In the Dead of Night by Castillo Linda Read Free Book Online Page B

erected a basketball net over the garage. By the time that last summer rolled around, she didn’t even notice the strange way he moved or that he couldn’t speak.

    “I didn’t see a car,” she said. “How did you get here?”

    Using his fingers, Skeeter indicated he had walked.

    “So you still live in the cottage?”

    He nodded.

    The “cottage” was actually a tiny mobile home from the 1960s perched high above the cliffs a mile or so down the beach. Skeeter had lived there alone for as long as Sara could remember.

    He signed rapidly, mouthing words and then picked up the toolbox at his side. From his body language, Sara understood he’d finished his work and was leaving. “Can I drop you at the cottage?”

    Shaking his head, he headed toward the staircase. Sara trailed him to the kitchen, waving as he went through the back door to the steps that would take him to the narrow beach below.

    She’d always liked and enjoyed Skeeter. She’d been happy to see him, pleased to know he was still around. It wasn’t until she grabbed her notes off the kitchen counter and looked down at the photo of her mother, Nicholas Tyson and the missing manuscript that she realized his being inside the house also troubled her.

     

    T HE PHONE CALLS had worked. After twenty years the girl was back. Better yet, she was doing exactly what he wanted her to do. But she was also doing some things he hadn’t anticipated. Like asking questions about that night. Too damn many questions.

    He assured himself she couldn’t possibly uncover anything that could be dangerous to him. The case was closed. Her parents and Nicholas Tyson were dead and buried right along with all the dark secrets.

    There was one element he had to consider. Little Sara Douglas had been there that night. She’d witnessed the shooting. She’d seen the killer. The real question was had she heard the argument? Had her seven-year-old mind understood it? What the hell was he going to do if she started piecing things together?

    It was some comfort knowing she couldn’t remember. Shortly after the killings, he’d read in the newspaper that she’d been so traumatized by the ordeal that she couldn’t remember anything about that night. But he knew from experience that memories had a way of resurfacing at the most inopportune time.

    This was definitely an inopportune time.

    With Sara Douglas sniffing around, he was going to have to be very careful. He couldn’t let her ruin this for him. This was his one and only shot at the big time. He’d worked too hard to get where he was. He’d paid his dues. Paid a lot more than anyone should have to. It finally looked like things were going his way. Like he would get the break he deserved. Success. Recognition. A place in the spotlight.

    So long as that bitch Fate didn’t go and lay down a wild card. But he had to wonder. Was Sara Douglas a wild card?

    For the moment, he needed her. She was the one person who could find what he needed. An item that would catapult his career right to the top. But she was also the only person who threatened his ticket to stardom. His dreams. His future. Everything he’d ever worked for. Everything he deserved.

    All he could do was give her some rein. Let her sniff. Let her look. If all went as planned she would find the prize. When she did, he would be there to claim it.

    Once that happened, Sara Douglas would become a liability. She would become more dangerous to him than ever because she wouldn’t stop there. Once she found what he needed, he would have to find a way to silence her forever.

     

    S ARA HAD KNOWN the mansion well as a child. She and her sister had explored every square inch, no matter how dark or dusty and despite her mother’s scolding. Tonight, searching for a manuscript that might not even exist, she felt overwhelmed by the sheer size of the place.

    “If I were going to hide something, where would I put it?”

    Standing in the foyer, she nibbled on her