Jack Ryder Mystery Series: Vol 4-6 Page 15

  What the heck?

  He decided it had to be the wind. What else could it be? An animal maybe. Or maybe the wind. Yup, just the wind. Had to be.

  Trevor moved on. With the gun lifted, his eye in the viewfinder aiming at the birds, he stepped out on the stairs, but just as he did, he felt a push in his back that made him trip over the first step and tumble down the rest of the stairs, holding onto the gun while he fell. He saw the rock as he approached it and knew in that moment that it was over, that the birds had ended up getting the last word.

  Neighbors would later tell each other that it sounded like a watermelon cracking on the pavement when his head split open, but then again, as most people knew, the Savannahians were master storytellers.

  56

  May 2016

  The three A’s woke us up a couple of hours later. Shannon and I had both dozed off in the living room, where Abigail jumped me on the couch.

  “Dad. Dad. Wake up. It’s morning.”

  I opened my eyes and looked into hers. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful sight. I grabbed her and hugged her while tickling her till she begged me to stop. When I let go of her, I saw that Austin and Angela were standing a few steps behind her, holding hands.

  Angela let go of him when her mother opened her eyes. “Angie? Baby?”

  I signaled for Austin to come closer while I sat up on the couch. “You look tired, Dad,” Abigail said. “Where’s Betsy Sue? She wasn’t in her room.”

  My eyes met Shannon’s. “Tyler’s room, sweetie,” I corrected her. “It’s Tyler’s room. Don’t forget it.”

  “Any news about him?” Austin asked cautiously. I grabbed him and pulled him into my lap, then held him tight. It was the only way I could get the boy to hug me these days. It always amazed me how different those twins were.

  “Not yet, sweetie, but soon,” I said.

  “I miss Tyler,” Abigail said with a sigh.

  “Me too,” Austin said. “It was fun not being the youngest for once.”

  “He’ll be back before you know it,” I said, swallowing a huge knot in my throat. I was trying hard to be happy for the kids’ sake. “Don’t you worry.”

  Sarah made us all breakfast in the kitchen and we ate silently, every one of us in his or her own thoughts. It was a very odd scene for our family, which otherwise was always very noisy.

  “Where is Emily?” I finally asked.

  Sarah let out a deep sigh. “Sleeping in. As usual. She has been sleeping in a lot lately.”

  “She’s a teenager. Probably needs it,” I said with a shrug.

  “You know, she might be sad as well,” Sarah said, looking at me. “You know, with everything that’s going on.”

  My eyes met those of Sarah. How did this woman, who was supposed to be Shannon’s PA, how had she suddenly become our babysitter and now therapist?

  “I’ll talk to her,” I said.

  “By the way, don’t forget your parents are arriving today,” Sarah continued. “And your mother and sister are arriving tomorrow,” she said, addressed to Shannon.

  I nodded. I hadn’t forgotten. I had talked to them the day before. They were completely freaking out over the fact that Tyler was missing and decided to come earlier than planned. I told them there really wasn’t much they could do, but they wouldn’t listen. I had to admit that I was looking forward to having them here with us. They could be a big help with the kids. Get Sarah off the hook for a little while.

  “They have rented a condo a few blocks from here,” I said, addressed to Shannon. “The kids could go and spend the night with them tonight.”

  Shannon didn’t say anything. She looked out the window, where rain was pounding again. I knew she wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing her mother again. They didn’t quite get along. Why she had invited her to the wedding in the first place, I didn’t understand, but she said something about it being the right thing to do. I, for one, wasn’t looking forward to meeting her, not after the stories Shannon had told me.

  I wiped my mouth on the napkin and looked at Shannon. We had planned to go to the doll store today. I felt convinced the place had some significance in Tyler’s whereabouts. It was a clue and I was clinging to it.

  Sarah promised to look after the kids for the morning, and Shannon and I grabbed our raincoats and put them on.

