Read Sleepwalk for Free Online Page A

Now, in his thirties, his darkening hair was no longer as perfectly combed as it had once been, and his dark eyes had taken on a new depth. Though he was still remarkably handsome, he no longer seemed to be either conscious of his good looks, or impressed by them. Rather, he seemed far more interested in his work than in anything else, although she noticed he hadlistened intently when she’d asked Max about his own plans for the future.
    Max, she reflected sadly, had not aged as gracefully as his wife over the last decade. His brow was deeply furrowed, and the flesh of his face seemed to have lost its tone—folds of loose skin hung at his jowls, and his eyes had sunk deep within their sockets. And, beneath his obvious pleasure in seeing her, she thought she could detect a certain strain, as if he were worried about something but didn’t want to dwell on it, or cause anyone else to share his concerns. She’d pressed him, though, after dinner, and finally he’d admitted that there were some problems at the refinery. Though he’d done his best to make light of the situation, she gathered that the last few years, when oil prices had suddenly dropped, had been difficult for his company. There was a large debt load to support, and the refinery itself was becoming more obsolete each year.
    “But it’ll be all right,” he’d finally assured her. “The oil business has always had ups and downs, and it always will. Hell, if everything ran smoothly for a couple of years, I’d probably start feeling useless and go do something else.” Then, as if to emphasize his wish to change the subject, he’d waved toward Greg. “Now, if you want to hear something really interesting, ask him about what he’s doing up in the canyon.”
    “It’s not much,” Greg said. “Uncle Max tries to make it sound like I’m the best thing since Mother Teresa, but I’m afraid it doesn’t compare at all.”
    “What doesn’t?”
    “Well, you remember the old farm up there?”
    Judith nodded, remembering it clearly. When she’d been a little girl, it had been one of the most popular haunts around for her and her friends. Far up the canyon,only half a mile below the dam, there had been an abandoned farmhouse, with a few outbuildings including an old barn and a bunkhouse. Legends about the farm abounded, old ghost stories that she and her friends had never tired of telling. The farm, long uninhabited and nearly in ruins, was off limits on the grounds that it was unsafe, and therefore a favorite spot for adventurous ten-year-olds.
    Judith could still remember the delicious feeling of forbidden adventure that creeping up into the creaking hayloft in the barn brought—praying the floorboards wouldn’t collapse under your weight, shuddering as you heard small unseen creatures scurrying about, and later bragging about your exploits to the younger kids, as you told them what a terrifying place it was. “So what have you done with it?” Judith asked.
    “He’s turned it into a sanitarium,” Max announced proudly.
    Judith cocked her head uncertainly. “A sanitarium?” she echoed uncertainly. “I’m not sure I understand.”
    Greg shook his head. “It isn’t really a sanitarium at all,” he said. “It’s more of a hospice, but since I also take a few rehab patients who have no place else to go, everyone around here has started calling it a sanitarium. Even,” he added, feigning a glare at his uncle, “Uncle Max, who should know better. It’s just a place for people who need some medical care—nothing too major, of course—but don’t have much money or insurance.”
    “It’s a hell of a lot more than that,” Max declared, turning away from his nephew to face Judith. He was fairly beaming, and as he talked, all the old zest and enthusiasm Judith remembered came back to his voice. “That old place was just sitting there rotting away, andGreg figured out what to do with it. He’s got some nurses and physical therapists up there,