Ridgewood Town

Chapter 17

Coover

June 28

Sunday; 7:03AM

“She’s been acting weird since she woke up,” a text message received from Ana. She has been staying at Sophia’s house since yesterday.

“What do you mean weird?” I texted back.

“I woke up before her. And then I helped Sophia's mom prepare breakfast. Then she asked me to wake Sophia up. Then when I opened the door, she was staring at her phone like she was waiting for something.”

“There’s nothing weird about that, Ana.” I typed and sent the message. “I mean, aren’t we all checking our phones first thing in the morning?” I added.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Coover? Are you up, mate?” Dad knocks as he calls out from the other side of the door. I got out of the confines of my warm bed.

“I’m up Dad!” I walked to the door and opened it. “You’re wearing that again?" I asked him. He was wearing his favorite black colored apron with a, ‘BEST FLIPPIN’ DAD EVER!’ print on it.

“Of course! It’s the best gift.” He pointed at his apron and danced to Mr. Bean dance again. He always does this when he shows off something to me. It’s been years but he is still doing it. Like the old times, I couldn’t help but laugh. It earned him a loud laugh from me early in the morning.

I was still laughing when he tapped on my shoulder. “Fix your bed now,” he said, laughing, “Breakfast is set. Come down when you’re ready.” He made his way down the stairs as both our laughs still echoed around the house.

The smell of butter wafted around the house. I was so excited that I was almost running around on my way to the kitchen. When I got there, my stomach grumbled. The table was filled. A tall stack of pancakes with blueberries and strawberries on the side was in the center of the table. A warm jug of milk and a cup of tea was placed on a tray. Dad also cooked some bacon, sausages, and sunny side up eggs placed on different plates.

“Dad, are we having a feast? You cook too many for two,” I complained. I was the one doing groceries and the prices were going higher every week. As much as possible, I don’t want us to waste too much food.

He scratched his head. “Well, we’re having a guest this morning anyway,” he replied. And in a few seconds, the door bell rang. I walked to the door and when I opened it, confusion followed.

Right at the door, Peyton was wearing his hoodie and black jogger pants. He was still sweating from a run.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. I could feel my brows furrowing at him. It's not because I was mad, but because I was confused.

“I invited him,” Dad butted in. “Come in, Mr. Wilkinson.” Dad pushed me aside so Peyton could enter the house. I felt lost and continued watching them until we got to the door.

“What’s with the long face, Coover Philips?” Dad asked as he put the plate in front of us.

Dad is acting suspicious. Why is Peyton suddenly invited here?

“Why is Peyton here early in the morning, Dad?”

“Don’t be rude, Coover. I invited him in.” Dad puts a piece of pancake and a few fruits on my plate. I look at Peyton. He happily digs in at the pancake Dad placed on his plate. I ate silently as the two talked about the weather and then came to fishing topics.

I was savoring the soft, sweet pancakes when a call erupted from the dining table. I looked at the two but they were looking at me. I realized that the phone which was ringing was mine. I excused myself to the backyard and looked at the caller's id. It was from someone I don’t recognize. I felt skeptical about whether to answer the phone or not. I watch the phone ring in my hand until it drops.

Phew! Glad they dropped the call.

I was about to get back to eating when it rang once again. It’s from the same number. It must be urgent, I said to myself. I slid the button to answer. The first few seconds were static, like a call that came from an old radio program.

“I warned you!” a deep gargled voice of a guy shouted when I answered the call. The audio was still static.

“I think you called the wrong number.” I was about to drop the call when I heard him call me my real name.

“Antoine Dubois, are you really sure you want to drop this call?”

My heart sank when I heard that name after a long time. How did this person even know? No one in the town even knows my real name. Dad made sure of it. Dad deleted all the things that could relate me to that man. How come this caller knew about it?

“Cat got your tongue?” he asked, laughing; more static sounds could be heard. I could even hear someone playing the Symphony No. 5 of Beethoven on his side. I gripped the phone tight as he was laughing once again.

“Who are you? How do you even know me? Is this one of those prank calls you make because you’re bored, huh? Listen here, my dad is a detective. I can track you down in a few minutes.”

“ Are prank calls still a trend these days? And yeah, I know Detective Philips, but I bet you wouldn’t want him involved. This isn’t a prank, Coover. It doesn’t matter who I was either. What matters now is her life.”

