Those of the Margin: a Paranormal Suspense Thriller (Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Book 2) (8 page)

"You said you saw something, not that you heard something," Derek said.

"I needed to be sure so I waited in the hallway until I heard it again. I busted into Robby's room, and I saw a man standing at the foot of Robby's bed."

"You saw a man standing in Robby's room?"

"More like a shadow, but it was a man. It happened so fast, all I can be sure of is that it was a shadow of a man."

"How long did you see it for?"

"A second. Half a second. Less. I don't know, it was so fast. But I saw it raise its arm up to cover its face and then back into Robby's wardrobe."

"It went into a wardrobe?" Derek asked.

"Not into it, just, you know, 'into it.' Like it became part of it. You think I'm nuts, don't you?"

"Maybe, but I'm too damn cold to know what I'm thinking."

Maggie chuckled as she wiped the tears from her face. She hung her head low, nodded as she spoke.

"The only thing Robby asked me was if I saw his face."

"The shadow's face?"

"Yeah," Maggie said, her eyes fixed on Derek's. "He was so happy that I saw it and only wanted to know if I saw its face."

"You know," Derek said, "I really want to talk more about this, check out Robby's room, and fill you in on what I've found out so far, but I don't think I can do it."

"Why?" Maggie asked, her concern flooding her voice.

"I have reason to believe my tongue may suffer frost bite if I talk much more out here. In case you hadn't noticed, it is a tad chilly out here."

Her laugh was so simple and pure that Derek felt warmer just from hearing it. She reached out her hand and gently touched Derek's arm. With her smile still gracing her face, she nodded towards the door and gently guided Derek to follow her inside.

"Did you tell Mr. Cole that you saw Phillip, Mom?"

Robby was sitting crossed-legged on the couch when Maggie and Derek came through the door. His eyes shot straight at Derek when he asked his mother about what she had told Derek.

"Yes, Robby," Maggie said. "I told him."

"Did you tell him that you didn't see his face, too?"

"Robby," Maggie said, "Mr. Cole and I need to talk for a bit. Can you finish your homework here while Mr. Cole and I talk in the dining room? We'll be right there the whole time so if you see anything, just let us know right away, okay?"

"You mean if I see Phillip again."

"Yes, if you see Phillip again. Can you do that for me?"

"My homework is done. Can I play Xbox?"

"Sure, but not too loud and nothing violent," Maggie said.

As Maggie hugged Robby and patted his head, Derek felt his iPhone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled the iPhone out and recognized that the caller was Ralph Fox.

"Maggie," Derek said, "I need to get this. Mind if I take it in Robby's room?"

"Sure," Maggie said. "Second door on the left. Bathroom is the first door."

Derek accepted Ralph's call as soon as he started down the hallway.

"Hey, Ralph, give me a second."

When he entered Robby's room, he flicked on the overhead light, and stared at the wardrobe before resuming his conversation with Ralph.

"Sorry, Ralph. Had to get somewhere private. Thanks for getting back with me."

"Seen any ghosts yet?" Ralph asked.

"Not yet, but things are getting a bit strange up here," Derek said as he slowly opened Robby's wardrobe and peered inside.

"Well, I suppose that what I am 'bout to tell you ain't gonna make things any less weird."

"I think I'd be surprised if what you found out made this case make more sense."

"Ain't got too much for you, but what I do have sure is interesting. The father, Jack Bryant is his name, right?"

"Yeah," Derek said. "Not sure if 'Jack' is his nickname or real name, though."

"That's his name. His daddy was named 'Luke,' in case you were wondering."

"I think Jack mentioned that."

"That client of yours is not a nice person, based on what I've dug up. Did he tell you anything about his dad?"

"Just that he was an abusive drunk. I guess he use to beat up Jack's mom when he got drinking."

"Say anything about him dying?"

"Just that he did. Die, that is. Just said that his dad died when Jack was around 15. Why?"

"Did he say how he died?"

"Ralph," Derek said, "I don't want to be rude, but I'm standing in the bedroom of the twelve year old who says he is visited by a ghost. He and his mom are sitting in the living room waiting for me. Think you could skip ahead to the punch line?"

