Burnington Gaol

T H I R T Y - N I N E | Adeline

A week later, after my father had Tony suspended, my life under intense supervision, and my brother under house arrest, we sat down at our small kitchen table for a routine breakfast. Billy brought the silver spoon to his lips with his left hand, lowered his eyes. I stared into my bowl of cereal, pushing it around under the milk. Dad sat to my left, at the head of the table, knee-deep in honeyed porridge. The only noise in the room was the sound of his loud slurping.

"So how are you feeling this morning, Billy?" Dad asked, a speck of porridge on his chin.

"Fine," he muttered.

Silence again.

I fumbled with the hem of my school skirt, pulled it over my knees.

"Good to see you're sitting up now," he said.

Billy didn't reply.

With a sigh, Dad pulled the paper towards him and opened it to a seemingly random page. I looked away from him, the silence pressing in.

"So when are we free to go?" Billy asked.

Dad's head turned to him slowly, a dark look in his eyes.

"When I say so."

Billy rolled his eyes.

"How specific."

I could feel the inevitable fight hanging thick in the air, like a gas leak closing in on a match. I looked between the both of them nervously, but Dad seemed to defuse and lose himself in today's paper. I sighed, lowered my eyes again, until something caught my attention.

Seth.

I looked back, read the front page news.

Seth Barlow Reported Missing After Gunfight.

I leaned forward, flicked up my eyes, tried to read the rest without tipping off my father.

Seth Barlow, long-time resident of Burnington, was involved in a shootout last Wednesday in which a fifteen-year-old high school student suffered a horrific, but non-lethal, gunshot wound to the shoulder. Barlow then disappeared out of a two-storey window and was reported missing by his aunt, Genevieve Johnson. He was last seen fleeing 17 Pike Street, on Wednesday, April 3rd. If you have any information on this individual, please contact...

Seth was missing?

I coughed, kicking Billy in the shin under the table. He glared at me, opened his mouth to yell something at me.

Look, I mouthed.

Billy paused, the fire still burning in his eyes. I tilted my head towards the paper. He furrowed his eyebrows, cocking his head to one side like a puppy, read the article. The confusion fixed itself into his features and he leaned forward. He then looked back at me, and an indescribable knowing passed between us.

Seth had murdered poor Susie last summer. Thinking he'd gotten away with it, he kept on about his business, until Billy and I started snooping around. Then, he became afraid. He shot Billy in a mad dash, hoping to kill him, but hitting his shoulder instead. When that didn't work, he disappeared.

Seth was a murderer, and now he was gone.

© A.G. Travers 2018