A Kayak for One

by K. L. McCluskey

  At the end of the season they would bring Charlene a box of cake mix and frosting, a can of pineapples, and a jar of maraschino cherries, thinking Charlene would make some sort of upside down cake. Little did they know she just ate the cherries dipped in the icing and put the cake mix in the kitchen cupboard, where she now had three boxes stored, awaiting some sort of boxed cake emergency. Charlene preferred to bake from scratch. The pineapples she just ate in a bowl whenever she had a hankering for something sweet.

  Last year, after she dropped the women off, Charlene took the boat around the back side of their island and saw the body hanging among the leaves. Sarah was the detective on that case. Though more than 10 years younger than Charlene, they hit it off and Sarah called her Staff, after she learned Charlene had been a former police detective with the rank of Staff Sergeant. Though Charlene was qualified as an Inspector after passing her exams, she didn't get promoted to that rank before she quit the police service and started her new life. She often reminded Sarah that she once outranked Sarah's sergeant rank, and the two of them had fun with that each time they saw each other. Charlene often dropped into the police station when she had more time during the off season just so she could visit with Sarah.

  Charlene walked to the front of the boat and gave Sarah a big hug. She walked back to the motor controls and just before she put the boat into reverse, she acknowledged the coroner, standing quietly at the front of the boat, medical bag in hand.

  "Hello Joe," she said.

  "Hello Charlene," he replied.

  Chapter 30

  Charlene

  "Oh come off it and just give the man a big hug and kiss," said Sarah.

  Charlene talked about Joe to Sarah often, and Sarah knew they were a couple. She also knew that both Joe and Charlene gave each other professional distance when they met on police matters, like the hanging. She liked to tease them both though and see if she could get them to crack.

  Joe was a forensic pathologist and coroner, on contract with the local hospital for six months a year to attend sudden and suspicious deaths and guide the local O.P.P. officers through the ordeal following the finding of a deceased person. He was called by police, mandated by the provincial Coroner's Act, to investigate to identify the body, find out when the death occurred, where it happened, how it happened, and by what means, whether by homicide, accident, natural causes or by suicide like the hanging turned out to be. He directed the police officers to interview any potential witness, speak to family members, get medical information or whatever it took to find the answers. He also performed the autopsies, seeking the physical evidence to determine cause of death.

  Joe spent the other six months on contract in Hamilton doing the same thing there in the fall and winter. He was the full time pathologist there before he made the move north to Georgian Bay. He started his engine repair business from a shed at his house set on a small peninsula on the big water, surrounded by water on three sides and a view out front of small islands dotting the shallow water.

  It was something he always wanted to do, knowing that there would be some coroner-related work but not as much as in Hamilton. He told Charlene he wanted to work at taking something apart and be able to bring it back to life for a change. He always had an interest in engine repairs, but never had the time before he semi-retired. Charlene was glad he would not be renewing his Hamilton contract this fall. They could have a lot of time together when his engine business closed up for the winter and the resort shut down.

  Charlene first met Joe when she was a new recruit with the regional police in Hamilton, fresh out of Aylmer Police College. She was in uniform patrol for about a week, when her sergeant told her to head to the Hamilton General Hospital to watch an autopsy. Several other male officers on her shift had never been to an autopsy before, so the four of them found themselves watching Dr. Joe McFadden start the bone saw and cut through the forehead of a man lying face-up on a stainless steel table after being found a few hours earlier, floating face-down in the harbour. Two of the men walked out at that point. The other man looked at Charlene, rolled his eyes, and lasted until Joe peeled the forehead and top of the man's head back took the brain out and put it on the weigh scale. The officer covered his mouth and leaned back against the wall on wobbly legs before he had the strength to run from the room.

  "Well officer, I guess it's just you and me," Joe said to Charlene.

  Though Charlene never got used to the smell of an autopsy, particularly when the Y incision was made to reveal the internal organs for examination, she never had to leave the room. She was fascinated by the science and the clues the body could give to the expert examiner, and she appreciated that Joe treated the body as a person, calling the deceased by name throughout the medical examination. She heard him speak sharply on many occasions to police officers or his own assistants who were not respectful in the presence of the person unfortunate enough to end up on his table being taken apart and examined. She also heard Joe speak to family members of the deceased and he was compassionate, sincere and caring, and timely with his reports that no matter how quick, was never soon enough for family needing and wanting answers.

  That was part of what made her fall in love with him. The other parts fell into place about six years later when Charlene became a detective and suspicious deaths became a part of her normal shift. As part of her investigation, she had to attend all autopsies that concerned her cases. She felt comfortable being close to Joe and felt a spark that came with the attraction. Though for the most part she could only see Joe's eyes over the mask, she felt she got to know his moods and she felt she shared in his discoveries just by watching his pale blue eyes as they searched and tracked and stored what he was seeing on the body on the table. He looked up often and looked into the light gray of Charlene's eyes, and the crinkles at the sides of his eyes grew deeper, as his eyes smiled at hers.

