Weddings & Weapons

by Laina Turner

  My mind went back to what I’d witnessed on the beach and I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. I wanted to do something about it since I was the one who found him, but there wasn’t much I could do.

  I finished my cocoa and sat there enjoying the quiet until I started to get cold. I reached for the door when I heard a loud noise coming from the beach. I turned around and saw something out there on the water. A boat with a person, who appeared to be waving. What was someone doing in the lake in the middle of the night? Were they stranded out there? I wish I had brought my phone with me to call 911, but it was still sitting on my nightstand. I slid the door open with such force it bounced back and hit me in the shoulder. I was going to get my phone, but then I heard a voice coming from the beach and I turned back around. Now there were two people on shore waving to the person in the boat. It didn’t seem if anyone was in danger, but what the hell were they doing out there? I pulled my robe tighter to keep out the cold and walked out to the edge of the deck to get a closer look. What were people doing out on the beach at this time of night?

  One of the people on the beach waded out in the water as the boat got closer and pulled it the rest of the way in. I was too far away to see them clearly, but I could tell they were all male by their size. They unloaded a couple long boxes off the boat and then pushed it back out and the boat headed off into the distance while the men on shore seemed to disappear into thin air. Literally. They walked away from the shoreline and then vanished. I scanned the shoreline expecting to see them pop up somewhere and nothing. I figured I just wasn’t looking in the right direction.

  I headed back inside hoping I’d be able to fall back asleep, but that was wishful thinking. I spent the next couple hours tossing and turning in bed with my mind replaying finding the body and then the men on the beach. I finally fell asleep and woke up to the sunlight streaming through the bedroom window. I had a pounding headache from lack of sleep. I looked at my phone. It was about nine o’clock. Late for me, but not when you consider I hadn’t fallen asleep until after four. I groaned. I needed coffee in the worst way. Finally, I forced myself out of bed and headed to the kitchen.

  Lucky for me the espresso machine wasn’t hard to figure out and within minutes I had a delicious latte with sugar free vanilla syrup. Just as I liked it. I needed a set up like this at home. Then maybe I’d be more motivated to get up to make my coffee and save money that I normally spent each day on Starbucks.

  Once the caffeine started to do its job and wake me up, my stomach started growling. I was hungry and there wasn’t any breakfast food here. I didn’t want to start the day with Oreos and Twizzlers, though truth be told, I’d done it before. I remembered passing a couple breakfast places on the way in, so I decided to head into town.

  A few minutes later I was on my way. I’d thrown on some khaki joggers and a graphic tee that said Being Fabulous is a Skill. It was in a line of tee’s in my store that was my new favorite with their cute sayings. The customers at Silk were eating them up and I couldn’t keep them in stock. Everyone loved a cute tee, plus they were the least expensive thing in the store so they made for a great add-on.

  It didn’t take long to pull up to a diner I’d seen on my way in. The house was only a few miles away from the town of Shiloh and the town wasn’t all that big. Had I been more motivated and less hungry I could have walked there.

  As I pulled into a parking space, I saw two guys standing by the entrance of the diner arguing. These guys were standing face to face, about one inch from one another, and even from here I could tell it was a heated argument and it didn’t look as if there was going to be a good outcome.

  Both were dressed in casual clothes, jeans and work boots, but one of the men was older than the other. The younger one looked to be my age and kind of cute in a scruffy sort of way.

  I watched the older guy draw his right fist back and punch the younger guy in the face causing him to stagger back, but it didn’t knock him down. The guy could sure take a punch. I expected to see the younger guy fight back but he didn’t. He just stood there, staring at the other guy. Almost as if to say, do it again. I dare you. I had to smile. I kind of liked that attitude.

  I didn’t want to stand by and watch someone get beat up, so I stepped out of the car and yelled. “Hey there. Stop!” I don’t know how effective that was going to be, but they did both turn and look at me. It wasn’t a very nice look, from the older guy anyway, but before anything else could happen a police car pulled up and an officer stepped out. It was the Sheriff from last night. Thank God. I realized how stupid I’d been to try to interfere. Sometimes my mouth got the better of me.

  “Glen, Harley, what the hell is going on?”

  “Mind your own business, Ted. This doesn’t concern you,” the older one said in a not so friendly tone. I wasn’t sure if he didn’t like cops or that was just his normal tone, but it was a little scary. Though it didn’t seem to bother the Sheriff. Something told me this wasn’t their first go around.

  “Glen, anything that happens in my town is my business. I can’t have you fighting in the streets. Janet doesn’t take kindly to you scaring away her customers. Do you really want to piss her off?” I could hear him say.

  “I was about done with him anyway,” Glen spat out. “I’ll see you later,” he said pointing to Harley, who didn’t seem all that concerned, and walked away mumbling under his breath.

  Harley and Ted noticed me staring and my face grew red from being caught watching, but they quickly turned back to each other. Ted put his hand on Harley’s shoulder and was saying something to him, but I couldn’t hear because he’d lowered his voice.

