Watch for the Dead (Relatively Dead Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

Ned shared, amused that Ellie shared her affection for the book. She’d read it many times, and had made a habit out of rereading the whole Tolkien set every summer since the first time, a decade before. It was easy to find. She grabbed it off the shelf and returned to Ellie’s room and handed it to her. “Here you go.”
    “Thank you, Abby. I’ll be all right now. You don’t have to stay.”
    “Okay,” Abby said dubiously. “Do you want me to leave the door open? Maybe leave the hall light on?”
    “Just a crack, please. Do you wake up early?”
    “Yes, I do. It’s peaceful here in the morning. If you’re not awake, do you want me to wake you up?”
    “Please. I can help you with breakfast.”
    “Then I’ll see you in the morning. Good night, Ellie.”
    “Good night, Abby.”
    Abby slipped out and pulled the door nearly shut, then went back downstairs. Ned was sitting in the front parlor. “Did Leslie say anything more to you?”
    Ned shook his head. “Not really. She was pretty distracted.”
    “She’s worried. She didn’t happen to say whether there was anything we . . . shouldn’t say?”
    “No. She trusts us, I think.”
    “It’s just that I don’t want to lie to Ellie if she asks me a direct question. Kids can always tell when you’re lying.”
    “I know. But sometimes they’re afraid to ask the really big questions—they might not really want to know the answers.”
    “I get it.” Abby sat next to him on the couch. “So, what about this house on the Cape? What do we need to do?”
    “My pal—his name’s Daniel Eldridge—uses a local rental agency to oversee the place, since he doesn’t live on the Cape. He said he’d give them a call and let them know you’ll be coming, and they’ll let you in. Otherwise, the place was already cleaned, ready for the next tenants.”
    “Have you been there?”
    “A couple of times, for parties. Do you know the Cape?”
    “Not really. I drove out to Provincetown once with friends, just to see it. But I’ve never spent any real time there.”
    “I’m told there will be basic food supplies in the house, enough to get you two started anyway, and of course you can go shopping. I warn you, the roads can get pretty crowded in tourist season, so allow plenty of time to get where you’re going.”
    “Maybe I’ll just wait for you to go sightseeing,” Abby said, snuggling up against him.
    “If you want. You’ll be close to Woods Hole, which might interest Ellie. Oh, and I should warn you—there’s no television in the house.”
    Abby recoiled in mock horror. “What about Wi-Fi?”
    “Yes, for good or ill. My friend is kind of an Internet addict, and he can’t live without it, and he assumes everyone else feels the same way. So if you get desperate, you can watch stuff on your laptop.”
    “I’d rather not. We can take plenty of books along.”
    “Yes, and there are a couple of good bookstores in the area.”
    “Ned, don’t worry about us—we’ll be fine.”
    “I’m sure you will,” Ned said, putting his arms around her and leaning his chin on her head. “It’s a nice place, off the main road, so it should be fairly quiet. There’s a beach with a lifeguard a couple of miles away, if you want to swim. There’s another beach on a spit on the other side of the harbor, but that’s kind of private property. I think you can walk on the beach there, but no swimming.”
    “I’m sure your friend and his agency will have an extensive list of dos and don’ts waiting for us. Stop worrying.”
    “I wish I could be there with you,” he said wistfully.
    “So do I, but you’ll be joining us, right?”
    “If all goes as planned.”
    Abby thought he didn’t sound very sure, but his proximity was nearly overwhelming, and she didn’t want to talk anymore.
     
    • • •
     
    The next morning Ellie’s bed was empty—and neatly made—when Abby checked, so she went on down the stairs to find Ellie in the kitchen taking pictures of