Page 11 of Preying Game

Chapter 5

Grant had asked if Jonah could get in touch with Alice during the day. He’d only connected with her once, and that had been at night. But he supposed it was worth a try now.

Instead of heading for the Decorah office, he drove to the garage where he could reproduce the conditions under which he’d first contacted her.

After slipping into the driver’s seat of the old Chevy, he turned on the radio. Leaning back, he reached for the tuning knob, then closed his eyes. He told himself it would be better if he relaxed, but his heart was thumping like a native drum, betraying his state of mind. As he turned the radio knob, he was greeted by static, the same as when last night’s transmission had cut off.

“Alice?” he asked; “Are you there?” He spoke aloud and also projected the words in his mind, reaching out toward her, using the description she’d given him so that he could picture her. Dark blond hair. Blue eyes. A small nose. A sensual bottom lip. At least that was how he interpreted what she’d told him. She was five five. In his mind he made her slender and well proportioned.

He waited for endless minutes, keeping the image in his mind.

When he realized his free hand was clamped around the steering wheel, he made an effort to unlock it.

“Alice,” he tried again.

She didn’t answer, and he felt a terrible tightness inside his chest. Either she wasn’t there or . . .

Or what?

They’d talked at night the last time. He imagined she’d been in her bed. Maybe there was something she had to do during the day. Maybe she was even with the guy, and she wouldn’t be able to focus on a mental connection that had been heartbreakingly brief.

He gave it a couple more tries, but he suspected it wasn’t going to do any good. He’d have to wait until she had some quiet time. Then she’d be able to reach out to him again. Or not.

A wave of cold swept over him. She’d done it once. There was no reason to think that she couldn’t repeat it. Unless it had something to do with atmospheric conditions and radio waves.

After a few more minutes of trying to reach out, he gave it up. Disappointment was like a damp, heavy blanket weighing down his whole body. With a sigh he turned off the radio and levered himself out of the car. Unable to stop himself, he slammed the wide door in frustration. Maybe he should go over to the Decorah medical facility and make himself useful.

oOo

By the end of the day, Alice was staggering around like a drunken nightclub patrol. Hayward had worked her so hard that she could barely change into her nightgown and carry her dinner tray to the table in her cell. The meal looked particularly unappealing tonight, but sending the food back untouched was not an option. This was all she was going to get, and she knew she had to eat while she could. Doggedly, she forced herself to chew and swallow the vegetables and chicken that had the texture of rubber.

After she finished the meal, she put the tray in the slot and fell into bed.

She lay in the dark, somewhere between sleeping and waking. In her present state, it was almost impossible to believe that Jonah Ranger was real. It made sense that she’d conjured him up because she desperately needed some shred of hope in her awful existence.

But he had given her a connection outside her prison, and as she lay in her bed, she gathered her strength to reach out to him.

This time it was the other way around. She heard his voice ringing out in her head.

Alice?

In the dark, she blinked. Was that really him?

She wanted to call his name out loud. But that would be a mistake. Probably Hayward was listening to her, and he’d want to know who she was talking to.

Instead, she kept the answer in her mind. Jonah?

Yes

Thank God.

That’s what I was going to say. I tried to reach you at lunchtime, but it was a total bust.

She thought back to her own lunch. Hayward made me eat with him in the formal dining room. I had to focus on the conversation. We were talking about literature and history. Something I said made him angry, and he worked me so hard I almost fell over.

Angry about what?

About you.

---