All day Deputy Doug Poole was on edge,
cursing himself for agreeing to another one of Josh’s stupid schemes. I’m gonna end up fired, his inner voice
admonished. Through out his entire shift,
the words of warning played over and over in his head, like a broken record. With
less than an hour until quitting time, Poole felt the bile rising from the pit
of his stomach up to the top of his throat.
“Hey, Poole,” Chief Grady called
out, making his deputy jump. “Sorry, kid, I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you
feeling okay? You look a little green
around the gills.”
“Yeah, I’m okay, Chief. I think I
might’ve had a bad clam or somethin’ last night. We took my Grandma out for
dinner. Geez, I hope she didn’t get food
poisoning! I didn’t even think to check on her.”
“I’ve got some Pepto in my desk if
you want some. Better yet, why don’t you
go ahead a scoot out a little early? Things have been quiet today and we’re
nearly caught up on our paperwork. You should get some rest while you can. Go
ahead, it’s no big deal.”
“If you’re sure it’s okay…yeah, I’ll
cut outta here early. Maybe I’ll just stop by on my way home and check on my
grandma too.”
“Hope you feel better,” Grady called
out as Poole scurried to the door.
The
unseasonably warm, muggy, air slapped the deputy’s face as he stepped outside.
“Ugh, it’s like an armpit out here,” he grumbled to no one in
particular.
As he drove
to his grandmother’s home, Poole wondered why there was never any traffic on
days when he didn’t need, or in this case want,
to be on time. It was all green- lights
and smooth sailing, the entire way. Sure enough when he arrived, Josh was
already there, ready and waiting.
“Check it out! A buddy of mine has
some state-of-the-art equipment that he’s letting us borrow. I’ve got a couple different kinds of video
cameras all with low-light sensors and/or night vision. We’re going to set two of them up on street
level and I’m taking one down to the water with me. I’m also going to build two
large bonfires to help with lighting but earlier today I took some of those
solar powered lanterns down to the beach and they’ve been soaking up power all
day.”
“I got a bad feelin’ about this,
Josh.” Poole grumbled. “I really think we should leave this to Chief Grady.”
“God! You are such a chicken. Do me
a favor and grow a pair, would ya?” Josh scoffed. “Awww, is widdle Dougie
afwaid?”
“Screw you, I’m not afraid, Josh. I
just happen to be a grown-up who respects authority, unlike you.”
“Yeah, well, right now you sound
like a big wuss. Man up and let’s go. Just think about how this is going to
help your career. If you’re lucky, I won’t tell anyone what big sissy you are
because this is definitely going to impress the ladies.”
Poole snorted
derisively but held his tongue. After all, he wasn’t personally going to be
anywhere near the water so he wasn’t violating Chief Grady’s directives. For a
brief minute he imagined the possibility behind Josh’s words. He wondered if
solving the case would catch Amanda Boyd’s attention. It was almost too perfect; yet he could
practically see it now. The gang at Shark Bait’s Bar & Grill is buying him
a round of drinks as he catches her eye from across the bar. She smiles as she
sashays across the room, her eyes fixed on him.
Seemingly of its own accord, the crowd parts and Amanda is standing in
front of him. Poole can almost feel her soft curves pressing against him as she
whispers, “my hero”.
“Hey, space cadet, pay attention!”
Josh barked, shattering his cousin’s daydream.
Deputy Poole halfheartedly
listened as Josh prattled on, mostly technical jargon about the cameras, while
driving toward the beach. He still can’t seem to quell the storm raging in his
gut, warning him that he’s making a bad decision. After popping two more antacids into his mouth,
he puts his vehicle in park. No turning back now, his inner voice
declares as he helps his cousin unload the equipment.
In no time, Josh has the cameras set up.
Never once did his inner voice of reason express concern, unlike his quivering
cousin. He was absolutely certain that his plan would work and he’d finally
command the kind of attention his brilliant mind deserved. He felt excitement
surge through his veins like a jolt of electricity.
“Okay, you’re sure you understand
how to work these, right Doug? Good. Here, we’ll use these walkie-talkies to
communicate. For some reason, my cell doesn’t get good reception on the beach.
I checked it out earlier today and I got nothing, but these seem to work just
fine.”
“Aren’t these the ones we used to
play with as kids?” Poole’s voice had a warm tinge of nostalgia. “I can’t believe they still work.”
“Get ready, Doug. This is the moment
that will change our lives forever. One day, we’re gonna look back on this
and…”
“Oh for cryin’ out loud, Josh! We’re
not curing cancer or something like that. Get over yourself,” the deputy
interrupted. “You’ve got one
hour…starting now.”
Incensed by
his cousin’s lack of respect, Josh trudged through the sand toward the pile of
wood he’d stacked earlier for the bonfire.
His inner monologue was spurting out platitudes to salve his wounded
pride; something about prophets in their hometown and pearls before swine
jumbled together in an incoherent train of thought. We’ll
see who’s laughing when I win a Pulitzer, he thought, as he doused the wood
with lighter fluid and set it ablaze.
By the time the second pile was lit, the
sun had begun its descent below the horizon. Josh was too busy working to
notice that the once-brilliant colors painted across the sky had taken on a
deeper indigo hue but his cousin, Doug, noticed. Looking through the camera lens, the beach
seemed as if it was being swallowed slowly by darkness. When the very first star sparkled in the sky,
Deputy Poole made a wish. His wish, more like a prayer, was short and to the
point, “Please, let me make it through the night alive”.
With his hour nearly up, Poole started to
relax. He chuckled at his overactive imagination and wondered why he’d let
himself get so worked up.
“Everything okay up there?” Josh’s voice
crackled through the walkie-talkie speaker.
“Yup, everything’s cool here. How
‘bout you?”
“So far, so good. See, I told you there was nothing to…hang
on. Did you see something?
**Please return Monday, April 14th for the next installment of Ocean**
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