House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo Read Free Book Online Page A

them.”
    â€œAnd it’s haunted ?”
    â€œHas to be. Look, weird things were happening there and—”
    â€œWhat weird things?”
    Xander hadn’t told David everything. “Just some stuff.
    But I told you I got a bad feeling about it, then we find out about this murder.” He emphasized it: “A triple murder and suicide. A guy slaughtered his own family. How awful is that?”
    â€œ Slaughtered ? What’d he do?”
    â€œI’m sure it was something bloody and grotesque. You don’t go out of your mind and keep it neat.”
    Xander could almost see the vivid images bouncing around David’s head.
    â€œWhat do we do?” David asked.
    Good question.
    â€œDo you still want to move into that house?”
    â€œNot if it’s haunted!”
    â€œShhhh.” Against reason, Xander still felt the thrill he had experienced at the house. That sense of adventure, that he was privy to some kind of secret knowledge. He imagined finding another house, one without a history or ghosts. Yeah, he’d sleep better at night, but he’d be bored out of his mind during the day. Especially in Pinedale.
    â€œLook,” Xander said. “Let’s just keep our eyes open, be really watchful. If it gets dangerous, we’ll go nuts—you know, scream and throw a fit or something—to get everybody out.”
    â€œI can do that.” David smiled, but his eyes said he was still worried. 9
    The next day, they looked at more properties, but their hearts weren’t in the search, and they saw nothing they liked.
    The following day, Wednesday, Mr. King pulled to the curb in front of Tall Pines Park. The boys, Toria, and Mom had staked a claim at one of the picnic tables. They’d walked from the motel to the park, stopping at a burger joint on the way. Xander and David had already devoured their fries, but Mom had made them wait for their cheeseburgers until Dad showed up.
    Their father did a sort of half-skip across the grass. His smile showed where Toria and David got their dimples; Mom and Xander had radiant smiles without them—at least that’s what Mom said.
    Dad stopped at the head of the table. “Well,” he said, “it’s ours.”
    â€œThe house?” David squealed. “I mean the house?”
    â€œWe haven’t closed, of course, but the trust that owns it has agreed to a price and said we can move in right away, if we want.”
    Mom nodded. Xander realized she had known all along, but she’d kept it a surprise.
    Dad leaned down to give her a big kiss. Xander and David exchanged a look, one with equal parts happiness and fear.
    Xander thought if you took a picture of them during a really
    scary part of a really good movie, they would look like they did now. He hoped he was right about the house being more frightening than dangerous, and he wondered, if he was wrong, if they would realize it before someone got hurt.
    â€œSo what do you say?” Dad clapped his hands. “Want to go to our new home?”
    â€œNow?” Toria said.
    â€œSure.” He saw Xander and David eyeing their burgers.
    â€œBring ’em; we’ll have a picnic there.”
    9
    Xander hadn’t thought about it until now, but it was odd pulling up to their home when the only things visible were trees. There was no driveway, no garage. Who would build a home like that? At least in this age of mass transit. It made him wonder how old the house was, who had designed it, who had built it, who had lived in it.
    Dad stopped where the road did. He must have been thinking similar thoughts, for he said, “There’s not even a curb to pull over to. I wonder if building a carport or a drive up to the house would be too expensive.”
    â€œI don’t mind parking here,” Mom said.
    â€œWait till it rains,” David said, and laughed.
    Mom laid her hand on Dad’s arm. “Besides, I have a feeling this