Blowout Read Online Free Page A

out from behind the black clouds, and he saw the house clearly for the first time.
    It was the same house he’d been inside an hour before, but it wasn’t, not really. This house looked deserted, dilapidated, as if it had been neglected for many years. Trees pressed in toward the house, some of their branches whipping against upstairs windows. There were boards nailed over downstairs windows, broken glass scattered on the porch. There was even graffiti on the wall next to the front door.
    The house was dead, had been dead for a very long time. Hisheart pounded as he looked at the front door that was barely hanging onto its hinges, studied it, and accepted what he saw because there was simply no choice. He closed his eyes a moment, seeing the woman clearly in his mind’s eye, realizing how very pretty she’d been, not having noticed it at first because she’d been so frightened.
    He turned and walked back to the car.
    Sheriff Harms said as he turned on the engine, “Her name was Samantha Barrister. She was murdered here back in August of 1973.”
    â€œI want to see a photo of her,” Savich said.
    Sherlock took his hand, held it tight.
    T WO HOURS LATER , Sherlock awoke to find Dillon standing by the bedroom window, staring out at the falling snow.
    She got up and walked to him, and wrapped her arms around his back.
    â€œDid I wake you?”
    â€œNo. You’re thinking about her, aren’t you, still trying to find logical reasons for what happened.”
    â€œThere aren’t any. It’s driving me nuts. Even though I’ve been over and over it, I guess I can’t get around the fact that I’ve experienced something, well, I guess you’d have to call it otherworldly.”
    She kissed his shoulder. “Then perhaps it’s time to simply accept it.”
    â€œBut the reasonable part of my brain doesn’t want to.” He turned and pulled her into his arms, buried his face in her hair.
    â€œThere’s another thing, Sherlock, something I just remembered. I called you when I had the blowout. It wasn’t ten minutes later that she came running out of the woods. I insisted on calling for help, but I couldn’t get through on the cell phone. But then later, at the house, after she was gone, I called you and it worked just fine again.”
    She held him more tightly. “It’s possible the signal was better there.” She paused a moment, touched her fingertips to his jaw. “I just remembered something else, Dillon.”
    He wasn’t going to like this, he knew he wasn’t.
    â€œYou called me at about eight o’clock.”
    â€œYes, that’s right.”
    â€œThe second time you called me, it was only about a quarter after eight.”
    He sucked in his breath. “No,” he said, “no, that’s just not possible. That would mean that all of what happened—no, that’s ridiculous. I spent a lot of time with her, even more time just searching that house. No, I can’t accept that all that happened in fifteen minutes.”
    â€œMaybe we’re both wrong about the time. That’s the most reasonable explanation.” She hugged him again, touched her fingertips to his cheek. “It’s very late. It’s snowing. Sean will be up and raring to go in less than four hours. We’ll have time to discuss this tomorrow; you can decide what to do then.
    â€œThere’s a reason she came to you, Dillon. You’ll have to act. But sleep is the best thing for you now.”
    He came back to bed, held her close against him, and prepared to stew about it until morning. He knew he would have to investigate what happened to this woman, even if he never convincedhimself that what had happened was real. But he didn’t lie there staring at the dark ceiling as he fully expected. He fell into a dreamless sleep in three minutes.
    A T SIX - THIRTY Saturday morning, Savich’s cell phone played