“Shit.”
No postmark.
What the hell did that mean? Hand-delivered?
Automatically, he felt around for a pair of gloves but ended up having to retrieve a pair from his bedroom—yeah, that was the nice thing about dating another agent; you didn’t have to explain about the kinky surplus of latex gloves.
He used a paring knife to slit the envelope and delicately pulled out the stiff card.
He stared at it for a long moment.
Okay. Nothing he hadn’t seen before, so no need for his heart to thump in his ears like he was in mortal danger.
There was no proof Kyser was the one who had attacked him. Jason still could not recall the details of the attack.
Instinct is just another word for guessing. Right?
But those faces. Those distorted, misshapen shrieking faces…were those supposed to be flames? The whole thing was kind of reminiscent of Arthur Rackham’s more macabre illustrations. Or maybe Edvard Munch’s The Scream.
Good. Keep that professional distance. Analyze. Assess. Don’t let this be about you.
Nothing inherently violent or threatening in the colors—black, red, orange—and yet the overall effect was undeniably disturbing. The nib of the pen had gouged the stiff paper in a couple of spots.
Jason drew a breath and opened the card.
It took him a second to realize the text consisted of one phrase copied over and over, the tiny print seeming to thicken and expand with each reiteration.
Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?
WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?
WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?
WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?
WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?
&nbs
p; WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?
WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?
WHERE ARE YOU?
WHERE ARE YOU?