C.J. Urban - Julie Townsend 01 - Hidden Intent Read Online Free PDF

Dupont’s Eli Whitney, then?”
    “It’s a little more sophisticated than that,” he replied, “but on the whole I think you’re spot on.” Spot on, Skye thought to himself, who says that?
    Julie grinned, then threw him a questioning look. “I’m guessing you didn’t come here so we could casually discuss our lives.”
    Skye took a deep breath, about to respond. But without warning, Sam appeared at the foot of the stairs decked out in a Batman costume and holding a Nerf gun.
    “What’s he doing here?” Sam asked innocently.
    “He just came for a visit. Be polite and say hi.”
    “Hi,” Sam said.
    “Hello,” Skye replied. “You like your tape measure?”
    “Yep,” Sam smiled now. “As a matter of fact, I was just going to measure the bathtub.” And he turned and ran back up the stairs.
    Skye chuckled. “He seems like a good kid.”
    “He can be a little twerp sometimes, but I love him to death,” Julie said. “So, what did you want to tell me?”
    Skye’s face lost all signs of mirth now. “Right. Now, before I say anything, how much do you know about this house?”
    Julie was somewhat taken aback. She wasn’t expecting to talk about the house, but answered, “I know that my uncle owns it. He lived here with his daughter, my cousin Tara, until about twenty years ago. She died mysteriously. I remember my family talking about murder, but I was really young. My uncle never talked about it.”
    “Never?”
    “Not to my knowledge. I think it was, and still is, just too painful for him. And now that my parents are gone, I understand how he feels.”
    Skye started to think he might really be the wrong person to tell her. He stared out the window, silently, trying to figure out whether to or not.
    The look on his face and his sudden silence gave Julie a cold feeling. His demeanor had changed instantly from one of congeniality to dead seriousness, and it made her a little nervous.
    “Are you okay?” Julie asked. “What is it that you want to tell me?”
    “So, Tara was your cousin?”
    “Yeah, she was. I wish I knew really what happened.”
    “Well,” Skye started slowly, “twenty years ago, she was found hanging from the ceiling, strangled to death in her bedroom.”
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
     
    Julie’s jaw dropped, horrified. She just stared at Skye, who now doubted the logic that convinced him to tell her.
    The thought that her cousin had died in this very house, let alone was murdered, made her dizzy. She clutched at the recliner’s arm, feeling nauseous. She wasn’t one to believe in ghosts, but she had chosen the bedroom right next to Tara’s. She felt chill bumps rise all over just thinking about sleeping in there.
    “I shouldn’t have told you,” Skye said, apologetic. “I just thought that you should know. And be told by someone who…cares.”
    “No, no. Thank you.” Julie tried her best to regain her composure. “Did they catch the person who killed her?”
    “Yeah, they did. It was some crazy transient named Jacob Leigh. He’s been locked away ever since.” Skye sighed. “That’s a whole story in itself.”
    Julie took a sip of coffee to warm herself. “Tell me more, Skye. My uncle never told the family about this.”
    “Well, a lot of people thought that Jacob was actually innocent, and that they pinned the murder on him because he was an easy target. He didn’t have money for a good attorney, and he had no one to corroborate his alibi that he wasn’t here,” Skye gestured to the house in general, “when she was murdered. See, he’s schizophrenic, so it was fairly simple to point the finger at him and make it stick. He was really just a homeless man who wandered around town asking for money and food.”
    “Wow.” Julie couldn’t find any other words.
    “Yeah. He was never violent toward anyone. I heard he was actually really polite.”
    Julie took a minute to digest this. “So,” she said slowly, “the killer may still be out there