Those of the Margin: a Paranormal Suspense Thriller (Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Book 2) (12 page)

John Flannigan was standing alone in Ron's room when Derek emerged from the bathroom.

"I trust you found something of interest?"

"Not sure until we get out of here."

"Like my little ploy?" John said as the two exited the room and headed down the hallway towards the elevator.

"What ploy?" Derek asked when he was sure they were out of hearing range of the officers.

"Suggesting that you remain in Ron's room while I administered last rites. I saw the way you were watching those officers conduct their search and figured that you'd love to conduct a search of your own if given the opportunity."

"Father," Derek said as the elevator doors opened, "if the whole priest thing doesn't work out for you, there's a career in private investigation waiting for you."

"Bless you, my child."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"You seem to be limping," John said to Derek as the two made their way across the grounds of the nursing home and towards the parking lot. "Something happen?"

Derek hesitated. "Under normal circumstances, I would say that you'd never believe what happened to me. But considering everything that has happened the last day and a half, I'm willing to bet you believe every word of my story."

"I am eager to hear all about it," John said. "Looks like our time together this evening has not yet drawn to a conclusion. Where shall we head next?"

"I need to call Maggie to let her know what happened here tonight, and I have the feeling that she'll want to see me right away. Let me get out of this cold and into my car so I can call her. We can figure out our next move based on her response."

By the sound of her voice, Maggie was not having an enjoyable, relaxing evening at home. Her words were rushed and tainted with impatience. Derek planned on delivering the news about Ron delicately and slowly but felt pressured to deliver the news quickly.

"Ron White was murdered tonight in the nursing home. Police don't have a suspect yet. I wanted you to hear it from me before it's all over the news. I'm sorry. I know Ron was a friend to your family."

"Oh, my God," Maggie said, her emotions sounding clearly through her voice. "Are you sure it was Ron?"

"I'm sorry to say that we are sure," Derek said.

"We?"

"Maggie," Derek paused, "I'm with Father John. We need to talk."

"I should say so," Maggie replied

"Maggie, you sound either very pissed or very tired, so if you have time tomorrow..."

"Now," Maggie demanded. "I want to talk now. Tonight. My house. Jack called and said he's stuck in Portland for at least another 24 hours, so we won't have to worry about what we say about him."

"And Robby?"

"He's asleep in my room."

"Maggie," Derek said, "anything else happen today? You sound on edge."

"You mean besides seeing a ghost in my son's room, hearing my son tell me that a ghost told him that he was murdered, my husband deciding that business or whatever it is that he's really doing in Portland is more important than his family, and now just finding out that a dear friend was killed in a nursing home? No, nothing much happening today. Typical day."

"Father John and I will be over in 30 minutes."

Deciding to take two cars, Derek followed John Flannigan over to Maggie's home. During the drive, Derek dialed the number of Ralph Fox.

"Now I could swear that the last time we talked, which was less than an hour ago, you told me that you was too busy to keep talking with me. Now you are calling me?"

"I'm going to owe you several dinners after this. I need another favor."

"Skip the dinner. Bring me back a few fresh lobsters from Maine. And grab a case or two of some good local craft beer, while you're at it. What do you need?"

"One of the people I interviewed yesterday, a Ronald White, was just found murdered in his nursing home. It probably won't hit the news out your way for a while, but if you can do the voodoo you do and find some details of the police investigation, it would help a ton."

"You may become a suspect, you know, once they figure out that a freelance detective arrived in town just before that there murder took place."

"I've already considered that."

"I'll keep doing what I'm doing and give you an update tomorrow or late tonight if something I come across is anything peculiar."

"Great. One last thing," Derek said.

"I highly doubt that whatever it is that you are going to ask for next will be the last thing," Ralph responded.

"Last thing for this particular conversation. Is that better?"

"Not sure about being better, just more accurate."

"Can you find out who Ron White was? History, career, other important details?"

