“Ouch.” Mel rubbed the top of her hand. “There’s thorns here, so watch it.”
I kept a lookout behind me–albeit periodically—while everyone else marched and floated forward.
“There’s a dip in the ground up here,” Ma hollered. “Don’t tell Mel. I could use the laugh.”
“There’s a dip up ahead. Be prepared.”
She waved her hand back at me.
“You’re no fun,” Ma said.
Brian laughed.
I glanced behind me to make sure no one was coming, tripped on an above ground root, and face planted into the ground. It happened so fast, but it felt like a slow-motion video. My foot slid under the thick root, and when I attempted to step forward, the root tightened its block of my ankle, and I yelped as my body shortened the distance between it and the hard, dark ground. I hit it with a thud. Yes, my arms straightened and locked, but the force of the trip was too strong to keep them that way, and out to my sides they went. My head hit the hard surface, and I gave up my six-month roll of not swearing.
It was a good run, but a bad trip can do wonders to a foul mouth.
I lay there for a minute, stunned, embarrassed, and annoyed. Brian zipped over, the cold air surrounding him, providing a touch of relief to my sweaty, embarrassed self. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” I rolled over onto my back and onto a broken branch or something. Whatever it was, it was sharp and hurt. “Son of a beeswax.” I jumped up, even more embarrassed than before. I swiped off the twigs, and dirt stuck to my body as Mel pulled a few out from my hair.
“That was smart,” my mother said.
“Thanks, Ma. I appreciate your concern.”
She waved me off like I was a whiny teenager. Which, by the way, was kind of how I felt.
“You okay to go on?” Brian asked.
“I said I’m fine. Let’s get this over with. I’m ready to get home.”
Brian carefully guided us the rest of the way, making sure to keep me upright with constant snarky comments about sticks, and twigs, and the like.
“I appreciate your concern, but I don’t need a play by play of every stick on the ground.”
Mel froze. “I do. Is there something coming?”
“No. You’re all good.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
She kept her head bent toward the ground anyway. To be honest, I did, too.
We made it to the parking lot near the dock, which, unfortunately, was as dark as the woods. I made a mental note to keep a flashlight in my car for similar situations. The one on my iPhone just didn’t cut it.
“I can’t see a thing.”
“That’s because you have old lady eyes,” Mel said.
Both Ma and Brian laughed.
“Funny. Which way are we going?”
Mel shrugged in front of me.
“That wasn’t meant for you.”
“Oh, my bad.”
“It’s up to the left. Just follow the road, and you’ll see the entrance to the slip area. Number six. It’s eight up on the left,” Brian said.
“Whoever labeled the slips must have been bad at math.”
He laughed. “There’s two storage spots for the marina itself. They don’t have numbers for those.”
“Ah, got it.” I kicked up the pace, passing Mel on her left since I knew where we were going and what to look for.
When we got to the slips, I counted them off until we got to his. “This your boat?”
He nodded.
“What if they’re not here?”
“They have to be. If not, we’ll check Dan’s. His is just a few slips up on the right.”
Great. I could be charged with breaking into two boats instead of just one. Fun times.
Mel stood with her hands on her hips and stared at The Bradjam. “What the heck kind of name is Bradjam?”
“It’s my kid’s names. Bradley and Jamie.”
I repeated that to Mel.
“Huh. Interesting.”
I nodded. “Mine would be Emjo.”
“More like Eeyore if you ask me.”
“Rude.”
“Truth hurts, don’t it?”
Brian laughed. “She’s funny.”
“To some people.” I bent down and stared into the small glass windows on the backside of the boat. “Where would they be, and how do you expect us to get in there?” I glanced at the door and the keypad next to it. “Do you know the password?”
“You didn’t really just ask him that, did you?” Mel asked.
“Spirits forget stuff sometimes.”
“It’s 1-1-1-6-0-2-0-9-1-2-1-4.”
“Good grief. How do you remember that?”
“It’s my anniversary and my kids’ birthdays. It’s easy.”
I swallowed back a lump forming in my throat. I tried hard not to think about the fact that Brian was dead, not only because it was sad for me, but because it was sad for him, and I wasn’t quite sure how to handle that. I wanted to be strong for him, and honestly, I didn’t have a clue what the boundaries were. Losing a family member was horrible, but I knew what to expect. Losing someone that was an important part of my past was uncharted territory.
Ma flitted away and returned seconds later. “Nice set up you got there, Brian. Jake don’t got a boat, does he, Ang?”
“Ma, Jake and I aren’t boating people.”
“That’s ‘cause you don’t got a boat.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, that’s why.”
Brian chuckled.
“What’s going on?” Mel asked.
“Ma is pumping up my ex-boyfriend’s ego.”
“Of course she is.”
“Brian, where're the handles?”
He explained where we could locate them, and in we went. I had to give it to Ma, the boat was lovely. The décor was simple, shades of gray and cream, a combination of the colors Brian said were discussed for his house, but not too light, and it was immaculate. “Wow. This thing is clean.”