"Luke Bryant, your client's daddy, was murdered. Had his head bashed in. Lead suspect was your client, Jack Bryant."

"Holy shit balls," Derek said.

"Ain't never been proven, but all the evidence points to your client. I'm still doing some digging and will let you know what I find out."

"I kind of felt there was something not right about that guy."

"That ain't all old Ralph found out for you. Seems your client ain't a big believer in the sanctity of marriage. An old friend of mine is a retired detective for the Portland Maine PD. Says that your client has a girl who lives up north of Portland. He told me that she's got a son, about four years old."

"Son of a bitch," Derek said. Something shot through Derek when he heard that Jack might not be taking his marital vows seriously. He dismissed the fleeting feeling when he recognized it as a mixture of anger, sadness for Maggie, and as something that, if true, might bring Derek and Maggie closer together.

"Last thing, and I'm not sure this is important or not, but I ain't the only person digging into Jack Bryant's past. Seems that someone else over your way has been doing some digging as well. Not sure who it is or what he or she found out, but I do find it peculiar."

"You find what peculiar?" Derek asked.

"The timing of everything. You being called up to chase ghosts around the coast of Maine and someone starting to dig around Jack Bryant's past around the same time I start my digging. Peculiar."

"Ralph," Derek said, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your assistance. I need to have a tough conversation with my client right now so I'll have to talk with you later. Thanks again, and feel free to call me anytime if you uncover anything else important."

"I'm here to serve."

Derek ended his call with Ralph and stood silently in Robby's room. He pulled out his Moleskin and jotted down a few notes before heading back down to continue his conversation with Maggie.

Maggie was sitting on the couch watching Robby who was busily engaged in his Xbox game. She didn't notice that Derek had returned from his call and was standing in the hallway, looking at her. She sat, legs crossed, one hand braced against her forehead, with a calm, loving expression on her face. Though her sight was fixed on her son, who had moved from the couch and was now sitting on the floor a few feet away from the 55-inch flat screen, Derek could tell that Maggie wasn't seeing her son. Her thoughts were elsewhere.
 

Derek's thoughts were split between the information he had just learned from Ralph and how he was feeling as he stood looking at Maggie. She was beautiful. Few would challenge Derek's appraisal. But there was something more about her that pulled him towards her. A hidden vulnerability that both called to him to come and screamed at him to retreat. A fragility that revealed itself through glimpses.

"Maggie," Derek said softly. "You and I need to talk."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"You know," Derek started as Maggie placed a cup of coffee in front of him at the dining room table, "I've interviewed a lot of people in my career. I've learned that people mix the truth with lies in order to make themselves or their stories look more believable."

"Do you think I'm lying about what I saw in Robby's room?" Maggie asked.

"Not at all," Derek said as a twinge of twisting nerves erupted in his gut. "I'm referring to people in general."

Maggie sat across the table from Derek. Her coffee serving to warm her hands as she clasped the Minnie Mouse coffee mug. Her face still held a distant fear but, somehow, she felt at ease and safe when sitting with Derek.

"I need to ask you a few questions, to clarify some things that Melissa Humphrey and Ron White told me. I need you to be 100% truthful, not that I think you would lie to me. It's just that I need to know that you are telling me everything. Okay?"

"Of course," Maggie said, forcing a smile.

"My first stop yesterday," Derek forced himself to begin, "was with Melissa Humphrey. I have to say that she is a very interesting person."

"Town gossip," Maggie offered.

"That was pretty clear." Derek swallowed hard. "While I don't think she had anything to do with putting ideas of ghosts into Robby's head, she did tell me some things that concern me."

"Let me guess, she told you that I'm a raging alcoholic, and that I've been known to pass out drunk all over town?"

"Well, she wasn't that descriptive, but, yeah, that was her general point. I'm sure you can understand why I found her assertions to be interesting."

Maggie sighed and dropped her eyes towards her hands. "Alcoholic mother claims that her son is seeing a ghost. Yeah, I would understand your concerns."

