Page 29 of Preying Game

“How soon can you meet me at the helo pad?”

“I can be there in half an hour. But won’t Hayward wonder why somebody’s flying over? Wouldn’t a drone be better?”

“We’ll make it quick. I want to see it for myself.” He heard the urgency in his own voice.

“You’re sure of the location?”

“No. But I’m sure that rock will clue me in when we get to the river.” He wanted to shout at his friend to stop asking questions, but he knew they were legitimate.

When Grant finally said, “Okay,” Jonah breathed out a sigh.

Thankful that his friend hadn’t put up any objections, Jonah dressed in record time and was at the Decorah helipad ten minutes early.

Both men were rated for flying the machine, but Jonah told Grant to climb in the pilot’s seat because he wanted to pay attention to the location.

Jonah showed Grant a picture of the rock he’d downloaded. Then, using the GPS, they plotted a course.

After they crossed the Chesapeake Bay, Jonah kept his gaze trained out the window.

“There’s the river,” he told Grant as they approached Carvertown.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Follow it until we see the rock.”

They flew along the river, with Jonah glued to the window. Finally he spotted the formation in the distance. Grant saw it too and headed straight for it.

Jonah could see the estate along the left-hand bank. But something was wrong. He blinked as he studied the house.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled when he saw it was a blackened, burned-out hulk.

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