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The others listened to Bryce, and this new inforative effect on their deenerate would tape-record the screams of his victims?" Gordy asked
Tal Whit else It could be that… "
"Yes?"
"Well, ht now"
"Since you’ve started it, finish it," Bryce insisted
"Well," Tal said, "what if it wasn’t a recording you heard? I mean, we know people have disappeared from Snowfield In fact as far as we’ve seen,are being held so fro tortured and ht then while you were on the phone, listening"
Re those terrible screa
"Whether it was tape-recorded or not," Frank Autry said, "it’s probably a es"
"Yes," Dr Paige said, "If Mr Autry ot to be careful not to narrow our thinking to conventional situations, then I wholeheartedly agree This just doesn’t feel like a hostage dra that no one’s ever encountered before, so let’s not start backsliding just because we’d be more comfortable with cozy, fa with terrorists, how does that fit with the thingat the ? It doesn’t"
Bryce nodded "You’re right But I don’t believe Talheld for conventional motives"
"No, no," Tal said, "It doesn’t have to be terrorists or kidnappers Even if people are being held hostage, that doesn’t necessarilyto consider that they’re being held by so open- the the the life out of the them just to tease us with their screams, the way it teased Bryce on the phone Hell, if we’re dealing with so truly extraordinary, truly unhu any-are bound to be inco like lunatics," Wargle said
Everyone ignored hilass The ie cleared her throat Her face was pasty In a barely audible voice, she said, "Maybe it spun a web somewhere, down in a dark place, in a cellar or a cave, andpeople into its web, sealed the the lay beyond the realeous theories could be true, then perhaps the girl was right, Bryce thought Perhaps there was an enor with a hundred or two hundred or even more man- and woes for freshness and convenience Sos who had been reduced to the awful equivalent of foil-wrapped Pop Tarts, waiting only to provide nourishent, other dimensional horror
No Ridiculous
On the other hand: maybe
Jesus
Bryce crouched in front of the shortwave radio and squinted at its uts Circuit boards had been snapped Several parts appeared to have been crushed in a vice or hammered flat
Frank said, "They had to take off the cover plate to get at all this stuff, just the e did"
"So after they sle said, "why’d they bother to put the plate back on?"
"And why go to all that trouble to begin with?" Frank wondered, "They could’ve put the radio out of co the cord loose"
Lisa and Gordy appeared as Bryce was turning away froirl said, "Food and coffee’s ready if anyone wants anything"
"I’ his lips
"We should all eat so, even if we don’t feel like it," Bryce said
"Sheriff," Gordy said, "Lisa and I have been wondering about the animals, the pets Whatand cat sounds over the phone Sir, what’s happened to all the pets?"
"Nobody’s seen a dog or cat," Lisa said, "Or heard barking"
Thinking of the silent streets, Bryce frowned and said, "You’re right It’s strange"
"Jenny says there were sos in town A few German shepherds One Doberman that she knows of Even a Great Dane Wouldn’t you think they’d have fought back? Wouldn’t you think soirl asked
"Okay," Gordy said quickly, anticipating Bryce’s response, "soOkay, so we also know that bullets didn’t stop it, which says that , and it’s strong But, sir, big and strong don’t necessarily count forIt’d take so real damned sneaky to slip up on every cat in town"
"Real sneaky and real fast," Lisa said
"Yeah," Bryce said uneasily, "Real fast"
Jenny had just begun eating a sandhen Sheriff Ha his plate on his lap "Mind so "
She s"
"That erate," the sheriff said, "Let o, I ay for three days at a law enforceot back, Tal was the first person I saw I asked hione, and he said it was just the usual business with drunk drivers, bar fights, a couple of burglaries, various CITs"
"What’s a CIT?" Jenny asked
"Oh, it’s just a cat-in-tree report"
"Policemen don’t really rescue cats, do they?"
"Do you think we’re heartless?" he asked, feigning shock