Those of the Margin: a Paranormal Suspense Thriller (Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Book 2) (9 page)

"My wife, Lucy, was killed in a bank robbery a little over three years ago. I was a cop in the city back then and watched the whole thing happen."

"I'm so sorry," Maggie said, returning her hands onto Derek's. "I should have remembered that you told Robby that your wife had passed. I guess I was just too worried to pay attention. I'm very sorry."

"It's okay. You had a lot of things on your mind."

"You told Robby that you saw your wife, or your wife's spirit recently? Did I hear that correctly?"

"In my last case," Derek said, "I was shot in the stomach and started to bleed out. Right before the paramedics brought me back, I believe I saw my wife's face. Not sure if was her spirit or what it was, but I know that I saw her."

"And I know what I saw in Robby's room less than an hour ago," Maggie said, her hands again pulling away from Derek's. "I walked into his room after hearing someone or something talking with Robby, and I saw a man's shadow cover its face and then disappear into his wardrobe. I know what I saw just a certainly as you know you saw your wife."

"I don't doubt you nor do I doubt Robby," Derek said. "There's just a lot of things I don't fully understand yet, but I promise you that I will figure this whole thing out."

Maggie smiled at Derek. Her brilliant green eyes, moist with tears, charged Derek's soul with feelings that seemed both foreign and familiar to him. Familiar, as these were the same as those he felt when he was first falling in love with his wife. Foreign because for the first time since the day his wife died, his feeling's target was not his wife, but someone else, someone new.

"About Ron White" he said, pushing back the unsettled feelings welling up in his body, "he said that Robby told him about 'Phillip' before he said anything to Robby about ghosts. Not sure if I believe him, but he also suggested that the name 'Phillip' was an interesting name for a ghost. He made no bones about his belief that I should investigate the name 'Phillip.'"

"And?" Maggie said, leaning closer to the table. "Did you find anything out about the name?"

"I did. Father Flannigan told me about a bunch of psychologists in Toronto that conducted an experiment. They called it the 'Phillip Experiment,' and the results were very interesting. I was still talking with Father about it when you called. While I'm very interested in learning more about the 'Phillip Experiment' and how it all fits into with your son, I'm more interested in how Ron White seems to know about it."

"He's had a lot of time to read since his stroke, "Maggie suggested. "Maybe he read about it?"

"I don't think so, but maybe. I have to find out more about Mr. White before I can make any assumptions."

"He really is a sweetheart, Derek."

"I also found out something else that I need to tell you. It's about your husband and his father. This may be upsetting but know that I don't have all the facts yet."

"If you're going to tell me that Jack murdered his father, I already know."

Derek's mouth fell open.

"I've heard things about the night Jack's father died," Maggie said. "Jack's mother, who is quite a prize, I must say, gets all religious whenever she talks about the past. She's said on multiple occasions that her husband was killed by a demon. Like I said, she's quite a prize."

"Murderous demons and ghostly visits. You have quite an interesting family. Glad you contacted me for this case."

The laugh that poured from Maggie was so genuine and so needed, that Derek couldn't help but join in. The two, sitting at the dining room table, laughed so hard that neither could manage to talk. When Robby, who had fallen asleep on the living room floor, appeared next to his mother, his eyes still swollen from sleep, Maggie could only manage to caress his head. Robby stood, emotionless, either wondering about the cause of the laughter or still half asleep and angry about being woken.

"I'm sorry that mommy woke you up," Maggie managed. "Mr. Cole said something very funny and I couldn't help but laugh."

It was how Robby was standing, arms hanging loosely to his side, face blank of expression that snapped Maggie out of her fit of laughter.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked. "Are you angry that we woke you up?"

Derek too lost his reason for laughter as he noticed the blank expression that had settled across Robby's face. He noticed the sudden change in Maggie as well. A few seconds before Robby had walked up and stood next to her, Maggie seemed like she hadn't a care in the world. For a brief moment, the possible horrific past events of her husband's life, the palpable distress her marriage was in, her intense concern for her son, and the recent memory of seeing and hearing something beyond comprehension, all seemed to vanish as a result of a simple remark.

