Different kinds of fear

At the apartment, Albert Birch avoided her, often sweating his anxiety in fat beads. He also stopped bursting into their room, and Susan said that when Ryn was around, the Birches rarely bothered her.
“Does Albert Birch bother you when I’m gone?” Ryn asked, sensing prey-fear on Susan. It was something she scented on many girls and boys at school.
“No,” Susan said. “Not me, at least.”
“Who?”
“The girl before you. Before she went out the window, Albert bought her expensive things. Clothes mostly. I wondered what it was about.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well.” Susan closed her book. “I figure—and I guess I don’t know, but I figure—maybe he tried to keep her quiet about something they might have been doing, something they weren’t supposed to. Anyway, he’s creepy, but he never does more than gawk. How about you?”
“He sweats fear when I’m close.”


Chapter 8, Page 103