Devil's Throat (The River Book 6) Read Online Free Page A

clear.
Still, ninety percent of the book was pure gibberish to him. Roy understood
much more of it.
    “I’ll start going through it,” Roy said, “if you’ll go out
and find us something to eat. There was a mart at the end of town; it must have
something we can ingest.”
    “Let me guess,” Steven said, “cheese and crackers?”
    “You got it,” Roy said, “if they have it. If not, anything
except anchovies.”
    “Somehow I don’t think anchovies will be an option here in
bustling Overton,” Steven said. “I’ll be right back.”
    Steven left Roy reading the family book and descended the
broken cement steps to the ground floor. He climbed into his car and turned out
of the motel and onto the main drag of Overton.
    Steven decided to drive the length of the town, to see what
was available. He turned left and proceeded to the south end of town. There was
a grocery store near the middle of town, bigger than the mart Roy had seen as
they entered. Steven decided he’d come back to it after he reached the end of
town. He passed a couple of places to eat, a hardware store, and a Radio Shack.
At the far end of town he found a museum where he decided to turn around. He
retraced his route and stopped at the grocery store. He grabbed supplies and
drove back to the motel.
    Roy was inside, reading. “Any luck?” Roy asked.
    “Found a full-fledged grocery store a few blocks the other
way,” Steven said, “so your cheese and crackers are here. And I got you some
beer. What about you? Any luck with the book?”
    “Not yet,” he said. “There’s plenty about trancing, but
nothing about a catatonic state like Jason is in.”
    “You think he’s in some state other than a trance?” Steven
said. “Something deeper? I didn’t think there was anything deeper.”
    “Oh, there are all kinds of states,” Roy said, “and plenty of
them are deeper than a trance. I’ve never used them because I’ve never needed
to. But who knows what that little fucker Michael is up to.”
    Steven’s phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and looked
at the caller ID.
    “It’s Eliza,” he said, and raised the phone to his ear. “Eliza?”
    “Steven, is that you?” Eliza said.
    “Yes,” Steven said. “Hold on, I’m going to put you on
speakerphone so Roy can hear.”
    “Alright,” she said, and waited. Steven pulled the phone from
his ear and pressed the button that would turn on the speaker.
    “Go ahead,” Steven said.
    “You there, Roy?” Eliza asked.
    “Yes, I’m here,” Roy said.
    “Well, I have someone you can talk to,” she said. “Her name
is Deem Hinton. She’s a friend of a friend. I’ve never met her, but I hear she
knows the lay of the land down there. My friend tried to reach her to give her
your number, but her mother says she’s out in the hills for the day and won’t
be back until tonight. So expect a call from her then.”
    “Did you say ‘Deem’?” Steven asked.
    “Yes,” Eliza said, “like ‘Dean’ but with an ‘m” in place of
the ‘n’. Unusual name, huh?”
    “Yeah,” Steven said, “but who cares, we need all the help we
can get.”
    “How is he?” Eliza asked.
    “He looks like he’s sleeping,” Steven said, “but you can’t
wake him. Michael claims if we move him it might kill him.”
    “Could be true,” Eliza said. “Best not to take any chances.”
    “We appreciate your help again, Eliza,” Steven said. “You
really are a lifesaver.”
    “I’ll keep researching up here,” she said. “If I can find out
more I’ll give you a call. Stay safe you two. And let me know if there’s
anything else I can do to help.”
    “Will do,” Roy said, and Steven hung up the phone.
    “What now?” Steven asked. “We don’t seem to be making much
progress.”
    “Well,” Roy said, “we’re not going to hear from Deem until
later. How about we nose around, locally? There has to be some reason why
Michael brought him all the way down here.”
    “I noticed a museum