Airtight Case Read Online Free PDF Page A

We’ll be able to see the town lights in a short distance.”
    “No, there’s something terrible in the woods. I don’t know what, but I know it’s there.”
    John was silent for a long moment. He lowered his head and shook it again. “You want to stay all night in the woods. My ex-wife wasn’t this much trouble.”
    “I’m afraid.”
    “I know. Okay. We’ll stay the night. If you get cold, I’m here.”
    John settled in the shelter, trying to make himself comfortable. Lindsay stuck his knife in the ground beside her. Off in the distance they heard an owl screech.
     

 
    Chapter 4
    Moon Pies And Dr Pepper
    WHEN LINDSAY AWOKE, John was stretching and kneading his lower back. His long black hair fell across his shoulders, his Indian profile silhouetted against the bright morning light shining through the opening of the small makeshift shelter. He looked strong, and she had been asleep and defenseless. He could have harmed her if he had wanted, but he hadn’t. That was a definite positive.
    “I can tell you one thing.” He turned his face toward her. In the shadows created by the sunlight shining from behind him, the only features visible in his face were the white teeth in his smile. “Knowing how to sleep in the woods and wake up refreshed isn’t genetic.”
    “Do we ever camp together?” Lindsay asked.
    “No. I’m not a happy camper. I like a soft bed and a roof over my head.” He held out his hand to her. “Let’s get out of the woods and go see the sheriff.”
    “The sheriff? Why?” She felt a return of uneasiness.
    “He has his men keeping an eye out for you. He needs to know you’ve been found safe.”
    Talking about it brought back all her fears of yesterday. “Let’s just go.”
    “We really need . . .”
    In the closeness of the small enclosure, Lindsay suddenly felt confined . . . trapped. She scrambled from the shelter and stood in the open, drinking in the air like it was water, surveying the woods around her.
    “I don’t know who to trust. I just want to go home. I’m taking a chance trusting you.”
    “All right.” John held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’ll call his office from down the road a ways. We don’t have to see him.” He extended his hand to her.
    Lindsay stared at it for several moments before she took it, and they walked hand in hand out of the woods. Every few feet, she looked over her shoulder to see if the thing that cast a shadow over her sanity was pursuing them.
    John squeezed her hand softly. “It’ll be all right. You’re safe now. I’ll keep you safe.”
    “You don’t know from what, and I’m not able to tell you.”
    “I will still keep you safe.”
    She hoped that it would be true. It didn’t take long to leave the asylum of the woods. As they walked out into the open field, the dew-covered grass brushed her ankles and the dampness soaked into her socks. She shivered. How long could she have lived in the woods without turning wild, she wondered. With no memory and no resources, what would she have become—a forest creature, sitting on her haunches eating raw meat?
    As they approached the row of converted offices, Lindsay spotted the midnight blue pickup parked on the street. It had dark tinted windows—good for escaping the town unseen. But if John West turned out to be a villain, no one could see her inside. She examined his profile. The movement of her head caught his attention, and he looked at her and smiled.
    “We’re out of the woods.” He smiled again, as if that were a joke.
    He took his remote from his jeans pocket and pointed it at the truck as they approached. Lindsay heard the clicks of the doors unlocking and wished he could point the remote at her and unlock her brain. Trying to remember was dizzying, frustrating—it made her want to cry. She climbed into the truck and slammed the door shut. John climbed into the driver’s side.
    “I need to call your brother and tell him you’re safe and coming home.”