Those of the Margin: a Paranormal Suspense Thriller (Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

organizing the notes he had taken during his talk with Melissa Humphrey.

    As he wrote, "Maggie may have a drinking problem," he felt a twist in his gut. Derek had learned to trust his instincts and suspicions about people. His instincts were now telling him that Maggie wasn't the type who drank too much and that the information that Melissa shared with him was something that he needed to better understand, for Derek learned that anything that didn't feel or sound right often provided a valuable clue.

    He paused as he jotted down a note to visit the local liquor stores in the area and wondered if the twisting in his gut was his intuition at work or something else. Derek knew better than to try to deceive himself by neglecting or ignoring his feelings. He was feeling something for Maggie. What those feelings were, however, he wasn't sure, but they were real and unwanted.  

    Since the death of his wife, Derek certainly had had occasions to start a new relationship with a woman, but either his continued sense of obligation or the disturbing lack of stirred feelings prevented him from advancing any relationship beyond a first or second date. As he sat, alone in his car, he realized that the feelings he had for Maggie were disturbingly similar to those he felt when he first met his wife.

    "She's married, you son of a bitch," he thought to himself. "Plus, she's a client. Get over it and get over it quick."

    But his self-talk didn't diminish the stirring.

    After checking the address of the next person listed on the Bryant's list, Derek jotted down one more note.

    "Contact Ralph Fox. Ask him to do some research on Jack and Maggie Bryant."

    Ralph Fox was the Chief of Police in a very small town in Northern New York who Derek had worked with during his last case.

    As Derek pulled his rental car back onto Route 1, he headed north towards the town of Wells, Maine. The drive to Wells would only take a few minutes, but the address where he was headed was expected to take at least 30 minutes.

    "Ocean View Nursing Home," Derek said to himself. "Now why would someone in a nursing home be on their list of suspects?"

    Ocean View Nursing Home sat high on a hill overlooking the town of Wells, Maine, and further to the East, the Atlantic Ocean. Though Derek could not see the ocean from the nursing home's parking lot, the name suggested that an ocean view was possible from some part of the home. And as he walked closer to the entrance, Derek noticed a screened-in porch on the top floor of the three-story structure.

    The porch looked empty, most likely due to the cold wind that the porch's screens were unable to provide any shielding against. As he drew closer to the home's front door, Derek could see a single, wooden rocking chair pulled close to the porch's screen. Beside the rocking chair was a long, narrow, white telescope, aimed towards the ocean.

    "My name is Derek Cole. I'm a freelance detective hired by Jack and Maggie Bryant," he told the receptionist.

    The receptionist was an older woman, perhaps one of the home's residents as well as its greeter. "Yes, yes," the woman said, her voice shaky with age. "We know the Bryant family quite well, don't we, Marge?" She turned to her left, and then realized that she was sitting alone. "Now isn't that funny?" she asked.

    "What's that?" Derek said.

    "Why, Marge was sitting next to me just two minutes ago. I never heard her leave. I must have nodded off." She smiled, shook her head then extended her hand to Derek. "You must think that I'm off my rocker."

    "Trust me," Derek said, "I've had some of my best conversations with people who weren't anywhere around me."

    "How can I help you, dear?" she said.

    "As I said, the Bryants hired me to do some investigating regarding some concerns they have surrounding their son. They asked me to visit with a Mr. Ronald White, who, I was told, lives in this lovely nursing home."

    "Oh yes, he does live here, but, it isn't so lovely," she said, a