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After a fewup

Leslie lay in bed, awake She was going hoht reasons, she assured herself The work The opportunity And she just plain loved New York She needed to be back

Hell

She was going home to try to find a way to reach Matt…

Joe watched as Eileen settled into her chauffeur-driven sedan, refusing the offer of a ride with a thank-you, though he wasn’t really sure why It was late, but this was New York People were out at all hours, even though some areas, like this one, became much quieter

When the car had disappeared into the easy flow of the late-night traffic, he found hi down the street He had always loved don He was a New Yorker, born and bred in Brooklyn Heights, an area he loved But do York offered a history few people took the time to appreciate, since the city offered such a bustle of business, shopping and entertainment

His walk took hie sense of coround, a sign of the ti He loved St Paul’s, though it wasn’t as grand as Trinity Church just down the road St Paul’s was the only re church built before the Revolutionary War, a true Georgianwith displays honoring those who had worked tirelessly on the rescue efforts after 9/11, since the church lay in the shadows of the edy Drenched in history, yet still a place forat the age of soht really be old beneath a newer facade, his wanderings taking hiain newly restored Hastings House

He had coht Several times And he never knew exactly why Every tinant ripple of pain Four dead Jerry Osbourne, police officer Sally Rydell, socialite Tom Burton, architect And Matthew Connolly, brilliant journalist, a e

He’d been working out in Las Vegas when it had happened, on a cold case involving kidnapping, fraud andThe job had taken nearly a year, but it had paid extreed to tie it all up shortly after he’d flown home for his cousin’s funeral

He had never felt so nuone to the hospital afterward, where Matt’s fiancée, Leslie, had still been in intensive care, he had been grateful to discover that she spent most of her time unconscious He hadn’t knohat to say to her Because of the amount of time he spent out of the city, he’d never actually met her, except lad that he could leave a lad to disappear

Strange, growing up, he and Matt had seen each other only on family occasions Matt had lived by Central Park; he had lived in Brooklyn Heights Once it had seemed as if they were far apart Maybe it was just the size of New York Each neighborhood was co; as adults, even though real distance often came between them They had actually become the best of friends Maybe it had been their shared passion for hts and ideals

Matt had been a rity Many people would miss him But for Joe, the loss was personal, and he still felt a helpless rage every tiht about the stupidity of the way he’d died

He had planned to return to the city after wrapping up of the Vegas thing and get to know Leslie and make plans with Matt He would have been the best e He didn’t know Leslie because of happenstance They had simply never been in the sa link to Matt

It was a that she had survived the blast

The force of the explosion had thrown her across the rooain, the dead had died on i to the coroner; they hadn’t had to face the agony of burning to death

The blast had been investigated Backward and forward and inside out But in the end, there had been no explanation other than that there had been a gas buildup in the line The innocent flicking of a furnace switch had caused a spark, which had triggered the explosion and the tragedy

Hastings House was back now It was open to the public, other than the private rooms in back, some of which were maintained as offices and others as acco on historical sites around don It seemed that these days, every construction project uncovered some remnant of the past, a clear illustration of the contrast between those dedicated to preservation and those dedicated to s House had been a worthy project, he was sure But he could never forget what had happened there, and he found hi quickly away for aHe couldn’t help the bitterness that seemed to assail him every time he saw the house He understood Eileen Brideswell, because it seee or a conclusion; he realized that the rage that filled his of helplessness and failure than the natural pain of loss He couldn’t help but believe, no ations had led to, that so

That soet?

He’d done so dead end after dead end He was sure it was frustration that kept hi at the house

People walked past hiuidebooks out He wondered if he should warn the to be doing at that hour of the night

A few teenagers walked by the house, and then a couple with two children soe of ten More tourists

"Is it haunted?" the boy asked eagerly

"Could be," the father said "Patriotsthe Revolutionary War, and othersthe War of 1812 It was even a stop on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War Lots of people could be haunting the place" The father winked