The Haunting at Grays Harbor (The River Book 8) by Michael Richan Page A

out
to feel it, but felt his hands warm as he did so, so he pulled back. “I don’t
think I should touch it,” he said.
    Roy touched the side of the disc and a white ring appeared
that ran around the entire circumference of the top of the object. He pulled
his hand away, and the ring faded.
    “Touch it again,” Steven suggested. “And when the ring
appears, slide your hand one way or the other.”
    Roy reached out again, following Steven’s instructions. The
ring appeared, and he slid his hand slowly to the left. The map in the center
of the disc zoomed out quickly, and they were looking at the Earth, hanging in
space.
    “The other direction,” Steven said. Roy moved his hand to the
right, the ring rotating under it. The map zoomed in, and soon they were
looking at the state of Washington.
    “Keep going,” Steven said, and Roy took a step to his right,
continuing to touch the ring. The image inside zoomed further until they saw
Grays Harbor, with Westport and Ocean Shores on one end, and Aberdeen on the
other. The sun was beginning to set, casting a deep yellow glow over the area.
    “This thing is amazing!” Roy said, gazing down into the disc.
“Look how clear everything looks!”
    “Keep going,” Steven said. “Let’s see where this points to.”
    Roy took another step, and the images zoomed further,
centering over a dark stretch of the harbor and the land between Westport and
Aberdeen. As Ray continued to slide the ring, the images shifted further, and
soon they were looking down on the neighborhood of Barbara Winters’ house.
    “I knew it,” Roy said. “They are connected.”
    “Will it go further?” Steven asked.
    Roy took another step, and they zoomed through the roof of
Barbara’s house and into her attic. The movement stopped as the image came to
rest on the strange object that had been behind the knee wall. The disc was
magnifying the size of it, making it look three times larger than it was in
real life. They watched as the thin wire coil surrounding the core tried to
spin, scraping against the side of the core and leaving gouge marks.
Occasionally a spark flew from the contact.
    “Not that we needed a reason to help Barbara,” Steven said,
“but if we don’t figure out what that object is, it could destroy Eximere.”
    Roy removed his hand from the ring, and the disc rapidly
shrunk until it was back to its original size. Roy and Steven stood looking
down at the small cork trivet on the floor between them.
    “Do we have to give it back?” Roy asked.
    “No, I bought it,” Steven said.
    “Good,” Roy said.
     

Chapter Seven
     
     
     
    As they rode in the elevator to Elliott’s floor, Steven could
tell Roy was excited at the prospect of some fireworks.
    “I’m not going to get into a fight with this guy, like
Judith,” Steven said, tamping down Roy’s expectations. “He’s been useful, and
as far as I can tell, he’s been honest with us. The only reason you don’t like
him is because you’re intimidated by the technology.”
    “First Eliza, and now you!” Roy said. “I am not intimidated
by technology. I just don’t like it very much.”
    “Think of it this way,” Steven said as the elevator doors
opened and they stepped out, “if we’d never met Elliott, we wouldn’t have met
Victor.”
    Roy grumbled in response.
    Steven knocked on Elliott’s door and it opened to reveal the
tiny, cramped condo that was the false front to Elliott’s workspace. Elliott
was holding his phone and staring down at it as the two men entered.
    “Hello, Elliott,” Steven said.
    “Steven, Roy,” Elliott responded, not looking up.
    Roy gave Steven a disapproving glance, then turned back to
Elliott.
    “I know I’m supposed to be nice to you,” Roy said, “but do
you think you could put that thing down and make eye contact when you say
hello?”
    “What?” Elliott said, looking up quickly and then back down
to his phone. “I’ve got to monitor this.”
    “We need a database