A Kayak for One

by K. L. McCluskey

  He did identify the body on the gurney as his brother. He said he must have gone off his medications again. He told them that without the help of his pills, his brother often talked of flying. He refused any offer of having someone come to support him or any offer of sitting in the family room off the morgue to collect his thoughts and take some time to digest what he had just seen. He even thanked Charlene and her partner and abruptly turned and started to walk down to the hall to the elevator. He only managed to walk about 15 feet before his legs gave out from under him and he crumpled to the floor.

  For some reason, Charlene always thought of this death notification first when thinking about the suffering the family goes through when police arrive at their doorstep with news of a death of a loved one. She had to do many death notifications, some while working uniform patrol. It would almost always be two officers assigned the task. Whether in uniform or in plain clothes, no one wanted to answer the door to police when they hadn't been called, and knocking in the middle of the night was always the worst.

  The deceased's car was found parked in the lot at the escarpment and his shoes were side by side, neatly placed on the floor by the driver's seat. Why he took his shoes off to walk across the grass was never figured out. What was figured out was that he stood at the edge of the precipice, opened his arms, jumped, and flew like an eagle.

  Chapter 38

  Charlene

  "Hey Sam. How are you doing today?" Charlene asked as she pulled up to the dock to get Sam. "I'm so glad you are back today. It's good to have a familiar face and friend today."

  "Why what's up?" Sam asked.

  "One of the students, Lori, was murdered yesterday and her body was stuffed into my kayak."

  "Whoa. Charlie."

  "Exactly."

  "You find her?"

  "Yup."

  "Whoa. Charlie."

  They rode the rest of the way over to the resort in silence.

  Sam got the paint from the shed and started loading up the basket at the back of the ATV. He liked to drive it behind the house along the edge of the woods and down to the cottage he was painting. He hated the roots that stuck up all along the path from the big pines so he didn't like to walk. Sam was best up high. The ground seemed to swallow him, he once told Charlene.

  Seeing Sam made her think of Joe again. She was so tired last night and this morning and so busy she hadn't even thought of Joe. Poor guy would be at the hospital all day doing the autopsy and speaking with Lori's parents. Sam's words came back to her. The boat, the woman, and a yellow kayak. No! Why would Joe be with Lori? He wouldn't be. Charlene's mind started to race and she felt sick, so sick she had to stop and hold her arms across her stomach and hold herself. How would he even know her? He wouldn't. Oh my God, he took fishing line from the office store! Charlene pictured the fishing line pulled tight into Lori's neck. She would have to tell Sarah what she was thinking and what Sam told her. Wouldn't she? Maybe she should talk to Joe first. What should she say? Did you murder Lori? How could she form the words? How could she think he was capable of murder? He wasn't. She was sure of it. Why was she so sick then? Because he was with some woman and lied to her when he canceled their time together that's why. He was on the lake with a woman in his fishing boat towing a yellow kayak. She looked down at her hands. They were shaking. She could barely put the soup in the big mug she took out of the cupboard for Officer Edwards. She got a big spoon from the drawer, put it in the mug, got a plate and put a few slices of buttered bread on it and walked down the stairs. She would take the soup to James first then phone Joe. It was bad enough that he was with another woman in his boat and lied to her, but murder?!

  "Thanks Ms. Parker. Are you okay? You look kind of pale. Have you eaten yet?" James asked as he took the lunch from Charlene and placed it on the picnic table.

  "I'm okay. I'm just tired and upset."

  "Yeah. We're all tired. I'd rather be tired than be in Mr. and Mrs. Peterson's shoes though. Sarah told me Lori was their only child. Nothing's going to be right for them again. Sarah will have to be at the morgue to meet them. I guess she'll head back to the station after they identify the bo..,Lori. Maybe Phil will help us out."

  Constable Phil Henderson was the senior officer among the group of officers working out of the station. He qualified to be promoted to the rank of sergeant but had never entered the promotional interview process. He wrote the exams but preferred to work on the street in uniform, even at 43-years-old. As the station's only black officer, he would have a good chance to climb the ranks. Sarah told Charlene she thought he didn't go into the process because he feared he would be promoted and others would think it was because he was black. Sarah and Charlene agreed that many officers would still likely think that even in this day and age. It was the same for every officer in a visible minority group. She and Sarah went into the promotional process anyway, taking advantage of the fact that there were few women officers, never mind any of senior rank. They admitted over a glass of wine or two that they also wanted to stick it to the good ole' boys club that was prevalent in most police departments, or police services as most were called now. They didn't really care that many male officers still felt that women got promoted just because they were women. They knew that for years and years white male officers got promoted because they were white male officers, but they tired of telling them that over and over again.

