Hunt for a Phantom by Stephen L Brooks

Author:Stephen L Brooks [Brooks, Stephen L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781588730022
Published: 2019-05-12T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Marge was, on the surface at least, recovered enough to function for herself and Rick again. At least, that’s what she had told Joe and Jenny. The Mitchells stayed in touch, and in fact called nearly every day. Rick found it reassuring, though he knew his mother felt that they had done far too much for them. They sat down to dinner, just the two of them, for the first time in a week.

“You know I appreciate what the Mitchells did for us,” Marge told Rick. “They’re good friends.”

“Yeah. I didn’t realize how close you were to them until this happened.”

“We really weren’t, I suppose,” Marge said. “But this certainly brought us closer.”

Rick noticed they had both referred to the murders as “this.” He guessed neither one of them were ready to really talk about it.

“You and Mitch have become better friends.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“He’s a good boy. I like him.”

Rick knew that his mother wanted to say more from the sudden brake that she put upon her speech. Silence accompanied the meal for a long time. Rick ate quickly, concentrating on his food and sheltering himself from any distraction.

But the distraction came of its own. He thought of Gail and the things she had hinted. Had his sister really been trolling for guys online like Gail had said? But evidently Gail had done some trolling or her own and gotten into some kind of trouble. She had called herself stupid for it; Rick wondered just what might have happened. As he finished the last of his dinner he decided that if Gail was going to tell him, let her do it in her own time. That was only fair.

The phone rang. “Go ahead and answer,” his mother said. “I’ll get the dishes.” He noticed that, while she had eaten, she hadn’t finished. That was the norm now. He had never known his mother not to clean her plate before “this” had happened.

He picked up the phone from the counter and pressed the button. “Hello?”

“Hi Rick, it’s Mitch. Wanna take in a movie tonight?”

Rick frowned. “Not really. I’ve got an exam Monday.”

“And this is Friday. You’ve got the weekend to study for it. Come on, we both need a break.”

“Who is it, Rick?”

He held the phone to chest. “It’s Mitch. He wants to go to a movie.”

“Tonight?”

“Ah huh.”

She considered for only a beat. “Go ahead. You should have some fun.”

“Are you sure? Will you be all right alone?”

“Of course,” she said, placing the rinsed dishes into the dishwasher. “I’ll find something to do. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Her assurances didn’t convince him, but Mitch sounded like he needed company. He heard him through the phone. “What was that, Mitch?” he held it back to his ear.

“Can you get away? I’ve just got to get out of the house tonight.”

Rick turned back to his mother. She had closed the dishwasher and was looking at him. She smiled and made a shooing gesture. “All right. I’ll meet you in front of your house in a few minutes.

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