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  “Are you alright, Mrs. McKinnon, should I call for an ambulance? I’m sorry if I startled you, I’m just here to ask about the insurance policy you and your husband have on your boat.”

  “What are you talking about?” mumbled Rikki trying for a little decorum as she sat on the ground. She pulled her dress down to her knees and said, “Since when does the Royal Canadian Mounted Police check on insurance policies, what’s going on? Where’s my husband? What’s happened?”

  “Take it easy, I didn’t think this call would cause all this uproar.” He turned and looked at the row of concerned neighbors standing just outside the back fence. “There’s nothing to see folks, you can go home now.”

  Nobody moved.

  “It’s okay, I’m alright,” she said, “it was just a shock when he told me I should sit down. That usually means bad news; I can’t take anymore bad news!”

  “If there’s going to be bad news, I’m coming too!” said Carol opening the back gate and stepping into the yard. She went over, stood by her friend in a protective manner, and glowered at the Mountie. “I’m her best friend and I want to make sure there are no problems.”

  “Whatever you want, this is not the big deal you think it is. I’m busy and I’m doing this as a favor for a friend of mine.”

  Rikki, Carol and the big man went up the back steps into the house.

  Rikki sat at the kitchen table.

  Carol stood by the sink.

  The Mountie stood by the door.

  They all looked at each other and waited for someone else to speak.

  “Harrumph,” said the Law, clearing his throat. He seemed nervous too.

  “I’ve had a request from the RCMP Detachment in Carling to request a copy of the insurance policy on your boat. I know this is not regular procedure, but there’s a problem. It seems it hasn’t surfaced and it should have. There’s some question as to whether it was stolen, sold or sunk.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, it was a very straight forward insurance claim, no one has asked us about anything. I have the registration numbers for the boat, and a brochure showing what it looked like when it was new, the size and all the rest of it. What’s bringing on these questions? Why are you asking?”

  “Ma’am, I have no idea, but it seems there are some discrepancies. Let me take that information and I’ll have it copied and returned to you.”

  “No, if you want a copy, I’ll give it to you. My husband works for Jamison Copier, and we have a printer/copier here at home. Just a moment and I’ll get you one.”

  “Thank you very much; you’ve saved me a return trip.”

  She took the Insurance policy and the pictures of the boat from the file in the den. It only took a few moments and she returned with the papers and offered them to the Constable.

  He took them, and with another apology for upsetting her, went back to his police cruiser and left.

  “What do you think this is all about, Carol?”

  “I don’t know, but I’d call Jack, this might be important. I know you don’t have a phone up there, but I remember you saying Freddy at the marina in Merriweather took messages.

  “You know you’re right, he should know what’s going on. I don’t know why I’m so slow today. But I’ll call right now so he’ll get the message as soon as he arrives.”

  Chapter 16

  Saturday morning finally dawned on Andover Lake.

  The sky, shot with pink ribbons that seemed to be growing closer and closer together woke Jack from a restless sleep in the back of the Merriweather grocery store.

  For a moment, he couldn’t place where he was.

  Then he remembered his unsettling dream from the middle of last night. He was still having trouble with reality, and kept checking the date on his watch.

  He got out of the cot and looked out the small window in the bathroom; the sky, no longer pink, was a blaze of brilliant red blood streaked across the whole sky. The air so clear it throbbed; a rosy glow shimmered around the snowy top of the big mountain.

  Hmm?

  A vague look came over Jack, as he seemed to remember; you can’t see Scuff Peak from the store.

  But he felt time was running out and he knew he had to hurry. Purposefully he walked down to the marina and mooring slot #43. Yes, there was the speedboat that would take him to the cabin.

  In his fog last night, he forgot to buy groceries. He had no food, no white gas for the lantern, and no propane for the fridge. He also forgot to check with Freddy to make sure he didn’t have a phone call from home. Turning he retraced his steps back to the store.

  Although he was still feeling odd, it was better than yesterday. Impatient as he was, he knew he had to wait until the store opened, and decided what he really needed was a good breakfast.

  My god, he thought as he stood in the parking lot and looked up, the red blood in the sky was brilliant in the early morning light. It held him until he realized a little rhyme was running through the back of his mind, hmm, how did it go? He knew he was just a little kid the last time he thought about it.

  “Oh, yes;

  “Red at night, Sailor’s Delight,

  “Red in the morning, Sailor’s take Warning!”

  Now, why is that running through my head, thought Jack? He knew it didn’t matter and it was time to eat.

  Out on Main Street, he saw the sign for ‘Betty’s Hilltop Cafe’ winking in the early light and started for the diner.

  “Good Morning, ‘Betty’, is breakfast ready yet?” Jack said as he opened the door to the almost empty cafe.

