When he’d asked his wife how Kelly had found him out on the beach, she’d said he’d never come back to the hotel room. The last she’d seen him—and she swore it—had been when he’d left with the cheque she’d stroked.
“Uh-huh,” Chief said. He was absently looking down into his notes, flipping pages. “They caught a body. And it’s weird. It’s a man gone missing from these parts about…oh…six-and-a-half years ago. We thought he’d just dicked off with his pile of money from a settlement that made him, oh, I’d say moderately wealthy. Made sense to everyone.”
Charlie swallowed. “Been in the water all that time, huh?”
“That’s the thing,” Chief said. “He wasn’t. An animal got him, that’s what it looks like to me. We have orcas out this way. You know. Killer whales. He was sawed practically in half, no blood left. That is, after he took a shell right through the noggin—” Chief pointed at his own forehead with a hand formed into a gun to illustrate. “He was a feller I knew personally. Just vanished one day but nobody could give me any leads. But he wasn’t in the water the whole time. If he had been, there’d a been almost nothing left. He was still buoyant. Even a layman like me, I could tell he’d only been in the water a day, day-and-a half, at most.”
Charlie clapped his arms tight against his sides after a fresh trickle made its way down his underarm. He made a noise that said, weird. But no actual words came out of him.
“Found another feller too, not far off from this guy.” The chief gestured to the trolley. “This one isn’t from here. No ID at all. And he was snapped in half too. Everything from the belly down is gone like last Christmas.” Chief had a faraway tone. He was picturing things, puzzling things as he spoke. He finally looked up from his notepad and made fresh eye contact with Charlie.
“No need to concern the wife with this, a’ course. I’m just thinking out loud. Such a thing is rare as rare can be out here. Hell, hardly anyone even takes an extra piece of bin candy at Harlow’s Grocer. Now listen, I hope your stay on the island was pleasant.” He reached out to shake Charlie’s hand.
Two bodies. Two half-bodies, headed for the mainland to be autopsied. He thought of what the redhead had said.
The boss’ll use some parts here and some parts there.
Then he thought of what else the redhead had delivered before slipping silently into the ocean that, apparently, had coughed up the two half-men on the chief’s trolley.
We tagged you, the redhead had said. That’s the ringing in your ears and the hazy look of the world. We tagged you. And if’n the boss thinks we can make use of your parts, well, we’ll find you. Trust me. We’ll find you.
Charlie reached out and shook the chief’s hand. Was our stay pleasant? Mother of Mary, of all the questions the chief of police could ask him.
“It was,” Charlie said. He let go of the chief’s hand and forced a smile. He turned and headed through the big iron door with the wheel on its face. Under his breath, he added, “But it’s over now.” And for Charlie’s money, thank God it was.
~ fin ~
The Dovetail Cove saga doesn’t end here. In DEATHBED (1971), go back in time and discover how the madness began in Dovetail Cove. In BLED, journey to 1972 with Frank Moort and Teeny who serve up more than pineapple cheesecake at the Highliner Cafe. In ZED (1975), Tom Mason learns what evil truly looks like. In UNWED (1976), Bexy McLeod faces off against the entire town. In SHED (1977), we find Simon and Rupert dealing with the trials of a new stepfather. And in DREAD (1978), Mac and Dave McLeod return home to the island and embark on a murder mystery of sorts, revealing even more terrible truths about the island.
*All Dovetail Cove books tie to each other but can be read in any order.
DEATHBED (Dovetail Cove, 1971) LEARN MORE >
The Dovetail Cove saga begins here—in July, 1971. Farrah’s on summer break and she’s sure to tell you she’s NOT twelve, she’s TWELVE-AND-A-HALF, thank you very much. And tonight, she’s sneaking out to visit her Gran and show her a ‘mystery box’ she’s stumbled across at the Main Street Summer Market, dead certain there’s a story hidden within. And she’s right. Events reach back to 1956 and a shadowy ‘incident’ that started the darkness on the island. Only a handful know the true details of the incident. And even fewer have witnessed this new darkness, but Farrah will catch a glimpse of it tonight…at the edge of her Gran’s DEATHBED.
BLED (Dovetail Cove, 1972) LEARN MORE >
Tina McLeod is on the cusp of a new life. Extraordinary change is rare in her world but this newsflash means she can finally leave her small island town for good. No more pouring coffee for townsfolk in Main Street's greasy spoon, no more living under the weight of her born-again mother. That is, until Frank Moort comes in for his usual lunch and dessert on an ordinary Friday in May.