  He was the pathologist on duty that New Year's Eve night. She could still bring to mind the way he looked at her, pulled down his mask, walked over, and gave her a kiss and said, 'Happy New Year ahead of time Charlene' before getting back to the burnt body. She thought then that he felt the same way about her, but Charlene was married at the time and so was Joe. They never met in any social setting other than over coffee at his desk as they discussed a case.

  Then Charlene was no longer married, having divorced when she turned 45-years-old. She focused her attention on her cases and spent more time working then playing, and lasted another four years before she realized she was aging too fast with the stress and quit her job. She traveled for a year then bought Kirk Lake Camp when she turned 50, spending some of her hard earned money, and money from the sale of her house in a small village outside of Hamilton.

  She wasn't too worried about the six-cottage seasonal business. One of the guests from Germany, who came with his wife each July and stayed in the one-room cottage for a few weeks, said he would buy the resort anytime she wanted to sell. He was in love with the hilly land, the solitude of the location, and wanted to turn the resort into a private spot for his family and friends for the summer months only.

  Charlene wasn't ready to sell yet though. Especially not since she made that phone call three years ago to McFadden's small engine repair and reconnected with Joe.

  She lost touch with him after she was transferred to the Sexual Assault Unit and no longer investigated sudden deaths. She had no reason to be in contact with him but thought of him often and imagined his smiling eyes as she recovered from her separation and divorce and moved on in life. She found out when they met that same day after her phone call, he left his wife and they divorced just a year after she had. They began to see each other and the social occasions turned from dates to stay-overs, and a longing to see each other more often, still wanting their own lives, but getting closer to something more permanent, but not yet talking about it.

  Charlene had hopes to spend months together this fall and winter, renovating the old family home she bought in the smal
l harbour along the eastern shore. Now, what would happen? Who was that woman he was with on the boat? Why didn't he tell her? Fuck, she thought. This, and no time to talk to him with everyone around.

  Chapter 31

  Bob

  He couldn't make anything out with the binoculars anymore, other than the brightly lit area around the canoe rack at the resort. He watched Charlie earlier, Charlene he corrected himself, talking to a police officer in front of cottage #1. There was rope all around. He missed that going up, he was so intent on looking at the pictures he downloaded to his computer.

  He saw Joe and a woman wearing a suit jacket and slacks come over on the pontoon boat later with boxes of stuff, maybe the lights, he thought. She must be a police officer too, since he watched her walk around with authority and watched her point to the office before the uniformed officer walked up and went inside. He could just make out that people were inside with all the lights on. Not long after, he heard Charlene start up the pontoon boat and head to the landing. He could just make out that a group was on board. The police boat was still tied to the dock, so the officer must have stayed behind. This will get very interesting, he thought, as he got the bottle of Jim Beam down from the cupboard and settled on the couch for a long night, still excited and reliving the rush of the day.

  Chapter 32

  Charlene

  "Can you stay James?" Sarah asked him as he took pictures of the canoe rack and kayak, still on the lower level, where Charlene left it. "You will be in for a long shift."

  "And lots of overtime...I mean experience," he said looking aside at Charlene, rolling his eyes.

  "I'm glad you were able to get what you needed from the canoeists and let them get going," Charlene told Sarah and James. "I don't think they had anything to do with this."

  "No, I don't either Staff. James got their details and we'll know where they will be tonight. They gave us the hotel they booked and their itinerary for the next week and we can be in touch if needed. I'm glad you saw them paddle in, but they could have come to shore then gone out again, so we have to be careful we don't exclude them from the investigation," Sarah said.

  "Or they may have seen something, they don't know is important to the investigation," Charlene offered.

  "Yes. They were out on the water in the area so we will be sure to get more detailed statements," Sarah said.

  "I have Officer Miller on her way," she continued. "She came in for the night shift. Elliot Lake detachment said they would send an officer to our station to take any calls in our area, and Blind River will back up Elliot Lake, and, of course Espanola police will help us out too." Sarah explained to Officer Edwards and to Joe, who was on his back laying in the grass looking up under the kayak. He looked like a big bunny wearing a white one-piece forensic paper suit and shoe covers. The ears were missing from the hood though, and the mask over his face made him look ominous in the glare of the halogen lights. She looked down and saw that James and Sarah had their feet covered and were wearing gloves. Charlene stood back.

  "Wow. I wouldn't want to be the person needing police help quickly tonight," Charlene said. Elliot Lake was about an hour from Espanola and Blind River 40 minutes west from Elliot Lake.

  "We do what we can Staff, you know that. There is still one of ours left at the station too," Sarah said, defending her team.

  "Well then, you're all set" Charlene said, looking aside at Officer Edwards and rolling her eyes for a change.

  "Why don't you head in Staff and eat and get warm. You've done lots for us already," Sarah said seeing how tired Charlene looked.

  "I think I will," she replied, thinking she would put a big pot of her leftover stew on the stove and make some buns in case anyone got hungry, which they would she knew.

