Page 72 of Preying Game

But he did get a sense of calm from the vehicle. It had been the original bridge between himself and Alice

He knew she sensed his thoughts when she reached over and laid her hand on his thigh.

I love you, she whispered in his mind. You didn’t have to do this. But here you are.

I love you too. That’s why I didn’t want you in danger again, he answered.

I know. I wish I’d never thought of doing this.

But as soon as you did, we both knew we had to save them.

Before leaving, they had collected as much information as possible on Lisa Sams—including a smiling black and white photo that had been circulated when she’d gone missing in the flood. She was blond with light eyes—apparently the type Hayward liked. She’d been a nursing student at the University of Maryland and had gone on a camping trip with her family just after her junior year. Probably the killer had been keeping track of her for some time.

Jonah and Alice had read newspaper accounts of the tragedy and formed a theory of what had happened that day. The family had been packing up their campsite to get away from the rising torrent in Sweet Water Creek when their dog had run off. The animal had come back, but nobody had ever seen Lisa again—except Arthur Hayward. The killer had probably lured the animal away with food, then maybe he made it squeal in pain—sending Lisa after it, so that Hayward could grab her and slip away. He could have been another camper fleeing from the flooding creek.

As they drove into the small town of Timberton, they went over details of their plan. Jonah had worked out a strategy that he hoped would do the trick. He’d practiced the technique over and over. But he’d never used it to take down a killer.

The bright sunshine was disconcerting when they knew they’d soon be heading into a thunderous rainstorm.

Once they’d figured out the victim and the location, they’d done more research and found out Arthur Hayward had stayed in the Plum Tree Motel, which had long since been torn down and replaced by a strip shopping center. But large tracts of land in and around the town were still undeveloped including the site of the campground.

Jonah pulled into a wooded area near the shopping center. The creek was still there, a small stream running between deeply eroded banks.

Alice stared at the placidly flowing water. “It’s hard to believe that little creek got big enough to flood the area.”

“Well, the newspapers said it came raging over its banks taking Lisa and several other people with it. And from there, anything in the water was swept into the Green River.”

As Jonah cut the engine, he was thinking his mission was more complicated than it had been when Alice had called out to him. She’d drawn him to her. Now he had to arrive at the right time and place on his own. But he was almost certain he could do it. He’d practiced enough, picking specific times and out-of-the-way places.

They got out of the car, opened the trunk and took out the rain gear they’d bought at an outfitter store, waterproof jackets and pants that were more modern and lightweight than what had been available in the fifties.

Luckily, there didn’t seem to be anyone else around as they headed into the woods.

Moment of truth, Alice said silently as they moved between the trees, into a spot where they couldn’t easily be seen.

Jonah nodded and reached for her. She came into his arms, clinging tightly, partly because the close contact was necessary for the process of taking her along and partly because they were both aware of the danger. They were going to confront a killer. And because they were taking him out long before he had abducted Alice, they were both thinking about what could happen to her.

Jonah folded her close, his whole body tensing as he strove to get this right. Closing his eyes, he let the raging water of the creek flow into his mind as he pictured the long-ago scene.

The newspaper article had included the time when Lisa had disappeared, which gave him another focus.

Even though he knew where and when he was going, he struggled with resistance. The drag on his time travel ability was unfortunately Alice. It was easier to go back alone, but after considering Frank’s assessment, he knew he had to take her with him. If the killer wasn’t around to abduct her, then she was still alive in the future—which created a time paradox. Time paradoxes were the reason he hadn’t come here on his own to check out the location. He couldn’t take a chance of two of him being in the same place at the same time.

Right, she said, and he could feel her trying to change the time-travel equation—adding power rather than taking it away.

She hadn’t tried to do it in their practice sessions, but now he knew she was striving to add the force of her will to his mind.

He felt a kind of mental warm glow, like hot fudge on a sundae, as he sensed that she was boosting his power. Her added mental energy pushed him over the top, and all at once they were at the location in the past—with water pounding down on the hood of his rain jacket.

His eyes blinked open as he took in the deluge.

He had been prepared for a downpour, but not like this. Water pouring out of the sky in sheets so thick and fast that he could barely see—or breathe. And the downpour was so heavy, it was almost impossible to make out Alice standing next to him. If he couldn’t see someone a foot away, how were they going to find Lisa or Hayward?

As that thought flashed through his mind, the rain eased up a little.

They looked around to get their bearings. At first they saw only the scattered debris of campers’ hasty departures. The flood warnings had already sent most of the families packing in a hurry. The smart ones, Jonah thought.

Could we have gotten the time wrong? Could Lisa’s family have left? Alice asked.

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