  I walked past them to get to the front door, but they were so engrossed in their conversation they didn’t even notice me. I couldn’t help but wonder what they were talking about. I did notice however, that Sheriff Travis was even cuter in the daylight and a little younger than I’d originally thought. Not that I was looking, but I did for a moment wish Anna had come with me. She needed to meet some eligible men.

  The diner was busy, which hopefully boded well for the quality of the food, so I grabbed a seat at the counter and within a few moments a waitress gave me a menu and water. She was blond. Not young but not old either, with a friendly smile. I had the feeling she was like Betty back home, personality wise. Sweet unless you got on her bad side then watch out. She wouldn’t be someone to mess with. She gave off that no nonsense vibe.

  “Coffee?”

  “Yes, please.” Even though I’d had some at home, I needed more. There was no such thing as too much coffee in my book. Caffeine was the fuel that kept me going

  I opened the menu and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t the bacon and eggs greasy spoon food I expected. The menu said everything was organic and local and the menu items were more French bistro than country diner. It looked as if this breakfast was going to turn out to be even better than expected.

  The waitress made her way back over and set my coffee on the counter. I pulled it close and inhaled the aroma. It smelled wonderful.

  “Our special today is a chorizo omelet with avocado and mushrooms in our housemade balsamic marinade. And since you haven’t been here before I’d also recommend our yogurt parfait and crème brulee French toast if you’re not in an omelet mood. All our ingredients are the freshest you’ll find and most of them are local.”

  “How do you know I’ve not been here before?” I asked.

  “Sweetheart, I know everyone in this town and you are definitely not from this town. You look more city to me. Milwaukee?”

  I smiled. “Chicago.”

  “See, close enough. Now you look over the menu and I’ll be back in a few. My name’s Janet.”

  I looked over the menu and it was hard to choose. It all sounded so good. I finally decided on something and closed the menu, sitting it in front of me to signal I was ready. I took another sip of my coffee and got lost in thought, thinking about the men on the beach again. Maybe when I went
down there today, I’d try and see where they’d disappeared to.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” Janet said as she refilled my coffee.

  Not wanting to explain what I was thinking about; I went with something easier. “When I walked in here there were two guys fighting and Sheriff Travis broke it up. I was just wondering what they were arguing about,” I said sheepishly, knowing how it must sound. Like an outsider getting in everyone’s business.

  Janet looked at me strangely. “How do you know the Sheriff?” she said, obviously picking up that I’d mentioned him by name.

  “I met the Sheriff last night,” I said, and was going to leave it at that when Janet gasped.

  “You were the girl who found the dead body on the beach!” She exclaimed, setting down the coffee pot, as if she was settling in to hear the whole story.

  Wow, news travels fast around here. Though I didn’t know why I was surprised. The small town I grew up in was the same way and that had been before social media. Twitter had nothing on a small-town grapevine.

  I nodded my head yes. “Did you know him? The guy who was murdered.”

  “Murdered?” Janet’s head snapped back. Clearly that news hadn’t traveled.

  I was confused. She knew there was a dead body but didn’t know the guy had been murdered. Were the cops keeping it to themselves? Holding clues back and all. Those Law and Order re-runs weren’t just all for entertainment purposes. I’d picked up a few things.

  “I just assumed, I guess,” I said, trying to sound indifferent.

  Janet’s eyes narrowed like she didn’t quite believe me, but I didn’t want to gossip about the bullet hole I’d seen in this guy’s head. Even though I was sure about what I’d seen, I didn’t necessarily want to talk about it.

  “So, what’s the issue between Glen and Harley. They looked ticked off at each other. Are they bad people?” I said, changing the subject.

  “Harley’s a good kid but Glen and the others; a tough bunch. They mostly keep to themselves and don’t bother nobody.”

  She must have noticed a confused look on my face because she started laughing. “Sorry, I forgot for a moment that you’re not from around here and have no idea what I’m talking about.” She set her coffee pot down and leaned in. She obviously was a chatty type. “Sheboygan is a quiet town most the time. We get our influx of summer tourists, which are needed to help keep the town afloat, but even then, it’s mostly families wanting fun in the sun and no one to cause any trouble. It’s casual and laid back most of the time. Glen and Harley belong to a militia group that has about thirty or forty members. It’s not large and most of the time they don’t bother people. And even when they do cause a ruckus it’s more verbal. Protesting occasionally, when something happens in the news they don’t like that fuels their cause. “Janet stopped to walk over to a customer and refill their coffee.

  Coming back to me she continued. “But they don’t usually mingle with the locals and they’re very private. We all have a healthy respect for each other. Glen and Harley, well, it’s more of a family issue between them most times. Harley is a bit more open minded then his father and they argue quite a bit. Glen can’t stand Harley interacting with the locals willingly. Why that boy doesn’t just up and leave I don’t know. He just doesn’t seem to fit in with their ideals, even went to college on a football scholarship. He could have done anything, yet he chose to come back here. But then what do I know? They are family and that’s the most important thing in this world, in my opinion.”

  “Harley is Glen’s son?” I couldn’t imagine my dad ever coming to blows with my brother Jesse. That wasn’t even fathomable in my mind. Each family had their own dynamic, I supposed. I was glad that wasn’t mine.

