Sunset Over Misty Lake

by Margaret Standafer

  “I compensated him well for the information he gave me a couple weeks ago. As far as I was concerned, our business was concluded. I forget him, he forgets me. Last night, he decided to remember me. Demanded I take care of some business for him or he might be forced to give my name to some people who, as he put it, would be interested to know who was responsible for certain things that have happened to them in the past. Idle, stupid threats, threats he’d never be able to follow through on, but…still.”

  Dave flicked an invisible bit of lint from his sleeve. “Still, he needs to be taught a lesson. I considered teaching him that lesson myself, but then I thought, no, in this case, I’ll let the police take care of him. I’ll give you his name, you’ll give that name to the police, and when they put that name into their system, they’ll find all sorts of interesting information. He’s weak, he’ll sing like a canary when the cops do their thing and put him in a room with one of Las Vegas’ finest. His singing leads to busting your guy, and this dude goes up the river for a long time. He’s a pretty boy, they’ll like him there. Everyone’s happy.”

  Dave’s body language when he finished his story was the stuff of nightmares. He stretched his arms up over his head, cracked his knuckles, then laced his fingers behind his head. The corners of his mouth turned up in a terrifying slant that sent his nostrils flaring. His eyes hardened to points of icy steel that Joe was convinced would cut through a person as easily as a bullet from the gun he’d glimpsed tucked in Dave’s waistband when he’d raised his arms.

  Joe didn’t speak. Couldn’t speak. What was he supposed to say to that? Thanks, Dave, hope I don’t piss you off one of these days? He felt a bead of sweat trickle from his armpit down his side.

  When Cort didn’t speak either, the sweating kicked up another notch. Maybe Cort was thinking the same and was running through his mind all his encounters with Dave trying to determine if he’d ‘crossed’ him in any way. Maybe Dave was doing the same.

  The scrape of a chair over the bar’s dirty wood floor, the roar of a motorcycle, the repeated scritch, scritch, scritch as one of the smokers battled with a lighter. The sounds thundered in Joe’s ears as the seconds ticked by.

  “We’re indebted to you, Dave,” Cort said. “If there’s ever anything I can help you with, just ask.”

  Dave brushed aside Cort’s offer with a flip of his wrist. “Consider this one a freebie out of the goodness of my heart.”

  Dave snorted out what Joe supposed could be called a laugh right before he reached inside his jacket. In full panic mode, Joe jerked back, sending the table and the glasses on it tottering. Dave dropped an envelope on the table, but not before giving Joe another glance that shouted, Why are you here again?

  “This is everything you’ll need. Name, including aliases, address, photos, and some notes on his past in case the cops don’t dig deep enough. I’m looking forward to reading all about it in the paper.”

  Joe couldn’t help but wonder, and worry, if there’d be a problem using whatever evidence was inside that envelope. Could Jake turn it over to Bud without any details about how he got it? Not the time to worry about that, Joe told himself. Take what was given them, be grateful, make sure Dave knows how grateful, then get their butts far away from Clancy’s.

  “Thank you, Dave. The thought that we’ll be able to bring this to an end, to see a despicable person get his due, it means a lot to me. And to my wife. Thank you doesn’t seem sufficient.”

  “Hey, that’s what I do. Help people.” It looked like Dave tried to wink but since there wasn’t much difference between an open eye and a closed one, Joe couldn’t be sure. “You seem like a decent guy, a little twitchy, but who am I to judge. Glad to be of service. Now, put this guy—these guys—away.”

  Cort slid from the booth. “We’ll do that.” He extended his hand. “Thank you.”

  Dave shook Cort’s hand. “Hope to do business again.”

  It was Joe’s turn. “Thank you, again, for everything.”

  Dave returned the handshake. “You take care of that wife. Call her and put her mind at ease.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  “Joe, will you pay our tab?” Cort asked.

  “Sure.” He nodded at Dave. “Pleasure to meet you.”