Derek wondered if
that
Maggie, the one without all the concerns masking her true self, would ever be seen again. Though he saw her for only that moment, as soon as she was gone, he longed to see her again.

Robby stood silently, staring at his mother. Maggie's face revealed her growing concern as she caressed Robby's face.

"Robby," she said, "please tell me what's wrong? Did you see Phillip again?"

Robby shook his head, inched closer to his mother and leaned in within inches from her face.

"Phillip told me about being killed."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

It was after six pm before Derek decided he should leave Maggie and Robby.
 
Derk got into his car, still thinking about the last few minutes. After Robby had told Maggie about what Phillip had told him, he seemed to return to his normal self. Derek wondered if Robby was still asleep when he approached Maggie.

"I wonder if he was sleep walking," he said to Maggie after Robby had left the room to wash up, put his homework away, and get ready for dinner.

"Do you think he heard what I said about his dad?" Maggie asked. "He couldn't have," she answered her own question. "He was asleep, and I made damn sure I was talking softly. How could he have known about the suspicions about his father?"

"I don't know, Maggie," was all Derek could offer.

Derek pulled his car over to the side of the road and used his iPhone's Google Search app to find the phone number for the St. Mark's rectory. The phone rang only one time before Father John Flannigan answered.

"Father, it's Derek Cole."

"Are Maggie and Robby okay?"

"Yes, and no," Derek said. "I really don't know. Father, I'd like to continue our conversation and am wondering if you aren't too busy..."

"We have several wonderfully quiet restaurants in town," John Flannigan interjected. "Can we meet at a place called Fitz's at seven? It's on Main Street in Ogunquit."

"See you there."

#####

Derek walked into Fitz's Restaurant and was immediately struck by two things: the absence of smells that one would expect to be greeted with when walking into a restaurant and how quiet the restaurant was. Fitz's was on the main street in the small town of Ogunquit, wedged in between a small cinema and an ice-cream parlor – both closed for the season. As he walked in, Derek saw that the bartender and two servers were having a conversation at the bar and seemed a bit surprised that a customer had entered the restaurant.

"How can I help you?" a middle-aged woman, with traces of dyed purple hair streaked across her scalp, said to Derek.

"I'm meeting a friend for dinner. Table for two, if you have enough room," he joked in response.

"Do you have a reservation?" she asked, her face sternly serious.

"Uh, actually I don't, but..."

"I'm only kidding. Table or booth?"

"Booth, please. Is the bar open?"

"Of course. It's still happy hour, can't you tell?" the server said through a sarcastic grin.

Derek sat in a booth and faced the door. He ordered a Dewar's White Label on the rocks with a splash of water and was about to take his first sip when he saw Father John Flannigan enter the restaurant.

"Father John," the middle-aged server said. "Wonderful to see you."

"Thank you, Janet," John said. "I'm meeting a friend here for dinner."

Father John Flannigan made his way over to the booth where Derek was sitting, ordering a gin martini with four olives from the bartender as he passed the bar. Fitz's was much longer than it was wide, with its bar running thirty feet on the left-hand side and seven booths and a few tables filling the right-hand side of the restaurant.

During the busy summer months, dining at Fitz's would command a 60-minute wait, a reservation made at least a week in advance, or a strategically delivered tip to the
maître d'
. But in the cold months, Fitz's, like almost every restaurant on the coast of Maine, usually had twice the number of empty chairs than customers.

"How are Maggie and Robby?" John said.

"I don't know where to begin," Derek said. He raised his glass of scotch to his lips, then quickly placed the glass back on the table.

"Problem with your drink?" John asked.

"Like I said before, I was raised Catholic, and it just dawned on me that I've never drunk alcohol in front of a priest. Kind of freaking me out."

"Derek," John said, "I am a Catholic Priest, but I'm not Jesus. And in case you didn't hear my order, I not only ordered a martini but plan to have more than one this evening. I want you to think of me just as a friend who shares your concern for Maggie and Robby. Can you do that for me?"

