Acheron Highway: A Jonathan Shade Novel by Gary Jonas Read Free Book Online Page A

rubbed his eyes.
    “What did you see?” Fred asked.
    “I’ll draw it,” Lou said as he grabbed the pen and a sheet of paper.
    Walter entered the monitor room with his palm to his forehead.   “Light changes sometimes trigger migraines for me.”
    Cynthia handed him two Advil.  
    Walter moved to a water cooler and filled a small paper cone.   After he downed the pills, he looked at me.   “You wanted me to check on a person.   I couldn’t tell which was the target because my head felt like it was about to explode.   Chinese woman or big white guy?”
    I had to admit that I was impressed.   “The woman.”
    “I thought so but I wasn’t positive.”
    Lou entered the room nodding with confidence.   “I found the target,” he said.
    He held up a drawing of a giant sunflower and a stick figure in a dress lying beside it with exes for eyes.
    “What is that?” I asked.
    “A killer sunflower.   Not sure where it is, but it looks just like a regular sunflower until you lean over to sniff it.   Then, pow , you’re pushing up daisies.”
    “Wouldn’t you be pushing up sunflowers?” Cynthia asked with a grin.
    “OK then,” I said.   “I think I’ll be leaving now.”
    “I’ll walk you out,” Walter said.
    “Watch out for those flowers,” Lou said.
    “I’ll do that,” I said.
    Walter didn’t say anything until we were out in the cold air by my car.   Then he gave me a heavy sigh.   “They mean well,” he said, “but they haven’t had training.”
    “Killer sunflowers?   I think Lou’s been raiding the peyote stash.”
    “Truth be told, they’re really just my bowling team.   We have a league on Monday nights.   They think the remote viewing is cool, and they want to be a part of it.”   He rubbed his chin then looked at me, serious.   “That woman you sent me to see.   She was the target.   The music I heard at the end was a ring tone.   Were you calling her?”
    I nodded.   “Can you find anyone or anything using this viewing technique?”
    “Not tonight.   My head is still pounding.   I can try tomorrow.   I’ll have Cynthia come by.   She can’t do the viewing, but she’s a decent monitor.   I don’t like to slip into the ether when I’m alone.”
    “Why not?”
    “I worry that without a monitor I won’t be able to find my way back.”
    “Interesting.”   I moved around to the driver’s side and opened the car door.
    Walter tapped his hands on the passenger T-top.   “Before you go…”
    “Yeah?”
    “I didn’t say anything during the session, but the Chinese woman and that big guy are both killers.”
    I nodded.
    “It’s all they are,” he said.
    “It’s not all they are.”
    “They have more death in their eyes than you do, and I can tell that you’ve taken lives before too.”
    “It’s all right, Walter.   They’re on my side.”
    “I hope so.”   He turned to go then looked back one more time.   “I wouldn’t want either one of them for an enemy.”
    I hopped into my car thinking Walter was smarter than he looked.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Miranda waited in the parking lot at my apartment complex.   When I pulled into a space and shut off the engine, she raced to the Firebird before I could even pull the keys out of the ignition.   I opened the door and climbed out.   A cold front was moving in; I could feel the temperature plummeting.   There were times when I hated Colorado.   Sure, there were days in December where the sun blazed in the sky and the weather remained in the sixties, but then there were the awful arctic snaps that chilled you to the bone and the weather could switch from one extreme to the next on any given day.   Variety may be the spice of life, but San Diego sounded great to me.
    “Fancy meeting you here,” I said.
    “Did you learn anything?”
    “Remote viewing is probably used to spy on women undressing.”
    She gave me a confused look.
    “Sort of astral projection.   Government program for psychic spies