Page 50 of Preying Game

“But I can’t pay him. At least not yet.”

“Don’t worry about that. He had funds set up for people in need.”

“Charity cases?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way. In the first place, your making it here has given Decorah invaluable information.”

As they stepped into the hall, Alice could see the men deep in conversation. They stopped talking and glanced up.

She caught the appreciative look in Jonah’s eye as he took in her appearance.

She smiled at him, then turned to Frank, who was evaluating her on a more basic level—with a mixture of concern and speculation.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m still marveling at my miraculous escape.”

“I can imagine.”

The way he said it sent a little shiver over her skin, and she had the feeling he had a better idea of her feelings than the others. Had he been through something similar?

She’d have to ask Jonah later.

“It would help if you could write a report of your impressions of contacting Jonah and everything that happened after that. The paranormal experience—from your point of view.”

“Of course.”

“I should get you home,” Jonah said, “You probably want to get some rest.”

“Right.” She hoped he had just said that for the benefit of the others. Resting wasn’t at the top of her current list.

They got back into the Chevy, and he drove through the darkness, to an area that still looked fairly rural. Their destination was a country garage.

“Frank found this place for me. He got the owner to sell for practically nothing. I put in a lot of sweat equity turning the wasted space upstairs into an apartment.”

In the service bays they passed several vehicles that she might have seen on the street. He got her suitcase from the backseat and carried it up a flight of stairs. At the door to his apartment, he hesitated. “It’s nothing fancy.”

“I don’t need fancy.”

“I should have straightened up.”

“Please, don’t worry about it.”

The comments told her he was nervous, too.

He unlocked the door and led her into a large space that was part living room and part kitchen.

As he set down her suitcase, she looked around. The kitchen was arranged in an L-shape with a refrigerator, stove and sink along the back wall. A perpendicular counter came out at an angle. In the middle of the L was a wooden table and four chairs.

Across the room were a worn couch and an easy chair. An empty glass sat on an end table and a pair of shoes and socks were on the floor. Really, not much was out of order. Her gaze went to a large flat screen hanging on the wall across from the couch.

“What’s that?”

“My TV. They got a lot more streamlined. You don’t need that bulky cathode ray tube anymore.”

He picked up something about the size of a small, flat flashlight, pointed it at the TV, and clicked a button. She blinked as the screen flashed to life. It was in bright colors, like a Technicolor movie. Two men were discussing a baseball game.

“Like I said, we have hundreds of channels.” He flicked another button. “And you don’t have to get up to change.”

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