The Crying Bridge

The Crying Bridge--Chapter 43

  Del and Evan were seated on one side of a booth at the cafe in Stillman, across from Gretchen Steinhurst and her partner, Alicia, a very pretty woman Del guessed to be around 40 years old. After being assured that Gretchen was not going to be sharing any appetite-suppressing graphic details with them, they all decided to order dinner.

They all enjoyed a light meal together, mostly making small talk until everyone was finished and their plates had been cleared.

"I was really surprised when you called yesterday," Del told Gretchen. "And we've been very anxious to find out what information you have."

"Well, I was really happy your number was listed because I didn't know how else I'd get in touch with you," Gretchen said. "The information that's fallen into my hands is going to blow your mind."

"Okay, so what is it?" Evan asked, leaning forward slightly. Del was a bit amused at how eager he was. But then again, they'd been awakened last night by one of the longest crying sessions they'd encountered.

"It's hard to know how, or even where, to begin," Gretchen started. She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Okay, I told you that my great-grandmother moved with her children after Emmett died. She's been dead now, of course, for years and all but one of her children passed awhile ago, too. I had one great-uncle who lived to quite an old age before passing. He'd spent his last days living with his daughter, receiving in-home hospice care. She was very close to him and his death was very difficult for her. She kept his room exactly as it'd been before his passing for several years. She never married and had no children. Aside from my dad, she was the last Steinhurst family I had and we were never particularly close. Emmett only would have had three grandchildren from his five kids and none of them except my father are still alive. My aunt passed away two weeks ago and my dad, Alicia and I travelled to southern Missouri to clean out her home and prepare it for sale."

"You should have seen the room where Gret's great uncle passed," Alicia interjected. "It was immaculate. Her aunt had it cleaned thoroughly twice a month. It was almost like she expected him to come back." She shook her head sadly.

"Alicia and I were tasked with that room," Gretchen continued. "It was mostly what you'd expect...old man stuff. He had an old trunk in the closet that had odds and ends, memorabilia, some photos, things like that. And this," Gretchen reached into her bag, pulled something out and sat in on the table between them.

Del gasped and Evan's eyes widened. He glanced over at Del and she looked at him, in complete disbelief. They were looking at an old brown leather-bound journal.

Del could only stare. The journal bore a remarkable resemblance to the one in Del's dream. "I...is that?...how?" She took a deep breath and tried again. "Is that a journal?" she finally asked.

"It is," Gretchen replied. "And it was Emmett's"

"Emmett's?" Evan echoed. "Not Emma Bates'?"

Gretchen shook her head. "No, it's Emmett's. There are many entries in it that mention Emma...this journal is pure filth," Gretchen said. "I wouldn't recommend reading it...Alicia and I started and if it hadn't been for our meeting this past summer, we would have stopped after the first page and burned the damn thing."

Alicia nodded in agreement. "This man was disgusting. He was completely deranged, a pedophile and a narcissist. But Gret felt like, after meeting with you, that the journal might contain inportant information that you'd be interested in, so we read. The whole sickening thing."