The Beholder by Ivan Amberlake Read Free Book Online

asked.
    Jason’s voice was flat. “They arranged it so I would notice. Read the first letters of each place from here.”
    Debbie frowned. “R. A. E. F. M. E. J. A. and S. What does that mean?”
    “You have to play with it a bit. Watch.”
    He reached for a piece of paper and pen, then wrote all the letters down.
     
    R … A … E … F … M … E … J… A … S …
     
    Then, one by one, he crossed them out.
    R … A … E … F
    M … E
    J … A … S … O … N
    “But ‘raef’ isn’t a word,” Matt pointed out.
    Jason took the scrap and made some changes to it. “No, but this is. Look. Switch the letters around and you get this.”
    F … E … A … R
    M … E
    J … A … S … O … N
    The friends stared at the piece of paper. “There’s no ‘O’ or ‘N’,” Debbie pointed out.
    But Jason was positive. “Believe me. There will be ‘O’ and ‘N’.”
    “Who’s ‘Me’ ?” Matt wondered, tapping one finger on the paper.
    Jason didn’t answer, but he thought he knew. It had to be the shadow—the one who wanted the nimble girl dead.
    “So if you’re right, there will be two more killings,” Matt said. “The last letter is ‘N’.” He looked at his friends, fear in his eyes, and said softly, “I bet it’s going to be New York. It’s going to be here.”
     

Chapter 8
     
    The three friends spent the rest of the day at Debbie’s place, trying to find an alternative version to their horrible assumptions, or at least some answers to their questions. But hard as they searched, they unearthed no more clues.
    Debbie drew up a table containing the ‘Fear Me Jason’ message, with each letter marked as either ‘killed’ or ‘abducted,’ based on the newspaper reports. Opposite the last letter ‘N’ she added a question mark, which she outlined.
    As evening fell, Jason gazed out the open window, enjoying the refreshing breeze as it fanned his face. So pleasant after the day’s intolerable heat. A few tiny stars twinkled in the twilight sky—calm, normal, at odds with everything that was going on in his life.
    “How about we call it a day,” Matt suggested. “If I stay with you two pessimists another second, I’ll go crazy.”
    Jason nodded. “Agreed.”
    The men got to their feet, and Debbie jerked her head up. “Are you going?” She stopped embellishing the question mark with its multitude of tiny replicas, dropped her pen, and stood with them. “Please don’t leave. I’m scared to be alone.”
    Matt chuckled. “You’re a big girl, Debbie,” he said, his voice soothing. “You’ll be all right. No one’s going to come here.” He offered her a hug for comfort, and she sank into his arms, eyes closed.
    Slightly uncomfortable, Jason cleared his throat. “Um, to be honest, I don’t really feel like going home. I could spend the night here, if you want.”
    Debbie stepped away from Matt, her face glowing with relief. “Thank you, Jason. Matt, please don’t leave. I have pizza, and we can watch a movie. I’ll get the two guest rooms ready.”
    Matt raised his hands in surrender. “Okay. I give up.”
    “I think I’ll go take a shower first, then join you two,” Jason said.
    “Sure,” Debbie replied. “Towels are under the sink. Meanwhile I’ll get pizza and beer out.”
    “I’ll help you,” Matt said, then winked at Jason, who gave him a wan smile in return before heading to the bathroom.
    An unfriendly reflection in the mirror greeted Jason. Exhaustion had taken its toll; the dark circles under his eyes and the short growth of stubble made him look twice his age. He turned away and hurriedly undressed, then stepped into a steaming shower. In those brief moments under the water’s spray he slipped away into a reverie, enjoying the sensation of his tense muscles relaxing with the heat.
    Returning to the real world, Jason toweled himself dry, and dressed. He opened the door and heard Matthew’s cheerful voice mingling with Debbie’s laughter. When he