Chapters (73)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Prologue
- Part IAnnie
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Part IIHarry
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Part IIIAnnie
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Part IVHarry
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Part VAnnie
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Also by Linwood Barclay
- About the Publisher
Annie left the study, turned out the light, and retired to her room. Once under the covers, she plugged her phone into the charger cord on her bedside table, tried to read a few pages of her novel, but when she found herself unable to keep her eyes open, she hit the light and went to sleep.
Charlie had a dream.
Shortly after midnight, he saw himself on the front porch, in the middle of the day, polishing the wheels on his bicycle, when someone came walking up the driveway. At first the man’s features were vague and ill-defined, but as he got closer, Charlie could see that it was his father.
“Hi, Charlie,” said John.
Charlie came down the porch steps and said, “Hi, Dad. It sure is good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too. I’ve missed ya.”
Charlie was surprised he hadn’t burst into tears. But it was like his dad had never actually died. He’d just been away for a while.
“Mom’s going to be happy to see you.”
“Oh, I bet, but it’s you I’ve come to see,” John said. “I’ve come to help you with something. To show you something.”
“What?”
“May I come inside?”
Charlie nodded and led his father into the house.
“Let’s go to the basement,” John said.
Charlie noticed that he made no noise when he walked. It was almost like he was floating. Charlie opened the door that led to the cellar, turned on the light, and went down the steps, his father following closely behind.
“There’s nothing down here,” Charlie said. “I looked the first day.”
“You missed something.”
“What?”
His father led him over to the workbench and opened the drawer that Charlie had inspected before. The one filled with old nails and rusted pipe fittings.
“Have a look in there again.”
Charlie moved around the various pieces of metal junk with his fingers until he saw something he had not seen before. He picked it up.
“What do we have there?” John asked.
“It’s a key,” Charlie said.
And just like that, his father was gone. There wasn’t even a poof of smoke. He was there one second, and gone the next.
That was when Charlie woke up.
At first he wondered if he’d been sleepwalking, and really had had a visit from his father. But Charlie was right in his bed. Then again, he could have sleepwalked his way back to his room, slipped under the covers.
He blinked a few times, rolled onto his side, and looked at the digital clock: 12:35 a.m. Charlie usually slept through the night, waking up around eight. But right now he felt every bit as awake as he would have when the sun was up.