by B R Snow
I forced myself to focus, took a moment to thank my lucky stars, and grabbed my phone. I dialed the number and waited for the call to connect.
“Hey, Suzy. You’re up early.”
“Hi, Rooster. I’ve been up for hours. Look, I hate to bother you, but I need your help.”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I’m stuck.”
“Oh, are you doing the Times’s crossword? For the life of me, I cannot figure out 37 across.”
“I’m stuck out on the River, Rooster.”
“Okay. I’m probably going to need a bit more,” he said, turning serious.
“I just ran into the McMaster’s dock and tore my lower unit off.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, just my pride as someone who’s supposed to know her way around the River.”
“Are you taking on water?”
“No, the boat’s fine. But I’m gonna need a tow.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Thanks, Rooster,” I said, hanging up.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket then gently bounced up and down on the tip of my toes. It was pretty clear that the boat wasn’t going anywhere. I was about to sit while I waited and see if I could manage to keep a snack down when I heard a woman’s voice coming from shore.
“Are you okay?”
I waved to the elderly woman I’d known since I was a little girl. And she and her two Dobermans were long-standing customers at the Inn. The dogs stood on either side of her and had their heads cocked as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“Hi, Mrs. McMaster. Yes, I’m fine. But I think I did some damage to your dock. Don’t worry, I’ll pay to get it fixed.”
“Is that you, Suzy?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” I said. “I’m so sorry. I never saw it.”
“Don’t worry about it. The dock can be fixed,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”
“Luckily, I wasn’t going very fast,” I said, then for some reason felt the need to offer her a bit of sage advice. “You know, Mrs. McMaster, most folks are putting out markers to let others know there’s something just below the surface.”
The elderly woman shook her head at me and pointed out at the water. I turned around and saw, for the first time, two large, bright blue barrels that were sitting on the end of the dock.
“Sure, sure,” I said, embarrassed. “I never even saw them. Again, I’m so sorry, Mrs. McMaster.”
“Accidents happen, dear. Do you need me to call someone?”
“No, Rooster is on his way. Thanks.”
“Okay, then,” she said. “I have something on the stove I need to tend to. Say hi to your mom for me. And you and Josie should stop by sometime.”
“We’ll do that, Mrs. McMaster,” I said, waving.
“And maybe you should just drive your car when you do come for a visit,” she said, chuckling as she waved and headed back up the hill to her house.
“Everybody’s a comedian,” I said to myself as I rummaged through the container of snacks.
I was just about to tear open one of the bite-sized when I saw Rooster’s work boat heading toward me. I popped the Snickers into my mouth and waved. His German Shepherd, Titan, was sitting in the seat next to him keeping a close eye on all the action. Moments later, he slowed the boat and put it in neutral. He drifted closer keeping a close eye on the submerged dock. Rooster grabbed my stern and glanced around at the damage.
“Nice job,” he said, shaking his head.
“Yeah, not one of my finer moments. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Do I even need to tell you how lucky you are?”
“Oh, I wish you wouldn’t,” I said.
“Suzy, you need to be careful out here until the water level drops,” he said. “The entire River landscape is very different from what we’re used to.”
“I know that,” I snapped. “I just got a little distracted.”
“Geez, okay,” he said, showing me his palms in mock surrender. “I know you’re a bit rattled, but let’s dial it down a notch. What are you doing out here this early in the morning anyway?”
“I was fishing.”
“Where’s your fishing gear?” he said, glancing around my boat.
“It must have gone overboard in the crash,” I said, staring out at the water.
“Okay, have it your way,” he said, grabbing a piece of rope. “Attach this to the bow.”
I took one end of the rope and secured it, then headed to the stern. Rooster tied the other end of the rope to the back of his boat and gestured for me to climb aboard. I tossed the snack container to him, then stood on the side of my boat and stepped toward his. I made it halfway, slipped, then fell forward onto the deck of his boat. I picked myself up and checked for damage. Apart from a skinned elbow and a severely bruised ego, I decided I was fine.
“Smooth,” Rooster said, grinning. “Very ladylike.”
“Shut it,” I said, glaring at him, then I knelt down to pet the dog. “How are you doing, Titan?”
Rooster slowly maneuvered his boat until the tow rope was tight, then he slowly accelerated. My boat groaned a bit as it scraped along the dock and then the stern softly splashed as it reentered the water. We took a moment to make sure the boat wasn’t leaking, then Rooster headed toward his place of business where he operated a small marina during the summer and an engine repair shop the remainder of the year.
“Are you okay?” he said, glancing over.
“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“Because you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Yeah?” I said, staring out at the River. “Maybe I should take a selfie for posterity.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m just babbling.”
“You’re acting a little weird today, Suzy. Even by your standards.”
“It’s been an eventful morning.”
“Well, running into a dock like that will certainly get your attention.”
“What’s that? Oh, yeah. The dock. Sure, sure.”
