Deadly Night Read Online Free PDF Page A

things.”
    “I thought I saw someone in a…never mind,” Aidan said.
    He searched the balcony, then the windows. There was no one there.
    If his brothers had noticed his intense survey of the house, they weren’t saying anything. They were too busy arguing about their carpentry skills.
    He left them behind and started walking toward the house.
    “Aidan!” Zach yelled. “What are you doing?”
    “Taking a closer look,” he called back.
    They caught up with him a minute later, and they all walked together up the graveled drive, under parallel rows of mature oaks that offered a welcome respite from the sun. As they neared the house, Aidan saw that the paint was in even worse shape than he’d realized. The place would need some real work, he thought with an inward groan.
    “We can’t possibly have any zoning problems out here,” Zach said.
    “If it’s a historic landmark, we’ll still have to deal with someone,” Aidan pointed out.
    Zach shook his head. “I’m sure it must have some kind of historic designation. But…historic properties are important. Aidan, I don’t know about you, but sometimes…hell, sometimes I feel like we’ve got to at least try to make a difference somehow.”
    Aidan’s features tightened as he stopped walking and stared at his brother. “What are you talking about?”
    Zach shrugged. “I’ve seen so much bad shit out there—hell, we all have—and I can’t help it, but I just feel that this is something important, something we’re meant to do.”
    “What if the historical society wanted to buy the place?” Aidan demanded.
    Zach stared at him. “I know it’s been years since the storm, but you and I both know it’s going to take a decade for real money to start flowing into the region again. I’m sure the historical society has done all they can do to fix up the properties they already own. But we could do something important by putting this place back the way it was. There could be lectures and concerts here, maybe even reenactors to remind visitors of everything it took to make a country.” Zach flushed, probably a little surprised by his own speech, but he didn’t back down.
    When Jeremy added his own “Count me in,” Aidan lifted his hands in surrender. “In fact, I have an idea,” Jeremy went on.
    “Oh?” Aidan said.
    “Why don’t we give ourselves a real goal? Like Halloween. We could host an event to benefit Children’s House.”
    Aidan looked at Jeremy. His brother was serious. And why shouldn’t he be? When his job had thrown him the worst he could imagine, he hadn’t turned bitter or given up. He’d taken up a cause, so more kids wouldn’t end up dead at the bottom of a river.
    Sure, Jeremy could be a little obsessive, but so what? Maybe it was in the blood. Hadn’t he himself stood on a riverbank less than an hour ago, insisting that a single bone, which everyone else seemed happy to assume was just an aftereffect of nature’s wrath, had to be taken seriously and fully investigated?
    Zachary had supported Jeremy’s cause wholeheartedly from the beginning, but what the hell had he, the oldest, done?
    Nothing, that’s what. He’d let his soul die.
    Well, enough of that. He owed his brother.
    “An event?” he said, still careful to be the voice of logic.
    “A Halloween party.” Jeremy smiled as the idea grew. “We can decorate the place, hire people to dress up and be scary.”
    Aidan groaned aloud.
    “Think about it, Aidan. This place was like a gift to us, so why not use it to help other people?” Zach asked, siding with Jeremy.
    They didn’t need his blessing, Aidan knew. He was outvoted.
    But they wanted his support.
    “Let’s spend today worrying about whether the house will stand up if it rains, huh?” Aidan said. “I’m open to anything later.”
    “He’s open to anything. Did you hear that?” Zach asked Jeremy.
    “Yeah. He must’ve been out in the sun too long,” Jeremy replied with a grin.
    Aidan started walking