  “Yep. Such a sad shame that they would fight like that, but Glen has his beliefs and he won’t shake them for nothing. He’s a narrow minded S.O.B.” she said, shaking her head, seeming more disappointed in Glen than angry. I got the feeling there was some history between Janet and Glen. Just the expression on her face when she said his name.

  “Do they come here a lot?”

  Janet shrugged. “About once a week. I don’t agree with their cause, but they’ve never been anything but respectful to me, and they don’t cause trouble in my restaurant, so to each his own I say. What can I get you to eat? Wouldn’t want you to starve on my watch,” she said and winked, apparently deciding she’d gossiped enough.

  A few minutes later, Janet sat a plate in front of me the most delicious smelling aroma from thick pieces of French toast, arranged beautifully on a plate and dusted with powdered sugar. I could tell without even taking a bite it was going to be exactly how I liked it. Crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. I could never get my French toast to come out that way, which is why I rarely made it. I was always disappointed because it was either soggy or chewy so it was my absolute favorite thing to order at a restaurant.

  I took a bite and the food completely exceeded any expectations I may have had. Even my favorite breakfast places in the city didn’t have French toast this good. I might have to take more vacations here just for this, it would be worth it.

  Finally, I stopped eating. Realizing even though I wanted to finish it all, if I ate one more bite I would explode. I pushed my plate away and took a drink of coffee, my mind going back to the dead body.

  “How is everything?” Janet came back by and asked, momentarily distracting me from my thoughts.

  “Absolutely amazing. Hats off to the chef.”

  Janet beamed. “Thank you and my grandson will appreciate it.”

  Grandson. Wow, she was older than I thought or she had kids when she was twelve. Good for her for looking so awesome.

  “Is this a family business?” I asked.

  “Yep. This place has been here since my parents opened it just a little over fifty years ago. My mom wiped down these same counters,” Janet said lovingly, and I could tell how proud she was. “My kids wanted out of this small town and never had any interest in taking over so I was thrilled when my grandson, Eric, chose to stick around. But he’s still young so we will see. He might change his mind and head for the big city.”

  I could tell Janet was extremely proud of her grandson and I hoped for her sake he stuck around. Having a legacy business like this wasn’t something you saw all that often anymore with all the big corporations gobbling up the market share.

  “Well, I don’t know where he learned to cook but he’s good,” I said.

  “He’s self-taught. He’s the one who came up with these menu ideas. We’d always been a greasy spoon diner and did just fine for years, but he told me I needed to get with the times. I thought he was crazy, I mean we’re a small town, people just want bacon and eggs, but I was wrong. People love his new creations. Next time you come in you need to try the fried banana bread. It’s truly to die for. He has a way with baked goods.” Janet slid my check across the counter. “Just walk up to the front when you’re ready.”

  Chapter 3

  “I wonder where this compound is?” I thought, tapping the keys on my leg as I was sitting in the car. I knew I was on vacation and should be relaxing and not trying to satisfy my curiosity about things happening in this town, but this was kind of fun. I did like a mystery. My curiosity was so strong it was overriding my desire to go home and take a nap.

  I kind of had this bad habit of getting involved where I shouldn’t. I had an inquisitive mind, I couldn’t help it. It’s not like I went searching for mysteries, they just sort of happened around me. I didn’t know a lot about militia, but couldn’t help but to want to find out more about what they were. There wasn’t anything wrong with that.

  Even though I had no idea where this place was, I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I should have asked Janet. I was sure she’d know, but I also bet most of the locals did as well. I needed gas so I thought I’d go across the street to the gas station to get some and ask the person working there.

  I pumped the gas and then wa
lked inside, grabbing a Diet Coke for the ride, and headed to the counter.

  “That’ll be two fifty,” a bored looking cashier said, and I handed over the five I’d grabbed out of my wallet.

  “I was wondering if you knew where the militia compound was?” I’d racked my brain on the short walk inside on how to ask without sounding like a weirdo and realized there just wasn’t a good way. So, straight forward was the way I decided to go. It’s not like I’d ever see this person again and the cashier didn’t even seem interested in why I would ask such a question. Maybe it was a common tourist destination and people asked a lot.

  “You mean the Wickham place?”

  “Probably. I don’t know the name.” If that wasn’t the place I’d just be on a sight-seeing tour. Either way was fine. It’s not like I had a schedule to keep.

  “You’ll want to head out the parking lot that way,” she said, pointing what I thought was north. “Then continue on for about ten miles or so and you’ll start to see barb wire fencing and then you’ll come to state road 141. Turn left and it will be on your right. You can’t miss it.”

  “Thanks,” I said and turned to leave, grabbing the drink off the counter.

  “Excuse me,” the cashier said, and I turned back around. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but do you know someone out there? You’re not a reporter or a cop or nothing’ are you?”

  “No. Neither of those,” I said ignoring the first half of her question.

  “Ok. They don’t like cops or reporters. Just thought I’d warn you.”

  “Oh, do you know someone who lives out there?”

  “Sort of. I went to high school with a couple kids who lived there. Didn’t know them well, but enough to know they’re very private people. Don’t much like outsiders.”