by Diane Hoh
“Then what happened to your sister?” Fitz asked. “Why did she go off the deep end like that?”
Nora sighed. “She couldn’t help it. I think she’ll get better. With the right kind of care, I think after a while, maybe a long while, she’ll be okay. And if she is, then I’ll have a family again. Just a little one, but a family.” She stood up and took Jonah Reardon’s hand, not caring in the least if his fellow officers saw. If she had her way, they’d be seeing a lot of her from now on. “But I’m not going to tell you why she did it out here, in the rain. Take me to Vinnie’s and feed me, and I’ll tell you my sister’s story. It’s not pretty, but you all knew Sabra, and I think you should all know why she did what she did. And then maybe,” leaving the stairs, walking toward Reardon’s police car, her hand still in his, “maybe someday you can know Nell, too. Like I plan to.”
A car came racing up the driveway, screeched to a halt on the gravel, and Professor Donner jumped out and rushed to scoop his daughter out of the police car and hold her tightly against his chest.
“Look, Norrie!” the child cried as Nora opened the door to Reardon’s car. “My daddy’s here!”
Professor Donner sent Nora a heartfelt look of apology over the top of his daughter’s curly head.
“I see that he is, sweetie. I told you he would come, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, and I knew you weren’t fibbing, Norrie.”
Nora was still holding the sodden bear in her hands. “Norrie?” Mindy asked. “Can I have the bear? I really, really like him. And I gived him a bath.”
Nora hesitated, her hand on the door of Reardon’s car. Mindy had been through a lot. An old stuffed, crocheted bear didn’t seem like much to ask in return for being taken from her family and held captive, no matter how kind Sabra had been to her.
But … Sabra … Nell had been through a lot, too. Much worse than what Mindy had gone through. For many years. And no daddy had ever come to get her and take her home.
Nora clutched the bear to her chest. “Gee, honey, I’m sorry,” she said, smiling at Mindy, “but I’ll have to find another animal in my trunk for you. I think there’s an ostrich in there somewhere. With pink wings. Very pretty. I’m afraid the bear belongs to someone else. It belongs to … my sister. And she really, really needs it. Okay?”
“What’s an ostrik?” Mindy asked, settling back into her father’s arms.
A Biography of Diane Hoh
Diane Hoh (b. 1937) is a bestselling author of young-adult fiction. Born in Warren, Pennsylvania, Hoh grew up with eight siblings and parents who encouraged her love of reading from an early age. After high school, she spent a year at St. Bonaventure University before marrying and raising three children. She and her family moved often, finally settling in Austin, Texas.
Hoh sold two stories to Young Miss magazine, but did not attempt anything longer until her children were fully grown. She began her first novel, Loving That O’Connor Boy (1985), after seeing an ad in a publishing trade magazine requesting submissions for a line of young-adult fiction. Although the manuscript was initially rejected, Hoh kept writing, and she soon completed her second full-length novel, Brian’s Girl (1985). One year later, her publisher reversed course, buying both novels and launching Hoh’s career as a young-adult author.
After contributing novels to two popular series, Cheerleaders and the Girls of Canby Hall, Hoh found great success writing thrillers, beginning with Funhouse (1990), a Point Horror novel that became a national bestseller. Following its success, Hoh created the Nightmare Hall series, whose twenty-nine novels chronicle a university plagued by dark secrets. After concluding Nightmare Hall with 1995’s The Voice in the Mirror, Hoh wrote Virus (1996), which introduced the seven-volume Med Center series, which charts the challenges and mysteries of a hospital in Massachusetts.
In 1998, Hoh had a runaway hit with Titanic: The Long Night, a story of two couples—one rich, one poor—and their escape from the doomed ocean liner. That same year, Hoh released Remembering the Titanic, which picked up the story one year later. Together, the two were among Hoh’s most popular titles. She continues to live and write in Austin.
An eleven-year-old Hoh with her best friend, Margy Smith. Hoh’s favorite book that year was Lad: A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune.
A card from Hoh’s mother written upon the publication of her daughter’s first book. Says Hoh, “This meant everything to me. My mother was a passionate reader, as was my dad.”
Hoh and her mother in Ireland in 1985. Hoh recalls, “I kissed the Blarney Stone, which she said was redundant because I already had the ‘gift of gab.’ Later, I would use some of what we saw there in Titanic: The Long Night as Paddy, Brian, and Katie deported from Ireland.”
An unused publicity photo of Hoh.
Hoh with her daughter Jenny in Portland, Oregon, in 2008. Says Hoh, “While there, I received a call from a young filmmaker in Los Angeles who wanted to make The Train into a film. They ran out of money before the project got off the ground. Such is life.”
Hoh in 1991, addressing a class at the junior high she had attended in Warren, Pennsylvania.
A 1995 photo taken in Austin, Texas, with Hoh’s grandchildren. Says Hoh, “Although my deadlines for Nightmare Hall were tight, I made time for my grandchildren: Mike, Alex, and Rachel. I'm so glad they live here.”
A current photo of Hoh at home in Austin, Texas.
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 ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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 the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
copyright © 1995 by Diane Hoh
cover design by Andrea Uva
978-1-4532-4810-2
This edition published in 2012 by Open Road Integrated Media
180 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
EBOOKS BY DIANE HOH
FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
FIND OUT MORE AT WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM
follow us: @openroadmedia and Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
FOLLOW US:
@openroadmedia and
Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia
SIGN UP NOW at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
