The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips by Stephen Baldwin, Mark Tabb Read Free Book Online Page B

worry.”
    Ted got up to leave. “Oh, I almost forgot, I have another little gift for you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cassette tape. “I got a full statement from the kid’s mother yesterday. Thought you might want to hear what she had to say.”
    “Yeah, thanks,” Andy said as he took the tape. His voice cracked just a little. Or at least he thought it did. A shot of fear went down his spine. It surprised him. Suddenly he realized that Loraine might not only throw the entire investigation for a loop if she got too specific about him, but that she could also cost him his job if she made it look like he’d crossed a line. “Want to give me the
Reader’s Digest
version?” he asked.
    “I think you will really want to hear it in her own words,” Ted replied. “Anyway, I gotta go. I was supposed to be off duty an hour ago. My kid’s got a ball game tonight. I can’t miss another one or my wife will kill me.” With that, he walked toward the door to leave. “If you do go see John Phillips, be careful. Don’t let yourself get too wrapped up in the emotions of all this, Andy, or it might come around and bite you in the ass.”
    “Got it. Enjoy the game. Tell Janey I said hello,” Andy said.
    A S SOON AS the door closed behind Ted Jackson, Andy locked the file and the tape in his locker. He went back to the Madison Park Apartments to try to find John Phillips, but John wasn’t there. The police tape designating the Phillips apartment as a crime scene had been removed the day after Gabe’s death. Detectives come in and get their work done quickly so people can get their lives back into gear. They only mark off crime scenes for weeks at a time in the movies. Andy banged on the door several times without an answer. Under normal circumstances Andy would have walked away and come back at a later time. But normalcy had long since disappeared when it came to this case. When John wouldn’t answer his door, Andy went to the complex office, where he found Jeanine Martin, the fifty-something, heavyset, very matronly-looking apartment manager. For a place like Madison Park, she was the perfect fit. She came across as a very caring, very compassionate grandmother type, but she wasn’t afraid to boot people out of their apartments when they became delinquent on their rent (which happened all the time). All Andy had to say was “Gabriel Phillips,” while wearing his police uniform, and Martin did anything he asked.
    She grabbed her master key and led Andy back to John’s apartment. The entire time she talked about what a sweet little boy little Gabriel was and how tragic the accident was and how much poor John Phillips must be hurting. Andy didn’t say much in response. When they reached John’s apartment, she turned the key in the lock, pushed the door open, then said, “Oh, my.” The apartment was empty. What little furniture had been there the night of Gabe’s death was now gone. “But he still had three months left on his lease,” she said. “Looks like he won’t be getting his deposit back.”
    “You mean you didn’t know he’d moved out?” Andy asked.
    “Heavens no. Not until right now,” she said.
    Andy muttered some profanities under his breath.
    “Listen, would you do me a favor?” Andy reached into his uniform shirt pocket. “Here’s my card. If you hear from John Phillips, or anyone connected to him who might come by, would you give me a call. I’ll put my home number on the back in case he comes in while I’m off duty.”
    Jeanine Martin looked at the card, turned it over a couple of times, and gripped it tight with her right hand. “Of course. Whatever you need.”
    Andy asked if he could look around for a few minutes. “Stay as long as you need to,” the manager said, and left.
    As he walked around the apartment, Andy tried to replay the night of Gabe’s death in his head. Without the furniture, the entire place seemed much smaller than it did on that night. He