“You didn’t hit your head did you?”
“No, I just threw up a couple of times.”
Chapter 4
After we got my boat back to Rooster’s and I’d placed the order for a new motor, he dropped me off at the Inn. I headed inside and was greeted near the front door by Chloe and Bailey, the bloodhound we’d rescued in the Cayman Islands. Josie was chatting with Sammy and Jill at the reception desk, and they all seemed a bit taken aback when they saw the look on my face.
“What did you do, swim home?” Josie said.
“What?” I said, still trying to clear my head.
“Where’s the boat?”
“Oh, I ran into a dock,” I said, heading for my office.
“You did what?” Josie said, following me.
I sat down behind my desk and tried to ignore the stare she was giving me. I opened my laptop and was about to start typing when she gently closed the monitor on my fingers.
“I can’t see the screen,” I said, glancing up at her. “Move your hand. Please.”
“I believe you said something about running into a dock?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, that. Yeah, Mrs. McMaster’s. She said to say hi and that we should stop by sometime.”
“You ran into a dock in the middle of the night,” she said, scolding me with a shake of her head. “What did I tell you about going out there in the dark?”
“It wasn’t the middle of the night. There was plenty of light. I just didn’t see it,” I said, opening the laptop again.
“Well, then I guess that makes all the difference,” she said. “What are you doing?”
“I’m looking for the Normal CornBelters,” I said, typing.
“As opposed to the abnormal ones?”
“I suppose,” I said, focusing on the search results. “Oh, by the way, we’re going to C’s tonight. And I told Summerman t
o stop by.”
“Summerman? My Summerman?”
“How many do you know?” I said, clicking on one of the links. “How about that? Did you know there’s actually a town called Normal?”
“When did you see Summerman?” Josie said, continuing to stare at me in disbelief.
“There they are. The Normal CornBelters. Normal, Illinois. It’s right outside Bloomington. I thought Bloomington was in Indiana. There must be more than one. Huh. I wonder if everybody who lives there really is normal. Whatever the heck normal is, right?”
“Suzy?” Josie whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said, reading from the screen.
“You didn’t hit your head, did you?”
“No, I just threw up a couple of times.”
“You threw up twice?”
“Yeah, but only once on Summerman.”
Josie reached forward, closed the laptop again, then sat down and studied me closely.
“Where did you run into Summerman?”
“I didn’t run into him. I ran into a dock.”
“Okay,” she said, frowning. “Then where did you see him?”
“At his island.”
“That’s where you went this morning?” she said, frowning.
“Yeah,” I said, glancing at her as tears formed in my eyes.
“Why are you crying?” she said, giving me a wild-eyed stare. “What on earth did he say to you?”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it tonight.”
“I really wish you’d tell me now,” she said, then sat back in her chair, obviously concerned with my well-being. “Okay, I can wait.”
“But you might want to hold off eating dinner until after you’ve chatted.”
“Suzy, why don’t you head up to the house and go back to bed for a while?”
“Okay, that sounds like a good idea.”
I got up and left the office and walked up the path to the house in a daze. Halfway up, I crossed paths with Chef Claire who was on her way to work. She beamed at me, then stopped when she saw the look on my face.
“Good morning,” she said. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said.
“I’m fine. Oh, Josie and I will be stopping by for dinner tonight,” I said, staring off into the distance.
“Okay,” she said, frowning. “Then I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Sure, sure,” I said as I watched her head to her car.
I removed my phone and held it out in front of me to take a selfie. Since people were fond of using the expression you look like you’ve just seen a ghost, I thought it would be a good idea to have a picture of exactly what it looked like just in case I ever needed to refer to it.
Or be reminded.
Chapter 5
I napped on and off for a couple of hours and dreamt of red-eyed spectral visions lurking around every corner who were just waiting for me to flash a bit of skin. The last one must have been a nightmare because I woke up drenched in sweat, mummy-wrapped in my sheets and blanket. I extricated myself and headed for the bathroom. I tossed my soaked pajamas and sheets in the hamper, glanced around the bathroom for signs of hoverers, then slowly opened the shower door and peered inside.
I spent the next few minutes trying to lather up and cover myself at the same time, then realized I was being ridiculous. I was less certain but still worried about the very real possibility that I’d lost the plot completely and was destined to spend my remaining days wandering the streets with a nervous twitch and permanent vacant stare. And it was only after I remembered that I’d be way down the list of likely candidates for any Peeping Tom spirits searching for titillation that I was finally able to relax and enjoy the rest of my shower.
As soon as I’d slipped into my robe and my thoughts coalesced on the mysterious man in the baseball hat, I began to feel a bit better. I put Summerman away in my to be dealt with later file, turned on my hair dryer, then immediately turned it off when a light bulb went off. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt and headed down to the Inn.