  Joe crossed the narrow room to the bar. It wasn’t hard to figure out that Cort wanted a minute alone with Dave, but Joe wasn’t sure why. He paid the bartender, left a generous tip and enough to cover whatever else Dave might order, then met Cort at the door. They didn’t talk until they were back inside the cab Cort had asked to wait.

  “That was, to quote Dave, interesting,” Joe said.

  “Interesting. Yes. Not what I expected.”

  “How so?”

  “Dave was different tonight, almost cheerful. I haven’t seen him like that before.”

  “That was cheerful?”

  “For Dave, yes. I think he laughed a couple times, even smiled, or at least what passes for a smile.”

  “He kind of scared me.”

  “Yes, in addition to being almost cheerful, he was, at the same time, more frightening than I’ve seen him. An enigma, I tell you.”

  “So he was cheerful because the guy who crossed him is going to get his due, and frightening because he wanted to make sure we understood not to try to cross him. I guess that could make sense.”

  Cort pulled open the envelope and fanned the stack of papers. “There’s a lot here. A lot more than I expected, or even hoped for. I have to wonder why.”

  “You said from the start he was bothered by what Joshua was doing. Even if a person’s morals are questionable, they’re still morals. Preying on innocents must fall into his unacceptable category.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  Cort was quiet and stared out the window of the cab. Joe was tempted to ask him if he was worried, if he thought Dave’s evidence wouldn’t be enough, what he needed to talk to Dave alone about, but before he knew it, the cab stopped in front of their hotel. When they stood in front of the grand, glittering façade, Cort clapped a hand on Joe’s shoulder.

  “We did it. When we all boarded the plane, I had my doubts, but we did it. This is going to ensure Joshua pays for what he did to Karen and to all the others. Soon, it will be a distant memory.”

  Joe nodded and let Cort’s words sink in. A distant memory had never sounded better.

  The fountain greeted them with its gentle tinkling and splashing. While Cort pressed the button for the elevator, Joe paused by the fountain.

  “Coming?” Cort called across the lobby.

  “Not yet. Thank you, Cort, thank you for all you’ve done. I’ll see you for breakfast when we share our news. Thank you.”

  Cort nodded and then disappeared as the elevator doors swooshed shut.

  Joe sat down next to the fountain that had captivated him when he’d first arrived. An oasis of calm. The description fit more than ever. The chaos of the past few days, the past few weeks, started to fade as he closed his eyes and let the soothing sounds and smells transport him to that oasis.

  He breathed deeply, inhaling the flowery mist that surrounded him. Almost as good at Shauna’s spa. It was nearly perfect. There was just one thing missing.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  JOE SNAPPED TO attention when his chin bobbed against his chest. Embarrassed, he glanced around to see if he’d had an audience only to find the hotel lobby mostly deserted. The fountain was a little too relaxing, he decided. Hoping he could sneak into his room and catch a few hours of sleep before Jake and Riley woke him, he pressed the button to call the elevator.

  But that wasn’t to be. When the elevator opened on the twenty-first floor, he found Jake, Riley, Cassie, and Frank all waiting for him in the comfy chairs that filled the elevator alcove. While they didn’t look wide awake, neither did they look ready to go back to bed.

  “Cort’s back, but he wouldn’t tell us much of anything without you,” Frank said.

  “What happened?” Jake
asked.

  Joe put a hand over his yawn. “I suppose you want to hear it now?”

  “I’d suppose, assuming you’ve got new information, you’d want to get things in gear as soon as possible. The sooner you tell us, the sooner I can tell Bud.”

  “You’re right. I do want you to get the information to Bud right away. I guess after the night we had, exhaustion is catching up with me.”

  “The night you had? Were you in danger?” Joe watched the color drain from Cassie’s face.

  “No. Well, I don’t think so, anyway.” Joe rubbed his eyes and stifled another yawn. “Let’s call Shauna, and Cort unless he told you otherwise. I think it will go better if Cort and I tell you together. It’s possible we have different takes on some of what happened.”

  The explanation did little to restore the color to Cassie’s face. His brothers didn’t look much better. Joe wanted to blame it on lack of sleep, but knew his cryptic details had them worried.

