A Kayak for One

by K. L. McCluskey

  Dan lingered in the office, not talking, just looking at her.

  "Are you okay Dan?"

  "Yeah. Maybe. No."

  "Do you want a coffee? I've had a busy day today with the police and everything and missed my coffee this morning. I shouldn't have caffeine this late in the day but I really would like one anyway," Charlene offered."

  "Yes, thanks, I would. I'd like to talk to you about something if you have time," Dan said.

  "Of course. I'll put the coffee on and be back down in about 15 minutes."

  "Can I just sit in here and wait?"

  "Sure just tell anyone who comes in to ring the outside doorbell to get my attention so you don't have to yell up at me."

  Charlene put the dark roast coffee in the percolator. She set it on the stove and went into the bathroom. She was shocked to see herself in the mirror. Her fair hair was dull and she had dark circles under her eyes. Her eyes looked sick, the ring around the gray iris darker than normal. She had a pimple near the side of her mouth. A pimple at this age was not fair, she thought. Her work pants were hanging off her. She felt weaker as she looked at herself. The skin on her upper arms showing beneath the sleeves of her tee shirt was saggy. Oh man. Gravity sucks, she thought. She knew she better get back at yoga and Pilates and weights. Stress and age were taking a toll. She washed her face and put her hair up in a small bun at the back. Her hair was just long enough to get it off her neck at least. She reached for her mascara then thought Dan would notice and that was not a message she wanted to send. He didn't seem to notice how worn she looked or didn't seem to care anyway.

  She turned the stove down and took some peanut butter cookies out of the freezer and put them on a plate. She baked them a few weeks before when she had a quiet morning. When the coffee was ready she set everything on the tray set with sugar and cream in case Dan wanted to dress up his coffee.

  It was already 5:30. How did that happen? She spent the better part of the day cleaning up more pine needles from in front of the cottages along the path, knowing the morning dew made for a slippery walk if she didn't keep at it. The day had been beautiful but the forecast was for cooler temperatures the next day and some rain overnight. She was hoping for a storm so she could lay in bed and watch the lighting. It had been hot enough lately for a good night show. She wanted the sky to be clear the next night for the lunar eclipse though.

  After dropping off the Porters and Sarah, Charlene kept herself busy so she wouldn't think of Joe. She spent a few hours at cleaning up the property, raking and piling the needles for Sam to take to the back bush with the ATV and trailer. She went into the storage area beside the office and took most of the linen out of closest and put the washed sheets into clear plastic bags for the winter. She did the same with the dish towels and spare bath towels. She wiped down the shelves and was content that she made a good start to the tedious task of winterizing. It wouldn't be long before the resort would be closed for the season. She could almost taste the relief, knowing her time would be her own for the most part once the resort was put to bed after Thanksgiving. She wouldn't have to keep checking e-mail and phone messages so much. Guests called in the winter to book for the summer, so she had to keep on top of it, but it wasn't so hectic. A lot of people told her how lucky she was that she had all winter off. Like most resort owners, the start-up began by the end of March to get the cottages ready and ended around November, when all the cottages were put to bed for the season. Working 12 hour days and having to be at-the-ready the rest of the time every day for so many months with no days off was physically and emotionally draining. All in all, her days off in the winter probably added up to fewer than the nights and week-ends most people had away from work. There was no telling them that though. They just didn't get it just like people who have never worked night shift can fully get what it feels like to work when so many others are sleeping, then try to sleep when so many people are mowing lawns, using leaf blowers, talking loudly and just living life. Her eyes grew heavy at the thought of sleep and rest.

  Sam had a busy day painting the rest of the exterior cottage doors and a couple of porch floors before hauling the piles of needles away. He smiled at her a few times, more smiles than she had seen from him since she first hired him. There was no need for words with Sam though, so nothing was said. They kept busy all day, until she took him over to the landing when it was time to get the students at 5:00 o'clock. She was glad she took the chance around 4:00 o'clock to stretch out on the hammock strung between two old, towering white pines in front of the office close to the lake. The couple from cottage #4 were out in the canoe all day, so she wouldn't disturb them. The hammock was close to the door to the screen porch of that cottage and when there were guests there Charlene was careful to stay clear and allow the guests privacy. To her, 4:00 o'clock was the best time to watch the lake. The sunlight hit the small waves and the lake filled with diamond dapples. The sunshine hit her face and calmed her. The upstairs of the house was amazing the same time of day too, as the big stained glass window in the living room caught the sunlight and spread the colors of the glass all over the walls and ceiling, mixing in with the moving patterns of sunlight reflected off the lake.

  Dan was working on the jigsaw puzzle she kept out on the long pine harvest table under the office window. Guests were welcome to sit and work at the puzzle while the office was open. She had to kick guests out many times when she wanted to lock up for the day. The doorbell was for guests for after hours. If in the house, Charlene could just walk out to the front balcony and look over to see what they needed. Many times they just wanted back in to work on the puzzle. She let them in and locked the office door again and asked them to let her know when they left so she could lock up again. She wasn't concerned about the office desk and computer being in the same room behind the counter or the cash register. She always locked up the register after she closed the office, taking any great sums of money out. This time of year there was little cash. Most people paid with debit or credit cards anyway. She brushed away the thought of all the bank fees she had paid this season and before it could set her teeth on edge, she set the tray down on the table by the wood stove.