“We’d just had it serviced. They did a full detailing, too. It won’t stay this way for long. We’ll be—” he stopped himself.
“I’m sorry, Brian.”
He nodded. “Such is life.”
“More like such is death,” Ma said.
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“What? I’m just being honest.”
Mel followed me following Brian to the storage spot for the handles. When I pulled on the latch and opened the container, it was empty.
Brian cursed. “They’re supposed to be in there.”
“Maybe your wife got rid of them already?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’ve been glued to her side most of the time. They should be here.”
He floated around the small area, disappearing in and out of spots only to return seconds later. “They’re nowhere. Dan’s got to have them. They’ve got to be on his boat.”
“I’m not comfortable going onto his boat, Brian. One break-in’s enough.”
“You got to be kidding,” Ma said. “This is a matter of life and death for cryin’ out loud. The boy could get his neck broke like his dad. You got to get those handles.”
I hadn’t considered that, but I hoped it didn’t turn out that way. Brian’s partially see-through eyes pleaded with me, and a wave of guilt overwhelmed me. “Do you know where they would be on his boat?”
He nodded. “I know the password for his lock, too.”
Mel and I carefully exited Brian’s boat. “Where we going now?” she asked.
“To the other boat.”
She rubbed her hands together. “Awesome. This is so much fun.” She frowned. “Even though I’m not really doing anything.”
“Right.”
His business partner’s boat was just a few slips down on the opposite side. When we got there, I stood near the ladder, but I couldn’t get on board. “This doesn’t feel right. My Spidey sense is telling me this isn’t a good idea. Brian, I’m sor
ry.”
“Ah Madone, my kid is a wimp,” Ma said. “Show me where the goods are, Brian. I’ll get them for you.”
They both disappeared.
“What’s going on now?” Mel asked. Poor thing, she hated not being able to hear it all.
I explained what had happened, and we waited. A few seconds later, the door to the inner part of the boat swung open and out flew four round, plastic things I assumed were the handles. We ducked as they headed straight for us.
“Son of a beeswax,” I hollered.
“That was close,” Mel said.
“Too close,” I said.
Ma and Brian floated out.
“That was amazing, Mrs. Richter. Will I ever be able to do that?” Brian asked.
Ma shook her head. “Where you’re going, you won’t be coming back here.”
My eyes popped open. “Ma. That’s not nice.”
“What? Up there is pretty awesome, and once he’s done with this unfinished business he’s got, he won’t want to come back. Besides, time flies up there. One minute you’re alone and the next, your whole family is there partying like it’s 1999.”
I shook my head. “Well, that’s not what you alluded to.”
“You think I was sayin’ he’s going there?” She pointed to the ground.
I shrugged.
“He woulda already gone if that was the case.”
“Good to know,” Brian said.
Mel had picked up the four handles. “Well, our work here is done. Can we go back now? I’ve got to pee.”
“She can do that in the boat,” Brian said.
“I’m not telling her that.”
Ma wiggled the door to the inside.
“Oh, they’re telling me to go in there, aren’t they?” Mel asked.
“Yes, but I don’t think—”
Off she went.
“Great.”
Thirty seconds later, the ants in my pants had taken over completely, and I couldn’t stand still. “What’s taking her so long?”
“I ain’t going to find out,” Ma said.
“I can,” Brian said, winking as he did.
A spotlight shined on us from the entrance to the dock. “Who’s there?” someone hollered.
Mel walked out from the boat and dropped the f-bomb.
“Crap. Crap. Crap.”
Brian floated in front of me. “It’s okay. That’s Ollie. He’s the guard. Just tell him Dan and Sue sent you, and it’ll be fine.”
A round, old man with a graying beard and a pair of pants two sizes too small wobbled over. “Who’re you, and what’re you doing here?”
“We’re…we’re…I’m a friend of Sue Carey’s. She and Dan asked me to come by and pick up something.”
He sighed. “Tragedy, it was. Brian was a good man. A bit of riffraff on the water, always liked to go a little too fast, but a good man for sure.”
I nodded. “He was a good person.”
“How’s Sue holding up? I plan to attend the funeral. Bunch of us from the marina are going.”
“Aw, that’s so nice of them,” Brian said.
“Who knew you were so popular?” Ma asked.
I giggled.
Ollie sneered at me. “You think that’s funny?”
I held my hand over my mouth and gasped. “Oh, no. No. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about Brian, and how much he’d appreciate everyone coming to pay their respects, and how he’d probably have something funny to say about it.”
He chuckled as he nodded. “That he would.” He glanced at Dan’s boat. “You get what you need?” He eyed the handles in Mel’s hands.
I nodded.
“Then let me walk you out.”
Brian smiled. “He thinks Sue gave you a key to get into the marina. Consider yourself lucky.”
Ollie walked us back to the lot and asked where our car was.
“Tell him it’s on the road because you didn’t have a pass and didn’t want to park inside.”
I repeated that word for word.
“Make sense. Next time if it’s late, just pull on in and leave a note on the window. I’ll know then.”
