Page 42 of The Wild Side

“What’s wrong?” Melanie could hear her mood sink.

“Listen, I don’t have a lot of time. I’m on my way home to pack a bag for me and Jerome. We’re going to drive to your house.” Patricia wasn’t asking for permission.

“Of course. What’s going on?”

“I’m on speakerphone with the school guidance counselor. It’s her phone. Jerome is in the back seat.” She wanted her sister to know they had an audience.

Today I am a former OSI special agent, Melanie thought to herself, but she wasn’t necessarily going to share that information. Only if it became absolutely necessary.

“Hey, Jerome!” Colleen called through the phone.

“Hey, Aunt Colleen.” Jerome’s voice sounded weak but resolute. “I’m glad we’re going to visit.”

“So am I.” Colleen sounded happy to see them, but not so sure about the circumstances. “Tell me, what’s going on?” She tried to sound casual.

“There was an incident at the school. Robert lost his temper.”

“Well, he’s been wound rather tight lately,” Colleen said.

Melanie decided to interrupt. “Hi, this is Melanie Drake. I’m the guidance counselor at Jesse Moorer. We need to give Mr. Walker some time to cool off.”

“I totally understand. What do you have in mind?”

“An agent is going to swap cars at the house. We’re going to drive Pat’s car back to the school. He’s also going to give Pat a burner phone with a couple of pre-programmed numbers.”

“Oh?” Colleen started to sound alarmed.

“It’s out of an abundance of caution. We don’t want Mr. Walker to be able to track her phone.”

“He’ll know she came up here.”

Melanie thought for a moment. “We’ll put a GPS device on the car. As soon as he starts to move, we’ll be alerted.”

“Whew. Wow.” Colleen was trying to process this new turn of events.

“I am going to try to have a conversation with Mr. Walker. Depending on his reaction, we may have to send a social worker to your sister’s house to talk to you, but before we get the authorities involved, I’d like to have the opportunity to discuss this with him.” Melanie looked over at Patricia and gave her a reassuring glance. “We’ll work this out.”

Pat gripped the wheel. “I can’t take walking on eggshells every day. Jerome is terrified. We can’t live like this day after day, wondering when he’ll finally blow up.” Tears began streaming down her face.

Melanie handed her a tissue. She turned to check on Jerome. He had a soft smile on his face. He was ready, even if his mother wasn’t.

They pulled into the driveway. Jerome was the first to unhitch his seat belt and bolt toward the door. He had been making his list in his head and knew exactly what he wanted to bring with him. Pat Walker wasn’t as organized.

The three went up the front porch steps. Again, Patricia’s hands were shaking. Melanie took the keys, unhitched the one for the car, and unlocked the front door. She followed Patricia into the house. If Patricia Walker was like most women, she would start with toiletries, then underwear, then a few outfits and another pair of shoes. Patricia pulled out a large suitcase from the closet. Melanie had learned how to pack years before and used her skill to assist Patricia. She began rolling up the clothes and placing them neatly inside. In less than ten minutes, they were ready to go.

Melanie heard a car pull up. It was Gregory Gilmour. She bounded down the stairs and flung open the door. “Thank you so much.” She gave him a hug.

“Anything for you, MelDrake.” He turned to see a young boy wrestling with something on the stairs. It was Jerome, dragging a duffel bag behind him. “I’m Agent Gilmour.” Greg smiled at the boy. “You must be Jerome. Let me give you a hand.” He reached for the duffel, which Jerome gladly released from his grip.

“You’re an agent?” Jerome asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, I am.” Gilmour showed him the badge clipped to his belt.

“Cool. What kind of agent? Are you like a spy or something?”

“OSI. Office of Special Investigations.”

“What kinda stuff do you investigate?” Jerome asked as Gilmour showed him to his car.

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