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On A Midnight Black Chessie
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Things Slip Through 12.
12.Ambiguities. Shadowy, surreal ghosts seen out of the corner of the eye, like hallucinations dreamed during a fever, things that can neither be confirmed nor denied. These are the things I’ve been reading about.Though Webb Community College is ten miles out of town, between Clifton Heights and Old Forge, Bradley Sanders lives here in town. I’ve seen him around a few times, been introduced to him twice. And he does have an impressive train layout in his basement. Every Christmas he opens his home to the neighborhood for tours. I had night patrol this Christmas and missed it but luckily Meg convinced Grace—our sitter—to take her. She gushed for days about its meticulous detail in copying nearly every facet of Clifton Heights. I’d hated missing that and had vowed to make sure I was free next year to go see Bradley’s layout with Meg.Not so sure I’ll be doing that, now.A resigned weariness settles over my shoulders. “I suppose if I called Web Community College, asking after Ned Si
Things Slip Through 13.
13.The Commons Trailer ParkEllen Danvers opens her trailer’s screen door and smiles sadly, as if she’s expected me this whole time and has been wondering what’s taken me so long.“Evening, Sheriff,” she whispers. “What can I do for you?”For a moment, the absurdity of my intentions strikes me speechless. We’ve gotten everything we can from Ellen. She’s got no more information to give, past her wild tale.So why am I here?In Gavin’s mind, I’m here so Ellen Danvers can tell me what really happened to her son. In mine . . . well, at this point I really can’t say. But I can’t stand here on the porch forever so I smile and lie. “Just stopping by to see how you’re doing, Ellen, let you know the State Police and my men are still searching for Timmy.”The last part is true, at least. Even though Ellen now claims there’s no need to search for Timmy, the initial report of a missing child set off a chain reaction that can’t be called back so easily. With the wheels turning on a missing
Things Slip Through Mr. Nobody
MR. NOBODY“Mommy! Noooo!”Laughter echoed through Ellen Danvers’ small kitchen as she knelt and bent her son Timmy backward over her knee. He giggled while she pretended to lose her grip.“Jeez, you’re heavy! What’ve you been eating? Hippos?”His face split into a toothy grin. “N-no! Just p-puppies!”“PUPPIES!” She shook him in mock fury. “That’s it! You’re gonna get it!”His blue eyes widened in anticipation. “No!”“Too late!”She raised clenched fingers, her fake scowl threatening to break into a grin. “Now. You. Die!”“Noooo!”With an exaggerated downward thrust, she planted her hand into his belly and tickled him. He laughed and jerked, and alarm shivered through her as her grasp slipped. Timmy was only six, but he was so big for his age. If she wasn’t careful, he could squirm free, hit the floor . . .Worry crept in, spoiling the moment and she stopped, gently grasping his shirt, tipping him up. She hugged him tight, closed her eyes, breathing deep. His speeding heart
Things Slip Through 14.
14.“By the time I arrived on the scene that night you were nearly inconsolable, hysterical at Timmy’s disappearance, insisting something had taken him away. But then you called us three days later and changed your story, telling us to end our search because Timmy was ‘safe and in a better place.’”I lean forward, hands clasped before me, trying to be gentle because I can see that recounting her ordeal is hard for her, can see it in her wet and glimmering eyes. “Why did you tell us that, Mrs. Danvers? What was that . . . thing you saw? Where is this ‘better place?’ I can’t report any of this, can’t ever speak of it to anyone. But I need to know.”so the Guardian may protect the ThresholdShe nods, sniffing, and wipes both eyes with the heels of her palms. Composing herself, running a hand through her hair, she whispers, “I . . . I wasn’t in a good place after that. I’d lost Timmy, lost everything. With Timmy gone there was nothing left to live for and I almost . . . ”She sucks do
Things Slip Through 1.
August5:00 PMClifton Heights, New YorkIt’s Poker Tuesday. My daughter Meg is at the sitter’s and my friends and I are relaxing on my front porch, enjoying a few quiet drinks after we wind down from our respective afternoons. Father Ward stands beside me, Fitzy leans against the railing at the porch’s end and Gavin sits on the railing across from me. I’m sitting in my favorite Adirondack lounge chair.The warm summer air is quiet and still, save for the distant buzz of cars easing their way down Henry Street. Usually, this is my favorite night of the week; an evening of carefree leisure, when the world’s troubles are held at bay by camaraderie and friendship, and beer and pizza, too.But tonight is different. Tonight, everything may fall apart because the things I’ve ignored for so long can no longer be dismissed and I must speak, risking at the very least our friendships, at the very worst this place I’ve come to call home.And the others se
Things Slip Through 2.
The Skylark Diner5:30 PMSomehow I’m not surprised when Gavin walks into The Skylark alone. No one said much as we left my place, but I sensed—through body language, maybe—that this was Gavin’s job, telling me the truth or whatever passes for it in this town.A nice town, dammit, in spite all of this. Picturesque, a postcard-beautiful Adirondack town as charming as Inlet or Eagle Bay but not as touristy as Lake George. And the people here have been nothing but accommodating and pleasant. Word of the new Sheriff in town (also new widower with an only daughter) has paved the way for fruit baskets, pies, homemade bread, frozen venison and casseroles galore, all this past year.But as time has passed and the town’s strangeness has bloomed, it’s dawned upon me that maybe this town is too accommodating, because someoneshould’ve petitioned the Town Board for my immediate resignation a long time ago, especially considering all the odd cases I haven’t been able to s
Things Slip Through Lament
She swings the hammer down again and again. Bone crunches, blood splatters. Her stomach churns as she raises the hammer to swing it down once more . . .But she stops and squeezes the hammer’s slick rubber grip. Blood oozes between her fingers. The hammer shakes in her hand.And then she drops it to the pavement where it hits with a dull ring and she looks at what she’s done to his face, and realizes . . . she likes it.And wants to do it some more.She kneels and sobs.Then vomits.MondayGavin Patchett glared at the stack of essays sitting on his desk, then glanced at the first one before him. He tapped it with his red pen, leaving clusters of smeary crimson dots near its heading. He read the first paragraph, squinted and read it again, hoping it would make more sense the second time.It didn’t. Just made him feel tired was all.He closed his eyes, sighed and rubbed his warm forehead. Maybe he’d call in sick tomorrow, sta
Things Slip Through 3.
3.I lean back against the booth’s thin leather cushions and pull my hands away from the journal, staring for a moment at Gavin’s elegant script. The words themselves seem to shiver and twitch across the page.I look up at Gavin, who’s nonchalantly devouring the stack of blueberry pancakes he ordered while I was reading.My mouth opens, but nothing comes out.Fortunately, Gavin speaks for both of us, after swallowing a forkful of syrup-drenched pancakes. “That whole thing was horrible, and I feel awful that it took a tragedy like that to sober me up. But after everything died down, when I finally dried out . . . I knew things had to change. I haven’t had a drink since.”I reach toward the journal but don’t touch its pages. It’s as if I’m afraid of something happening to me if I touch it, which is ridiculous. It’s only a journal. Paper bound by a leather cover.That’s all.“You wrote this. After it happened?”He reaches for his glass of orange juice, compliments of the waitress,
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