Grandfather's House by Jon Athan

Author:Jon Athan [Athan, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-22T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

A Domestic Disturbance

Malcolm sat on his bed, quiet and motionless. He stared at the floor and thought about the day. He tried to forget about Barbara's 'accident.' Instead, he thought about the rest of his sabotage. Specifically, he thought about his call to the police. He spent the afternoon waiting for the police to arrive, but a cop never showed up.

He muttered, “I gave them the right address, didn't I? Did they believe me? Do they even care?” He looked over at his pillow. He whispered, “Should I call them again?”

He sighed and looked at the door. His grandparents were home, so he couldn't take the risk. It was too dangerous, even if he called from the closet.

Before he could make a decision, Malcolm heard the sound of a car door slamming. He peeked out the window. A black-and-white police cruiser was parked in front of the house. He also spotted a police officer walking up to the house, the chatter from his radio disrupting the neighborhood's peaceful aura.

Malcolm smiled and said, “Perfect timing.”

He crept out of his room, shoulders and heels raised. He looked down the hall. He could hear his grandmother crying in the master bedroom—she was humiliated and defeated by the prank. He felt guilty, but he couldn't forgive her for her inappropriate behavior. He slunk towards the top of the stairs, trying to avoid the creaky floorboards. He sat down on the top stair and eavesdropped.

The officer knocked on the door.

Sitting on the recliner, Ronald muted the television and said, “Who the hell is it?”

He muttered to himself until he opened the front door. He was caught off guard by the cop's presence, but he recognized him.

Officer Keith Griffin regularly patrolled the area. Middle-aged, he was a thirteen-year veteran of the police force. His hair was cut short, nearly bald, and he had a clean-shaved face. Determination and compassion sparkled in his bright blue eyes. He was a stern but caring man. He looked stronger than Ronald, too.

Griffin said, “Good evening, Mr. O'Donnell.”

Ronald responded, “Good evening, Griffin. What can I do for you? Need help catching those taggers again?”

“No, sir. I'll get straight to the point. We received a complaint earlier today about a domestic disturbance.”

“A domestic disturbance?” Ronald repeated quizzically.

“Yes, sir. It was a complaint of a child crying over the past three or so days. The caller accused you of abusing a child.”

“Abuse? Abuse? No, that's a bunch of bullshit.”

“Is a child staying with you?”

“A teenager. Malcolm Hernandez is staying with us. He's my daughter's bastard child.”

“Okay, okay. I know you're an honest man, Mr. O'Donnell, so I'll ask you once and only once: did you abuse him?”

Ronald huffed and shook his head, as if the man had just asked him an audacious question—may I fuck your wife? He controlled his anger, though.

Malcolm heard the entire conversation from the second floor. He thought about heading down and causing a scene, but he didn't want to make a fool of himself.

Ronald said, “I am a law-abiding citizen, Griffin.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.