After School Page 5

CHAPTER 1

  At just past three o’clock on a blistering July afternoon, Seaside Point beach was roped off as a crime scene. The lifeguards of the popular South Jersey shore point gave swift reaction to Eric Holden’s grim discovery. They dragged the body on to the sand. A jagged bullet hole to the forehead was visible. Lack of other visible injuries intensified the contrast between the wound and the boy’s pale skin. No knee scrapes, no tan. Didn’t he even play?

  Eric couldn’t take his eyes off of the dead boy, despite fighting the urge to vomit. He wanted to leave but the corpse captivated him. He knew the boy. Was certain of it.

  At school maybe? Something told him to stay.

  “Eric, you shouldn’t see this. I’m taking you home.”

  His father tugged at him but Eric refused to move. Did not even look up.

  “Eric, I know this is scary. But they’re going to take care of him. You don’t have to stay here.”

  “I’m fine.” He moved his father’s hand off him. “I wanna sit here.” He sniffled. “Just a few minutes. Please.”

  His dad took a few steps back with Eric’s five-year-old little sister, Susie.

  She hid behind their daddy’s muscular leg. Her thin form could almost disappear behind it. She peeked out at Eric.

  He could see her knees shaking.

  He returned his gaze to the scene. He couldn’t even see the body anymore. Everyone else blocked his view.

  The beachgoers continued to discuss the situation among themselves. Maybe the victim was a kidnapped victim molested by a sexual predator, then executed and dumped in the ocean. Alternatively, a parent may have abused him and things got out of hand. Perhaps he was being held for ransom, a ransom that was never paid and the penalty for such a thing carried through. Whatever his story was, he became an instant spectacle.

  There was not one person who didn’t try to get a look at the body and commit it to memory for later description. It looked like they were almost enjoying this.

  Luckily, the lifeguards and the yellow tape kept people at a distance, guarding the victim as much as possible from being further robbed of dignity.

  Eric felt Susie’s fair-skinned arms wrap around him. They rubbed against the dried sand on his skin.

  Eric felt his father at his side. He hadn’t even seen him come back.

  He rubbed Eric’s head like he always did. “It’s going to be okay, son. You’ll be okay.”

  Eric nodded just a little. A tear rolled down the side of his face but his dad wiped it away and pulled him closer.

  Police officers began making their way onto the scene. Within minutes they cleared out the beach and declared it an official crime scene. Anybody who was not a direct witness to the discovery of the body was sent home. Direct witnesses were all asked to give statements.

  A shorthaired, African American man walked onto the beach. He didn’t have a uniform on like the other cops, but he held out his badge to ensure people knew he was a detective. The man spoke to a lifeguard. The lifeguard pointed right at Eric and the detective began to walk towards him.

  Eric’s dad shot up. He stood between Eric and the detective. “My son has been traumatized. The only reason we’re even still here is because he’s too scared to move.”

  The detective raised his hand to speak.

  His father inched closer, staring the detective in the eyes. “You’re not going to put him through an interrogation.”

  The detective adjusted his tie. “I’m Detective Clark and I just want to get a few things straight before we let you leave.” His voice carried a compassionate veneer. “I understand your son discovered the body?”

  His father made a fist. “Yeah. My name’s Burke Holden. I just want to get him home as soon as he lets me. I don’t need a bunch of cops swarming him with questions.”

  “I understand completely.” He pointed to the dead boy. “But a child was killed. Surely you understand why we want to get as much information as we can. As quickly as possible. This is someone’s son. Somebody’s going to want answers.”

  “Exactly. Things like this are horrible.” A beautiful blonde detective approached the two of them. She was dressed in a suit and had her badge clipped to the waistband of her pants to identify herself. “I’m Detective Julie Martel. And I understand your frustration. I’ve been at scenes like this too many times.” She looked him in the eye. “But if your son can tell us anything helpful at all, we have to know. I’m just going to ask him a few questions. Then you can leave.”

  His father took a hesitant step to the side. “Just don’t push him too hard.” He folded his arms. “Eric’s been through too much in his life. And this is just adding a whole new load of sh…” He looked over at Eric and saw him looking his way. “Crap…to it.”