  “Good Morning yourself, do you know, you’re the only one around here that has the balls to call me ‘Betty’? Did I ever tell you about the time I fought off the whole Blazing Knights biker gang singlehandedly, knocked the shit out of all of them. Got away with it too!”

  “You don’t scare me, ‘Betty’, you’re all blow and no go,” Jack said with a grin. “I’ll have the steak and eggs and all the trimmings. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”

  “Hmm,” said the owner of the restaurant with a wink, “how do you know you’re not getting one this morning!”

  The new owner of the cafe and Jack were old soccer buddy’s from before his biker days and enjoyed the give and take of old friendship. ‘Betty’ was glad his friend was back to his old self.

  Soon the small cafe was full of eager anglers ready to start the fishing day with a good breakfast. Jack sat in the corner booth, listening to the friendly banter, and was glad he came. Thoughts of the boat that sunk and the dog that died seemed to be gone from his mind. He was looking forward to the trip up to the cabin and could hardly wait to get started.

  As he sat enjoying his last cup of coffee, he realized he was humming that tune again. What were those words? Something about ‘sailor take warning’, but he couldn’t remember the other lines.

  “Oh, well,” he said, “that’s just a nursery rhyme.”

  He got up paid his bill, joked a little with ‘Betty’, and headed back to the dock.

  He had to pick up eggs and bacon, and maybe a nice steak from Freddy. With the spare gas can filled from the marina, he’d be on his way.

  Sure is a funny looking red sky this morning, he thought, having forgotten what it looked like earlier.

  Since no one else was paying attention to it, and the radio in the cafe said, clear and calm, with a light chop; he knew it was nothing to worry about.

  “I’ll be up at the cabin in no time,” he said aloud to himself. “Maybe I can get in an hour on the water, maybe even a fish or two for supper.”

  The speedboat Jack rented was a joy on the water. The response was instant. He did a couple of figure 8’s, just for the fun of it.

  On the water, his eye fell on the groceries pushed into the opening between the front seats, they weren’t stowed as well as in his own boat, but that couldn’t be helped. Then he turned to the other side a little and looked at the passenger seat and th
oughts of Big Guy brought tears to his eyes. “Can’t think those thoughts,” he said to the windshield, “got to get to the cabin.”

  “Wow,” he said out loud, “look at that red sky and those black clouds roll, I should’ve checked the weather again.”

  Something wrong?

  “The light’s so bright it hurts my eyes? What’s wrong with the lake, I’ve only seen it this flat once before...” he mumbled, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “There’s Scuff Peak again, here comes the heavy weather! Gotta get in shallower water,” he said in a daze, and turned the wheel to the left.

  Jack knew his cabin was on the northeast side of Andover Lake. What he didn’t know was, why was he crossing the lake, heading south east.

  The wind whipped the water up; the waves so high he couldn’t see the shore. Finally, a beach rose up in front of him and he managed to wrestle the boat closer to shore.

  “Couldn’t have hung on much longer,” he said aloud, as he moved the boat closer in. With this wind, he knew he had to bring the boat higher on shore and make sure the motor was pulled up.

  But it was heavier than he thought and he couldn’t push it further on the beach, so he got the mooring rope out and tied it to the strongest looking branch he could find.

  Then he looked around, “humm,” he said, “Whose cabin is that?”

  The wind howled around him, pushing from behind, urging him forward, he made his way up the path until he was standing in front of a small deserted cabin.

  Can’t tell whose it is, thought Jack, hope its open. I sure don’t want to spend the night out doors.

  He walked up the steps.

  His face dropped its’ color, and he stopped, mouth open. The door and the jam were pushed into the room and both were barely hanging from a nail.

  Jack turned and ran, “not again,” he said, “I won’t go there again!”

  He got to the beach and even though the storm was raging, cast off and headed into the middle of the lake. After several hundred yards, the wind began to die down and the lake became calm. The mist was almost gone, and soon he saw the late morning sun peek out from behind the last cloud.

  “I thought it was night, why is it daytime now? I don’t understand!” he shouted out loud, “I have to find someone who knows what’s happening to me.”

  He turned the boat around, checked which way the current was going and headed down lake, back to the town of Merriweather. He knew he had to get to Carling and Bill Majors.

  Chapter 17

  “Hi Rikki, don’t mean to be nosy, but how are you two doing this morning? Have you heard from Jack yet?” asked her friend Carol on the phone the next day.

  “No, he’s been there two whole days now and he didn’t return my phone call. I’m getting worried, I know I shouldn’t be, he’s at the cabin by now, and can’t phone until he comes back to town. But I can’t help thinking something awful is going on.”

  “That’s enough of that kind of thinking,” said Carol. “Jack knows the lake like the back of his hand, he used to go there with his dad, you even said so. Give him a little credit; he’s probably sprucing up the cabin for you, maybe even planting a flower or two.”