  They both sat down in the big pine chairs cushioned with down and covered with remnants of an old Hudson Bay blanket Charlene sewed into cushion covers. Facing each other, not saying anything for a few minutes, they sipped their coffee.

  "This is pretty embarrassing for me Charlie. What I want to tell you is shameful really but it is eating away at me. I understand if you don't want to listen now that I've said that," Dan said, looking down at the floor.

  Charlene was sure now that she wanted to hear what he had to say. Was he going to confess to killing Lori? Her nerves were on edge.

  "I put my arm around Ashley and tried to kiss her a couple of nights after we arrived."

  Ashley? Charlene wondered. What the hell.

  "The others were in the cottage doing clean-up duty after dinner and Ashley and I were sitting by the fire alone. I took a chance and it backfired. To be fair," he said when he saw the look on Charlene's face, "she came on to me at one of the pub nights when we got together as a group to make plans for this trip. Yeah, I know, it seems weird, a man my age, but it's true Charlie, I swear. The others left us alone at the pub table and she was rubbing up against me and saying suggestive things. I thought she was interested so that's why I put my arm around her."

  Dan stopped to watch Charlene's reaction. Seeing a blank face and non-judgmental expression, he carried on.

  "She was disgusted and told me she would report me to the university when we got back. I'll probably lose my job. Thinking about it, I probably should."

  If he was looking to her as an ally he was barking up the wrong tree, she thought.

  "The thing is, that I have a lot of debts with my divorce settlement and I still need to work. I've never done this before in all my years teaching. This seemed different though. I don't know why. Anyway, it's too late. She said she would
continue with the course then report me when we are back. She knows the value of this course on her resume. After Lori was killed, Ashley has been acting really strange. She yelled at me and Greg when Lori's body was discovered, remember? I thought I was the only one who knew why she yelled at me. I guess she yelled at Greg because she made it seem as though he killed Lori. After the police came she said she was leaving. She has since changed her mind, obviously, and is sticking it out. She talks to Greg and Peter and even Haiden now and is almost pleasant to be around. Almost. She scares me Charlie."

  "Scares you how?"

  "Well just the way she changed her mind so much and the way she looks at me. She even told me she wasn't going to report me. I don't know if I feel sicker with her telling me that or being reported. Something's not right with her. The thing is though I've found out that all the others know that I tried to kiss her. Peter told me that Greg was standing at the kitchen window washing dishes and looked out just as I put my arm around her. He told Lori. I guess you know he and Lori used to be a couple, and it seems he still wanted to continue the relationship but she broke it off. Lori told Ashley that they all saw her hitting on me that night in the pub. She denied it and she and Lori got into a big argument. She said she would never go for a guy my age and was adamant she would report me.

  “The morning that Lori and Ashley were sick and didn't come with us out in the field, the day we found Lori's body, Greg went into their cottage to get them moving and heard them still arguing. Lori called Ashley a slut and that set her off and she went for Lori, pushing her against the counter in their cottage. After Lori was killed, Greg told Peter and Peter told me. Peter's been close to Greg since the murder, worried he might go off the deep edge or something, but Peter felt he should tell me." Dan stopped to drink some coffee. He was clearly shaken. "By the way, did you know Peter was gay?"

  "No," she said, but yes she thought. How did Dan not notice how Peter looked at Greg and not the girls?

  "Yeah he is. He told me he lives with a guy in London. While at Brock he's in a shared apartment with another student from our course who couldn't make this trip. He said she's great to live with since she knows he's gay. His partner is at Western. He's going to be a dentist. Maybe he can use the gold Peter finds to fill his patients' teeth.

  "Anyway, Ashley was here that day remember? She said she was sick but then she went off into the woods and told us later she got turned around. Remember?"

  "I remember," Charlene nodded, seeing where he was going with this.

  "She could have killed Lori and stuffed her into that kayak and no one was here. You come and go and your other guests are always out in their boat. I was out in the rental boat that day, and the guys were out in the field. Your neighbour picked them up about 3:30 they said. That left a lot of time for Ashley to kill her."

  "I was back by 1:00 o'clock and saw both girls alive, at their cottage steps and I saw you about 5:00 o'clock when the canoe group came back," she said.

  "I remember that," Dan said. "I was nowhere near the resort with the boat all day though, until I brought the boat back."

  "Maybe that explains something," Charlene said. "She was talking to me about that night in the university pub and how everyone went off to follow Lori after Ashley called her a snob. She seemed to have remembered something and that's when she told Detective Davidson she changed her mind and was going to stay here. Did she have so much to drink that she could have a blackout?"

  "Maybe. She drinks a lot. You're thinking she forgot that she came on to me?"

  "Maybe. It seemed that way to me now that I think about how she reacted in the middle of telling me about it. It seemed as though she just remembered something that made her look embarrassed."

