Slumped low in the driver’s seat of his
car, Josh Austen watched the exchange between Chief Grady, Blake Warren Sr. and
Eric Downey. He’d been the anonymous
call; tipping off the police that there had been yet another death. He waited,
of course, until after he’d taken plenty of photos for the paper. It was purely coincidence that he happened to
take a walk on the beach and an even greater coincidence that he happened to
walk in that one particular spot. Josh wondered just how much the chief really
knew and he was curious about the new visitor to their quiet community. Like most of the “mature” ladies who lived
there year-round, Josh’s grandmother was a champion gossiper. So, when the man named Hooper check in at the
EconoLodge; all the old biddies were abuzz. Chuckling to himself, he wondered
if it was her “nose for news” that had sparked his interest in journalism.
Even though the rumor mill was grinding
faster than normal, Josh still hadn’t managed to get all the fine details he
needed for his first official story as a full-time employee. With Chief Grady still on the beach, the
prime opportunity to dig deeper had presented itself. He put his car in reverse and headed toward
the police station.
“Just the man I’m looking for,” Josh
called out as he entered the station.
“Who?” Deputy Poole replied, looking
around.
“You’re the only one here, aren’t
you, Dougie?” Josh replied, his voice lilted in jest.
“C’mon, Josh, you know I hate being
called Dougie. Can’t you just call me Doug like everyone else? Or better yet, you can call me Deputy.”
Poole grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Keep
it up and I’ll tell Grandma you’re not respecting my authority.”
“Is that any way to talk to your
favorite cousin?” Josh demanded.
“Oh!” Poole gasped, “I didn’t know Jeff
was in town! Sweet!”
“You suck,” Josh scoffed. “Even if I’m not your favorite cousin, we can
still help each other out.”
“Fine, what did you have in mind?”
“Well, for starters, I saw the
remains on the beach and I don’t think that was a shark attack. I want to figure out what’s out there and
blow the lid off this story.”
“Really,” Deputy Poole rolled his
eyes and snorted in derision. “And how ya plannin’ to do that? Oh wait, let me guess; you want me to feed
you information from whatever the chief digs up.”
“Not entirely… Look, I’ve noticed a
few things and if we work together we might be able to get all the evidence we both
need but I just saw your boss pull in so why don’t you come to Grammy’s for
dinner and we can work out all the details.
She’d like to see you, ya know.”
“Whaddya talking about? I see her
all the time and at least I don’t make her slave away over a
hot stove. We’re gonna take her out for a nice dinner at Madeline’s first and
then I’ll come back to the house and we can discuss your big ideas. Oh, and
Josh, this time you’re paying!”
At his cousin’s
bidding, Josh made reservations at one of the few elegant restaurants that
actually remained open year-round.
Grandma Rose wore her favorite purple pantsuit with an embroidered rose
on the lapel. Her “charming escorts”
kept their business on the back burner until long after their dessert plates
and coffee and been cleared. That’s when Josh revealed that his “favorite
cousin” Doug, the brilliant deputy, was helping to further his career.
“I’ve always said, there’s nothing
greater than family,” Josh declared, as the waiter dropped off the check. “Without family, I never would have made it
this far and with family, the sky’s the limit. Isn’t that right, Doug? Now, if
you’ll excuse me, I just have to pop over to the little boy’s room. I’ll be
right back.”
Ever so
subtly, Josh slipped the little vinyl folder containing the check in front of
his cousin and disappeared.
“Here, Dougie, you hand that to me,”
Grandma Rose ordered. “You boys are just getting started and there’s no cause
for you to be spending your hard-earned money on an old relic like me.”
“Are you kidding? You’re the
prettiest date I’ve had in ages.” Poole vowed as he leaned over a placed a kiss
on her cheek. “You’ve done so much for
us, lemme do this for you.”
Inside,
Deputy Douglas Poole was seething but he couldn’t allow his grandmother to see
it. He paid the check but planned to take it out of his cousin one way or
another, and with interest. Josh
conveniently waited until his family was getting up from the table before
returning. With mock concern, he pretended to be surprised that his cousin had
paid the bill.
“Gee thanks, Doug. You didn’t have to do that,” he lied.
Once they
went back to the house, Grandma Rose put on her favorite television program
while the boys sat in the kitchen discussing Josh’s plan.
“You boys aren’t planning to try to
hunt that shark, are you? They said on the news to stay away from the beaches
and off the water.”
“Don’t worry, Grandma, we’re not
going after any sharks. I promise!” Josh replied.
Ten minutes
later, their grandmother had fallen asleep watching television; leaving Doug
and Josh free to discuss their plans.
“From what I can tell, there is no
danger walking on the beach during the day. I’ve seen the joggers; Chief Grady,
you and the other deputies do it. Heck, I even walked on the beach myself this
morning and went in up to my knees.”
“Hey! There are signs posted to stay
out of the water. Why would you do that?”
“Relax, as you can see; I’m
fine. From what I can tell, the only
time people are in danger is when they’re on the beach at night. Let’s start
with Adam Miller and Erin Crayburn.
Adam’s roommate confirmed that they were having a picnic on the beach at
sunset. He was planning to propose to her under the stars. Then there were those
high school kids. Tracy Westbrook
confirmed that they were having some kind of a party on the beach but that her
mother didn’t let her go. The others went and now they’re dead. Lastly, we have
the local burn outs. After a busy day of
smoking dope they decide to go shark hunting. According to their buddy, the
last he’d heard from them was at sunset. By morning, their remains are
scattered all over the beach and the boat was smashed. I suggest we set up
video cameras at street level, looking down onto the beach then one of us goes
down to the water and we get it all on film.”
“I have real police work to do,
Josh, I can’t play around on the beach for half the night. Besides, I’m supposed to be setting a good
example. Going down on the beach after the chief said we need to stay away is a
one way ticket to the unemployment line.”
“Fine, I’ll go on the beach. I just
need you to make sure the zoom is working. One hour, that’s it. Whether I get
it or not you can leave. Please….”
“Fine, one hour and not a minute
more.”
No comments:
Post a Comment