Linwood Barclay - Too Close to Home

I went upstairs to Derek’s room while Ellen stayed down in the kitchen with Barry. I eased o

pen his door, and unlike the morning before, he was sound asleep. I didn’t know how much longer he’d been up with Penny in the night. After I’d discovered it was them on the back step and not some insane serial killer, and once we’d explained to the police that everything was okay and offered our apologies, Ellen and I had gone back to bed.

I’d been inclined to tell Derek to go to bed as well, but what had happened to the Langleys was as troubling to him as it was to us, perhaps even more so, and if he needed to spend time with his girlfriend to get through this, I wasn’t going to be a pain in the ass about it.

I sat on the edge of his bed and lightly touched his shoulder. He woke with a start.

“What?” he said, turning over and opening his eyes.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Sorry to wake you.”

He blinked a couple of times. “What’s going on? We’re not working today, are we?”

“No,” I said. “Barry Duckworth is here.” Derek, who didn’t instantly recognize the name, looked blank. “The cops. He’s the detective in charge. The one who talked to us yesterday. He wants to have a word with you.”

Derek swallowed, blinked again. “What does he want me for? I didn’t do anything.”

“Nobody’s saying you did. He’s just got a lot of questions for a lot of people. He’ll explain it to you when you come down.”

“Should I get dressed?”

“That’d be a good idea,” I said. “But don’t worry about a tie.”

“A tie?”

“A joke. Just throw something on and come down.”

I returned to the kitchen and Derek showed up two minutes later. He’d pulled on a New York Islanders T-shirt and some torn jean shorts, and his black hair was still going every which way.

“Hey, Derek,” Barry said.

Derek nodded without saying anything.

His mother said, “You want some French toast?”

“I’m not even awake, Mom,” he said.

“Have a seat,” Barry said, and Derek pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “How you doing this morning?”

“Tired,” Derek said.

“Yeah, sorry about rousting you out of bed so early, but I’d like your help with something.”

Derek eyed him, warily I thought.

“You were with the Langleys until shortly before they left, right?”

Derek nodded very slowly, like he had to think about the answer. The question seemed pretty straightforward to me.

“That was around eight?”

Derek nodded again.

“So that means you’re the last person who may have seen the Langleys alive, unless they stopped for gas or something after they headed off, but you’re also the last person to see their place, the inside of their house, before they got killed.”

Derek swallowed. “I guess,” he said.

“So what I’d like you to do is, the reason I came by is, I’d like you to come over to the Langley house with me, see if anything looks out of the ordinary.”

Ellen took in a sharp breath. “You can’t be serious,” she said. “You can’t be thinking of dragging our son through that house, where all those. . things happened.” I could almost imagine her saying to herself, You son of a bitch, you eat my French toast, and then come up with this?

Barry looked unapologetic, even though he said he was sorry. “I need Derek’s help. He’s a very important part of this investigation, Ellen. He might see something out of the ordinary. Something missing. Maybe a painting, or-”

“A painting?” Ellen said. “You think the Langleys were killed because someone wanted to steal a painting?” She looked at me, supposedly the art expert. “Did the Langleys have valuable art?”

“Not that I know of,” I said.

“It’s just a for instance,” Barry said, trying not to sound impatient. “I don’t know that they have any expensive paintings at all. Maybe someone came into the house, I don’t know, to steal Mrs. Langley’s jewelry or-”

“What on earth would Derek know about Donna’s jewelry?” Ellen said. “Why would you even think-”

“Ellen,” I said.

“-he’d know anything about that?”

“Again,” Barry said, still very patiently, but it seemed to be a strain, “it was just an example. There might have been things in full view in the house, things I don’t know about, but Derek here might notice if they were gone. That’s all I’m talking about.”

“Well,” Ellen said, “I absolutely forbid it. There’s no way-”

“I’ll do it,” Derek said.

“That’s great,” Barry said.

“No you won’t,” Ellen said. “You’re not going over there.”

“I’ll do it,” Derek said again, still looking at Barry. “If you need me to do it, I’ll do it.”

Ellen’s mouth opened. She was ready to voice her objections again, then stopped. Derek said to her, “It’s okay, Mom. If there’s anything I can do to help catch whoever killed Adam, I want to do it.”

Barry reached his hand out to Derek to shake it. Derek, awkwardly, extended his in return and they shook. “Good man,” Barry said. “You want some breakfast first? That’s okay. Get something in your stomach. I don’t mind waiting. Your mom’s French toast, it’s pretty goddamn amazing. Although, I don’t know, maybe it’s better to go over on an empty stomach, you know what I’m saying? Just a bit of advice from a guy who’s been there.”

Ellen was giving me an imploring look, indicating that she wanted me to ask Barry something. I took a shot at what it must be. “Barry,” I said, “you mind if I come along with Derek?”

I could see the relief in Ellen’s face. I’d guessed right. Barry said, “Sure, that would be fine, Jim. That’s a real good idea.”

Then no one said anything for a couple of seconds, until Derek said, “Well?”

As the three of us headed out the door, me trailing behind Barry and Derek, Ellen touched my arm to hold me back and whispered, “I’m sorry. I can’t go over there. I just, I can’t do it.”

“I understand.”

“Be there for him.”

I touched her on the shoulder and went out the door, taking a few steps at a gallop to catch up.

“So you’re working for your dad for the summer?” Barry was saying.

“Yeah,” Derek said. And I thought, Even under the circumstances, could he not say “Yes”? You’re always a parent.

“Pretty hot week to be doing yard work, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s been kinda brutal,” Derek said. “We had that rain early in the week, gave us a bit of a break, although then we got behind, you know?”

“I hear ya,” Barry said, like he and my son were suddenly best friends. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, but that gave me an uncomfortable feeling.

The conversation died out as we neared the Langley house. I felt that I was seeing the place for the first time. There wasn’t anything structurally different about it from a week or a month ago, aside from the decorative yellow police tape surrounding it, but now it had this ominous presence. I wondered, momentarily, what would happen to the house, now that the Langleys were all dead. Relatives would have to come in, sell the place. I’d hate to be the real estate agent brought in to find a buyer for a house where three people had been slain.

We were coming up to the back of the house, but Barry said, “We’ll be going in around the front. Still a bit of a mess around the back door there.”

My son was very quiet. But then, “They’re, like, they aren’t still there, are they?”

Barry smiled. “No. The bodies have been removed, Derek.”

Derek nodded quickly, as if to suggest he knew that, he was just kidding, as if anyone was in the mood for jokes.