Lightning Strikes (Hudson 2)

I took them quickly.

"Are they the only ones?" I asked.

He glared at me and then gave me a smile so cold I felt ice slide down my back.

"No one wants ta go into that room." His smile widened. "Don't you know the story? Someone wants ta get out," he quipped with glee and walked away.

If he hopes to frighten me, I thought, he's doing a good job of it. Why would my great-aunt and greatuncle possibly want such a man to run their house? I tried the lock and was satisfied it worked. At least I'd have some sense of privacy, I thought, but I couldn't help wondering about Boggs's comment.

Did some woman really di

e in this room? Was she really poisoned? And did her spirit linger, perhaps condemned to remain secreted in these walls, waiting for rescue? Sometimes, I felt as if there was a spirit present. Maybe she thought I had come to set her free.

Later, after I had just sat down to lunch in the kitchen, Leo appeared in the doorway.

"There's a young gentleman waitin' on you outside, miss," he said.

"Thank you, Leo," I said and hurried out to find Randall pacing excitedly in front of the house. As soon as I appeared he rushed to me.

"I think I've found him," he said. "I'm pretty sure I have."

I felt the blood drain from my face.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"First, let me -tell you he was very nice. I asked if he was the Larry Ward who was an expert in Shakespeare. He laughed and said he didn't know if anyone was really an expert in Shakespeare, but he taught English at a community college and his specialty was Shakespeare. I heard what sounded like a boy and a girl laughing behind him, too. I couldn't tell their ages, but they must have been his kids," he added.

"What did you do then?"

"I didn't know what to do, so I pretended I had written a paper on Henry V, Part 1 and asked if I could send it to him to read. Of course, he wanted to know who I was and who told me about him. It started to get hairy, so I pretended I had to hang up but I would call him again soon. Before he could protest, I did."

"Oh, that sounds great," I said. "He probably thinks it was some kind of joke."

"Anyway, I have the address. I know where he lives. It's not far. It's in Hammersmith. We can be there in less than an hour," he added.

"Be there in less than an hour? You expect me to go there now?"

"Why not? We can just... wait outside to see him, if you like. I'm sure you want to look at him. Imagine," he said as if this was all happening to him and not me, "imagine looking at your father for the first time in your life."

"If he is my father," I said. "If he's not, I'll feel like a fool."

"Maybe he looks like you or you look like him and we'll know right away."

"Well, what are we going to do, stand outside his home and hope he steps out so I can study his face?" I asked.

"Exactly, unless you want to ring the bell and start a conversation."

"And say what? Oh, Randall, this is crazy. I told you I didn't want to do this. I'm sorry I let you make the calls," I moaned.

"It's him, Rain. I'm positive," Randall said. He was so excited about it, he couldn't stand still.

I stared at him and thought about it. Was he right? "Let's just go look. What harm can it do? It was what you planned on doing, wasn't it?" he insisted.

"I don't know what I planned," I said. I was feeling so nervous, my body actually trembled. I embraced myself and looked down, thinking. "This is all happening too fast. I don't know what to do."

"It's just a short trip," he insisted. "What harm can it do if we just wait for him to appear? You can go. You're off work now, right?"

I looked back at the house.