Touching Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page A

around in her chair and reached up to answer it.
    “Is that for me?” Mom looked at her watch and pulled a leather bag onto her shoulder, turning away from the fresh coffee she’d started.
    “No, it’s for Jessica.” Beth held out the phone sweetly. “Someone called Hank?”
    Jessica managed a thin smile. “Hank” was Jonathan’s code name when he called her house. Jessica was pretty sure Beth didn’t know this yet, but her little sister always acted like she knew something, just on principle.
    “I’ll take it in the hall. Bye, Mom.”
     
    Jessica didn’t say anything until she heard the reassuring click that meant Beth was off the line.
    “Hello?”
    Jonathan’s voice was ragged, like he was coming down with a cold, but it was good to hear him. He told her what had happened the night before, about the man driving away right after the secret hour ended. Then the big news: he’d been taking pictures at the exact moment of midnight.
    “So, he knows,” she said softly. “He has to.”
    There was a pause. “I guess so.”
    “Okay, I’ll go tell Rex about it today.” Jessica sighed. She could let her father believe that she was going to Rex’s to study, although it would probably count as her one event per week of ungroundedness. Of course, anything was better than being stuck in the house all day with Beth, who still seemed to have found no friends here yet and envied her older sister for the ones she had.
    “I’ll go with you,” Jonathan said.
    “Really?” she exclaimed, but her happiness faded quickly The fact that Jonathan was willing to put up with Rex Greene’s company just showed how serious the situation was.
    Jessica Day had human enemies now.
    “Believe me,” Jonathan said, “you don’t want to go to Rex’s alone.”
    “That’s comforting.”
    “You know where he lives?”
    She didn’t. Now that she thought of it, Jessica had never been to any of the other midnighters’ houses, not even Jonathan’s. Between the lethal dangers of the secret hour and the inconvenience of being grounded, there hadn’t been time for just hanging out. Normal life was still on hold—frozen.
    Jonathan gave her the address and they agreed to meet in an hour.
    As Jessica put the phone down, she glanced down the hall at the front door window. The day looked bright and cold. She shivered, realizing that the man might be out there at this very moment. At least when darklings had been stalking her, she’d had twenty-four hours of safety every day. But now the daylight had been invaded.
    She’d only felt secure here in Bixby for one week before everything had changed again. Now it was back to danger mode.
    From the kitchen she heard her sister’s voice. “Face it, Dad. There’s no Coriolis force. Oklahoma just blows.”

10:51 a.m.
ICE-CREAM SOCIAL
 
    Jessica stopped her bike and stared at Rex Greene’s house, which sat forlornly on the street, crowded by newer homes on either side, the front lawn reduced to dying patches of brown.
    The place looked empty, as if it had been abandoned for years. But Rex’s father had answered the phone an hour before. He’d said that Rex was there and then hung up, not bothering to get him. From the other midnighters Jessica had gotten the impression that something was wrong with the old man, but no one had ever said exactly what.
    She looked at her watch, still an hour fast from keeping time during the secret hour, and wished that Jonathan would show up already. She didn’t want to face the weirdness of Rex’s father alone.
    “Jessica!”
    She jumped, whirling to face the sound before realizing who it was.
    “Man, Jonathan. You scared me.”
    He emerged from behind the aging oak that cast an ominous shadow across most of the front yard. “Sorry.”
    His voice was very scratchy. “I was kind of… hiding, in case your dad drove you. I didn’t want him to see me.”
    Jessica rolled her eyes. “Not that he knows what you look like. Anyway, ever since he and Mom