"Already planning on doing that," Ralph said. "Now, unless you lied to me about that request being the last for this here conversation, I think the rest of my evening is free to use at my discretion."

"Discretion is another polysyllabic word, Ralph. Good job by you!"

"Improving my vocabulary every day. Good night, Derek."

#####

John and Derek pulled into the Bryant's driveway a few minutes after 11 pm. Both were tired but felt that before succumbing to sleep, they needed to figure out as much as they could about Ron White's murder and what was contained in the hidden notebook that Derek found and removed from the nursing home. Beyond their desire and interest in learning more about Ron White's murder, both had a shared concern for Maggie and Robby. Derek felt that Maggie was not only going through an emotional hell with Robby, but that she may somehow be in danger. Though he had no reason to suspect him, Derek immediately thought that Jack Bryant had something to do with the murder of Ron White.

Maggie met them at the door and welcomed both into her home. A look of concern, mixed with sorrow and fear controlled her face.

"Father," she began immediately, "how much of Robby's problem do you know about?"

"I told him mostly everything," Derek said, afraid that Maggie would be angry at his breach of confidentiality.

"Thank God," she said. She then moved close to John, clasped her hands together, and said, "Father, I am so sorry that we suspected that you said something to Robby about ghosts. I was so desperate to find something, anything to find out what caused Robby's problems that I was ready to believe anything. Please forgive me."

"Maggie," John said, his compassionate eyes locked on Maggie's, "you don't need to apologize. I understand. All I want to do now is help you and Robby.

She embraced John, then looked into Derek's eyes, holding captive his attention and commanding, somehow, all of his emotions. It was the look in her eyes when she embraced John that sent a screaming sense of urgency into Derek's soul.

"Tell me about Ron," she said, gently breaking the embrace with John.

"We don't know anything yet," Derek said, his voice shaky with emotion. "My friend who is a police chief is doing some research for me. He's good and reliable. I'm sure I'll know more tomorrow."

"
We'll
know more," Maggie insisted.

"Excuse me?"

"We're a team now. All three of us. Whatever you find out, we all find out. Agreed? No more keeping things from each other, okay?"

"If that's how you want it, I'm afraid I won't be able to remain working for you," Derek said, his eyes fixed on the floor.

"What? Why not?" Maggie demanded.

"I can't be a part of this team and still be employed by you. I need to choose to either be on our team or be on my own. I'd like to be part of the team. So, if it's okay with you, Derek Cole, freelance detective is no longer a per diem employee of the Bryants."

The suddenness and the duration of the hug Maggie gave Derek warmed him. As he held her, he knew that her embrace would ward off even the coldest winds the frozen coast of Maine could send his way. He felt lost in her arms. Nothing else mattered. His history, filled with moments of joy and of tragedy, evaporated in an instant. A sudden flash of his departed wife's face appeared in his mind's eye. Lucy's imagined face was filled with a smile.

Maggie wanted to keep holding Derek and for a brief moment, felt that her worries and fears were a distant memory. She too felt a warmth from the embrace. A feeling warm enough to scare the frigid shivers of her life's mistakes into oblivion. She didn't know how long she held him or how long he held her, but when she felt Derek twinge in sudden pain, she quickly pulled away.

"What happened? Did I hurt you?" she asked.

"I had an incident tonight. Took a bad fall while chasing someone or something on the Marginal Way."

"What do you mean, chasing 'someone or something?'" John asked.

"Wait till you hear this story."

#####

The three sat around the dining room table after Maggie had finished checking in on Robby. Derek explained everything that happened to him while he was walking the Marginal Way. He explained, in detail, everything that Melissa Humphrey and Ron White had said to him during his interviews. Derek held nothing in secret.
 

He explained to John and Maggie how he and Ralph Fox had worked together on Derek's last case and how they had become friends.

"Though Ralph's the Chief of Police, the town he works for is very small. He won't admit it to me, but I know he has a lot of free time on his hands and would much rather help us out on our case than sit around doing very little in his office."