  “It’s good. We got what we’d hoped for—more than we’d hoped for—and enough, I think, to wrap up things with a big bow. Let’s see about getting Shauna and Cort here.”

  In desperate need of a toothbrush, a super-sized bottle of water, and, if he was going to have to stay awake, some sugar—not coffee because he wasn’t ready to let go of the hope of sleep in the near future—Joe keyed his way into his room. He left the calling to the others while he used the toothbrush, chugged most of a liter of water, and dug through their stash of snacks until he got his hands on a candy bar. By the time he’d finished it, Shauna and Cort had both joined them.

  Since the room was much smaller than Cort’s suite, their normal gathering place, they found spots on the beds, the few chairs scattered around the room, and even the window ledge. Joe stood. Somewhat revived, moving felt better than sitting.

  “I wish you all could have been there,” Joe began. “I don’t know if I can do justice to Dave with my description. He’s…unique, I guess is a good term. No one in Misty Lake I can compare him to so you have a visual, that’s for sure.”

  “You made it sound like you were in danger, or thought you might be,” Cassie said. “Tell us what happened.”

  Joe looked at Cort who nodded.

  “I don’t think we were ever really in danger. Dave merely laid out how crossing him is a bad idea, thereby insinuating we’d best not get any big ideas. At least that’s how I interpreted it.”

  “I’d say that’s fair,” Cort said. “I’d also say it was mostly for your benefit, Joe. He’d never met you, I’m still surprised and somewhat confused as to why he agreed to have you there, but I know his show was for you.”

  “Whatever his reason, and whatever his game, he came through. Big time.”

  Joe looked around the room at those who had dropped everything to come on a crazy, quite possibly futile, mission. He knew he’d never be able to repay them, but at least he was able to tell them the mission was going to have the right outcome.

  “He gave us the name of Joshua’s accomplice. His name is Brendan Pike. We have it, you guys. We have the evidence we need to give to the police.”

  Cassie cheered and hugged Frank. Riley and Jake fist-bumped. Shauna smiled and leaned her head on Cort’s shoulder. Joe suspected Cort had already told her the news.

  “If you give me what you have, I’ll call Bud and arrange a time to turn it over to him. This is good. This is really good.”

  For the first time since they’d arrived—actually, for the first time since Karen had told them her story—Jake looked confident. He’d been hopeful, sure, but Joe knew he’d had his doubts. Doubts he’d kept to himself, but Joe knew his brother well enough to see through to that doubt.

  Riley slapped Joe on the back. “I have to admit to having some doubts. I’m happy to put those doubts to rest.”

  “You and me both.”

  “Tell us more about Dave,” Cassie said. “You have me curious.”

  Between the two of them, Joe and Cort relayed the details of their conversation with, and their impressions of, Dave. Now that they had what they’d hoped for and the ordeal was coming to an end, there were plenty of comments, jokes, and boasts about how they’d have handled things from those who hadn’t been there. The jokes came to an abrupt halt when Joe mentioned the gun.

  “A gun?” Shauna’s smile vanished. “He had a gun? Cort, you never said anything about a gun.”

  Silence descended like a heavy cloud over the room. Next to Shauna, Cort shifted uncomfortably. Joe caught the less-than-pleased glance Cort threw his way.

  “Yes, he had a gun, but I think he always carries a gun. It’s legal here, even in a bar or a casino. I checked.”

  “So what if it’s legal? It seems like something you would have mentioned.”

  “I’m sorry, I should have, but I knew you’d worry, and I knew there was no reason to worry. Yes, Dave was angry tonight, but that anger wasn’t directed at us, it was directed at this Brendan Pike. The fact that he had a gun was startling for Joe, I understand that, I felt the same the first time I noticed his gun, but again, we were not in any danger.”

  Shauna didn’t look convinced but Jake, somewhat surprising to Joe, didn’t seem bothered.