I came in the back door, and instead of making my usuals rounds of saying good morning to all the dogs, I headed straight for the reception area. Sammy was on the phone, and I did my best to wait patiently for him to finish. As he listened to what the person on the other end of the call was saying, he glanced at my wet hair then down at my bare feet. He nestled the phone under his chin and tapped the keyboard in front of him.
“You’re all set, Betty. Tuesday at eleven. We’ll see you then,” he said, hanging up the phone. Then he stared at me and deadpanned, “I’m sorry, ma’am. But our policy is no shoes, no service.”
“Funny,” I said, flashing him a fake grin. “I have a question.”
“You’re dripping on the floor, Suzy.”
“Forget the dripping,” I said, glancing down at the small puddle forming around my feet. “Didn’t you tell me one time that you spent a year going to college in Bloomington?”
“Yeah, I did,” he said. “But not the Bloomington in Indiana where IU is. The one in Illinois. I went to a small state school there.”
“That’s great.”
“The people at IU would probably disagree with you, but why do you ask?”
“Remind me again, how did you end up there?”
“It was right around the time when my folks were splitting up, and I was having a hard time dealing with it. I had some family in Illinois, and they offered to put me up if I wanted to go to school out there. But I missed being here and only lasted a year before I transferred out.”
“You’ve got family in Bloomington?”
“Yeah, my dad’s brother lives there. At least he did. I’m not sure where he is now. He hit a rough patch and, from what I hear from my cousin, he basically disappeared.”
“Really?” I said, staring off into the distance. “No, it couldn’t be, could it?”
If the wall I was talking to knew the answer, it didn’t say. Sammy continued to stare at me, then he nodded at Josie who was walking by. Josie approached and gave me the once over.
“I thought you were going to take a nap,” she said, grabbing a strand of my wet hair. “But I see you opted for an incomplete shower. Good call.”
“I finished showering,” I said, glancing over at her. “I just didn’t finish drying.”
“Why do you care about my time in Illinois?” Sammy said, thoroughly confused.
“I’m trying to find out some things about a minor league baseball team that’s located there,” I said.
“There’s no team in Bloomington,” Sammy said.
“There’s not?” I said, frowning.
“No, technically it’s right next door in Normal.”
“The CornBelters?”
“Yeah, the Normal CornBelters. How’d you know that? Great name, huh? The CornBelters. And they play their games in a stadium called the Corn Crib,” he said, grinning at Josie. “Get it?”
“Yeah, I’m sensing a theme here,” Josie said, then turned to me. “Okay, Snoopmeister, you’ve got that look. Why the sudden interest in some obscure baseball team?”
I started to respond but stopped when I wondered how I could explain it without revealing where I’d gotten the information. More importantly, I didn’t want to say anything that might reveal too much about Summerman’s situation. Unable to carve out a path, I decided to go for a generality.
“Oh, I just heard that someone was wearing a baseball hat with that name on it and thought it was clever. I was thinking about maybe getting one. You know how I am about hats. And then I remembered that Sammy had spent some time in Illinois.”
“Yeah, okay,” Josie said, giving me a look that told me in no uncertain terms she knew I was either lying, hiding something or probably both.
“So, you’re familiar with the team?” I said to Sammy.
> “Sure, my cousin and his dad and I used to go to games all the time the summer I was there,” Sammy said. “In fact, my cousin actually plays for them now.”
Stunned, I stared at him, then again looked off into the distance as several light bulbs popped in my head. A family of baseball fans, a father who disappeared, the son who ended up playing for the team in question, a man in danger of being killed who loved wearing the team hat, and a member of the family who worked for us was standing three feet away.
I decided that it being merely a series of coincidences was about as likely as me spending the morning with a real-life ghost. Deciding that it must be a day for miracles, I glanced at Sammy who continued to look at me with genuine concern.
“Was your cousin’s father a dog lover?” I said.
“Oh, yeah. He was a huge dog guy,” Sammy said, nodding. “And he loved this one breed in particular. But I can never remember the name.”
Josie stared at me in disbelief, and I nodded.
“Ibizan?” I whispered.
“That’s it,” Sammy said. “How the heck did you know that?”
“I guess I’m just in touch with the universe today,” I said, exhaling loudly.
Chapter 6
I pulled into one of our assigned parking spots in the back of the restaurant and turned the car off. I glanced over at Josie who was understandably nervous about seeing Summerman, and I patted her forearm. She flinched, then looked over at me like she’d forgotten I was there, then forced a smile.
“This is going to be really strange,” she said.
“You have no idea,” I said, opening my door.
“What?”
“Nothing. But don’t worry, everything is going to be fine. And you look fantastic.”
It was true. She did. And she ought to look great since it had taken her almost two hours to get ready. It was almost eight o’clock, well past my dinner hour, and I was anxious to get inside. I took the return of my appetite as a sign that I was well on my way to a full recovery, and I was more than ready to test my theory. I was also in a hurry for her to have the conversation with Summerman so I’d have some help trying to process the unbelievable news I’d received that morning.