by Neat Bennett
have graduated at the bottom of my class but I still know enough about the law to know that you can’t be snooping through my files.”
He didn’t acknowledge what I said but he did quit reading the file and took a seat at my desk.
“So Rob do you know a Derek Lister?”
“Yes, we went to law school together. Why?” Derek was the one that had been sending me clients for the last few years.
“Well I hate to be the one that breaks it to you but… Lister is dead.” He waited a beat, staring at me wanting to gage my reaction, before he got to the point. “See his body was found early this morning, naked in a park… Not far from here.” He stopped again eyeing me.
“That’s awful. But I haven’t spoken to him in weeks. Why are you telling me this?” I asked hoping that our past was his only reason for being here.
“Well, see here’s the thing. I recognized him even though he was pretty beat up all bloody and what not. I had spent enough time with him to know who he was. Anyways I was doing a routine check on phone records when I noticed that his last call was to you. Imagine my surprise when the phone company informed me that the call was placed somewhere within the vicinity of your house.”
I had went to bed early last night and didn't remember hearing my phone ring. I would have to check to see if I had any missed calls but I had no intention of looking now. I would wait until after Detective O’Shananhan left.
“Well I don’t know if he called me or not I went to bed pretty early last night. I don’t know where my cell is right now but I will let you know as soon as I find it. Can I help you with anything else Detective?”
“For now we’re done. But you never know where a case will lead you. I’ll be seeing you, Rob.”
I tried not to shove the Detective out the door but he was moving so slow that I thought that he would never leave. With him finally out I went in search of my cell phone. The house phone had long been turned off. Now it was just a question of where I put the stupid thing.
I finally found it wedged in the recliner, I flipped it open and sure enough I had one missed call and one new voicemail message. I hit the button to call and listened to the female voice tell me that I had one new message from this morning at 2:14am. Finally I heard his voice.
“Robson hey I need to talk to you I know it’s late but I don’t know where else to go. I’m almost to your house. About a block away…..I…oh god I think someone is following me…Rob listen if I don’t make it I need you to know that I’m sorry I never meant to get you involved in this. Don’t trust…” A loud clap of thunder drowned out his next words. I tried desperately to hear what he was saying. “Don’t trust anyone from my fir….Oh no!” He quit talking it sounded like he was running, I could hear quick footsteps slapping against wet pavement. His breathe was uneven and soon the sound of his steps changed and then he was banging on something. My front door. My dream from last night flooded my mind it played out with the sounds of the voicemail. The loud clap of thunder that had awoken me, and also drowned out the sound of Derek breaking in my front door sending it slamming into the wall but this sound track had more to it than what I had heard in my groggy stupor. His rapid breaths as he entered my office looking for me followed by footsteps. These were different from his, louder, heavier. Derek started to say something but he was quickly cut off his voice muffled and then the most awful sounds I have ever heard. I don’t know how he died but I will never be able to forget the sounds he made as he struggled from each gulp of air, as his gurgled cries died in his throat never making it to my ears on the other side of the house.
There was a clatter as he fell. I could hear whispering but couldn’t make out what they were saying over the din of the storm. Then I heard my own voice as I made an expletive at the sight of my messed up office. I heard the sounds that I made as I went to close the door and went over to my desk were I discovered the body. The body that I now knew was Derek Lister, my friend. But in this audio version of my dream there was something that I hadn’t heard, the thwack of something hitting me followed by the sound of my limp body hitting the floor.
There wasn’t much else in the voicemail some muffled sounds and then a voice. He only said a few words but that was all that I needed to know that someone else really had been in my house and that someone had killed my friend.
“Stay quiet….Or you’re next.”
His voice was barely more than a whisper but I could still make out the slight accent and how deep his voice was. I raced over to my desk and dug threw a drawer until I found my voice recorder. I replayed the voicemail this time to record it so that I wouldn’t lose it. I knew that I should call Detective O’Shananhan but I knew that he wouldn’t believe that I didn’t have anything to do with Derek’s murder. I needed time to think, I needed more coffee maybe something stronger. I was on my way to get another cup when a light tapping at my front door stopped me. I turned to see the silhouette of a very small person standing on the other side of the glass. Who was it now? I opened the door to see Ms. Hilda standing on my steps.
Ms. Hilda was the sweet old lady that lived next door and no matter what kind of loser I was she was always kind and baked the best banana bread I have ever tasted.
“Ms. Hilda, this really isn’t a good time.”
“Oh don’t I know it. I just wanted to make sure that you survived the storm. I figured with all that banging last night that something was damaged.”
“Banging?”
“Yes I heard you making all kinds of racket last night here by your door. I thought that maybe the wind had broken it.”
I had my hand on the trim around the door and I could feel something nagging at me again. Then it hit me the trim was new! When I found it last night it had been splintered from the force of the door being rammed into. Whoever these people are they took the time to clean up any trace that they or Derek had been here, they even took the time to replace the door trim.
“Are you okay deary? You look pale.”
“I’m fine Ms. Hilda. Really thanks for stopping by. I have to get going I’m sorry.”
“No worries. Oh! I almost forgot this was sitting on my door step. They must have left it at my place by mistake.”
She handed me a large envelope before she kissed me on my cheek and made her way back down my steps. I waited only long enough to make sure that she made it back to her house safely before I shut the door and tore it open.
It contained several photos of Derek slumped over in my office, several thousand dollars and a note, with just one word on it. SHHHH.
Where it would all lead I don’t know, but I had finally found my Perry Mason/Matlock moment. The one that I had been waiting for my whole life…. And I wanted nothing to do with it.
The End