  “At least there will be no reporters waiting for us in this weather,” I said.

  But I was too early in my assumption because when we opened the door, a camera clicked and a reporter stormed towards us.

  “Was Shannon drunk when she lost Baby Tyler?” the reporter asked me. “Is she off the wagon again?”

  I refused to answer and pushed the woman away. Behind her appeared a very familiar face. It was Detective Bellini, wearing a raincoat and holding an umbrella. Her face told me this wasn’t a friendly visit. Two officers on each side flanked her. I approached her.

  “Detective Ryder?”

  “Detective Bellini?”

  “We need you to come down to the station.”

  “Why?” I asked, my heart starting to throb. What’s going on here? Have they news about Tyler? Has something happened to him? Oh, my God, no.

  “We need to question you about the death of Trevor Bryden.”

  57

  May 2016

  The Doctor decided to have a party. All the girls were lined up in the living room, dressed in their nicest dresses, their hair brushed and put up with bows. They were giggling and laughing and the Doctor was spinning around, Millie between her hands.

  “She’s back! She’s back!”

  The Doctor looked at Betsy Sue, who was sitting at the end of the table, staring back gloomily. The Doctor had put on her favorite song by Shannon King, My beautiful Baby Doll. The Doctor had read somewhere that Shannon King had written this song to her son after giving birth and found it appropriate for this celebration.

  It was the GPS watch that had alerted the Doctor that Betsy Sue was in the area in the middle of the night. The Doctor had stopped tracking her once she saw the Hawthornes come to Shannon King’s house. The Doctor knew then that it was no use to try and get her back. At least for now.

  But then, in the middle of the night, as Rikki Rick woke up to get his bottle, the Doctor looked at the phone and the app was open from the last time it had been used for tracking Betsy Sue. A notification revealed that the girl was on the move.

  And boy was she ever on the move.

  “Smile, Betsy Sue,” the Doctor said cheerfully.

  The girl squirmed in her seat, trying to get her arms loose. She was sobbing behind the duct tape and tears were rolling across her face.

  “Ah, come on, Betsy Sue. Don’t cry. Now we’re all together again. Isn’t it great? Look at all your little friends. They’re so happy to have you back.”

  The Doctor had put Rikki Rick in his stroller, then run into the night, following the map in the app. She had spotted the girl running down the street and grabbed her as she turned a corner. The girl had fought bravely, but she was still no match for the Doctor. She had gotten stronger though, and that worried the Doctor. As the girls grew up, there would come a time when they grew bigger and maybe even stronger than the Doctor.

  Now the Doctor had brought a second chair up to the room upstairs, and as soon as the party was over, the Doctor grabbed Betsy Sue, swung her over her shoulder, and carried her up to the fourth floor.

  The Doctor found the key in her pocket and unlocked the door. As it was opened, Miss Muffit’s brown eyes stared fearfully at them both.

  “Let me go,” she said, almost hissing, her voice hoarse from all the screaming. Her eyes were big and frightful and her cheeks sunken. “Let me go!”

  “Sorry,” the Doctor said with a tilted head.

  The Doctor approached the girl and stroked her head gently. The girl groaned and fought to get loose from the straps. Her arms were bloody from fighting them.

  “It’s for your own good. You know that, r
ight?”

  The Doctor grabbed Betsy Sue, who was kicking and screaming behind the tape, then put her down in the chair next to Miss Muffit. The Doctor then strapped her legs to the legs of the chair and tied her arms behind her back. Then the Doctor knelt in front of the girl.

  “I’m so glad you came back. Now everything is as it should be.”

  The Doctor grabbed the duct tape and pulled it off, letting Betsy Sue’s screams fill the air.

  “Help! Help!”

  The Doctor caressed the girl’s cheeks with gentle strokes. How the Doctor had loved those girls, watching them grow up.

  “It’s time.”

  The Doctor rose and walked to the door.

  “NOOOOO!” Betsy Sue screamed, as the door was shut and the key turned in the lock.