FLED (Dovetail Cove, 1973) LEARN MORE >
In this noir chapter of the Dovetail Cove saga, it’s May Day, 1973, and Charles Scobie finds himself hitched to Chrissy Banatyne, the daughter of the wealthiest and most talked-about power couple on the island. And, of all the rotten luck, Chrissy’s honeymoon destination of choice brings her home, while bringing Charlie back to an icy batch of memories he’s trying to leave behind. Desperate to finally outrun a violent childhood, a disastrous start to his career, and his estranged family, Charlie believed he could finally set everything right after one last backroom deal, executed on a snowy night—right here in this very island town. Now, Charlie’s gotten used to the high life. Newlywed and wealthy, he has everything going for him. Still, it seems, no matter how fast Charlie runs, he finds himself right back where he started.
REDHEAD (Dovetail Cove, 1974) LEARN MORE >
“My name is Frances Margaret Banks and I’ve killed two men.” So begins the account of Dovetail Cove’s most notorious Lady of The Red Light in her rented room above Lowballs Pub on Beacon Street. When she meets Sean, a seemingly noble client who takes her services despite his beautiful young family waiting at home, she knows the relationship needs to end. And yet, drawn into his world of security, mystique and, yes, even love, Fanny is compelled to maintain ties with Sean, even if they turn out to be fatal.
ZED (Dovetail Cove, 1975) LEARN MORE >
It’s the waning dog days of August, 1975 and Tom Mason’s in Dovetail Cove for the last few weeks of his summer job at the group home. His boss and the home’s owner is Karen Banatyne, one of the wealthiest folks in town. It seems like she’s got it in for Tom; she's the only one standing in his way as he scrimps for a new camera. But Karen has her own problems. A regulatory agency might cut off her funding, plus her hubby hasn’t been seen in a few weeks, and she’s not saying why. Most ominous of all, it seems as though something’s hiding in the hot spring north of the main beach and one of Karen’s ‘houseguests’ is about to come face to face with evil. Tom is too.
UNWED (Dovetail Cove, 1976) LEARN MORE >
It’s January, 1976 and Bexy McLeod gets roped in to helping Dovetail Cove’s retired doc as he deals with St. Dominic’s latest problem. Having tangled with the town’s church-going community for years, Bexy knows she shouldn’t get involved. Wheelchair-bound after an accident left her a paraplegic, she might be the least-sensible choice. Trouble tends to follow the widow and the last thing Bexy needs is confrontation. But now she’s finding herself enamoured with the young woman she’s helping. Bexy may just have to go toe-to-toe with one of the most prominent members of Dovetail Cove’s upper crust…and its head priest.
SHED (Dovetail Cove, 1977) LEARN MORE >
Simon and Rupert spend their days playing in the fields out near the old power station but at night, a visitor comes for them. Older brother Simon shoulders the burden of their stepfather Everett and his greedy dominion over their Mama. But the brothers must now stand together to heal the wounds of their real father’s departure and brace themselves for a harrowing showdown with Everett.
DREAD (Dovetail Cove, 1978) LEARN MORE >
Mac and Dave McLeod are thirty-something bac
helor brothers, back in the tiny island town of Dovetail Cove after more than a decade away. They're here for a funeral, despite Mac's looming feeling that things aren't quite right in their childhood home, nor anywhere else across town. It doesn't take long for a mysterious visitor at the wake to embroil the McLeod boys and the island doc in a game of whodunit involving one of Police Chief Birkhead's unsolved files. Things get macabre when the boys discover a link to their parents in the mess. And the visitor who starts it all might just be a walking cadaver gone missing out from under the coroner's nose.
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About the Author
Jason McIntyre has lived and worked in varied places across the globe. His writing also meanders from the pastoral to the garish, from the fantastical to the morbid. Vibrant characters and vivid surroundings stay with him and coalesce into novels and stories. Before his time as an editor, writer and communications professional, he spent several years as a graphic designer and commercial artist.
McIntyre's writing has been called noir and sophisticated, styled after the likes of Chuck Palahniuk but with the pacing and mass appeal of Stephen King. The books tackle the family life subject matter of Jonathan Franzen but also eerie discoveries one might find in a Ray Bradbury story or those of Rod Serling.
Jason McIntyre’s books include the #1 Kindle Suspense, The Night Walk Men, bestsellers On The Gathering Storm and Shed, plus the multi-layered coming-of-age literary suspense Thalo Blue.
Learn more about the author and his work at:
www.theFarthestReaches.com
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