Lewis & Ondarko - Best Friends 03 - Now and Zen (7 page)

Forty minutes later, Pat sat once again on the bench by the Bayfield dock, waiting for Bev to arrive. As she waited she indulged in her favorite hobby of people watching. There were people bringing wagons of fresh veggies for restaurants, a couple with bicycles, and a cute little baby boy squirming in his mother’s arms. All of them were hurrying to get on the ferry before it left.

Just think,
Pat daydreamed.
In a few days, I’ll be holding my own little squirming JoJo.

A noise startled her out of her grandmotherly thoughts. Driving right past all the other cars waiting in line, her least favorite policeman brought his squad car to a screeching halt. Red-faced, he turned to the pretty woman sitting next to him. Even from a distance Pat could see that he was yelling as he stopped the car. The woman opened the door, pulled out a small suitcase and slammed it shut. Spying a free space on the bench, she sat down. He glared at the two of them sitting together and sped off.

“Damn. I forgot my sunglasses in the car. Look at him go,” she said shaking her head. “Don’t you think he should get a ticket for tearing out of a public lot like that?” she asked, without looking up.

“I don’t think he would give himself a ticket,” Pat ventured. “Though he’s given one to just about everyone else in the area.”

“Don’t I know it? He’s given me three, and I’m his wife!”

“Oops, sorry.”

“Believe it, not half as sorry as he’s going to be.”

Glancing at Pat for the first time, a look of recognition registered in the woman’s eyes.

“Don’t I know you?”

“I seem to be getting a lot of that lately.”

“Anyway, I’m going out for the retreat. I took off from work and I’m coming all three days.”

“Well, good for you. I’m just waiting for a friend who has to get her scooter on the ferry. She probably doesn’t need the help, but she might appreciate me clearing pathways for her.”

“Oh her? I saw her with a redhead over in the parking lot as we came through. I hope my husband doesn’t give her a ticket,” the woman grumbled. Catching Pat’s eye, they laughed.

“Husbands!” they both said at exactly the same time. Smiling, Pat waved at Deb and Bev coming towards them. The red scooter was making a path through the crowd.

“What are you waiting for? I’ve got Tarot cards to read!” Bev called out excitedly. “Thanks for meeting me, but I could have handled it.”

Pat stood up and gave Bev a big hug.

“I know, but I couldn’t wait. It’s so good to see you.” Greetings over, the three friends made their way toward the ferry as the policeman’s wife followed them.

Soon, they sat gabbing in the shelter of the small porch of the ferry with legs stretched out in front of them.

“I just got back from San Antonio last week,” Bev chirped happily. How are your kids doing in Houston? I thought of going to see them while I was down there but just didn’t make it happen.”

The women’s gaiety was interrupted just then by a banging of the red metal door. Captain Mike entered the small space. Deb looked up and smiled.

“Hi, Mike. How are you doing?”

Mike just stared at her silently.

“Mike, I’d like you to meet an old friend of mine. This is Beverly from Minneapolis. Bev, this is Mike, the captain of this ferry.”

“Nice to meet you,” Bev said sweetly, offering her hand in greeting. “But how on earth are we moving without the Captain steering this boat?” she puzzled aloud.

“I left my assistant at the helm.”

Mike’s shoulders were slumped and there was a deep furrow in his brow.

“Hey, Mike, is everything taken care of?” Deb asked. “I got your message just before we came. Did it all work out?”

“Well… no,” he started slowly. “It’s just that our counts didn’t match after we arrived back at the Bayfield dock.”

“What counts do you mean?” Deb asked.

“We always keep tabs on the cars and people. We try to head off any attempts to cheat the system with stowaways.

“Jeez, I had no idea you did that for every single trip. It must be a lot of work keeping track of everyone.”

“Sure is. But it’s got to be done,” Mike replied. “So, wouldn’t you know it? Right after I was bragging about my perfect record this morning, we ended up missing someone on the trip right after yours. And I don’t know who it is,” he continued. “I asked the ticket taker if maybe she had miscounted. ‘Oh, no,’ she said, ‘I am very careful.’ And she is. Her numbers matched mine, so that lessens the likelihood of a mistake.”

“So what do you think it means?” Deb inquired attentively, her attention piqued by Mike’s serious tone.

“I have my hunches, but I just can’t be sure at this point. The simplest explanation is that someone just hitched a ride in someone else’s car and wasn’t seen leaving by my employees.”

Pat and Bev listened silently with wide eyes.

“Marc always says that the simplest explanation is usually the most likely. That’s how he approaches medical diagnoses anyway,” Deb agreed.

“I want to be optimistic about this,” Mike answered, “but if someone fell or was pushed overboard, we are quickly losing our window for rescue in these cold waters. Even a strong swimmer can’t last long in waves like these. We had to call the Coast Guard,” he said glumly. “That was humbling.”

“Do you really think someone went overboard?” Pat asked.

“Here’s what troubles me. One of the other passengers approached me and told me something as we were verifying our counts at the dock.”

“What was that?” Deb pried.

“The guy is a year round islander. He knows everyone and can tell locals from tourists. He went gaga over a woman while he was waiting at the dock. She was about sixty, with gorgeous hair. He joined her on the bench and they talked about the weather while they waited.

He’s been a widower for a number of years and it’s been awhile since he has been in the company of a good woman. Poor guy. I could tell by the gleam in his eye that he really liked that one.”

“How old is he?” Deb inquired.