* * *
Back at the hotel I laid the handles out on the bed for inspection.
Brian stared at them, his mouth hanging open. “I can’t believe it.”
“What’s wrong?”
Mel grunted in the bathroom. Ma laughed, but Brian and I were too focused to pay attention.
“It’s the coatings. He used the cheaper stuff like I thought. These are worse quality than our competition.” He attempted to pick up the handle, but his hand went right through it. “I hate this.”
“Is this what you used?”
“I…” He stared at the handles and nodded. “I can’t believe I didn’t pay attention. That’s not like me.”
“I’m sure you were just excited to try them out.”
“If Dan sells these Sue’s going to be in a lot of legal trouble. She needs to know about this.”
“I don’t understand. What’s the difference?”
He pointed to one. “Pick it up.”
I did as I was told.
“Feel that? Feel how it’s smooth?”
I nodded.
“It’s a rubberized plastic. It’s not supposed to be that smooth because we added a special coating to reinforce the grip. I created two options for material, and I specifically switched to the one that allowed for a better grip. This one though, it’s not either of mine. Most people don’t wear gloves when they ski, which is why I created the handle. It allows for a better grip with a wet hand.”
That sort of made sense to me. “I think I understand. You don’t think people would notice the difference?”
“I invented the product, and I didn’t.”
“Again, you weren’t paying attention.”
“No one would.” He tried to pick up one of the handles but couldn’t. “It doesn’t feel like it would slip when you hold it with dry hands. Put water on it. You’ll see what I mean.”
I walked to the bathroom door and knocked. “You almost done?”
She grunted out an, “Almost.”
Ma giggled.
“You need to let Sue know. She owns the intellectual property to the products now. She can’t let them get out.”
“I guess I can try and talk to her in the morning after the funeral.”
He shook his head. “No, not then. You can’t wait. You have to tell her now. If Dan swapped it out, he’s got a reason, and I can’t let him get these started, or we’ll lose money, and Sue will be screwed.”
The dead had a sense of urgency I’d never understand. “So, you’re saying you want me to call her now? Right now?”
“No. I want you to go there right now.”
“It’s almost eleven o’clock at night.” I dropped onto the bed and moaned. “Why do these things happen to me?”
“Because you got the gift,” Ma said.
I held up my head. “Thanks. That’s helpful.”
“I’m just sayin’.”
I sat up and groaned—a much more severe version of a moan.
Mel walked out of the bathroom. “I feel so much better.”
“I need to go see Sue.”
“Tonight?”
I nodded.
“Honey, you do that. I’m taking a shower and hitting the hay. I’m beat.”
“Thanks for your support.”
“You’re welcome.” She grabbed her overnight make up bag and closed the bathroom door behind her.
I plucked my purse from the small desk, tossed the handles back into it, and headed back to Sue’s.
I complained the entire way there, but Brian ignored me and told me exactly what to say.
“I got it. Don’t worry.”
I pulled into the driveway to a completely dark house. “Everyone’s asleep.”
“She’s not asleep,” he said.
Ma disappeared and returned seconds later.
The hallwa
y lit up.
“Nope. She’s not. At least not no more.”
“Great. Way to make this easier, Ma.”
“What? I did what I had to do.”
I gave her a combo head shake and eye roll and climbed out of the car.
Sue answered the door just seconds after I tapped on it. “Was that him?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. That was a mistake.”
Ma grumbled, “I don’t think of it that way.”
“May I please come in? I have a message from Brian.”
“Is this a joke?”
“No, Sue. It’s not. I promise. It’s important.”
She stiffened but opened the door. “My children are sleeping. We can go to the kitchen, but you have to be quiet.”
“I understand.”
She didn’t offer me a coffee or anything. Not that I would have taken it, but it felt awkward, just sitting there in my ex-boyfriend’s house, talking to his wife like that.
“I know this is uncomfortable, but I have to talk to you about the handles.”
She raised her left eyebrow. “What do mean?”
“You know how I said Brian wanted you to keep an eye on Bradley?”
She nodded.
“It’s because of the handles. They’re not the right material, and Brian knows that now. I don’t think he did before, or at least he isn’t sure. The thing is, he thinks Dan traded out the better coating for something cheaper, and it’ll slip out of people’s hands like it did with him. He wants to make sure they’re not put into production, and only you can stop that.”
She gasped as tears fell from her eyes.
“The handles. They’re in Dan’s boat. I told you Dan’s taking Bradley first thing in the morning.”
“No, they’re not. We got them.”
She raised her brow again. “But how?”
“It’s a long story, but you can thank your husband.” I opened my purse and laid the handles on the table. “He wants you to put these in the safe in the basement.”
“He told you that?”
I nodded. “I promise, I’m not making any of this up.”
She picked up a handle and rolled it back and forth in her hand. “It doesn’t feel slippery to me.”
“Make her do what I had you do,” Brian said.
She did as I said. “Oh, yeah. It’s slippery when I do that.” She searched the large, gray, and white kitchen. “Is Brian here?”
The Favor Page 5
