Night Things: A Novel of Supernatural Terror Read Free Page B

explained. “Ever since he saw E.T. he’s been obsessed with anything that has to do with outer space.”
    Stephen looked back at Garrett. “So what do you think about the Adirondacks so far?”
    Garrett leaned forward with a scowl. “There haven’t been any houses for hours.”
    “But that’s just the point,” Stephen countered. “I rented a place for us up here for the summer so we could get away from everyone else, be someplace where there’s lots of peace and quiet.”
    “But will we even be able to get television up here?”
    “Sure we’ll be able to get television. We’ll have all the comforts of home. Marty’s seen to everything. You’re going to love it up here. Just wait and see.”
    “Yeah, I know,” Garrett huffed as he slumped back into his seat.
    Lauren looked quickly at Stephen. She hoped that he had not taken Garrett’s peevishness too personally, that he realized Garrett was reacting not to him but to the upheaval in his life in general. It worried her slightly that Stephen had never had any children of his own—had never even been married before—and she hoped he understood that contending with such displays of mood was all part of being a father. In addition, Stephen’s schedule was so hectic and demanding and he was on the road so much that he and Garrett had not really spent much time together yet. That was one of the reasons she had been so excited about their moving to the mountains for the summer. She hoped it would give them all the opportunity to spend some time together and become a true family.
    She was just about to try to initiate some further conversation among the three of them when suddenly the Porsche hit a bump and they turned off the road. She looked ahead and saw that they had pulled into a narrow driveway pitted and gullied by endless rains and so enclosed by trees that it seemed as if they had entered a dusky green tunnel. Difficult as it was for her to believe, the drive was even steeper than the mountain highway they had just turned off, and even the powerful Porsche strained to make the climb.
    They continued on for several minutes until at last the leafy tunnel opened onto a vast and breathtakingly beautiful mountain lake. On the far shore, standing majestically on a prominence of rock, was a house. Even at a distance it was clear that it was immense, a stone fortress encrusted with turrets and gables and studded with countless dark and gleaming windows. Surrounded by towering balsams and pines it seemed more like an alpine hotel than a house for a single family.
    “It’s called Lake House,” Stephen said. “What do you think? I flew up here on the sly to check it out after Marty told me about it.”
    “It’s incredible!” she gasped. “When you said you had rented a lodge in the Adirondacks I thought you meant a cabin or something.”
    “No, no,” he laughed. “Lodges in the Adirondacks are like cottages in Newport. They’re also known as ‘great camps.’ You see, in the latter half of the nineteenth century the Adirondacks became a Mecca of sorts for wealthy East Coast families. It became an issue of status to see who could build the largest and most palatial summer retreat. The Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts—they all built homes up here. Lake House was built in the 1890s by Sarah Balfram, the daughter of the railroad magnate Josiah Balfram.
    I think Marty said the agent told him her fiancé jilted her and she decided to isolate herself up here in magnificent splendor. Wait until you see the inside. You’re going to love it.”
    She looked at the house worriedly. “But how will I ever be able to keep it clean?”
    He laughed again. “Well, first of all, Marty had a cleaning crew give the place a once-over last week so everything would be shipshape when we moved in. Then in a week or so, after we’ve had some time to ourselves, we’ll hire some permanent help. You keep forgetting you’re a lady of leisure now.” A devilish sparkle came into