  “I’ve noticed guns on a lot of people since we’ve been here. They’re not flaunting them, but they’re not going out of their way to hide them either. If you know what you’re looking for, it’s not hard to spot one. Assuming they have permits, there’s nothing illegal about it. Anyway, it’s over, no one got hurt, and we got what we needed. I think we can let it go.”

  Shauna glowered at Jake before nodding and accepting.

  Ready to move on, Joe asked Jake, “You’ll call Bud later this morning?”

  “In a few hours, yes. I hope to meet with him today and he can take it from there.”

  “Then we’re done,” Frank said. “We can think about heading home?”

  “One more day to make sure things are in motion?” Riley suggested.

  “I can arrange for the plane to be here tomorrow to take home those who are ready to go. I may not wrap up my business by tomorrow, so if anyone wants to stay longer, we can look at flying home in a few days.”

  Joe checked the time. “I don’t know if anyone other than me wants to try to get some sleep, but I’m hoping for a couple of hours, then I’ll call Karen.” He felt the smile spread across his face at the thought of that phone call. “Want to meet in a few hours, make sure everything is in order as far as the info for Bud goes, then figure out our plans?”

  “Sounds good,” Jake said.

  “You’re all welcome back to my room for breakfast, if you’d like. I have a few conference calls this morning, then an on-site meeting this afternoon, but I’ll be available if you need anything more from me before you talk to Bud.”

  “You don’t have to host us all the time,” Joe protested.

  “It’s not a problem. There’s room, it’s comfortable, it makes sense. I’ll order breakfast for nine o’clock?”

  They agreed. Once those who were leaving cleared out, Joe fell face-first onto his bed. He kicked off his shoes but didn’t bother with anything else.

  It turned into an endless, boring day. After breakfast, where the mood had been more upbeat since they’d arrived, he’d convinced himself Joshua would be behind bars within a day or two. He’d called Karen, told her the news, and celebrated long-distance with her.

  His euphoria didn’t last long. Jake called Bud only to find him in Reno to question one of the women Dave had named as a former victim of Joshua’s. Bud had moved up his questioning of her after doing some checking and learning she’d put in her notice with her current employer and that the lease on her apartment was set to expire at the end of the month. It seemed likely she was preparing for a move and Bud didn’t want to miss his chance to interview her. He wasn’t due back until that night and wouldn’t be able to meet with Jake until the following morning.

  Resigning himself to adding at least one more day
to his trip, Joe spent the afternoon sequestered in his room preparing lessons. He got through what he needed for the next morning in the first hour, but with nothing else to do, planned out lessons, or at least the ideas for lessons, to get him through the rest of the summer.

  It was a relief to have that task behind him instead of looming over him every week for the remainder of the summer. When he got home, he planned to devote every minute he could to his family. They’d make the most of their shortened summer, savoring the time together before he and Karen both went back to work. He knew there was still a lot to figure out, but now they’d have the time to focus and come up with a plan that would work. It wouldn’t be easy, not by any stretch of the imagination, but not much that mattered was.

  Joe started scribbling notes. Two jobs, three kids in daycare, coaching positions he needed to accept or decline by the next week, not to mention the chores he’d planned on tackling over the summer but hadn’t yet touched. A tune-up on the lawn mower, a swing set for the kids, a fresh coat of paint in the kitchen, resetting the paving blocks leading to the beach…his list grew long but made him grin. Karen’s love of lists was rubbing off on him. She’d get a kick out of seeing what he put together.

  He wanted to call her, just to hear her voice, but that morning she’d told him her parents were coming over for a late afternoon visit then her sister and brother-in-law would be joining them and bringing dinner. Knowing Karen, she’d spent the day cleaning and straightening. Her parents were surely there by now, if Kelly and Wes weren’t, they would be soon, so he’d wait and talk to her later. Besides, he knew he wouldn’t be able to hide from her his disappointment at the delay.

  A text earlier from Shauna told him they all planned on going for pizza at seven. Joe had planned on declining, he was sick of crowds, but with nothing else to do and with his stomach growling at him, he showered and met the group in the lobby.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO