Ghost Light by Rick Hautala Read Free Book Online Page B

grimace, really; then he looked away, staring down at the floor with a pitiful, down-cast expression on his face. Once the minimal amenities were dispensed with, Krendall opened his briefcase and took out a thin, manila file folder.
    “We—uh, well, the reading of this will won’t take long,” Krendall said, slapping it against the flat of his hand, “but it’s going to present some… some rather unusual problems—problems which I’ve never encountered in better than thirty years of practicing law.” He paused and cleared his throat as he flipped the edge of the folder. Cindy covered her mouth with one hand to help control the sobs that jerked her body. Krendall opened the folder, cleared his throat, and began to read.
    “I, Deborah Toland Harris, being of sound mind and body, do hereby present this, my last will and testament—”
    Krendall droned on, reading the convoluted legal language that barely made sense to Cindy until he came to one part of the will, which he read in a slow, deliberate voice.
    “In the event of my death, pre-deceasing my husband, Alexander Harris, I do here-by appoint my sister, Mrs. Cynthia Toland, as legal guardian of my children, William Alan and Christine Anne, with all legal rights pertaining to their custody until such time as—”
    “What the hell—?” Alex shouted.
    His head suddenly shot up, and he stared, glaring, first at the lawyer, then at Cindy. “What the hell does that mean?”
    Krendall looked at him, his mouth set in a thin, grim line as his eyes danced nervously back and forth between Cindy and Alex. He cleared his throat again with a deep rumble, placed the papers down on the desk in front of him, and smoothed them with the flat of his hand.
    “What this means , Mr. Harris, is your wife came to me several months ago and had me draw up this will. And what it says, in effect, is that Mrs. Toland, your sister-in-law, has been given legal custody of your two children.”
    “Sweet Jesus,” Cindy whispered, her voice so strangled and faint that neither man seemed to notice.
    “Your wife—well, I don’t know quite how to put this without sounding accusatory or offensive, but she expressed some concern for the safety and well being of her children should she die. She came to see me and informed me that she would feel much more secure knowing that, if either both of you or she died, her children would be raised in a loving family situation which her sister Cynthia could provide.”
    Alex’s eyes were wide open, staring in amazement.
    “Why that’s—I don’t—This is complete, utter bullshit! ” he sputtered, practically choking on his rage.
    Cindy watched the hot scarlet flush color his face as his hands tightened around the chair arms and he leaned forward. The facade of the grieving husband and caring father was gone, to be replaced by the monster Cindy knew he really was. He raised his fists but restrained himself from slamming them against the desktop.
    “Do you mean to tell me that you think… you actually think you can take my children away from me? You can’t do it!”
    His voice broke, and— damnit —if Cindy didn’t see a glaze of tears filling his eyes.
    Turning to Cindy, he shouted, “You can’t take my kids away from me! There’s no way in hell I’ll let you do this! You set her up for this, didn’t you? You pushed her! This is something you made her do!” His voice broke, sounding like an angry tear of cloth. “But I won’t let you! No fucking way! You won’t get away with it!”
    For an instant, Cindy thought he was going to launch himself out of his chair at her and strangle her. She braced herself while fighting for mental calm. This was as much of a surprise for her as it was for Alex, and in the presence of a witness, she wanted to keep her cool, not get emotional.
    “I… had no idea,” she whispered, locking eyes with Krendall and shaking her head.
    Alex continued to make angry sputtering sounds, but after a moment he