The Neighbor Read online

  She and I never again spoke of those events. There was nothing that needed to be said, for we understood and accepted. Occasionally, however, my sister came to me and hugged me tightly for the longest time, and although she seemed to have no reason for doing so, we both knew the reason.

  As I said, that was the summer when I met Jonah Kirk, who became my best friend for life, who loved Amalia as if she were his sister, too, and who has written so well of her in his book, The City. During the months thereafter, far more happened to us than we, at our most imaginative, could have foreseen, all of it different in character from what I’ve just told you here, with more wonder and delight, with no evil spirits but with worse.

  For years, the Clockenwall house remained for sale, but no one would purchase it. When eventually it sold, the buyer tore it down and, with the city’s permission, converted the property into a pocket park with a fountain where birds bathe and with benches where people sit to watch them and to rest from the stresses of the day. On the granite base of the fountain, a plaque bears only the name MELINDA LEE HARMONY, which means to say that she didn’t truly die on that ground but lives there forever.

  About the Author

  DEAN KOONTZ, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Anna, and the enduring spirit of their golden, Trixie.

  www.deankoontz.com

  Correspondence for the author should be addressed to:

  Dean Koontz

  P.O. Box 9529

  Newport Beach, California 92658

  #1 New York Times bestselling author

  Dean Koontz is at the peak of his acclaimed

  powers with his major new novel

  THE CITY

  A rich, multi-layered story that moves back and forth across decades and generations as a gifted musician relates the “terrible and wonderful” events that began in his city in 1967, when he was ten.

  Coming Soon from Bantam Books

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