more things to go over, then you can be on your way. Sound okay?
JOHN DOVER: Sure. Fine. I want to help.
OFFICER GRADY: What can you tell me about a website called DarkestDoor?
JOHN DOVER: DarkestDoor? Never heard of it.
OFFICER GRADY: You never stumbled across it while doing a web search of some kind?
JOHN DOVER: I guess I may have. I’ve been on a lot of websites. But I don’t recall that one specifically. I may have gone on it. Do you remember the name of every website you’ve ever surfed?
OFFICER GRADY: Think hard, John. We have a warrant for your home and school computers right now. Our tech guys are pretty good at their job and will be able to figure out your digital footprint pretty quickly.
JOHN DOVER: Why are you searching my computers? I don’t understand. I haven’t done anything.
OFFICER GRADY: Where were you on Sunday night, John?
JOHN DOVER: I already told the other officer. I went to Grayling with some coworkers. I got home around midnight.
OFFICER GRADY: And you were there the rest of the night?
JOHN DOVER: Yes!
OFFICER GRADY: Can anyone vouch for you?
JOHN DOVER: Brett Reese dropped me off at about midnight but after that, no. I went to bed.
OFFICER GRADY: You live just a few blocks from the train yard, don’t you?
JOHN DOVER: Yeah, but so do a lot of people.
OFFICER GRADY: True. But those people don’t have an eyewitness who says she saw them at the train yard right around the time Cora Landry was attacked.
JOHN DOVER: Someone said they saw me? Who? They’re lying. I was at home.
OFFICER GRADY: Sit down, John. I understand why you’re upset but if you’re telling the truth you have nothing to worry about.
JOHN DOVER: I am telling the truth. Who said they saw me at the train yard? It’s a lie.
OFFICER GRADY: You went to visit Cora Landry at the hospital earlier this week, is that correct?
JOHN DOVER: Yes. She was severely hurt. She was my student. Is my student. I don’t think that’s so unusual. Lots of teachers probably do the same thing.
OFFICER GRADY: But this is the problem, John. You have a history of inappropriate communication with students. Your principal said that Cora was eating lunch alone with you in your classroom. And now someone says they saw you at the train yard the night of the attack.
JOHN DOVER: I can explain all that. Jesus Christ. Am I under arrest?
OFFICER GRADY: No, you’re not.
JOHN DOVER: Then I’m free to go, right?
OFFICER GRADY: Certainly. Just don’t go too far. I’m sure we’ll be speaking again soon. And by the way, I’m going to need your phone. I’m not going to find any phone calls between you and Cora Landry on this phone, am I?
Dr. Madeline Gideon
September 14, 2018
I decided to leave the hospital at a decent time and met my colleague Michaela at a nearby restaurant for dinner. It was a mild evening; the earlier overcast skies had cleared, the temperature warmer than it was before the sunset. The streetlights reflected off the wet pavement and I tried to avoid the puddles that impeded my path so that I moved like a drunken college student lurching from bar to bar.
We ordered wine and pasta and as we ate I updated Michaela on how Cora was doing, how she developed a bad infection, the weird vibe I got from her parents, what Cora said about Joseph Wither leaving her at the train yard. As I talked, Michaela’s face changed from polite interest to disconcertion. “What?” I asked.
“I was just thinking how innocent our childhoods were. I mean, I grew up in a pretty tough neighborhood but little girls didn’t get stabbed,” Michaela said.
“Oh, there were monsters back then,” I told her. “Sometimes they were just better hidden.” We both thought about this for a second, the only sound the clank of silverware against the ceramic dishes.
“It’s strange.” I broke the silence. “At first, Cora mentioned this Wither entity and then she said she had no idea who attacked her, that she didn’t see anything, but from my visits with Cora, she hinted at the idea that she thought Joseph Wither was real, too. Then today, when her parents told her about the arrests, Cora didn’t act surprised at all, more like...resigned. In fact, the big sister was more upset than anyone. She started crying and ran out of the room when she heard the news.”
“So the friends did it, then,” Michaela said matter-of-factly.
“I don’t know.” I sighed. “But