
adds a whole different layer to the investigation.”
    “But if she was
re-homed, and she was killed by the new parents, it adds more urgency to the
case,” Bradley said, “because people are still re-homing their children through the Internet.”
    “Liza said that she
lived in Dubuque with her first family,” Mary said. “I would think the first
adoption was done legally. Do you think you could make an official call to the
courthouse in Dubuque and see if you could gain access to her adoption
records?”
    Bradley picked up
the phone and pressed a button. “Hi, Dorothy,” he said. “Could you get me the
Dubuque County Courthouse in Dubuque, Iowa? I need to talk to someone about
adoption records and a possible abuse case.”
    He hung up the
phone. “Now we just wait and see how cooperative they are going to be.
Generally, especially in cases of child abuse, they will open the closed
adoption files.”
    “Well, if that
doesn’t work, I’ll be calling every family with the last name of Larson in
Dubuque County to find out if they ever adopted a little girl,” Mary said.
“This is really frightening, Bradley. That little girl was brutally murdered,
and the man who did it to her might be gaining access to other children the
same way.”

 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter Twelve

 
    Joseph Amoretti
pushed open the doors of the gentlemen’s club and squinted into the bright
sunlight. He was a dapper man with an olive complexion, a neatly groomed
moustache and dark, thick hair. Dressed casually in designer jeans and a button
down shirt, the lifts stuffed inside his leather shoes gave a few more inches
to his five-foot five-inch height. He took a deep breath, inhaling the unique
scent of the Mississippi River only a hundred feet away. The East Dubuque Strip
lay along the riverbank, littered with nightclubs, gentlemen’s clubs and bars.
And Joey felt perfectly at home in the area reminiscent of the Illinois town’s
darker history.
    He paused in front
of his car and checked out his reflection, running his fingers through his hair
to give it the tousled, sexy look he felt flattered his face. Opening the car
door, he reached in and pulled out a bottle of mouthwash. The few drinks he had
allowed himself were just a little treat before he had another busy day, but he
didn’t want his wife, Gigi, to notice them on his breath. Taking a swig of the
mint-flavored liquid, he swished it around for a minute before spiting it out
on the gravel parking lot.
    After opening his
car door, he pulled out his wallet, thick with bills, and congratulated himself
on another job well done. It hadn’t taken him very long to turn this
transaction into profit. She’d only been with him for four months. It was just
enough time to present the façade of respectability and reassure the family who
had given her up. And she was a beauty, he sighed, shaking his head. If his
wife wasn’t so damn crazy, he might have considered keeping the girl around.
    With a slight shrug,
he slid his light frame behind the wheel of his car and headed home. He needed
to shower, shave and change into his vestments to meet the newest member of his
family. He glanced into the rearview mirror and noted his bloodshot eyes. “Yeah,
the good reverend is going to have to use some eye drops to make himself
presentable,” he sneered. “Don’t want to screw up the deal.”
    Driving away from
the Mississippi river, he continued up the winding roads that led away from downtown
East Dubuque into the solitude of the countryside. Considering himself an
expert in crime throughout history, he smirked as he passed through quiet,
residential neighborhoods and picturesque parks. “All dressed up and looking
respectable,” he muttered, “when you know you ain’t any better than me. Ain’t nothing but window dressing.”
    In its heyday, East
Dubuque was known as “Sin City” for its