The Portal ~ Large Print by Christopher Allan Poe Read Free Book Online Page B

fire. The fumes could have overcome her.
    “Whatever it is that you’re thinking,” Mister Vincent said. “I can promise you that it’s not smart.”
    From the corner of his eye, he saw the old man standing a few feet away now. His posture seemed tense, like a stalking predator.
    “Get out of my head.”
    “Pull yourself together,” Mister Vincent said. “Change your clothes. Tie her up in the yard and burn the house. You’ll be fine.”
    “She’s seen my face.”
    “I won’t tell anyone,” the woman mumbled through a swollen lip.
    “She can’t touch you,” Mister Vincent said.
    “No,” Jarod told him. “I won’t take the chance.”
    “Don’t let your son see you behaving this way. Too much is at stake.”
    “He’ll never know.”
    “He’s here right now. Don’t you remember?”
    Just then, a sound came from across the room. He kept an eye on the woman as he walked over and opened the closet door. Cody hid in the back corner, under the hanging clothes. Finally. His luck had changed. The bitch had taken his arm, but he’d taken more from her. He didn’t need to look for her. Vivian would come to him now.
    “Mister Vincent.” Cody stared over Jarod’s shoulder.
    “What did you say?” Jarod looked back to see the old man behind him. “You can see him?”
    Did that mean Mister Vincent was real? Even a family of lunatics couldn’t share the exact same delusion.
    “Keep it together,” Mister Vincent said. “For your boy’s sake.”
    What could he do? Vivian had taken his arm. There was no way in hell he would let her live. Still, he couldn’t shake the fear in his gut. For now, he needed to play along. At least until he figured out what was going on.
    “What do I need to do?” he asked.



CHAPTER 11
    V ivian woke drenched in sweat. Her throat felt raw. To the left, a heart monitor beeped incessantly. Glancing around, she found herself lying on a gurney, dressed in only a hospital gown. That thing had her baby!
    She shot up in bed. A hollow clink pulled at her arm. One of her hands was cuffed to the guardrail. She yanked an IV from the top of her wrist and tried to squeeze through the restraint. It was too tight.
    Jarod wouldn’t hurt Cody. But he wasn’t himself. Somehow, she had to get out of here.
    The door next to her hospital bed opened. A white-haired man walked from the bathroom.
    “Wonderful. You’re awake.” He dried his hands with a paper towel. Was he police? Maybe, but weren’t cops supposed to retire before sixty? And they didn’t wear expensive suits. “I trust that you’re comfortable,” he said.
    His courteous, British accent seemed out of place with his icy stare.
    “I’m fine.” Did they know who she was yet? She never carried identification. Still, they only needed her fingerprints, and it would be over. “Can you loosen this handcuff? My arm is numb.”
    “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he said. “I’ve seen many things in my day, young lady, but I have never seen anything like the mess you left at the scrap yard.”
    “Mess?” She paused to calm her voice. Those boys had given their lives to protect Cody, but to this jerk they were little more than a cleanup on aisle four. “You think I killed them?”
    “I don’t suppose it was you, but you do know who is responsible.”
    “I never got a look at him.” As far as she was concerned, everyone worked for Jarod. Especially the police. “Why am I handcuffed then? I’ve done nothing wrong.”
    “We can’t be sure of that until you answer some questions.”
    He looked at her, then down at her scraped thigh. The hospital gown felt inadequate. She pulled it down with her free hand.
    “Now.” He walked over to a chair, grabbed a folded blanket, and handed it to her. “You were telling me of last night’s events.”
    She unfolded the blanket slowly to buy time. What could she possibly tell him? That one of the most powerful men in California was actually some kind of, thing…she didn’t even