A Kayak for One

by K. L. McCluskey

His laughter died when he realized she was seriously frightened and the argument started when she told him why she was. Argument was not really a good description of what happened, Charlene thought. There were few words spoken. The feelings and emotions were loud enough. Of course he was hurt that she didn't trust him and thought he was a killer.

  He did seem to listen to how she came to that conclusion though, and of course the fishing line would be in that duffle bag. It was the one he had by the door of the shed to grab quickly and take for the truck or the fishing boat. He told her he was in a hurry to come back to her to spend the night with her but forgot to bring the cake and a warmer jacket. He just grabbed the closest bag, his utility duffle bag.

  He also told her she would never have thought he could kill anyone if she trusted him and really knew him. Of course he was right. Being right was not what Joe wanted. He wanted to be wrong. He wanted Charlene to know him right down to his core to trust him with anything. The tears flowed, and not just hers.

  After they calmed down Joe told her he wanted to surprise her by just going to her house and not anything more than that. No hidden agenda. He didn't want to upset her by telling her about his ex. He said he just wanted to go to Hamilton and back quickly and deal with it and not worry her. He told her he loved her but didn't think she loved him. How could she, he said, if she thought he was going to kill her? She told him she did love him but she could feel a twinge of her own doubt even as she said it.

  Joe told her he was working on a motor the day Lori was killed and didn't leave his shop so he wasn't out in his boat on the lake with Lori or anyone. He said he let the guy use his own motor and he didn't bring it back until early evening, so he didn't even have a motor if he wanted to go out on the lake and kill somebody.

  He said Stuart's cat was under a bushy plant with large leaves and woke up scratching him when he was helping Stuart and Tony move things around in the flower shop.

  When she asked him if the Hamilton detective or Sarah asked him what the guy's name was, he told her no one asked and if they did, he wouldn't have known it at the time. He didn't get his name when he first came in, he just had a phone number. He shrugged off the look on Charlene's face that told him she didn't like his book keeping.

  "What do you mean the first time?" Charlene asked.

  "He came in again on Saturday just after I got back, to see if his motor was fixed. I have a part on order so it's not ready. I got his name then and put it with the phone number. He wanted to go fishing so I let him use my motor again. He still has it."

  Charlene told him what she was thinking and they took the pontoon boat back to the resort to call Sarah. It went to her voice message.

  Charlene and Joe took her fishing boat to the landing to go to Joe's shop to get the guy's name. She thought if she left the pontoon boat, Dan could take the students over in the morning in case she wasn't back yet. She didn't realize until she arrived and saw the students' van gone, that she forgot to leave a note for Dan taped to the office door. Well, she thought, they got to the van somehow. Sam maybe? How did Sam get over though? Shit. What a mess of a day she thought. Going to the shop, driving to the police station with the name to give to Sarah, up all night talking to Joe and no chance of the day getting any better. Sure, she thought, now she was certain Joe was no killer. It's too late now. What the heck had she been thinking? Of course Joe was no killer. She was sure the guy who had Joe's motor was the killer at the start of all this. Of course it was that guy! What else would explain Sam saying it was Joe's motor? It WAS Joe's motor! Why did she have to go and doubt Joe? It was because she didn't trust him. She didn't really trust anyone anymore she realized, feeling sick to her stomach.

  Chapter 63

  Charlene

  "Good morning Sam," she said as she opened the door to the office and found Sam on his knees stoking up the wood stove.

  "Hey Charlie," he said as he stood up and walked toward the door.

  With a slightly visible drop of his shoulders and what Charlene thought she heard as a sigh of relief, Sam left the office.

  Charlene saw the Porters' boat was gone so figured they wouldn't be in the office for anything. She went upstairs and put the coffee on. It was another beautiful sunny fall day. The nuthatches were busy working their way down the big pine tree in front. The red squirrels were running and chattering and scolding her for being late for the students and late with her trust. She noticed more hostas in the garden in front of the office were missing leaves. The deer must have been grazing again. That's the end of buying any more hostas. What's the point anyway? she thought. She may as well sell up and move away. She couldn't bear to live so close to Joe and not be with him.

  "We got him!" Sarah said as Charlene picked up the phone.

  She had come down to the office to check for e-mails while the coffee was perking and the phone rang making her jump. Man she was tired.

  "Is Joe there?" she asked.

  "You heard me right Staff? We got him!"

  "Yeah. Sorry. I'm glad Sarah. It's a good thing we left you that name."

  "What? What name? When?"

  "Last night, early this morning, whenever we were there."

  "You were here?"

  "Maybe we should start again," Charlene said too weary to carry on like that.

  "Joe and I went to his shop and got the name of that guy who borrowed Joe's motor and we took it to the station and left it with the guy at the front counter for you. We think he's the killer."

  "Wait a sec."

  Charlene could hear Sarah yelling in the background. Oh oh. Someone's in trouble she thought.

  "Here it is, the note I was supposed to have in my hand the second I walked in here. Well, what do you know? He's our guy and he's sitting in the cell down the hall."

  "You just got the note and you have him in a cell? You are one amazing detective Sarah."

  "Yup, thank God, or that dude working the front desk would be looking for another job," Sarah said. "Officer Allan Fisher had a hunch and it paid off. He remembered the name of a guy he talked to a few days ago while out checking licences on one of the lakes just off the highway. He remembered cut blue rope and scratches on the guys hands and a mess of tangled fishing line. Nothing seemed suspicious at the time but when he saw the same stuff in evidence bags on my desk, something twigged. We went to go talk to the guy and when he opened the door, the guy just said, “You got me. Yeah I killed her.” He got his coat and walked out to the cruiser. It was unbelievable. We brought him back here and he's been talking ever since."

  "It's the guy who borrowed Joe's motor right?"

  "Right. He said he got onto the lake at that launch by the highway, that dirt road, the one you told me about. He picked up Lori and took her to the island and killed her."

  "Whoa! Details please and hold on a sec. I have to go up and turn down the coffee." Charlene set the phone down and ran up the stairs.

  "I'm back. What's the connection to Lori? Did he know her? Why her?"

  "I was going to ask him about Lori's glasses so I left the interview room and checked my cell for the picture of Lori wearing her glasses so I could have the picture up while I asked him about them. Sure enough, he's the guy at the bar standing beside Lori in the picture. The students told me Lori was really happy the night before she was killed because she was really hitting it off with someone at the pub. Him. That's how he met her. They arranged for him to come to the resort the next day to go for a boat ride and picnic. He said Lori really wanted to try kayaking the way Greg kept talking about it, so they took your kayak and towed it to the picnic spot. You were in the back bush working so they figured you wouldn't notice.

  “He said she wouldn't let him touch her when he tried it on with her so he decided to kill her. He said he wasn't planning it. He just used what he had on hand. He was putting the fishing line on his reel as they were sitting by the fire pit getting ready to catch their picnic. Once he killed her he cut the blue rope that was attached to his boat an
d anchor, the one you found tied to the tree. He said he never took chances and made sure his boat was tied off properly. He said he knew how the winds could change. Cripes! The winds have changed for him for sure. He cut the rope and just left his anchor in the lake. I have to remember to send someone out there to go back and look for that."

  There was silence on the phone line while Charlene imagined Sarah making a note to herself.

  "He tied Lori's hands up with the blue rope he cut and put her in the kayak and towed the kayak back with Lori stuffed in it. He put the kayak on the rack hoping we'd think it was Greg. Lori told him about Greg and how everyone knew he was trying to get her back. When I asked why he put the kayak on the rack the way he did, he said he didn't want the birds to get to her. So, he's a considerate bastard. Anyway, then he just took his boat back to his truck and went home." Sarah could hear Charlene trying to interrupt but ignored her. "Yes, yes, we're getting the details, I'm just giving you the short version."

  "What about Lori's glasses?"

  "Oh yeah. He heard it on the radio about the glasses being found and sent some local chick to your place to say they were hers."

  "What reason did he give her?"

  "He said he didn't. He said she has a huge thing for him so he took advantage of her feelings and she didn't ask why. We have the glasses. The forensic guys are there now. We were able to get a warrant authorized a couple of hours ago and the glasses were sitting on his nightstand beside his bed, obviously the side where he sleeps. Don't ask how we know that for sure. Disgusting is all I can say. He's given us a DNA sample, even though we had lots to choose from around his house. Yuck! Wendy had to type out the warrant and we got that too, even though he was willing to consent. We're sure the skin and blood from under Lori's nails will match his. He said it would."

  "He's too creepy Sarah," Charlene said feeling chills down her back. "Has he said he's killed before? He's too chatty."

  "Yeah we're going to have to pull the missing persons file and have a go at him. I asked him and he just smiled. He's talking a blue streak about Lori, but saying nothing else about anybody else."

  "What a huge relief Sarah. Oh man," Charlene said feeling herself deflate with the news.

  "Oh man is right. I am so relieved. I didn't know where to turn. It's crazy how it ends like this. An officer not even up to speed on what was happening, a hunch, and a “You got me.” It's amazing how boring and normal it all seems."

  Charlene knew the feeling. She worked cases where the suspect talked and talked and pleaded guilty when it came to trial and the justice process just flowed along. It seemed weird that would happen, but it did. She was glad for Sarah. The case was really wearing her down.

