Hello, Darkness Read Free

voice was perfectly modulated by eight speakers that had been strategically placed by German engineers. The superior sound environment made her seem closer than if she’d been sitting in the passenger seat beside him.
    “I’m going to leave you tonight with a trio of my favorites. I hope you’re listening to them with someone you love. Hold each other close.”
    Dean gripped the steering wheel and rested his forehead on the back of his hands while the Fab Four yearned for yesterday.
     
    As soon as Judge Baird Kemp retrieved his car from the Four Seasons Hotel parking valet and got in, he wrestled loose his necktie and shrugged off his jacket. “God, I’m glad that’s over.”
    “You’re the one who insisted we attend.” Marian Kemp slipped off her Bruno Magli sling-backs and pulled off the diamond clip earrings, wincing as blood circulation was painfully restored to her numb earlobes. “But did you have to include us in the after party?”
    “Well, it looked good for us to be among the last to leave. Very influential people were in that group.”
    Being a typical awards dinner, the event had run insufferably long. Following it, a cocktail party had been held in a hospitality suite, and the judge never passed up an opportunity to campaign for his reelection, even informally. For the remainder of their drive home, the Kemps discussed others who had been in attendance, or, as the judge derisively referred to them, “the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
    When they arrived home, he headed for his den, where Marian saw to it that the bar was kept well stocked with his favorite brands. “I’m going to have a nightcap. Should I pour two?”
    “No thank you, dear. I’m going up.”
    “Cool the bedroom down. This heat is unbearable.”
    Marian climbed the curved staircase that had recently been featured in a home-design magazine. For the photo, she’d worn a designer ball gown and her canary-diamond necklace. The portrait had turned out quite well, if she did say so herself. The judge had been pleased with the accompanying article, which had praised her for making their home into the showplace it was.
    The upstairs hallway was dark, but she was relieved to see light beneath the door of Janey’s room. Even though it was summer vacation, the judge had imposed a curfew on their seventeen-year-old. Last night, she had flouted the curfew and hadn’t come in until almost dawn. It was obvious that she’d been drinking, and, unless Marian was mistaken, the stench that clung to her clothing was that of marijuana. Worse, she’d driven herself home in that condition.
    “I’ve bailed you out for the last time,” the judge had bellowed. “If you get another DWI, you’re on your own, young lady. I won’t pull a single string. I’ll let it go straight on your record.”
    Janey had replied with a bored, “So fucking what?”
    The scene had grown so loud and vituperative that Marian feared the neighbors might overhear despite the acre of manicured greenbelt between their property and the next. The quarrel had ended with Janey stomping into her room and slamming the door, then locking it behind her. She hadn’t spoken to either of them all day.
    But apparently the judge’s most recent threat had made an impression. Janey was at home, and by her standards, it was early. Marian paused outside Janey’s door and raised her fist, about to knock. But through the door she could hear the voice of that woman deejay Janey listened to when she was in one of her mellow moods. She was a welcome change from the obnoxious deejays on the acid rock and rap stations.
    Janey tended to throw a tantrum whenever she felt her privacy was being violated. Her mother was disinclined to disturb this tenuous peace, so, without knocking, she lowered her hand and continued down the hallway to the master suite.
     
    Toni Armstrong awoke with a start.
    She lay unmoving, listening for a noise that might have awakened her. Had one of the children called