Audrey's Door - By Sarah Langan Page 0,137

wearing his ring again, and though it had only been a few weeks, in this case the human mind proved resilient. They’d both forgotten much of what had happened, except in nightmares.

Saraub’s film was almost finished, and he was scheduled to spend the winter editing it. He’d decided to include all the material he’d filmed and face a possible lawsuit once he realized that it was Sunshine that was liable, not him personally. After that, like always, he’d find another mountain to climb.

Audrey’s own 59th Street Project had gotten the go-ahead from AIAB, and was under construction. Though she’d been out of the office and Simon had given the presentation, he’d used the new plans he’d found in her cubicle her last night at Vesuvius. Because she’d missed so much work, the Pozzolana brothers had wanted to fire her, but Jill had fought bitterly, not only to keep her aboard but to give her a raise. In the end, the Pozzolanas had buckled though she doubted she’d be staying at Vesuvius for long. She and Jill were talking about starting their own firm and working out of her apartment on the Upper East Side in another year. They’d take David with them.

The flexible hours would come in handy, because that last time she and Saraub had been in Lincoln, they’d conceived more than she’d anticipated. This morning, after her mother’s burial, she took a pregnancy test. Only six weeks along, but Saraub had been too excited to contain himself. When Sheila called him about having Audrey over for dinner, he’d blurted the news. To their surprise, she’d ask to talk to Audrey. “Forgive an old woman. Let’s start over,” she’d blurted into the phone. “Now, what’s your favorite dessert?”

And now, here they were, heading down the runway. It occurred to her that all children inherit their parents’ debts, and it is up to each generation to determine how, or whether, to repay them. Ahead of them was work and weddings and babies, and dinner tonight with his family for the first time in over a year. Behind them was the hard path that had led them to this good place. And though they were both awed and even frightened by the audacity of the American Airlines 767 as it lifted off into the sky and began to soar, they trusted that it would land safely in New York, where together, they would fill the holes they found there with something better than flowers.

Acknowledgments

Some books are harder than others. I’m indebted to Joe Veltre for his encouragement and faith. I’m also grateful to my editors, Sarah Durand and Diana Gill, both of whom gave me the time to get it right. Finally, thanks to Arlaina Tibensky for the awesome line, and the people who’ve read this in its various stages: Who Wants Cake, Jon Evans, and Adrienne Miller. Thanks also to Diahann Sturge for the rocking design and Karen Davy in Managing Editorial. And, of course, first, last, and always, JT.

About the Author

SARAH LANGAN received her MFA in fiction writing from Columbia University. She studied with Michael Cunningham, Nicholas Christopher, Helen Schulman, Susan Kenney, and Maureen Howard, among others, all of whom have been instrumental to her work. The author of The Keeper and the Bram Stoker Award-winning The Missing, she is a master’s candidate in environmental medicine at NYU and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR THE PREVIOUS NOVELS OF SARAH LANGAN

“A MAJOR TALENT.”

Tim Lebbon, author of Dusk and Berserk

THE KEEPER

“A beautiful, suspenseful novel…that sets out to do exactly what it should: scare the reader with a combination of well-crafted prose and page-turning velocity.”

Baltimore Sun

“A smart, brand-new take on the haunted house story and it’s a dilly—Crammed with startling images and framed by a sense of overwhelming dread. It’s really hard to believe this is a first novel.”

Jack Ketchum, author of Offspring

“[Langan] combines a witches’ brew of toxic styles, mixing in bits of Stephen King, Lovecraft, Poe, and Peter Straub, then pours out a thoroughly nasty concoction all her own.”

Madison County Herald

“Her book [has] a distinct and juicy flavor all its own. The Keeper begins what should be a very fruitful career.”

New York Times bestselling author Peter Straub

“Sarah Langan’s debut novel The Keeper kept me up late into the night…. I’m hoping for a whole shelf of novels by Langan, and many other sleepless nights.”

Kelly Link, author of Magic for Beginners

“Richly populated with small-town characters at varying stages of emotional crisis, from numb puzzlement to unshakable bitterness to abject despair…it’s the only horror story I’ve read recently that finds adequate metaphors for the self-destructive properties of anger.”

New York Times Book Review

“Deft and disturbing, The Keeper twists expectations into surreal surprises. Sarah Langan’s tale of haunted lives and landscapes is hypnotic reading.”

Douglas E. Winter

“Splendid…Echoes of Stephen King resound throughout Ms Langan’s rich depiction of a mill town…. The first-fruits of a most promising career.”

Washington Times

“An astonishing first novel that had me turning pages late into the night. The book is chilling, haunting, and so smartly written that the pages fly by like the wind. Do not read this book while you’re alone—unless you turn on all the lights.”

Ray Garton, author of The Loveliest Dead

“[The Keeper] will scare the heck out of you.”

OK! Magazine (* 4 stars *)

“The new author on the block is definitely a keeper.”

Locus

THE MISSING

WINNER OF THE BRAM STOKER AWARD

“As engrossing as a dagger poised at one’s throat.”

J.C. Patterson

“A genuine creepfest that recalls, in the best way possible, the early work of Stephen King…. Langan has the control of a pro…. This solid sophomore effort proves that the uncanny ability of The Keeper to burrow into readers’ heads and stay there was no fluke.”

Publishers Weekly (* Starred Review *)

“[Langan] weaves a supernatural disaster around a small Maine town with greater skill than anyone since Stephen King…. Langan pulls no punches at all….[She] has the ability to create a fully-realized, three-dimensional person in only a few short pages…. Langan’s voice will echo in your head for days after you finish reading this book. I find myself eagerly awaiting her next outing, even if the path down which she leads us is lined with poisonous flowers.”

Belleville News-Democrat (IL)

“Perfect for Halloween reading…Fans of Stephen King will devour Sarah Langan’s second book.”

Huntsville Times (AL)

“Langan has a sharp eye for the small, vivid details of American life and her characters are utterly believable.”

The Times (London)

By Sarah Langan

AUDREY’S DOOR

THE MISSING

THE KEEPER

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

AUDREY’S DOOR. Copyright © 2009 by Sarah Langan. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Adobe Digital Edition August 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-193746-0

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Publisher

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)

Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia

http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au

Canada

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900

Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada