Skeletons In My Closet

by Dynah Zale

  “Sure, no problem.” The detective scribbled her name into his tiny notebook along with Garrett’s cell phone number. “I’ll give you a call and let you know what I have found out.”

  “Detective, one more thing, can you have her released?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Okay.” The detective radioed out to the uniformed cops. “Let her go.” The cops took off her cuffs.

  She rubbed her wrists. “It’s about time. You guys are crazy.” Raquel ran off and jumped into the Toyota Celica with the girl who hollered out earlier.

  Garrett thought he needed to swing by Raquel’s to make sure she was there when Blair got home from school. “It’s a shame I have to check up on a grown woman.” Before he pulled out of the bank’s parking lot, his cell phone rang.

  “Garrett, where are you?” It was his secretary.

  “I’m leaving the bank.”

  "There's an emergency over at Walt Whitman Elementary School."

  "Is my daughter all right?" Panic, sunk in. Garrett came to a stop at the light. He quickly turned on his blinker to change directions and drive towards the school.

  "Yes, she’s fine, but what's going on over there is pretty serious. They need you."

  Chapter 16

  Mayhem had broken out around the school. Garrett stepped out his car to get a closer look. A caravan of cop cars aligned themselves around the elementary school. Squad cars from neighboring townships doubled the amount of police on the scene. Fireman and dozens of emergency personnel scrambled to attend to scared children, teachers and parents.

  Beyond the yellow tape Garrett saw television crews reporting live from the scene. A few hundred feet away he spotted Creighton Hainsworth, a red haired bushy beard Irish reporter who had done several positive editorials on Garrett’s career over the years. Creighton was one of the few reporters Garrett trusted.

  “Hey, newspaper man.” Garrett gave him a friendly pat on the back. “I haven’t seen you around in a while.”

  Creighton turned to smile at the familiar voice. “Councilman, it’s so good to see you. I figured you’d be here.” Creighton looked down at his notepad. “But I have to tell you, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cover this story or not.”

  “Why?” The seriousness in Creighton’s voice hinted to something horrible. “What’s going on?” Garrett braced himself for the worst.

  “You don’t know.” Creighton shook his head sadly. “A couple of kids hung themselves.”

  “Suicide??” Garrett quickly took off in the direction of the school building. Yellow tape roped off the street to prevent anyone from getting through. A crowd had started to form and an officer was trying to keep everyone at a safe distance. When Garrett stepped up to the barricade the policemen recognized him and allowed him to pass.

  Garrett entered the school and followed the trail of policemen down the school corridors. He stopped at a gathering around the boys’ bathroom. Garrett peered inside, but he couldn’t see anything. Then an officer asked him to step aside to allow a gurney that carried an occupied body bag to pass by.

  “Garrett.” Richard Weaver, Garrett’s best friend, approached him.

  Richard taught fifth grade at the school. For the past five years teaching children had become his first love. He enjoyed it so much that he spent his spare time being a mentor to the young men in his class and even coached a swimming team after school. Richard was one of the best teachers in the district. He won the coveted title of ‘Teacher of the Year’ for two years straight. There were very few people who loved their students as much as he did his.

  “Richard, what happened?”

  “I don’t know. All I heard was a lot of screaming, and by the time I made it here I found…” Upset, the words got stuck in Richard’s throat.

  “I taught these kids.” Tears threatened to fall from Richard’s eyes. “I don’t understand why they would do this.”

  Garrett pulled Richard away; “Go for a walk while I try to find out exactly what happened.”

  Richard took off in the opposite direction while Garrett made his way into the bathroom. A bunch of forensic scientists lifted fingerprints from off the bathroom stalls. Detectives searched the area for clues to rule out any foul play. Garrett watched a moment before he noticed that one of the stall doors was still closed. No one seemed to touch this stall and everyone appeared to work around it. He spent a few more minutes observing before walking over. He placed his hand on the stall door handle and pulled. The first thing he noticed was the weight on the door. It was heavy. He gave a slight tug at the door. It swung open. The cold, lifeless, pale body of an eleven-year-old boy fell into his line of vision. The boy’s lifeless remains hung off the back of the bathroom door; suspended in midair by the same hook that took his life. Garrett glanced one last time at the boy. His head cocked to the side, his shirt still squeezing all life out of his neck and his feet swung in the air.

  Vomit threatened to rise up out of Garrett’s stomach. He rushed out of the room. “Councilman, are you all right.” A cop followed him.

  “Yes, I’m fine.” Garrett took a handkerchief out of his pocket and spit into it. Being a parent himself, Garrett was immediately concerned for the children’s parents. “Have the parents been notified?”

  “Yes, we had no problem contacting the parents of Demetrius Hill—but the other victim—Markell Cousins, his mother’s phone is disconnected. We sent a car out to the house, but no one—”

  “Who?” That name sounded familiar to Garrett. “Who are the victims?”

  “Markell Cousins and Demetrius Hill.”

  “Markell? Is his mother’s name Crystal?” Garrett asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Garrett closed his eyes in regret. Another officer walked up to give an update, “There appears to be no foul play. This was an apparent suicide pact between these two young men. We have no motive yet, but it won’t be long before one surfaces.”

  Garrett didn’t need to hear a motive because he already knew why.

  ***

  Three demons danced around joyously. They sprinkled pain and misery over human life.

  “Have mercy?” Garrett hollered in disgust. “They were only children?”

  “Human life means very little to Satan’s three top angels; Pride, Sloth and Wrath.” Kiel could barely cast his eyes upon them. “Regardless of age, race or gender, they thrive on the pain of humans.”

  “Let me show you something.” Kiel threw his arm around Garrett’s shoulder and led him back over to heaven’s windows.

  Chapter 17

  Clouds drifted out of view and the scene focused in on a mob of grade school boys picking on another young boy. “You’re gay.” The ringleader shouted.

  “I am not.” The victim whimpered from the hard concrete.

  “Yo, guys I saw him at the Goodwill store buying school clothes.” The kids laughed at him. Demetrius was embarrassed. It was true. His mom said she didn’t have enough money to buy anything new for the upcoming school year, so he was forced to purchase his clothes from the thrift store.

  Scared, Demetrius refrained from defending himself any further; any more attempts to maintain his dignity would have been in vain. Then a spark of hope caught his eye. From across the school courtyard their teacher was watching them. He was sure she would save him. She had rescued him countless times before; this time would be no different.

  ***

  “No.” Garrett pounded on the Windows of Heaven. “Get away from her.” Garrett shouted at the demons Pride and Wrath that surrounded the teacher as if she were being held captive.

  “Don’t go over there.” Sloth manipulated her mind with his alluring words. “If you interfere, you won’t be rewarded. You’ll be punished, by filling out mounds of disciplinary reports for each one of those children. Not to mention having to sit in the principal’s office.” Sloth laughed wickedly. “You know how slow his secretary is; you’ll be there all day.”

/>   “Yes.” It was Pride’s turn to coax her. “Remember, you don’t want to miss your favorite television show American Idol. Besides, you’ve been down at the principal’s office too many times this year with Demetrius. Let him figure it out on his own. Sometimes kids need to fight their own battles without any interference from adults.”

  ***

  The teacher sighed, turned then went back inside the school. The door slammed shut behind her.

  Demetrius’s heart dropped. He couldn’t believe she left him. That last glimmer of hope he clutched tightly in his hand was released into the wind.

  The unruly boys saw her leave. “Even the teacher doesn’t want to save you. She knows you’re gay just like we do.”

  The jokes and insults were hurled at Demetrius at such a fast rate that he couldn’t take it any longer. He ran home to his mother in tears.

  ***

  “She abandoned that boy,” Garrett screamed. “This is all her fault. She is to blame. If she would have intervened, that boy would still be alive.”

  “No.” Kiel shouted. “If YOU would have intervened that boy would still be alive.”

  Garrett gave him an absurd look, “What are you talking about? I wasn’t there. There was no way I could have helped that kid.”

  Then Garrett heard his boisterous and loud voice bouncing off the walls being played back to him. ‘It’s obvious this kid was weak. City kids cannot afford to be weak mentally or physically.’ He remembered saying those exact words to Sawyer not too long ago.

  After listening several times he couldn’t take it any longer. “Shut it off!” he paced the floor. “Shut it off! I was wrong so please shut it off!” It stopped. There was silence. “I was wrong. If I would have taken my job more seriously then Demetrius and probably Markell would still be alive.”

  “From what I’ve observed from my time on earth I’ve learned that humans pride themselves on excessive love of self. They overlook the feelings or needs of others in order to benefit themselves.” Kiel said.

  “Love of self is second nature to us.” Garrett replied. “Most of the time you do it and aren’t even aware that you’re doing it.

  “Love one another; as I have loved you. That’s what I command of my people.” When God spoke of love the entire room felt warm and cozy. “That is the only antidote needed to overcome Pride, Sloth and Wrath. Humans refuse to love, but love to hate. I could feel the hurt these children endured. Every insult that was flung at them cut clear through my heart. It’s a shame that their cries for help went unanswered by a lack of compassion. I couldn’t look upon their agony any longer so I allowed them to come home. I remember a time when children used to believe in the impossible, but when they start thinking that all hope is gone, I realize that the end is drawing near.”

  Chapter 18

  The sunset and the moon rose; allowing darkness to settle in around Blair. He tried the front door again. The knob refused to turn. He was locked out, again. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that she wasn’t home. She routinely stayed out all night long; leaving him home most nights alone. If it got too late, he knew he would have to camp outside again. He knew exactly what to do; use his jacket as a pillow and curl up as tight as he could to keep warm.

  Blair yawned. Tiredness prompted him to momentarily close his eyes and when he opened them again, Raquel’s face was so close to his she could have kissed him.

  “You lost your key again.” By the sound of her voice Blair could tell she was in a bad mood. She stuck her key in the front door. “Are you hungry? You have to be as big as you are.” She pushed the door open. “You can’t assume that I’ll always be here when you get out from school.” She chastised him. “How many times have I told you that?”

  Blair watched her closely to see if she was high. She hadn’t stumbled once and spoke with clarity. He assumed she was all right, so he grabbed his book bag and followed Raquel into the house. Before assuming his favorite position on the couch in front of the television, Blair dumped his book bag in the corner of the room.

  “Blair!” Raquel slammed shut kitchen cabinet doors. “Did you eat the last of the peanut butter?”

  “I ate the last of it this morning for breakfast.” Blair replied.

  She marched back into the living room. “Where’s the mail?” She stood in front of the television set and waved her hands frantically while shouting repeatedly. “Where’s the mail?”

  Blair knew it wouldn’t be long before Raquel’s split personality emerged. His aunt’s bi-polar disorder would change her mood from kind, caring and understanding one moment to demanding, mean and hateful the next. Her constant mood swings were difficult to live with.

  Blair ran out to the mailbox and returned with a huge stack. She leafed through the envelopes. It was nothing but bill after bill until she saw a familiar envelope.

  “Bingo!” she waved an envelope in the air. “I forgot all about this.” She ripped it open and pulled out two checks made out to Reneé Kendricks. It was Renee’s SSI checks from the state. Every month the government would disburse to Reneé and Blair a monthly check to help out with everyday monthly living expenses. “I forgot it was the fifth of the month. Payday!” She exclaimed.

  Raquel stared at the two checks totaling over twenty nine hundred dollars. She already had plans for this money. She raced up the stairs. Blair could hear her shuffling around in his mom’s room. He looked up the stairs wondering what she was doing. Then she sped back down. “Blair, I have to go out.”

  “Aunt Raquel, can I go? I hate when you leave me here by myself.”

  “Boy! Stop whining.” Raquel grabbed her jacket. She tried to ignore him but the boy looked pathetic when he was pouting. She glanced at the clock. It was almost seven o’clock; if she didn’t get a move on she was going to miss the next bus downtown.

  “Okay! You can go, but don’t be begging me to buy you anything because I don’t have any money.”

  Blair jumped up in the air in joy. He quickly grabbed his jacket and followed his aunt out the door. They raced to the end of the block to catch the only bus that would drop them off right across the street from the check-cashing place.

  Before Raquel strolled into the only check cashing shop still open past six o’clock she pulled Blair to the side. “You are gonna have to stay outside while I go in and get these checks cashed.”

  “Why do I have to stand out here?” Blair asked. “I always go in with you.”

  “I know, but this time is different. Just stay right here and I’ll be right back.” Raquel didn’t want Blair to know she was going to impersonate his mother.

  Blair stood outside, kicking pebbles around on the ground. He looked inside through the huge glass window a couple times to make sure Raquel hadn’t left him. On more than one occasion Raquel had snuck off through a back door, leaving Blair to fend for himself. She had left him at the grocery store, Dunkin Donuts and even at the mall.

  After a while he got tired of waiting and joined her inside of the check-cashing place. He stepped up right next to her just as she was called up to the cashier’s window.

  Raquel slid the check to the cashier.

  “Reneé, do you have your ID?” The cashier asked.

  “Yes, I sure do. Right here.” Raquel pulled Reneé’s ID out of her pocket. Blair watched as Raquel handed his mother’s driver’s license over to the cashier.

  “Is that my mom’s?” Raquel ignored Blair and kept smiling at the cashier. The cashier glanced down at Blair but continued processing the check.

  “Uh Reneé” The cashier examined the check closely.

  Raquel’s heart nearly stopped. She knew she was busted.

  “You forgot to sign the back of the check.” The cashier never looked at the photo on the ID.

  “Oh sure!” Raquel laughed it off as she grabbed a nearby pen and signed the back of the check.

  Blair watched as the clerk counted out twenty nine one hundred dollar bills and handed them over to his aunt. Minutes later the
y walked out of there with Raquel in a much better mood.

  Chapter 19

  Garrett cringed at a throbbing headache pounding away at his temples. He glanced down at the morning paper’s headline with two huge pictures of Markell and Demetrius. ‘Suicide Pact: Two kids dead.’

  “How could this have happened?”

  Joye Anne walked in with whipped crème from her Crème Bruleé latte stuck to the top of her lip like a mustache. She looked funny. Garrett couldn’t contain his laughter. It was the first time he had smiled all day. “What’s so funny?” Joye Anne wondered.

  Joye Anne wasn’t scheduled to start as his new campaign manager until next week, but when she called late last night offering her assistance; he couldn’t turn her down. He needed as much help as possible to help him weather this storm.

  All night long non-stop calls came through his phone line. Everybody had questions, but he had no answers. ‘What were they going to do?’ was the biggest question on everybody’s mind. Lady Lanier called to criticize the current city administration for not doing something sooner, the mayor called looking for suggestions on how to maintain control over the city; apparently parents were complaining about the safety of the city schools and the governor’s call was full of phony concern for the children of Camden when Garrett knew he was really worried about how the state’s image would be tarnished by this tragedy.

  Thankfully, Joy Anne stepped in and did everything in her power to lessen his responsibilities and make the repercussions of this incident as minimal as possible. She single-handedly arranged for several press conferences throughout the city with different civic leaders, then she hired additional security guards to start at every school immediately. Lastly, she called in a favor with a friend that works for the governor and they agreed to send a dozen of state certified school psychologists to each school to talk with parents and students. Best of all, these extra expenses were being paid for by the state and not the city. Joye Anne turned out to be everything Mecca said she would be and more.