“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but it might be best if you both go,” James said with a weighted sigh. He walked over to Maggie and placed his arm on hers to lift her up.
She started shaking more, curling into a ball. “No! Please, don’t,” she cried.
I hurried to her side and slightly shoved him away from her. “Back up please.”
“What’s happening?” Michael asked, his brow bent. “What’s wrong with her? Should I call for help?”
“No,” James said. “I think it’s best if they just leave. It’s obvious she’s having some kind of mental breakdown.”
“It’s not a mental breakdown,” I snapped. “She’s just…” My words faltered and I shifted my attention to Maggie. “Maggie. What’s happening?”
“He killed her,” she said. “He’s the one from the woods.”
I turned to James and in a split second I saw the fear in his eyes.
“She drowned in Harper Creek. I saw her. I saw you drown her,” Maggie cried.
> “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, little girl, so you best stop talking.”
“You killed your wife,” Maggie said as she began to stand up. “I saw you. I was there.”
“Dad?” Michael whispered, his voice shaking. “What is she talking about?”
“Hell if I know. She’s obviously delusional. She needs to be evaluated. I’m sorry, Brooks, but I need you to go. I don’t know what sparked her panics, but you need to get that girl help. I’ll even cancel out your charges for the boat. Just get that girl some help.”
“Tell the truth,” Maggie said, standing taller each second. “You tell the truth. Tell him what you did.”
James walked over to his desk and sat in his chair. He lifted his telephone and waved it in the air. “That’s it. I’m calling the cops. This is getting out of hand.”
Maggie didn’t say a word. Her arms crossed, and even though she shook, she didn’t fall. “Fine. Call them. If you didn’t do what I know you did, dial nine-one-one.”
James’ hand began to shake, and Michael’s eyes widened with horror.
“Dad. Call them. Dial the number.”
James slowly placed the phone down on the desk. Michael almost collapsed to the ground. “No. No…”
James looked at Maggie, defeated, stunned. “How? How did you know?”
“I was the little girl who saw the whole thing.”
“Oh my God,” James began sobbing, covering his eyes with the palms of his hands. “It was an accident. It was all an accident. I didn’t mean to…”
“No.” Michael kept shaking his head. “No, Mom left us. Remember? She ran off with someone else. That’s what you told me! That’s what you swore happened.”
“She did. Well, she was. She was going to leave us, Michael. I knew she was going to leave. I found phone calls from some guy in her phone, and she shrugged it off. We got into a fight, and she stormed off into the woods. Oh my God, I didn’t mean to do it. You gotta believe me.” He stood and rushed to his son’s side. “Michael, you gotta believe me. I loved her. I loved her so fucking much.”
I stepped in front of Maggie, uncertain of what James might do. He seemed deranged, the way he paced back and forth running his hands through his hair. He hurried over to his desk, unlocking drawers and pulling out paperwork.
“Dad, what are you doing?” Michael asked, flabbergasted.
“We gotta go, Michael. We gotta get lost for a while. You and me, okay? It’s always been you and me. We can start over. I made a mistake, but I’ve dealt with the guilt. I’ve lived each day with the guilt of what I’ve done. We gotta go now.”
“Dad, calm down.”
“No!” James’ face was red. He kept rolling his shoulders and blowing out short breaths of air. “We need to leave, Michael. We have to…” His words faltered as he started to sob uncontrollably. “I held her, Michael. I held her in my arms. I didn’t mean to…”
Michael approached his father with his hands raised. “It’s okay, Dad. Come here, come here. We’ll go. We’ll go.” He wrapped his arms around his father and pulled him in close. “You’re okay, Dad. You’re fine.”