  "You can't have your kayak back. I forgot it would be evidence. How I almost forgot that I don't know. The sheer size of it maybe? Anyway it will be too cold to kayak soon. You should get it back in a few years," Sarah laughed. "Besides, when Phil pulled your kayak seat out from under one of the blueberry bushes on the island, it was in a few pieces. The back support was snapped and the side pieces looked like they had been just ripped from the kayak. Just think though, you could shop for a new one after you tally up what we owe you for transport and the cottage rental for Ashley etc. That should be a hefty cheque."

  "What does the guy do for a living?" Charlene asked, curious as always about the kind of person who kills another, but also not wanting to think about her kayak and what she was going to do.

  "He's a bricklayer out of work right now. Strong hands and big build."

  "Mr. Blake said he lifted the motor off of Joe's boat and put it on the dock without much effort," Charlene said.

  "I can see him doing that. He won't be lifting anything but prison weights for a long time," Sarah said.

  "I gotta go Staff. Thanks for everything. I'll talk to you later."

  Chapter 64

  Charlene

  Charlene puttered around the office tidying up the fishing lures and sweatshirts and tee shirts. For some reason, guests really like the sweatshirts she had for sale and some guests bought a new one each year. They were made somewhere in Manitoba and had a beautiful feel to the fleece and the colours were vivid with Kirk Lake Camp in small stitching over a stitched design of a moose or fish or bear. The price tag was vivid too and each year she thought she'd have a big inventory left over but she didn't. There weren't any adult shirts left. She pulled the kid shirts out and folded them and put them back on the shelf in order of size. A few adult tee shirts were balled up and on the wrong shelf. She thought she should probably count what was left against the order sheet, but didn't want to know really how many were stolen when she wasn't in the office. She didn't really care. That was for them to care she thought, folding them up.

  The students were still out on some rock somewhere, the Porters out in the fishing boat somewhere, and Sam was doing clean-up on the property just outside the office window where he could see her. She smiled. He was checking up on her. Oh, there are good people, she thought, and it made her heart feel a little lighter. Too bad she would have to let one of the best ones go.

  She moved to the office counter to set her coffee down. It looked like it needed a good cleaning. She saw some money on the counter, the exact amount for the fishing line. Joe's name was crossed off the tab sheet and signed off as paid. He must have done that the night before when she went upstairs to the bathroom before they drove to his shop to get the name of the guy who killed Lori. All debts paid between them.

  The unexpected ring of the landing phone startled her.

  "Hello?" she asked.

  There was a lengthy pause before she heard, "Goodbye Charlene."

  Time stood still.

  "Goodbye Joe," she replied.

  Charlene put the phone down and picked up her binoculars. She walked out of the office and looked across the lake. Joe was standing at the end of the dock looking back at her. They stood there, divided by water and emotion, for as long as it took. Charlene lowered the binoculars.

  With a twirl of tartan, Joe turned and walked to his truck and drove away.

  ###

  About the author, K.L. McCluskey

  The author graduated from Print Journalism and wrote freelance for almost 40 years before she started writing her first book, A Kayak for One. Her writing included a weekly fitness column, full length feature stories and a stint as a reporter covering court and town council meetings.

  Overlapping the writing years, she was a police officer with Hamilton Regional Police Service and worked in patrol, the Criminal Investigative Department, and the Special Investigation Branch as a detective in the Sexual Assault Unit. By the time she left her policing career she had attained the rank of Acting Staff Sergeant. She then bought a 12 cottage resort in northern Ontario. Six years later she sold the resort and taught Police Foundations at a college in Sudbury, Ontario until she moved to Victoria, B.C. for a short time. She moved back to northern Ontario, also for a short time, and now lives in a small eastern shore community in Nova Scotia.

  She enjoys her time travelling to visit her daughters and grandchildren, and while at home enjoys writing, kayaking, hiking, biking, and exploring the beauty of the east coast.

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  Other books by K.L. McCluskey

  Please visit your favourite ebook retailer to discover these books by K.L. McCluskey:

  The Kirk Lake Camp Series

  Book 1: A Kayak for One

  Book 2: Two Buckets of Berries

  Book 3: Three for Pumpkin Pie?

  Coming soon.

  Book 4: Fore in the Hole

  Book 5: Cocktails at Five

  Book 6: Six is the Limit

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  Connect with K.L. McCluskey

  I really appreciate you reading my book!

  Favourite my Smashwords author page: www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TaighBuidhe

  Visit my website: www.klmccluskey.ca

  Visit th
e Illustrators website: www.mcbain.ws

  Visit the publishers website: www.an-taigh-buidhe-air-an-lohan.ca

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