"Also," Derek continued after cleaning his throat, "as a detective, I am trained to follow up on leads to verify or to discount. I visited with Bill Jeffries at his liquor store. He seems to be quite fond of you, but he did confirm that you purchase a bottle of Jack Daniel's every Thursday."

"And did he tell you why I buy a bottle of Jack every Thursday?" Maggie asked, her eyes softer than the tone of voice she used.
 

"He did not."

"Of course he didn't because he doesn't know. No one knows."

"I think it's important for me to know if you do have a drinking problem," Derek said.

"When I was 17, my oldest brother, Allen, killed himself. He was 22 years old. My parents tried to hide it, but I knew that he had a serious drinking problem. He'd come home almost every night, banging into things, stumbling up the stairs. He'd puke most nights, right on himself or, if Mom was lucky, onto his bedroom floor. Then he'd pass out and sleep until noon the next day.

"I remember hearing Allen and my parents talking in the kitchen. They'd say how concerned and worried they were about him, and he'd tell them there was nothing to worry about and that he had his drinking under control. But, every day, after he got himself cleaned up, he'd head out to one of his friends' apartments, and every day, my brother and his friends would drink.

"Shortly after Allen turned 22, my parents persuaded Allen to check himself into a rehab facility. He stayed there for two or three months. My parents let me visit him one time while he was there. He seemed wonderful. He apologized to me for not being a good brother, promised that he would stop drinking, and told me that he even had a job lined up for him when he got out. But the day he got out of rehab was the last day I ever saw him alive. My parents drove him home, and within an hour he told them that he had to run out and buy some interview clothes. He ended up back at his friend's house. Must have really felt the need to make up for lost time. When the paramedics found him passed out in the park, he was probably already dead. Blood alcohol was well over 2.0, and he had asphyxiated on his own vomit.

"I never got to talk to him again. He was pronounced dead an hour after the ambulance brought him to the hospital. He died on a Thursday, Derek. And his friend told the police that he had drunk two, maybe three full bottles of Jack Daniels that day. I know it's stupid, but every Thursday since Robby was born, I've purchased a bottle of Jack Daniels and then poured it out onto the ground. I figure that if I make sure that there's at least one less bottle of Jack in the world, that maybe I can save someone else's brother, son, or husband. Derek, I don't have a drinking problem. I have a dead brother problem."

Derek sat in silence, unsure of what to say. After several seconds of quiet, Maggie stood and walked closer to Derek. She sat in the chair next to Derek and placed her hands over his.

"Derek," she said, "I'm not hiding anything from you about Robby and this whole thing he is going through. I promise you. Whatever you heard or whatever else you feel you need to ask me but aren't sure how to ask, just say it."

To Derek, it seemed that Maggie wanted him to ask about her husband. As if she had her own unique and possibly shared set of suspicions but was too nervous to discuss them with anyone.

"Where's your husband?" he asked.

Maggie smiled, pulled her hands back and placed them on her lap. "He left last night. He had some business to take care of up in Portland. He should be back tomorrow to meet with you. Tomorrow is when the two days you gave us runs out, right?"

"It may take me a little longer than two days."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"I'll get back to Melissa Humphrey in a few minutes," Derek continued without pause, "but I want to go over my chat with Ron White."

"My husband insisted that you speak with him," Maggie said. "He is such a nice person. I can't imagine him doing anything to harm Robby."

"Why does your husband feel that Ron may have some involvement with your son's challenge?"

"I don't know for sure. Maybe he's jealous that Robby talks about Ron a lot. Robby's always going on about what Mr. White said or what Mr. White did." Maggie paused. "Jack is not the best father in the world, Derek. I know he loves Robby, but his work takes him away from home an awful lot. He's missed all but one or two of Robby's soccer games and most of the parent-teacher meetings at school. Jack's gone at least two or three nights every week."

"Think he may feel that Robby sees Ron as a father figure?"

"If he does, it's his own damn fault." Maggie's face blushed. She glanced quickly into the living room to see if Robby heard what she had said. Robby sat, transfixed with his video game. "Sorry," she said to Derek. "My marital problems aren't your problem to worry about."

"No worries," Derek said.

"Are you married, Derek?" Maggie asked, her eyes flipping from Derek's to the dining room table.