Edgewise by Graham Masterton Read Free Book Online

before.”
    â€œ
Ex
-mom-in-law,” Lily corrected him.
    They rolled slowly past Sylvia’s house, kept on going until they reached a new development of three- and four-bedroom houses, built around a curving hill and landscaped in descending terraces. This morning the hill was deeply buried in snow, and a crowd of twenty or thirty young children were tobogganing. Lily couldn’t stop herself from looking carefully at each of their faces, just in case they happened to be Tasha or Sammy. Totally illogical, she knew. Totally impossible. But she still couldn’t help herself.
    Special Agent Rylance frowned at the large-scale local map that was unfolded on his lap. “Here we are . . . Sibley’s End. This is where the old farm used to be. The barn is actually marked here—look. Sibley’s Barn, circa 1882. Take a left here, Nathan, then we should see it up on the right-hand side.”
    Sibley’s End turned out to be a small collection of two-story brick homes with snow-covered SUVs parked in their driveways, and a motley collection of snowmen standing in their front yards. Special Agent Kellogg parked at the very far end of the development, where there was a black overgrown tangle of briars, and they all climbed out of the car. Between the briars they found a narrow zigzag pathway that led to what was left of Sibley’s Farm—a half-acre triangle of snowy field. In the far corner of the field stood a dilapidated barn, its roof sagging and most of its green paint weathered away.
    Lily pushed her way through the briars and started to trudge across the field, with Special Agents Rylance and Kellogg following close behind her. In the near distance, they could hear the whistling and screaming of airplanes at Minnesota International, as they lined up for their slot to take off. A fat gray rabbit jumped and scurried across the field and vanished into the briars. Lily couldn’t help thinking about Sammy. He used to love the story about Brer Rabbit and the Briar Patch.
    â€œHang me just as high as you please, Brer Fox,” says Brer Rabbit, says he, “but for the Lord’s sake don’t throw me in the briar patch.”
    â€œNobody’s been here since the snow started,” said Special Agent Rylance.
    Special Agent Kellogg approached the barn’s main door. It had collapsed on its runners years ago, but there was still a small access door in the middle, which was fastened with nothing more than a long twist of rusty wire.
    â€œLooks like this wire could’ve been disturbed not too long ago,” said Special Agent Kellogg.
    â€œKids, probably,” said Special Agent Rylance.
    â€œI very much doubt it, Dick. Kids don’t play in smelly old barns any more. They stay in their well-appointed centrally heated bedrooms, playing with their X-Boxes.”
    â€œWell, let’s take a look inside anyhow.”
    Special Agent Rylance unwound the wire and wrenched open the door. He took a flashlight out of his coat pocket and cautiously climbed into the barn. After a moment he reappeared and said, “Empty. No sign that anybody’s been here, either.”
    Lily and Special Agent Kellogg stepped into the barn too. It was high and gloomy, although scores of shingles had slipped, so that dull gray daylight filtered through to the floor. The agents’ flashlights flickered from one side to the other, and up to the hayloft, criss-crossing each other like lightsabers, but there was nothing here except heaps of dusty, dried-out straw, and two rusty plow blades, and part of a half-dismantled generator.
    â€œSorry, Mrs. Blake,” said Special Agent Rylance, laying his hand on her shoulder.
    Lily looked around one last time. She was just about to step back out of the door when she glimpsed a small button shining on the floor, almost completely hidden among the straw. She turned to Special Agent Kellogg and said, “Here . . . can you point your flashlight