  "I know you don't have locks on any of the cottage doors Charlie, but I did put a lock on the inside of the front door and I shove a chair against the back door at night. To tell you the truth, I'm scared. Did she kill Lori? Am I next?"

  The doors into the screen porches of all the cottages had only a hook and eye lock on the inside, mainly to stop the doors from slamming open and closed in the wind. The door going into the cottage from the porch were all the old-fashioned tongue and groove pine boards with the iron latch that guests could lift up to open the door. Only a few guests complained about no lock on this door. She tried to assure them that she knew all her guests and kept an eye out for any stranger on the property, or any guest going into a cottage that wasn't theirs. Most were okay with this, but some thought it very odd that she was so trusting with their stuff. To those, she suggested they lock up any valuables in their car. To that, she only had one guest question how safe the cars were in the parking lot across the lake. She was glad she didn't have anything of real value anymore to care about and didn't care if anyone stole from her. People would steal if they were thieves, no matter what, and she wasn't about to get locks installed only to have to chase all the guests for the keys at check out or worry they would get them duplicated when in town. She knew people would lose them and she would have to have so many spare sets. It seemed easier to her to leave the place old-fashioned and try to create a sense of peace among all the guests and get them to chill out while away from the city life.

  "I'll keep the lock off when we are gone for the day in case you need to get it into the cottage for anything. I better go and get the students organized for dinner. They are busy working on the assignment for today. They're working harder now. The course is almost finished and I'm worried about the future."

  With that Dan put his mug on the tray, seemed to just notice the cookies, and took a few.

  "For after dinner Charlie. Thanks for listening."

  As they both stood up, he stepped closer to Charlene and hugged her hard and long. She believed everything he told her. She could feel it.

  As he walked toward the door, Dan selected a piece of curly paper from the brightly coloured pottery bowl Charlene had on the counter.

  He read aloud, "Your days brighten as your heart lightens."

  He turned toward Charlene and smiled and she noticed the lines of stress had faded from his face.

  "That is perfect," he said, as he put the paper back in the bowl among the handfuls of paper, each with notations of thought typed on them for guests to pick out at random if they chose.

  As she started to walk back to the storage area to put her fishing rod away, she stopped dead. She walked back to the office and opened the drawer. She lifted up the box of fishing line. She read 330 yards. If it was all there then Dan didn't use any to kill Lori. Not this fishing line anyway. She was sure Dan was no killer. Where was her tape measure? No, she better call Sarah. She put the box into her locked filing cabinet.

  Chapter 53

  Bob

  Bob saw them coming. That detective and the police woman. He was hanging his dish cloth on the deck railing to dry. It was starting to smell. All his clothes were starting to smell. His bedroom was starting to smell. He should have gone into Espanola and done his laundry.

  It was too late to get back inside and pretend he wasn't there.

  They saw him.

  Chapter 54

  Sunday September 27th, 2015

  Charlene

  "Thanks Stacey, I'll come in as soon as I can."

  Charlene had run out of the bedroom to grab the phone thinking it was Joe. It was just Stacey from the store calling to say Charlene had a parcel from Purolator. Charlene turned on the coffee and got dressed for the day. It was raining. She must have slept soundly for a change. She didn't hear the rain start. It must have been the great Pilates she did before dinner, then the walk into the woods after dinner along the creek that meandered at the back of her property, cascading down the rocks along the edges. The flowing water and the growing plants constantly changed the landscape, and Charlene never tired of looking at it.

  As soon as Dan left after their chat, she changed into her comfy pants and tank top and unrolled her mat. She really needed the exercise routine and she go
t away from it the past few days. After her workout, she had a chance to cook some beets from Mr. Blake. She opened a tin of chunk pineapples and heated them on the stove with some corn starch, stirring until the mixture thickened. When the beets had boiled long enough she drained the vibrant liquid into a glass measuring cup and put the small pieces of beets in with the pineapples to keep warm. She cooked some rice and put a large dollop on her plate and topped it off with the pineapples and beets and added a few green leaves from the beet tops as her salad on the side. She couldn't remember the name of the dish, but it was in her ancient red and white Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book she'd had since the early 70s, the pages all gooey with butter and batter and sticking out, but all in order. The only page missing was 99/100, the one with a great cranberry loaf recipe. When the beet liquid cooled, she poured it into a glass and drank it down.

  There was still enough light after dinner so she put on her jeans and a light jacket and walked into the woods. She needed it, the smell, the rawness, the natural beauty. She left a note on the office door and was gone for just a short time. When she came back everything looked in order and no one came running for her so she got into the shower and into bed.

  When Charlene unlocked the office door the next morning, the young couple from cottage #4 were standing outside peering in the big window. They had their hands cupped around their faces pressed against the glass. Oh man, now what? Charlene thought. Toilet leaking? Mouse in the cottage? No toilet paper? It must be something for them to be out at 8:00 o'clock in the morning in the rain.

  "Hi Charlie," they both said as she opened the door.

  "Good morning. Everything okay?" she hoped.

  They said they missed their kids so were ready to check out and head home. The rain was probably a deciding factor Charlene thought.