"Probably not, Father," Derek said as he lifted his glass to his lips and took a long draw of scotch. "But I've also learned that it's not polite to make someone drink alone. So out of respect and friendship," he paused for another swallow of scotch "I'll drink to your health, my health, and for Maggie and Robby."

"Here, here," John said just as his martini was delivered to the table. "So tell me, the suspense is killing me."

"Father," Derek started, "is it possible that some of the people in the Phillip Experiment were influenced to believe that Phillip was real and that they convinced themselves that whatever spiritual contact they made was done so out of a desire to be liked or to not disappoint the psychologists?"

"It's a form of cognitive dissonance mixed with social proof and a dash of desire to be part of a group thrown in for good measure. One influential person who displays a high level of certainty about a specific subject can cause others to believe the same thing, despite others not having the same experiences, belief set, or thoughts. In the experiment, one or two of the psychologists remarked that some of the test subjects only began reporting contact with Phillip after some of the more vocal and outgoing participants suggested that those who weren't contacting him must either be blocking or lacked some intellectual or spiritual skill."

"So," Derek continued, "some in the group said they had a paranormal experience only to be part of the group?"

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean that those people didn't actually come to believe that what they were experiencing was real. Where are you going with these questions?"

"Maggie heard and saw Robby's Phillip."

John stared blankly at Derek, absorbing what he had just heard.

"Tell me what happened," he said.

"She told me," Derek said after signaling to the bartender that his first scotch was gone and a second was in order, "that she was standing outside of Robby's bedroom door when she heard a voice responding to Robby. She rushed into the room and saw a shadow of a man. Her details were so precise. She said the shadow raised his arm to cover his face as he disappeared into Robby's clothes closet. What really got to me was what Robby kept asking her."

"And that was?"

"He kept asking Maggie if she had seen his face. She told me that Robby seemed relieved that she had heard and seen Phillip but was disappointed that she hadn't seen his face."

"Why would he be so interested in Maggie seeing Phillip's face?"

"I don't know. I don't know a lot about this case, and I honestly have no idea what to do next."

Derek's second scotch was placed in front of him by the server who then took his and John's dinner order, then left the two alone to continue their conversation.

"I was wondering," Derek said, "if Maggie only imagined that she saw Phillip in order to make Robby feel better or to help her deal with the possibility that her only son has some serious psychological challenges."

"Very astute observation," John said, tipping his glass towards Derek. "But you said that you
were
wondering about that. Are you still wondering, or did something else happen?"

"Now who's being astute?" Derek said, clinking his glass against John's.

"What else happened?"

"Have to rely on either that penitent privilege or your good manners again before I tell you the rest."

"Both granted and assured."

"A friend of mine who saved my life during my last case is a police chief in a small town in New York. Melissa Humphrey suggested that if I were to dig into the Bryant's past that I would find some skeletons. Well, I asked that police chief friend to do a little digging. He told me that Jack Bryant's dad was murdered and that Jack was suspected in the case."

"That is concerning," John said.
 

"Agreed, but he wasn't convicted of anything. Just suspected. I'm still finding out more about Jack's father's demise so I will withhold judgment."

"Very Catholic of you."
 

"My mom would be proud," Derek said. "Anyway, I had a conversation with Maggie about what I found out."

"How did she react?"

"She said she had heard it before. What was more interesting is what she didn't say. She didn't say that Jack didn't murder his own father, nor did she say that she felt those accusations were totally unfounded."

"God forgive me," John said, "but I have never understood their relationship. Maggie is such a kind soul, and Jack, well, let me just leave it at I don't understand their relationship."

"That's not the end of the story, I'm afraid to say. Robby had fallen asleep while Maggie and I continued talking. All of a sudden, Robby walked over to Maggie and said that Phillip told him that he, Philip, had been murdered. I didn't ask Robby who Phillip said murdered him, but the timing of his comment came right after Maggie and I were talking about Jack murdering his father."