"What . . . what's going on? I don't want a salad, I want a burger. And bring my beer back."
Now the look was reminiscent of my third grade teacher when I said I'd forgotten my homework, again. Disappointment on several levels. "I heard you, PJ's going to be here in a few minutes. She's not going to walk in finding you abusing your health on my watch."
"A burger and a beer is not abusing my health. It's my diet."
"Yeah, that's the problem."
"Besides, what difference does it make what I'm eating when PJ arrives?"
Dana shook her head as if she couldn't comprehend how stupid I was. She replied very slowly, as if attempting to overcome my limited intelligence, "We've got to clean up your image a little if you're ever going to have a chance with PJ."
"Who says I want a chance with PJ?"
Now Dana laughed loud enough that it turned heads at the other end of the bar. She barked, "Since you and Elena split, you've been here every night," gesturing around the bar, "right here. You haven't gone out even one night. I don't know what sparked with you and PJ when you were out on your little adventure, but it's obvious you're waiting to see if a flame will follow. All I'm doing is helping you along, and God knows you need all the help you can get."
"Well, who assigned you to help me out?"
"It's in my job description. Actually, it's in everyone's, Marge, Moe, Renee, even Juan has assignments."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
She laughed again and turned to fill a drink order Renee had just dropped off. She left me staring at the Coke with my mouth hanging open.
Just then I felt a slap on the back and turned to see Marge on her way past me. "Hi Jack, thanks for picking up that paperwork at the assessor's office. I knew they'd try to raise our assessment once the remodel was finished."
I said, "Yeah, no problem, but Marge I need to talk to you about explaining to Dana what's in, and what's not in, her job description." There, I'll get even with Dana, I'll sic Marge on her.
Marge waved over her shoulder, "Can't talk now. Going out to meet Harry, we're taking an Intracoastal cruise this afternoon. Can't be too serious anyway, Dana knows her job." With that she was out the door and Dana was standing behind the bar smirking like a kid who just pulled one over on her mother. I need to set a new goal in life, I'm never going to get any respect around here.
I'd just dug into my hearty grilled chicken salad when my cell phone chirped again. For an instant I was afraid it was PJ cancelling and I would be eating the salad for nothing, but this time the screen said, 'Sissy.'
Sissy was the lead bartender and Mickey's right hand when I arrived in Florida. After I inherited the bar she fulfilled the same roles for me. She and I spent a few days together in hiding when her life was threatened and even played house for a short time after that. We both understood that it was fun but not long term. Sissy went back to college and landed an internship with a company in Atlanta. By all accounts she was doing very well.
"Hi Sissy, it's great to hear from you. How are things in Atlanta?"
She was talking so fast I couldn't understand her. I said, "Whoa, slow down, I can't understand what you're saying. I got the part about you being at the airport, but what did you see?"
"I'm at one of the general aviation terminals here in Atlanta. I'm flying with some people from the company to a meeting in California. I was looking out the window a minute ago and I saw Justin walking to a small jet. It was Justin, I'm positive, Jack."
I was speechless. I'd watched Justin's boat blow up with him at the helm. Pleading, Sissy asked, "Jack, are you there? Did you hear what I said? I saw Justin."
I attempted not to sound condescending as I said, "Tell me exactly what you saw. How far away were you?"
"I was standing at the window looking out at the planes parked near the terminal. One was a sexy little jet. I saw a dark blue SUV pull up near the plane. It seemed odd, because I didn't see any other cars or trucks out there. None except the airport stuff. Anyway, I was watching and Justin climbed out of the back seat of the SUV carrying a big duffle bag. He walked the ten feet to the stairs and up and into the plane. I know it was Justin, I know it." She was nearly yelling into the phone.
"How far away were you, Sissy?"
"I don't know Jack, maybe a hundred feet, I don't know, but it doesn't make any difference because I know what I saw. It was Justin."
Justin had been involved in helping me hide and protect Sissy once when her life was in real danger. We'd all spent several days together at a guest house in Lighthouse Point. That coupled with the fact that Justin had been a regular fixture around Cap's Place longer than I had meant that Sissy certainly knew him well. Still, Justin's dead. It couldn't have been Justin.
In an even tone I said, "I'm sure it looked like Justin, Sissy. I'm sure you think you saw Justin, but it couldn't have been. I know that because I watched his boat blow up right in front of my eyes. Justin's dead, Sissy. You saw someone who looks like Justin, that's what you saw."
Now she was exasperated, "Damn it Jack, trust me, it was Justin. I don't care what you think you saw, you didn't see him die, because I saw him today and he's very alive."
"Well Sissy, I don't know what to say. I just can't believe he didn't die on that boat that night. If he had survived somehow he would have turned up down here. He wouldn't just vanish and resurface in Atlanta."
"I know what I saw today. All I can say is you better rethink what you actually saw that night, not what you thought you saw, because I'm telling you that you didn't see him die." I heard her say something to someone else and then she continued, "Look, I've got to go. We're leaving now. I'll talk to you later, but you remember what I told you . . . Justin's still alive."
I ended the call, but continued staring at my phone as if it would somehow start speaking to me. Finally, I laid it on the bar and forced my mind back to that night, the last night I saw Justin. He had been into Cap's and we had chatted. He told me he was taking the boat down to Miami that night to have the fuel system problems addressed. Justin had attempted to solve the issue, but he didn't seem to be able to fix it himself. Later that evening, I was sitting on my balcony looking out over the marina when I heard a boat engine fire up. I watched as Justin's boat backed out of the slip and headed out toward the Atlantic. As the boat reached open water, I heard the throttles open up and seconds later the horizon was lit up by a huge fireball. No one could have possibly survived that explosion.
The memory of the explosion passed through my mind in a continuous loop for a minute. I saw what I saw, I know it. Then it hit me like a blast of cold air. The last words Justin spoke to me as we shook hands when he left were, 'You know Jack, things are not always as they appear. People generally see what they expect to see.' Could he have been telling me something? No, it was just a coincidence. Of course, I also remember Justin telling me he didn't believe in coincidence, that there is always a logical explanation for something happening. Yet, I know what I saw. I saw his boat blow up . . . his boat blow up. His body was never found. I didn't actually see Justin on the boat, but how else did it leave the slip? Get a grip Jack, you're letting your imagination run away with you. I'm sure Sissy just saw someone who resembled Justin.
I turned back to my grilled chicken salad and Coke with hopes of finding my way back to my mundane life around Cap's Place.
Acknowledgements
My sincere gratitude to all of my friends and readers who have encouraged me to continue the adventures of the cast of characters who bring Cap's Place to life. Special thanks to Jessica Benbow for her review and suggestions and to Karen Donahue for her tireless efforts in editing. My amazing wife Karen continues to support me every step of the journey. She is the keystone of my life.
The cover for Driven Be Jack is another wonderful product of Dane at Ebook Launch.
Of course, try as all of these folks did, they were unable to prevent me from making mistakes. The mistakes are mine, and mine alone.
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Driven Be Jack_A Jack Nolan Novel Page 29