  Just as she turned to leave, Joe said, "Okay let's get the kayak out of here."

  Charlene turned back and watched and waited.

  Sarah and James zipped up their paper suits and covered their faces with masks before going to the rack to help Joe with the kayak. James went around to the end of the kayak close to the woods behind the rack. Joe had the end close to the picnic table in front of cottage #1. Sarah crawled to the side of the kayak and helped. They got the kayak off the rack, turned it over and moved it out onto the tarp they had spread out in readiness. Charlene stood rooted unable to turn away.

  Once the kayak was on the centre of the tarp and the lights adjusted to spotlight it, they all stood and looked at it, then at each other. The woman had been stuffed, face up into the kayak. Charlene's black graphite paddle was on top of the her. Her hands were tied to each other with rope and then tied to the paddle, her hands resting at her groin. The paddle was set into the kayak on top of her, the blades under the rim of the opening in the kayak. It was what stopped her from falling out of the overturned kayak in the rack, thought Charlene.

  The kayak seat was missing. Her head was pushed up under the rim of the kayak into the small storage space that was behind where the seat should be, so only her chin was visible. The swell of breasts was visible in the tight light blue zippered hoodie. Her blue jeans were soaking wet on top at her thighs, the rest of her legs not visible, tucked inside the kayak. Charlene knew they were all thinking it was better that she had on clothes.

  The deep, red-black, mostly dry bloodied gash that went all around her neck stood out in the harshness of the lights. A trail of what looked to Charlene like fishing line was caught in the top zippered part of her hoodie, extra she guessed, not needed to strangle Lori. It was this that Charlene saw when she looked up as she and the professor were trying to move the kayak earlier. She knew death had already set in and there was no saving the poor woman.

  "I'm guessing it's not suicide then," Joe said.

  Officer Edwards helped Joe untie her hands from the paddle. He handed the blue rope to Sarah who put it into an evidence bag. They untied her hands. Sarah put that rope into a separate evidence bag. They put bags over her hands tied at the wrists. Sarah took pictures at every step. Just as Joe and James firmly, but almost tenderly, moved the woman's body down, bending her knees so her head could be seen, exposing the dark blue, unseeing eyes and long tendril of red-orange hair from the side of the hood that was up over Lori's head, Ashley walked up to them and said, "What's going on? Oh my God!"

  Chapter 33

  Charlene

  Charlene wasn't sure if she was more surprised at seeing Ashley in front of her or that it was not her in the kayak. She was certain it was Ashley she looked at from under the kayak when it was still on the rack. She had seen the same light blue hoodie on Ashley the past few days. She was thinking about Haiden and the annoying looks Ashley gave him while on the pontoon boat going to the parking lot at the start and end of the students' time out in the field. She had him placed as her number one suspect and she was sure the professor thought it was Ashley as well. Lori had been under the radar since the students arrived, it seemed, so Charlene was shocked to find Lori dead and Ashley alive.

  Ashley's cries brought Dan and the three guys out of cottage #1.

  "You killed her!" Ashley yelled as she stepped toward Greg.

  Officer Edwards moved as if to stop Ashley if she hit Greg as it looked like she might.

  "What?" the professor demanded of Ashley.

  Greg stood still. He looked from Ashley to Dan to the men and woman in white suits, to the kayak, to the lights, and back at Peter who was right behind him. He looked at the kayak again and made a rush to it but was stopped by Officer Edwards. He had seen the bloated face and thick gash at the neck and his face crumbled as he realized it was Lori in the kayak.

  "Where have you been Ash?" Haiden asked.

  His question seemed so far removed from the context of Lori being found dead in her kayak, that all Charlene could do was stare at him and try to figure out what the hell he was on about. It seemed that he wasn't the least bit concerned about Lori. It gave Greg some wiggle room, Charlene thought. He seemed to have seized the chance to compose h
imself as Ashley focused on Haiden and not him.

  "I was out in the trails in the back bush. I took my study stuff and sat up there. I got turned around and finally followed the hydro line out. I can't believe no one came looking for me!" she shrieked at them all.

  Charlene couldn't believe the way things were unfolding. What a selfish self centred little girl, she thought. Then she remembered that people handle difficult situations differently and she cut her some slack, not much, but a little.

  "Professor Bowen told us not to worry about you," Peter offered.

  "Professor Bowen had better worry about me!" Ashley yelled as she looked right at the professor.

  "Okay everyone. I'm Detective Davidson of the O.P.P. and I want you all to go back inside the cottage. This is Officer Edwards. Either I will come and talk to you soon, or Officer Edwards will." Sarah pulled her face mask back up and gestured with her arms to try to herd everyone back to the porch steps.

  "Where are you going?" Sarah called to Ashley who was walking away from cottage #1.

  "If you think I'm going inside that cottage with that murderer you are crazy!" Ashley yelled as she started up the steps of cottage #2. "I'm sitting right here so you can keep an eye on me. I might be next!"