"I'd like to meet him someday," Maggie said.

"He's quite a character."

Derek tapped the notebook he had taken from Ron's room that was now lying on the table in front of him. "We still need to see what was so important about this notebook that Ron hid it in his bathroom vent. But, I have to say that I'm not all that comfortable opening this up in front of you both."

"I don't blame you and actually appreciate the respect you are showing Ron," John said.

 
"I feel the same, despite really wanting to see what he wrote in that book," Maggie said.

"How's this for an idea," Derek said as he slid the notebook off the table and onto his lap, "since this is evidence that I illegally removed from an active crime scene, which, by the way is not something that police are especially fond of, how about I take this back to my hotel room tonight, read what's in there, and if there is anything important to the case, I will share it with you both. This way, you have plausible deniability, and Ron's personal thoughts are protected. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds like a good plan. I hate it, but it's a good plan."

When Derek returned the conversation to the murder of Jack's father, the confession letter Jack had written, and the fact that the letter was not allowed in court, Maggie sat, slowly shaking her head.

"I met Jack when we were both 20 years old. I was way too young and immature, but I fell for him. Don't ask me why. I always felt that he was hiding something from me but never could place my finger on what." She paused to take a sip of coffee. "We got married a year after we met and a few months after that was when I started to hear about Jack being suspected in the murder of his father. I didn't give it much thought until I started hearing more details.
 

"Jack and I lived near Portland when we first got married. There was a cop, Troy Frock, who I met at the church I went to. He was an officer who was on the police force when Jack's dad was killed. We became friends after a while. He opened up to me and told me everything he knew about the case.
 
"I would have left Jack but I had just found out that I was pregnant with Robby. I couldn't leave and be alone after knowing I was pregnant. Actually," Maggie paused, "I could have. I was just too young and too afraid to be on my own.

"I stopped talking with Troy, told him I didn't want to hear any more lies about my husband. I decided to just play the good wife role. I didn't allow myself to even think of the possibility that my husband, the father of the baby inside me, was capable of murdering his own father.
 
I know that Jack's dad was a terrible man, and maybe he deserved to die. I don't know exactly how I feel about that, but I couldn't imagine what kind of person it took to kill another person, let alone your own father.

"Over the years, I just became numb to everything. Jack and I drifted so far apart that I've become more comfortable when he's not around Robby and me. And I know," she said to Derek, her eyes filled with sorrow and embarrassment, "about Jack's other life in Portland. I know he may have a son, and I know about his girlfriend. I know just about everything about Jack except how to leave him. I feel that he left me the day after we said our vows."

"Maggie," John said, "I am so sorry for everything you have been and are going through. You are a wonderful and kind person. And while I never advocate ending a marriage, I have to say that you deserve much, much better."

"And so does Robby," she added. "Especially Robby."

The mood at the table was sullen. Maggie's honest outpouring charted a new direction for the three. John and Derek both secretly, independently, made helping Maggie find the strength to leave Jack as much of a priority as discovering the truths behind Phillip and the murder of Ron White.

"I'm sorry I dumped all that on you two," Maggie said.

"Hey," Derek snapped, "we're a team. And just wait till I tell you my story. Talk about dumping emotions on people. Geez, you have no idea."

A delicate smile played across Maggie's lips. She and Derek held a gaze for several seconds: both feeling the now familiar warmth they found in each other's eyes.

"I don't know about you two, but I could sure use a drink about now," John said as he stood. "Maggie, if I may be so assumptive, where the hell do you keep your booze?"

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"I know you told us everything already," John said to Derek, "but I still have some questions about what you saw when you were walking the Marginal Way earlier."

"You have questions?" Derek said. "Imagine now many questions I have."

The three had been talking, laughing, thinking, and drinking for well over an hour. They were all exhausted, but none of them wanted their time together to end.