Free Jonah Havensby by Bob Bannon

over the display case covering the backpacks and hunting gear that looked like it was trampled over.
    The shop’s owner, a pudgy, balding man in a turtleneck and an old hunting jacket came out of the store’s front door, which seemed to be intact. He was red-faced and followed by the Sherriff, a tall man who looked to Jonah like a blonde-haired cowboy.
    “I’m telling you, it was some kind of animal,” the angry shopkeeper said as he locked the front door. The action seemed silly to Jonah, with the window busted out, why bother to lock the door?
    “Fred, I’m telling you,” the Sherriff answered, “An animal wouldn’t know to knock down a security camera, much less two of them. It had to be some guy wearing a costume so he couldn’t be recognized. It might even be some kids messing around. Is anything missing?”
    “It wasn’t kids!” Fred shouted. “You saw that tape! It was some kind of big ape! And how can I tell if there’s anything missing? You saw the inside of that place! It will take me a week to sort all that out!”
    “Take it easy, Fred,” the Sherriff said in an effort to cool the man’s temper. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll take the tape to the station and see what we can find out. Just do the best you can with an inventory and let me know what’s missing. You said there was no money in the till, right?”
    “No, every night I empty the register. And the safe is still there. That’s what I’m telling you. I don’t think this was a robbery, it was some big gorilla. You’re going to have to issue a warning. And alert animal control.”
    “Alright. Alright, Fred.” the Sherriff said. “We’ll take a close look at the tape. I’m not alerting anyone of anything until I know for sure. I still say it was someone just looking for some money or stuff to sell.”
    Just then, they both seemed to notice that Jonah was standing across the street. Jonah himself became aware that he’d stopped to listen to the conversation. He pulled his hood up farther over his head and started walking again. The two men went back to their discussion.
    The electric blanket was all he could think about the rest of the walk. Hadn’t he seen one in among the camping gear in the window? The same color and everything? Had his father survived the explosion and broken into the hardware store to take it for him? That didn’t make sense. His father wasn’t a big man. Surely even if he was horribly disfigured from the explosion he still couldn’t be confused with an ape.
    He looked up and down the alley when he got to the warehouse and tried to search every window before he pried open the tiny door under the stairs. His backpack was still there, and it took some effort to unwedge. He unzipped it and made sure everything he left was there.
    When his feet hit the floor of the warehouse with a crunch of broken glass, there was a flurry of activity over by Grouchy’s nest. Jonah, who was deep in thought, was caught off guard. He spun in a panic, and made a small cry, but then got caught in his twisting legs, and went down hard on his knees, his arms up in a defensive posture.
    It wasn’t one of the dangerous men. It seemed Grouchy was caught off guard too. He wasn’t in his nest, but a few feet from it. It was the first time Jonah saw all of him. He wasn’t as big as he seemed. He was only about two feet long and he was kind of scrawny, even now, up on his hind legs and staring directly at Jonah. When Jonah didn’t move, Grouchy wiped at his nose with the back of one paw, then went back down on all fours and ran into his nest.
    Jonah got up, wiping dust, glass and dirt from his jeans and said as he headed up the stairs, “Sorry Grouchy. Didn’t know you’d be out and about.”
    He threw the backpack on the roll-top desk and checked to see that everything was exactly the way he left it. Nothing seemed to have been touched. Then he saw the two loaves of bread and the peanut butter. He was so hungry at