  Charlene and Sarah often talked about how they wanted to get higher in the ranks to be able to make policy changes to help other female officers. When Charlene was an officer, the pants, shirts and police boots were made for men. The hats were too big to fit most women. When bullet-proof vest became mandatory, they were really uncomfortable to wear. They were made for a man's chest. The women though, quickly utilized the space between undershirt and vest as a handy place to put tampons and pads. They never knew when they would be dispatched to something that could take up hours and hours and there was no time to get back to the station or even to the cruiser for supplies. That was when the vest had to be worn under the uniform shirt. It took a few years before the vests had darts to make room for breasts and a few years more before the higher-ups agreed the vest could be worn over the shirt. Before then the officers were told it looked too military or swat-like, so shirts had to come off in order to remove the vest during lunch or dinner. They guys would just take off their shirt and vest and have lunch in their undershirts. It felt like stripping when a female officer did the same thing, so Charlene had to go into the change room each time. The damp white tee shirts in the cool air conditioned lunch room would be cause for an awkwardness best avoided when working so long and so closely together. The hot Hamilton days in July made all the officers drip with sweat under the weight and material of the vests. Charlene always had a supply of fresh undershirts in her locker and would get out of the damp one at a break during the 12 hour shift.

  Phil often paid for courses out of his own pocket, courses that were only paid for by the police budget for the select few officers working as detectives. His knowledge of the criminal code and the investigative training he got from the courses were a bonus for the officers at the station. If Sarah wasn't around, Phil was happy to get phone calls even to his home on his days off and make suggestions, always careful to tell the officers that it was his opinion only.

  "Ms. Parker? Are you sure you're okay?"

  "No it isn't."

  "Hmm?" James asked.

  He didn't like the way Charlene was acting. She isn't usually so bothered by murder. At least finding the guy hanging last year didn't seem to make her too upset.

  "No it isn't ever going to be the same anymore for them. Sorry. My mind is just wandering. If you want more soup just shout. I know you can't leave here even though everyone is gone. I'm going to be in the office. I'll hear you."

  "Why don't you get some soup and join me? You'll feel better if you eat. At least that's what my Mom says all the time."

  "No. I've got a phone call to make right now.
I'll eat after." Charlene saw the concerned look in James' eyes.

  "I promise," she lied. She couldn't eat, not yet, thinking of the phone call she had to make to Joe.

  Just as Charlene walked into the office and reached for the phone on the desk, the parking lot phone rang. She looked across to the landing and saw Sarah and Ashley at the phone box.

  "Hi Sarah. I'll be right over," she said, wondering what was going on.

  Sarah gave Charlene the look that told Charlene to keep quiet as she and Ashley stepped off the dock and got on board. It was another silent boat ride back to the resort. After she docked the pontoon boat, Ashley hopped off and started to walk toward cottage #2.

  "Wait Ashley. I need to go with you," Sarah said.

  Ashley stopped on the path and stood waiting.

  "I'll come to the office after," Sarah called back to Charlene.

  Charlene watched Sarah move ahead of Ashley and go up the steps into the cottage.

  Ashley followed and the screen door slammed making Charlene jump. God she must be tired, she thought. She hated that tired feeling where noises made her body jump as if she didn't expect them. She used to get tired like this after working her sets of night shifts as a police officer. She used ear plugs and a fan in the room to mask outside noises, but she didn't sleep more than a few hours and had to get up and go back to work and do it all again and again and again. The worst was when working in the Criminal Investigative Division where she had to work six 10 hour night shifts in a row. Her body was twitching a few days in, and she used to jump at the slightest noise. Like now.

  "Hey Ms. P.," Ashley said as she walked into the office.

  "Hi Ashley. Where's Sarah?"

  "She's talking to that police officer sitting at the picnic table."

  "Where is the rest of the gang?"

  "They went for lunch at some Italian place in Espanola that Professor Bowen said burned down but was re-built. They have to go back to the station after lunch. I gave my statement so now I'm going home. I don't think I can stay here with Greg. That detective had to come back with me since the cottage is a crime scene or something and watch me pack."

  "That didn't take long."

  "I was pretty much packed the same night Greg killed Lori." Ashley said this in such a way that made Charlene think the murder of her classmate by another classmate was an everyday occurrence.

  "Why do you think he killed her?"

  "He couldn't stand her not wanting to be with him anymore. He's such a loser."

  "What do you mean 'anymore'?"

  "He and Lori were together for a while," Ashley said as she leaned her arms on the counter across from Charlene in a girl-talk kind of pose.

  "They kept it pretty secret so it wouldn't get in the way of class stuff. He got really possessive and she just had enough and called it quits. Besides she hated that he wasn't very smart. He used to bug her all the time for help with projects and essays. She thought it was kind of cute at first then got sick of it."

  "Ah. Do the others know Greg and Lori were an item?" Charlene asked.

  "Peter is pretty close to Greg it seems, though not like friends. He might know if Greg told him. Lori said she didn't tell anyone. Haiden is too busy thinking about me, so even if Greg told him, he wouldn't be interested. Professor Bowen probably doesn't know. I can't see Greg telling him."

  "Wasn't Greg with Peter and Haiden on the field trip that day though? I took them to the van in the morning and then I saw you and Lori when I was coming back about 1:00 o'clock. The boys all came back together, so how could Greg kill Lori?" Charlene asked, thinking that he could have if the boys weren't all together all the time, or if they dropped Greg off earlier.

  But then how could he get across the water? Did Dan pick him up earlier and take him back? Did that guy across the lake pick Greg up twice? Her mind started to race with all the possibilities.

