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A lone and awake in his car, parked just far enough away not to be conspicuous, Joe read over the list He wished he’d been there that night, and he tried to envision the scene in hisback to a place where he froze, afraid

For Leslie

Accident in the crypt, accident in the subway…accident in this house?

Like hell

So if the first teren’t accidents and everything was connected, then he needed to look at the people around theht of the gala Professor Lay but his work Still, tomorroould assure himself that Laymon had been at the site all day

Brad? But why?

Jealousy?

Robert Adair had been the one to put him on the case, which seeuy, but that was no reason to suspect hi factor?

Or was it Leslie herself? What if so to kill Leslie, not Matt?

It ue him

What about Ken Dryer? He was at the site far more often than a police spokes de to bow to his wishes, since the women behind him and the Historical Society were some of the wealthiest in the state

Hank Smith Ken Dryer Brad Verdun Layala and now they were all revolving in the saain

He set down his list, startled, as he saw lights go on in the house He sat for a ht and exited his car As he did so, he noticed so that he hadn’t seen before

A man

He had blended with a lauy had been standing there all along, watching the house

He’d thought hio on, too, and shifted his position, theJoe’s attention

Joe raced toward the la and shot down the street like greased lightning Joe could run, but the guy had a head start on him Joe chased him down one street, around the block and toward the site, where he saw a unifor the fence

"Hey!" he called out

"Yes?" the officer said, watching caluy around this way Did you see hi?"

The officer looked hi, but who are you? And what are you doing chasing people at this tiht?"

Joe produced his ID

"Oh, hell, you’re hiuy looked confused "I just saw your picture with a story about a sting in Vegas Good work"

"Thanks Are you sure you didn’t see anything?"

"Mr Connolly, I swear to you, no one went by here"

"All right, thanks Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, will you?"

"That’s what they pay uy, plain and si alarmed He’d left the house He’d left Leslie

He turned and headed back toward the house, running full speed as soon as he was out of the cop’s sight As he ran, he blessed whatever randoive him the alarm code that day

As soon as he reached the door, he punched it in quickly, terrified of what he ht find on the other side

There were no doubt plenty of people ould certify her as stark raving mad without question She was in a reputedly haunted house, all alone, in the dead of night And she wasn’t content to stay safely in her room

No, she just had to head down to the basement, where there were still bones interred in the wall

Wide awake, wearing slippers and a robe, she took one of the lanterns from the kitchen table and went back to the servants’ pantry She lifted the braid rug, then the hatch door

For a moment, even she hesitated The stairs looked as if they led to a giant and eternal black abyss

But she was certain that she had heard sobbing, a sobbing that tore at her heart

She held the lantern out before her and started down the steps The rooht as she approached the bottom of the steps

She could see Elizabeth’s bones in the wall, but they didn’t frighten her at all She knew in her heart that she was doing everything she could for Elizabeth

She wasn’t afraid of ghosts, she realized

She was afraid of the living

She reached the bottom of the steps and walked into the center of the rooest tiht, she couldn’t ascertain where it was coure it out

Then, to her astonishs A door being opened and closed?

And then…

Silence

She waited, not breathing But still, she could hear nothing at all

Elizabeth’s eht