“What do you mean? Who are we talking about?”

“Jean Gardiner is missing. A little later now, one of your friends will call for help.”

“And what do you want me to do?”

“Hack your dad’s computer and I’ll tell you where she is.”

Hack his computer? Why would I even do that to dad? Well, I did that yesterday, but it’s for Luis. There weren’t any calls from my friends about Jean missing anyway. Why would I even do it?

“What does that concern Jean?” I asked him.

“You could find that out when you see it.”

“Hey, you should explain it to me first.”

“Time is ticking for you. I’ll call you-”

“Wait!”

“-again. Ciao!”

The call ended. Now, how would I check for dad’s computer when there’s nothing suspicious inside it after all? We thoroughly checked all folders and files yesterday. We didn’t find anything.

“A penny for your thoughts?” I felt his hand wrap around my shoulder. I shrugged it off and handed him my phone.

“Someone called me telling Jean that she was missing. Can you confirm it for me?” He nodded and pulls out his phone from his pants. I heard him calling someone. He put it on a loud speaker so I could hear it too.

Am I worried about anything?

“Good day, Mrs. Smith! This is Peyton. I called to-"

“Peyton!” a cry follows. “Do you happen to know where Jean is right now?”

We looked at each other confirming what the guy told me.

“I wanted to ask the same. Maybe she was hiding inside the house again?” Peyton asked, but the lady on the other side of the phone was crying.

“I… I look at all the places she can hide but she’s not here. That kid… her dad didn’t mean what he said. Do you think she ran away?”

“Calm down, Mrs. Smith. I’ll try to call her, okay? Did Mr. Gardiner know about this?”

“You know him, Peyton. He shouldn’t care less.” I looked at Peyton when he tightened his grip on his phone. His eyes looked mad as he was clenching his teeth.

“I’ll try looking for her around town. I’ll call you when I find her.” Je dropped the call immediately and looked at me.

“I need to go for awhile, Coover. Don’t entertain another call from that guy again. I’ll call you later. He taps me on my shoulder and jogs his way into the front yard. I heard him saying goodbye to dad.

When I went back to my breakfast, I saw dad typing on his phone as he sipped his tea.

“Dad, Jean is missing,” I blurted out as I sat on my chair. I stare at my now soggy pancake after getting soaked with warm milk for minutes.

“Who’s missing? Jean Garinder?” Dad asked, still looking at his phone. “No one reported about it.”

“Yeah,” I grumbled.

“You can’t say she’s missing if it ain’t 24 hours yet.”

“But dad, you know that it’s a myth. We don’t have to wait for those 24 hours to report it. What if something bad happened to her? Don’t you think it would be better to take action now?”

“Right. I’ll give the mayor a call.”

“The nanny said he couldn’t care less. Can you help us find our friend, dad?” I pleaded. He took a sip from his cup of tea and sighed.

“I never knew you were close to Jeanette Garinder. Alright. I’ll order two of my officers later to look around.” He stood from his seat and patted my head. “I’m going to work now, kiddo.”

“Thanks Dad! Please be safe,” I answered, and continued munching on my pancakes.

When I heard his car engine start, I peeked at him from the kitchen window. When it’s all cleared, I texted the guy a message.

“Dad’s computer is in his office. I already know what’s inside it. Just ask me anything.”

A few minutes came and he replied, “I’m not talking about his computer at the station, dummy. Have you looked around the house?”

“We don’t have any computers at home aside from mine. Dad hates computers and technology, so he rarely uses them. He’s not like someone who uses technology all the time.”

“Like someone like you? You think your dad is someone messy, right? Oh! He got some dirt on him anyway, haha.”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you ever ask him what’s in the basement?”

I've been living here all my life but we never had a basement. Who is lying?

"We never had a basement."

"Check his room. And find the answers you wanted to know. Good luck!"

I stared at dad's bedroom door.

Are you really hiding something from me? What are you hiding Dad?

The wooden floor creaked as I took my steps slowly to dad’s room. Is this even right? I’m sneaking into my father’s room just because someone asked me to do it?



I glanced at my phone once again. “It’s for Jean,” I told myself. I stared at his bedroom door once again. I heaved a deep sigh and reached for the knob. I guess it’s for me to find out.