  Julie nodded. “Of course. We won’t be long.”

  Clark scowled at the woman. He blocked her path to Eric and whispered something to her that Eric couldn’t make out.

  Julie whispered back to him. Eric could hear something about her son Patrick being a little older than him and that he might feel safer talking to her. Everything else was too muffled to understand.

  Clark stood frozen a moment. He hesitated but he moved aside. He was clearly annoyed but didn’t make a scene about it.

  Julie approached Eric with a motherly smile.

  Susie ran into her dad’s arms. She seemed a little scared of the police officers and hid her face from Julie.

  Eric’s father took a seat on the sand in front of them. He was watching closely.

  Eric looked at Julie. “You wanna know what I saw, right?”

  Julie nodded. “My name is Julie Martel, but you can call me Julie.” She smiled at him. “I know you probably want to go home. I just need your help for a few minutes. Is that okay?”

  Eric closed his eyes and nodded.

  “Can you tell me how long you’d been in the ocean before you found the body?” Her voice sounded like Caroline, his Religion tutor. They had those same caring eyes.

  Eric turned to her, still trembling. “I can’t remember. Only a little bit.”

  She gazed into his eyes with concern. “Can you tell me what happened before you found him?”

  Eric looked down. “I got smacked down by a big wave. Then I felt something weird under my feet. I was so scared. I’ve never seen a kid dead before.” He fought a sob.

  She turned more serious. “Did you see anything weird or strange before you saw him?”

  Eric shook his head. “Everything was fine. The ocean was really fun. We were supposed to be having fun. I just wanted to swim. I didn’t want somebody to get hurt.”

  Julie placed her hand on Eric’s cheek. “I just want you to know, none of this is your fault. Somebody hurt the boy before you even showed up at the beach.”

  The body was carried off the beach in a long black bag.

  Julie tried to block his view. “You shouldn’t have had to see that. We don’t have to do this here.”

  Tears streamed down his face. “I wanted to stay here. So he’d know that he wasn’t alone. All the other kids went home. It’s scarier when it’s all grown-ups standing over you. And I know that’s stupid ‘cause he’s dead and he doesn’t care.”

  “It’s not stupid at all. That was very kind of you.”

  “Does he go to that place where everyone’s covered with sheets, like on TV?”

  Julie took his hand. “Yes. I know the coroner there well. She will try to tell us things about his death that can help us find out who did it.”

  Eric thought of the dark gray rooms he’d seen on TV. He began to feel cold. He coughed up a clump of mucus onto the sand.

  Julie patted him on the back and helped him catch his breath. “Deep breaths.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t see anything that helps.” He wiped away drool from his mouth and gasped for air until he settled down a bit. “If I saw something you could find who did it better.” He turned away in shame.

  She shook her head. “You couldn
’t have seen anything more than you did.”

  Eric looked at the empty crime scene. “Can I ask something?”

  She smiled reassuringly. “Of course you can.”

  “What’s the boy’s name?” He stared solemnly into her eyes.

  “We don’t know yet. There’s no way to tell who he is right now.” Seeing his disappointment, she said, “But when I find out, I’ll tell you.”

  Eric was slightly relieved. “Good, ‘cause I want to say a prayer for him, and I want to make sure God gives the prayers to the right person.”

  She placed her hand on his shoulder. “I think God will know who you mean, even without a name.”

  Eric raised his head again. “Will you catch the guy who hurt him?”

  “You bet I will.” She sounded motivated. “I’ll put the bad guy where he belongs.”

  Her promise allowed Eric a small smile.

  “I think it’s time for you to go home.” She pushed herself up from the sand. “I have no more questions right now and the boy’s not here. There’s no need to keep you here anymore.”

  She took out a sheet of paper and wrote down a phone number on it. “Look, I don’t know if you’re going to want to talk about this with anybody right now. But I want you to know that you can call me. Just to talk. I’ve known kids who have seen too many bad things happen to them and their friends and…” A tear formed in her eye. “Maybe you can call me. I’d like to help.” She handed the paper to his father. “If you want to, that is.”

  Eric looked away. “Thanks.”

  Julie turned to go.

  Eric’s father went after her. “I appreciate you offering to help more. It means a