Mudcat
Page 21
He was a little surprised to see Chief Williams walk in, and felt annoyance creep in as the man gestured for Rob to join him at one of the tables over next to the windows. At least he was almost done with his meal; by the same token, he would’ve liked to stay right here at the counter, smiling and laughing with Leanne as they tried to figure out what to do tonight. It was nothing more than a game; they both knew that no matter what plans they made, they would end up staying in and running around the house naked when they weren’t in bed, or on the sofa, or even the floor doing other things instead. That’s how it had been the last few days, at least. Rob was quite okay with things continuing in that fashion for a while longer.
“You better get over there,” Leanne told him, tipping him a wink. “I need to go make sure the guy’s going to be here to do the inspection Monday so we can get opened back up.”
She leaned across the counter and planted a gentle kiss on his lips, then disappeared through the swinging door into the kitchen. Rob sighed, shoveled one last mouthful of hash browns into his mouth, grabbed his cup of coffee, and then got up and started across the room to join the Chief.
He smiled as he looked up at the changes already made to the diner. Leanne had been shocked that Chet and Gail had left it to her in their wills on the condition that they both passed at once. Even if the circumstances of their deaths hadn’t been sufficiently explained beyond “casualties of the flood”, the lawyer who acted as executor of the wills had been satisfied. The paperwork had shown up this past Tuesday, and that had been that.
Rob felt some relief that while she had done the work to update the place, she kept the name out of respect for her former bosses who had trusted her to do the right thing with it. It honored their memory, and kept some continuity in the town that was badly needed as they picked up the pieces after the flood.
He slid backward into the booth opposite the Chief, propping his leg up on the vinyl seat but taking care not to let his foot hit it at all. He’d made that mistake once, and after the tongue-lashing Leanne gave him, had no intention of repeating it any time soon.
Chief Williams gave him a smirk and nodded his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Looks like things are going well there. Gotta say, it took you long enough.”
“I doubt you’re here to discuss my love life,” Rob said, rolling his eyes. “So what’s up?”
Williams smiled, but it didn’t completely reach his eyes. “Just a couple of things, then I’ll let you enjoy your day off. I just got off the phone with an arrogant prick who said he was with the Federal Government, only he wouldn’t tell me what department. Said that was ‘need to know’ and I didn’t. Anyway, he wanted to know if there was anything they could do to ease or assist with the rebuilding of the police force. I told him that unless he could bring four dead officers back to life, he didn’t have a damn thing I wanted or needed.”
“Bet that went over well.”
“Wasn’t as bad as you might think,” Williams said. “The guy just said that was beyond their capacity, then offered to finance four new cruisers and upgrades on the rest. Said he’d even make sure we all got new uniforms and gear, too. I told him that wasn’t necessary, but he told me to have a good day, then hung up. What do you make of that?”
Rob shook his head, frowning. It crossed his mind to wonder if it had anything to do with the check that had mysteriously shown up in his mailbox a few days ago, addressed to Leanne and ostensibly to compensate her for the damages to her house. There’d been enough to pay for the renovations she was making here in addition to the extensive repairs it would take to make her house livable again. But it didn’t make sense for the two to be related. “I’ve got no idea. You talk to the Mayor?”
“I did,” Williams confirmed. “He said he didn’t have a clue either. And the bastard’s as tight lipped as you are about what happened while I was gone, I should say.”
One of the first things Rob and the Mayor had decided once they had a chance to sit down and discuss it was that no one was to say anything about any killer catfish rampaging through town. The official stance was that it was a case of mass hysteria brought on by the intensity of the floods. Rob had agreed, mainly because he felt it would better protect Ashford Fork in the long run to not let the story get out and attract a bunch of insane looky-loos who might read about the story on the internet. The town had experienced enough grief; they didn’t need any more. He also had the distinct impression that the Mayor was being pressured into that decision regardless of his own feelings on the matter, but Rob couldn’t figure out who was doing it, or why.
“I told you all I know, Chief,” Rob said. “That was the worst flood we’ve had around here in a hundred years. Add in the animal attack that killed Annie Fordham and Chase Wilcox, and it was a damn tough couple of weeks.”
“Uh-huh,” Williams said. Rob knew the man didn’t fully believe him, but at least he seemed willing to let it go for now.
“So what’s the other thing?” Rob asked. “You said ‘a couple of things’, and that’s just one.”
Williams stared at him a moment longer, then a smile crept onto his face. “Wanted you to be the first to know, since it affects you about as much as it does me. Come Monday morning, I’ll be announcing to the Mayor my intent to retire, and recommending you for the big chair once I’m gone. I’ll stick around long enough to help you get the place re-staffed, then it’s all yours. Well, I mean the city council’s going to have to vote to approve you, but that’s just a formality. So congrats, Pinkston!”
“I don’t know what to say,” Rob replied, dumbfounded. He’d been looking forward to taking a break after the hell he’d been through, but it looked like that wasn’t an option any longer. He’d need to discuss this with Leanne, and while he wouldn’t admit it, there was a very real chance that once he was asked to fill Williams’s chair, he would turn it down. He just didn’t want to take the man’s moment away from him. “Believe it or not, I think I’m genuinely speechless.”
“Well, that’s fine for now,” Williams said, chuckling. “Long as you’re over it by next Friday night.”
“What’s next Friday night?” Rob asked.
“I’m throwing a retirement party,” Williams said. “Gonna let everybody in town reap the rewards of my good fortune the last couple of weeks, bring us all together again.”
Rob knew what was coming, could feel his stomach turning at the thought of it, but he asked the question anyway. “How so?”
Williams practically beamed. “We’re gonna have ourselves a good ole’ fashioned fish fry!”
AFTER THE FLOOD
The lake that bordered one side of Ashford Fork was fairly deep in the best of times, but following the intense flood conditions that resulted from the storms, it’s depth had increased easily another five to ten feet. It was also much, much murkier than it normally was, the result of all the mud, silt, and debris that had been dragged into it and stirred up as the levels rose and passed into the nearby woodland. Eventually it would settle to the bottom, restoring the clarity that had once been there, but for now, you’d be lucky to see a foot beneath the surface.
Which meant that even if you were actively looking and were in the right spot, it would be unlikely that you’d notice the light blinking away far beneath the surface. If someone did happen to see it, by chance or miracle, and was curious enough to go diving and looking, they would have to go all the way to the bottom where they would see the little LED blinking atop a sturdy metal canister pointed at a little outcropping along the shore. They would be hard pressed to explain why there was a camera there, especially one with the antennas sticking off the back end of it and the night-vision capable lens that denoted it was an exceptionally high-end contraption, with apparent wireless capabilities.
Depending on the time they found it, they might even get to see what looked like a pile of gelatinous balls nestled deep inside that outcropping, protected from most predators. If they watched, they might notice the single
bubble that rose from the pile, or heard the slight pop as one of them burst, releasing its contents into the lake. They would have marveled at the tiny creature that drifted forth, barely three inches long, but already bearing the tell-tale nubs at the corners of its mouth that would grow over the fullness of time into long, spindly barbs.
If they were capable of reading minds, even ones so small, they would realize that the thing knew nothing of itself, but little by little the information was coming. It understood hunger, and the need to find food. It knew it would grow, and that eventually, it would evolve. All it took was time, and food, and one person being in the right place at the right time.
After all, nature—even heavily modified nature—always finds a way.
THE END?
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