  "I don't know Ms. P. but he did it and I'm thinking about going home. It is not a coincidence that the day after they had an argument at the pub she ends up dead. And, he was always bugging her to go in the kayak with him." She stopped and looked at Charlene, then decided to carry on.

  “Greg took your kayak out at night when you were in the house. He tried to get Lori to sit on top and straddle it while he paddled. Yeah I know. Gross. She didn't go though, except once in the canoe. They paddled with their hands because the office wasn't open and they didn't want to bug you to get paddles. They just went along the shore and came back. We were sitting by the fire and could hear Greg doing all the talking but we couldn't hear the words. Lori told me later he was really starting to bug her."

  "Did she say what the argument was about?" Charlene asked.

  "No, not really, just more of the same 'baby come back' stuff. And that detective told me Lori was strangled with fishing wire. Greg always went to the end of the dock to fish just before dark. He said he was hoping to catch a bunch of Pickerel for a fish fry. Anyway, can I use the office phone to call home and see if someone will come and get me?"

  "Sure but, what about the course. You won't get the credit will you?" Charlene asked.

  "I know that's what kills me. Oops! I didn't mean to say that. Poor Lori." Ashley looked at Charlene for a few seconds before she continued, "I know you're probably wondering why I'm not more upset."

  Before Charlene could say anything, Ashley said, "I can see it in your face Ms. P. Lori and I had a couple of classes together in the first year and didn't really hit it off. By the time we finished the last three years in a lot of the same class every day, we both realized we didn't like each other. I thought she was stuck up. She would hardly ever come to pub night or go out for a drink. She was always studying. She lived with two other girls in a nice apartment building with an indoor pool and everything. Her parents paid for everything. I had to work at Subway part time all year and then full time in the summer and I was still behind on rent sometimes. I share a place with a guy and a girl, both students from school, and it sure doesn't have an indoor pool. She said she thought I was kind of slutty and was everything she hated about women."

  "She told you that?" Charlene asked, marveling at the honesty between the two young women.

  Taking in the tight tee shirt with the low vee neckline and the plump bit of belly showing above the low hip jeans at the front and the tattoo Charlene noticed the first day at the small of Ashley's ample back, made her realize she agreed a bit with Lori. Not just that but the way she seemed to strut rather than walk.

  She empathized with Ashley though. Charlene worked two jobs while going to college and, while she had some help from her parents, she paid for most of her way through three years of college. She hated it when students went off on skiing trips or flew south at the Christmas break and didn't have to work in the summer months but got through college on grant money or money from parents.

  "Sure, on the one night she did come out to pub night, when we were planning this field trip with Professor Bowen. Of course that was after I told her she was a snob. She walked off in a huff and Greg and Peter followed to make sure poor Lori was okay. Oh God, there I go again. Sorry. I shouldn't talk like that about her."

  "Did Haiden go after her too?" Charlene was trying to keep it all straight to tell Sarah later.

  "No. He was in the washroom. It was just me and the professor left at the table." Ashley's head jerked back and her eyes widened.

  "Anyway," Ashley said. After a gap of silence and her voice more shaky then it was the night Lori's body was discovered, she continued.

  "After that night we agreed to disagree and got along when we had to. We got along pretty well in the cottage considering. We actually had a few laughs, especially about Greg and Haiden. Anyway, I didn't really know her."

  Charlene wondered what had upset Ashley.

  "Forget about the phone call Ms. P. I don't want to lose the credit. The field trip is almost over and if that detective doesn't let us carry on, the course may be finished anyway, or professor Bowen migh
t just shorten it and pass us all anyway. You know the stress of Lori's murder and being treated like suspects and everything."

  Before Charlene could ask her if she told all that to the police, and what made her change her mind about staying, Ashley was out the door.

  "Don't go back into the cottage Ashley. Wait with Officer Edwards until I come out," Sarah called back over her shoulder as she opened the door and stepped into the office.

  "Hey Staff. She yelled and yelled that she needed to go home and now she isn't."

  "She's not for sure?"

  "No she just told me she is staying. I don't get her," Sarah said with a smile knowing Charlene would know what she meant.

  "The thing is, she can't stay in that cottage so what are you going to do? I told the professor that cottage #2 is a crime scene and he said he wasn't paying for another cottage or even that one for the rest of the stay. Did he tell you that?"

  "No. I haven't talked to him. Remember how quiet it was on the boat ride over?" Charlene reminded her. "If Ashley is staying and has to move to another cottage, then the university will have to pay. I'm not covering the cost of her staying in another cottage by herself. Otherwise the O.P.P. can pay, as long as it's not me. I have guests coming into the little two bedroom cottage. Ashley could go into cottage #3. If you have an officer staying on scene then the cottages could be watched to make sure she is safe there, my guests are safe and I am safe here. You better see how deep the department pockets are before I get that cottage ready though."

  "Man, you are all business aren't you? You could always have her stay in the house with you. You know safety in numbers and all that."

  Sarah took in the roll of Charlene's eyes and hopped onto the counter. She rubbed her eyes and put on the glasses on the counter beside her. "Cool glasses. Hey, I can see!"