Vortex by Ray Garton Read Free Book Online

wondered as she turned onto her side and got comfortable in the heavenly bed with its feather pillows and down comforter. Within minutes, she was asleep.

    In the bathroom, Gavin scrubbed himself dry with the thick cotton towel that had been waiting for him. He knew Karen would be in bed when he got out there. Theyd slept together before while on the job for Burgess, and he’d had to remind himself that their relationship was professional. If he tried to make it anything more than that, Karen might be willing, but where would that lead? He didn’t like to think about that. No matter how appealing the idea was at first glance, thoughts of taking it any deeper immediately stirred up memories of Jan, memories that reminded him that any relationship would require trust, and that trust created extreme vulnerability. He didn’t think he ever wanted to be that vulnerable again.
    He finished drying off, put on a T-shirt and shorts and went into the bedroom. He left the bathroom light on, though. After the things they’d experienced while working for Burgess, neither Gavin nor Karen slept without a light on anymore.
    He set his alarm clock then got into bed carefully, hoping not to wake Karen. She lay on her right side, facing him. As he was pulling the covers up over him, she stirred and opened her eyes, then smiled.
    “Can I take this bed home with me?” she said sleepily.
    He returned her smile and said, “I’ve set the alarm for six. Goodnight.”
    “Mm,” she said, barely above a whisper, before settling back into sleep.
    Gavin watched her for a while in the dim glow from the bathroom. Then he rolled over with a sigh and tried to sleep.

Chapter Five
    A nother sleepless night.
    Gertie lay in bed for a while wondering if, as usual, she simply couldn’t sleep, or if she were being kept awake by her curiosity about what was going on in the shed outside. She considered reading, but couldn’t decide what to read. She was in the middle of a book about Thomas Jefferson that was interesting, but kind of dry. That might help her get sleepy. But she really wanted to get back to the new Dean Koontz thriller she was reading, which would only keep her awake. She was between crocheting projects and didn’t feel like starting a new one, and she was getting bored with jigsaw puzzles.
    She heard a vehicle drive up outside. The engine was turned off and a moment later, a door opened, then another.
    She got out of bed in her flannel nightgown and walked through the dark to the desk and sat down. There were blue curtains over the window and she pulled the cord to open them slightly so she could see outside.
    A light rain gave the night a misty quality and the lights around the shed cast long black shadows as a tall figure led a small child into the building. Gertie felt herself getting tense. It happened every time she saw a child being brought to the shed. She’d tried to ignore her growing alarm, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. What possible reason could there be for children to be involved in what Mr. Ryker had called “intensive research.”
    “We are a team of privately funded paranormal researchers,” he’d said to them the first time he’d come to the house. “What you’ve found is very significant and we have the resources to give it the attention it deserves. We can set up a lab right here on your property with all the equipment we need to examine and study this creature. No harm will be brought to him—we would be absolutely opposed to that. But this could be the very thing we need for this field of study to be taken seriously. We would be more than happy to compensate you for the use of your property and we would not intrude on your lives in any way. But we think it’s important to do the research right here because we feel the creature’s proximity to the mountain may be important. We believe he is the first solid evidence we have that the lore about this mountain is authentic and we don’t want to