“Oh, he retired a few years ago, so he must be in his late sixties. But he’s still sharp as a tack and a man of his word. If he says something is so, then it is,” Mike said with assurance.

“Anyway, the story he told me is that he lost the woman in the crowd as he started off the ferry. He saw her disappear between the cars. He was following her, hoping to get her phone number. He searched upstairs and down afterwards and found no sign of her. He assumed that she had somehow snuck past him and gotten off the boat without him seeing her and had chalked it up to just another day of striking out. Then he overheard me and the ticket taker talking about our counts not matching.”

“Wow,” Deb and Pat said at once, slowly putting together the pieces.

“Do you think someone really disappeared? Could it have been that woman?” Deb wondered aloud.

“I think it was just a coincidence,” Pat asserted. “With all the crowds today, there were just way too many people to keep track of.”

“I wish we could help you sort this out, Mike,” Deb replied sympathetically. “Sorry, we have bigger fish to fry right now, like how we’re going to feed and house all these people we weren’t expecting. But, where do you go from here, Mike?”

“Well, I have to investigate this more. As much as I hate to do it, I will need to file a report on the discrepancy. The problem is, I can’t spare the staff to go talk to people. We are just too damn busy with all these women coming here today. I’m already paying overtime the way it is. They keep coming in waves. You’d think it was July fourth or something!”

“What did the Coast Guard say?” Deb asked, feeling somewhat responsible for his predicament due to the large crowds coming to the retreat.

“The last I heard they haven’t found a thing.”

“Are they doing a search and rescue?” Pat asked.

“Not officially. They sent one boat to look around. The problem is, no one saw anyone go over and there’s no real description of a person, so it’s hard to even know where to look.”

“What can we do to help?” Deb blurted out.

Oops,
she thought.
Once again, my lips move in response to a situation I can’t control.
If there had been a table on the boat, Pat would have kicked Deb’s leg under it. Instead, she gave Deb a reproachful look.

“I know you’re busy,” Mike said gratefully. “Here’s what you can do. You two women seem to notice things that others don’t. Make me a list of people to talk to. Maybe you can ask around and see if anyone else noticed anything the least bit unusual or noticed the woman. See what you can find out. I’d really appreciate it.”

“I’m doing Tarot readings with the group,” Bev volunteered. “I can ask around.”

“We’ll put our heads together and see what we can come up with,” Deb offered helpfully.

“But we’re not getting involved with any kind of investigation,” Pat reminded.

“Thanks, ladies,” Mike replied with relief. “Here’s my card with my cell number. Let me know what you find out. Call me.” Then he turned and walked out the door.

Deb’s mind was whirling as she turned back to Pat and Bev, who sat in thoughtful silence.

Pat was the first to break the quiet.

“What have you gone and done this time, girlfriend?” she asked with a hint of worry in her voice. “We really don’t have time for this right now, you know.”

“How on earth can anyone get lost on a ferry?” Deb replied, ignoring Pat. “It’s only about the size of my house. Come to think of it, lots of things get lost in my house, but never any people, so far, anyway!”

“I suppose the woman could have jumped over,” offered Bev.

“Suicide? But the way the guy described her to Mike, it sounds like she was happy and serene,” Pat argued begrudgingly. “I don’t think that’s highly likely.”

“What if someone pushed her?” Deb said.

“On purpose, you mean? Come on, Deb. You’re a little jaded from coming across those two bodies in the last few years,” Pat retorted. “Besides, it was late morning on a bright, sunny day. And with all those people on board, don’t you think someone would have heard a splash? I would have heard a splash, wouldn’t you?”

“No. But with all the motor noise and excitement, even if I had heard one I wouldn’t have thought anything of it,” Deb said.

“No matter what you want to believe, people find all sorts of reasons to end their lives or at the very least to appear to disappear,” Bev said sagely.

“As far as I know, it’s never happened here, though,” Pat replied.

“What if she was trying to escape from an abusive relationship, or running from the I.R.S., or grieving the loss of a beloved boyfriend?” Bev continued.

“Or pretending to disappear so that her mother can’t call her?” Deb joked. “Just kidding, you know,” she added quickly.

“Well, all kidding aside, I think it was just a mistake in counting,” Pat said. “With all those people, surely they could have missed one somewhere. I don’t think we should let our imaginations run wild, like the characters in Evanovich novels. Remember, Deb, getting sucked into solving a mystery isn’t that much fun, as we both well know.” She gave Deb a knowing smile and Deb reached over and patted her arm.

Deb pressed her face to the window, now facing west up the channel between the Apostle Islands. The sun shone on the water as through a prism, reflected in dancing droplets of light that sparkled on the crystal clear inland sea. Her concern momentarily vanished; Deb’s awareness was blissfully drawn to watching the reflected light on the water.

Little did she know that they would all soon be embroiled in the case of a missing woman.

Taking advantage of the quiet cabin while Deb and Pat were away meeting Bev, Linda used her spare time to settle in. Opening the closet in her room, she reached in to hang her clothes and line her things up in the empty space.

Pushing the hung clothes over to the left to make more room, she noticed a shelf piled with black leather books, stacked neatly in the far corner. Curiosity got the better of her. Reaching in and taking out the book on top, she brushed off a layer of dust with her finger and wiped her hands off on her pants.

Island Memories
was embossed in gold on the front cover.

Oh, my gosh, what on earth is this?
she wondered.

Opening the book and sitting down in a comfy chair, she paged through the handwritten entries and started to read.