  58

  December 1990

  She woke up on the couch. Kimberly opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and then sat up. She was in her living room.

  How did I get here?

  Kimberly rubbed her forehead. She had a headache and felt strange, but it didn’t feel like a hangover.

  “The cavern!” she exclaimed and rose to her feet. She looked around. Everything looked normal. Where were all the people? Were they still down there drinking and partying?

  And where is Joseph?

  Kimberly walked down to the basement and knocked on the door to Joseph’s room. She opened it, but didn’t find anyone there. She walked to the end of the room where she believed the iron staircase had been, but couldn’t find it. Was there a door somewhere that she had to open first?

  Kimberly looked around for secret doorknobs and lifted the carpet to see if it was in the floor. But she couldn’t find anything.

  “That’s odd,” she said. “I could have sworn it was right here.”

  She remembered that she had had her eyes closed when he guided her there, so maybe it was just somewhere else? In one of the other rooms maybe?

  Kimberly started looking. She went through the laundry room, the pantry, and the storage room, but found nothing. She listened carefully to see if she could hear anyone, but it was all very quiet.

  Puzzled, Kimberly walked up the stairs back into the kitchen. She looked at the clock. It was late in the afternoon. Had she slept all day? And where was Rosa?

  Oh, my God. The axe! He had an axe down there!

  Kimberly ran up the flight of stairs, till she reached second floor and stormed inside Rosa’s room, her heart pounding in her chest, expecting to find her daughter sprawled on the bed, chopped to pieces.

  But she found no such thing.

  The room was empty, so Kimberly continued to the attic where Rosa loved to hang out. She wasn’t there either. The birds weren’t even there.

  He’s done something to her, hasn’t he? Like the dad in those awful stories. He’s gone mad. The house has made him crazy. I knew it would. I just knew it! Why didn’t I listen to my instinct? Why didn’t I listen? Oh, my!

  “Rosa? Rosa?” she called out.

  But the house remained eerily silent.

  The room. The small room with the chair!

  Kimberly stormed down from the attic and opened the door to the small closet room, but the chair was empty. Relieved, she breathed deeply and held a hand to her chest. But the image of the axe still remained in her mind and kept reminding her that Joseph was up to something. Something bad.

  Kimberly ran down the stairs, frantically calling out her daughter’s name, but continued to receive no answer. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, the front door suddenly opened and Joseph stepped inside.

  Kimberly threw herself at him. “What have you done to her, you bastard! What have you done?”

  Joseph looked at her, startled, then pushed her away. “What are you talking about?”

  As she stumbled backwards, Kimberly spotted Rosa. She was standing behind her father, a bag in her hand.

  She lifted the bag. “We bought peaches. We know how much you love the Savannah peaches.”

  59

  May 2016

  “Do you recognize this man in the picture?”

  They had taken me into an interrogation room. Detective Bellini and Detective Nelson were sitting across the table from me, looking at me the way I suppose I usually looked at criminals.

  I didn’t know what was going on, and had never heard the name Trevor Bryden before. I kept telling them that, but they didn’t believe me. I didn’t like the way they wouldn’t answer my questions or even speak to me while driving there in their car. We were colleagues, for crying out loud. What was going on here? And how was it related to Tyler? I didn’t understand anything.

  Now they placed a picture in front of me and asked me to look at it. That was when I realized I did know the man.

  “Is that him?” I asked.

  “You tell me, Detective,” Bellini said.

  “But, I don’t know. I don’t know that man’s name.”

  “But have you seen him before?”

  “Yes. I saw him yesterday.”

  “Where?” Detective Nelson asked.

  They had offered me coffee and so far I hadn’t even tasted it. I was so shocked about this strange turn of events. I tried a sip, but could hardly swallow it. My throat was in a thousand knots and my stomach too. I kept wondering how long they would keep me here. Shannon had to be completely out of it.

