But hard as they searched, they unearthed no more clues. Debbie drew up a table containing the ‘Fear Me Jason’ message, with each letter marked as either ‘killed’ or ‘abducted,’ based on the newspaper reports. Opposite the last letter ‘N’ she added a question mark, which she outlined. As evening fell, Jason gazed out the open window, enjoying the refreshing breeze as it fanned his face. So pleasant after the day’s intolerable heat. A few tiny stars twinkled in the twilight sky—calm, normal, at odds with everything that was going on in his life. “How about we call it a day,” Matt suggested. “If I stay with you two pessimists another second, I’ll go crazy.” Jason nodded. “Agreed.” The men got to their feet, and Debbie jerked her head up. “Are you going?” She stopped embellishing the question mark with its multitude of tiny replicas, dropped her pen, and stood with them.