  “At his house,” I said. “Shannon and I went to his house yesterday, asking if he had seen Tyler. We showed him a picture of our son and asked if he had seen him. Just like we did to a lot of other houses.”

  “So you do know him,” Bellini said, annoyingly conclusive. It felt like she was twisting my words. “And you were with him yesterday.”

  “I wouldn’t say I know him or was with him, but I did talk to him very briefly yesterday afternoon, yes.”

  Detective Nelson leaned over and pushed another photo towards me. I looked at it, then felt sick to my stomach. It was the same guy again, only this time, his head was cracked open and I swear I could see parts of his brain.

  “Where were you last night between eleven p.m. and two a.m.?” Detective Nelson said.

  “I was in my bed. With my fiancé.”

  “And she’ll testify to that?”

  “Of course. We were awake a lot because…well, you know we haven’t slept much since Tyler disappeared.”

  “And you didn’t leave the house at all within this timeframe?” Bellini asked.

  I stared at her, biting my lip. There was no way I could tell her the truth. Then I would have to tell her about Betsy Sue and how we kept her at the house without telling them. If I left out Betsy Sue, then it would be strange for me to leave the house. Either way, I wouldn’t come out good. I could, of course, lie, but I didn’t know if they had a witness who might have seen me leave the house or maybe on the street. They still hadn’t told me why they were questioning me.

  I decided it was better to leave out a part than to lie completely.

  “I went for a walk,” I said. “I couldn’t sleep; I kept thinking about Tyler and worrying about him, so I went out for a little while. I walked around in the neighborhood. Only for like half an hour.”

  Nelson wrote it down, then looked up at me. “What time was that?”

  I sighed. I didn’t know. I didn’t exactly look at the clock when I spotted Betsy Sue sneaking out. There was no time.

  “I want to say around midnight, but I’m not sure,” I said.

  Bellini looked at me. She smiled sarcastically. “I thought that usually people who suffer from insomnia know exactly what time it is, because they keep looking at the clock. But I could be mistaken.”

  “I didn’t look at the clock,” I repeated, aggravated with the suspicious tone to her voice. I knew she had to be like this; I knew what it was like to sit at her end of the table, but still. We were colleagues. We should be helping each other instead. “Could you at least tell me why you’re even questioning me here?”

  The two detectiv
es looked at each other, then Bellini nodded. Nelson looked down at his papers. He tapped his finger to his lips, pausing. Finally, he said:

  “Trevor Bryden fell to his death last night between eleven p.m. and two in the morning. His head hit a rock and he died from his injuries.”

  “So what? If he fell, then what’s there to talk about?” I asked.

  “We have reason to believe he was pushed, or rather kicked,” Bellini remarked darkly. “A muddy footprint on the back of his T-shirt. You know how much it has been raining the past couple of days. Muddy dirt kind of sticks to the shoes.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “We found your card in his hand.”

  “Well, clearly it was placed there by someone,” I said. “I wouldn’t be so stupid as to leave my card with him, in his hand after I murdered him, now would I?”

  Bellini looked up at me. “Maybe you didn’t see it. Maybe he had it in his hand because he had just called you or spoken to you.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” I said. I was beginning to understand how people felt sitting across from me during interrogation. I felt like they had already decided that I had killed this guy, that no matter what I said it was of no use, it wouldn’t change their minds. It was scary, to put it mildly.

  “We need your shoes,” Nelson said. He sat back in his chair, smug and confident.

  “You do realize my son is missing, right?” I asked, annoyed with the waste of everyone’s time.

  “Your shoes, please.”

  “Why aren’t you out there looking for him instead of wasting our time with all this nonsense? I don’t get it.”

  “Your shoes,” Bellini said.

  I stared from one to the other, wondering if they ever used their common sense when solving cases. I usually had a lot of respect for my colleagues, but this was ludicrous. And so incredibly frustrating because it was my son who was missing and no one seemed to care anymore.