  “Boy, I think I want to live in your world, I can’t imagine Jack planting a flower up there, or anywhere else for that matter? He doesn’t see flowers, he sees weeds with colored heads. He likes bushes, big ones, little ones, no matter as long as they don’t flower and dribble petals all over. You’ve given me something else to think about though. I think I’ll look at the new seed catalogue. West Coast Blooms came yesterday. Maybe it’ll take my mind off so much worry.”

  “Take care, when you hear from Jack, let me know. I’ve been doing a little fretting myself.”

  Rikki hung up the phone, and found the new catalogue. She took it into the kitchen and put it on the table to read with her tea.

  Harry came in with a small car in his hands, “When’s my daddy coming home, I need him to fix my racing car. I can’t get this wheel to stay on. He said he’d fix it when he came home. He should come home now!”

  Rikki looked at her young son. He had such hope in his eyes; his dad could fix anything. Harry knew that was true, his dad said so.

  “Sit at the table, honey, I’ll get you some milk. Do you want a cookie, too?”

  “Yes, but I’d rather have daddy home.”

  “Me too,” she said under her breath, “me too.”

  Chapter 18

  Sergeant Bill was just getting ready to go home. The tongue-lashing he got from his Detachment Head and the ribbing he took from the rest of the men about the fiasco with Chief George’s mother left him feeling impatient and irritated.

  I’m not doing another thing on Jack McKinnon’s %$# file, he thought, all its’ done is get me into trouble. I’m making a mountain out of a molehill...and, I haven’t even got a substantial molehill. Hell, it’s just this gut feeling that I can’t get rid of.

  Well, Too Bad!

  Bill covered his desktop computer and put his papers away. He always knew where the current case was, in the middle drawer. Saved a lot of time looking in the files, and forgetting where you put your report.

  He checked his desk, making sure he locked everything, and turned in his chair to look out the window.

  “Aw shit!” he said, “here comes trouble again,” and watched his friend Jack McKinnon walk towards the building.

  “Might as well call Jeannie, I won’t be coming home in time for supper again tonight.”

  He was just finishing his phone call when the door opened and there stood his woe-begotten friend.

  “Hi Jack, what brings you here. When I talked to Freddy from the Grocery store he said you were going up to the cabin to spend a day or two fishing and fixing before going home?”

  “Well, you know what thought did,” Jack said without the hint of a grin in his voice. “I need some help.”

  “Is this going to be quick or do I need to put on a pot of coffee?”

  “I’d go with the coffee.”

  “Shit! Sorry, Jeannie made pot roast; she said she was trying to lure me home on time tonight. Never mind, her left overs are still good. What’s going on now?”

  Jack sat in his chair and squirmed. How could he tell a grown man that he was afraid of the lake now and worse, whatever it was wasn’t over yet.

  Bill got up unlocked his desk and took his little 4-cup coffee pot out of the bottom drawer and filled it from the small sink in the corner. The coffee grounds were loose, and if not measured carefully, they spilled on the floor. The cleaning crews were never happy with Sergeant Majors’ floor.

  “Isn’t progress wonderful?” he said as he took two Styrofoam coffee cups from his bottom desk drawer and sat down. “No more washing dishes, just throw them away.”

  Both men waited until the coffee ran through the filter.

  “It happened again,” Jack said, harrumphing a few times, emotion almost getting the best of him.

  “What’re you talking about? What happened again?”

  “I saw the mountain with the snow, and I was at the cabin.”

  “You’re kidding! Were you turned around and heading south instead of north? Are you sure you were going north?”

  “It was only 9:00 o’clock this morning,” Jack said, “I knew where I was! I rented Pete Farmer’s old speedboat and was on my way up to the cabin. And... all of a sudden, a big storm came up out of nowhere, and there was that mountain again, and the sky so red it looked like it was dripping blood!”

  “Hold on now, you were doing fine until the mountain, how could you see the mountain if you were going north? And, where did all this blood in the sky come from?”

  “This is the second freakiest thing that’s ever happened to me, running into that mountain the first time was the worst,” said the very distraught man.

  “This time when the storm came up I didn’t capsize, but I was lost. It was so dark I couldn’t see the edge of the lake. The wave
s so high they almost swamped the boat. Finally, I saw a beach and managed to pull in. I didn’t know where I was. There was no brush or scrub, but there was a cabin sitting on the edge of a clearing.”

  Jack put his coffee cup down and began to rub his face, as though he could erase the memory of the morning’s happenings.

  “What did you do?”

  “It gets a little murky here, but I’m sure I tied up the boat. Then I must have walked up to the cabin, because the next thing I really remember is looking at the door and knowing I’d seen it before. It was hanging lop-sided with the doorframe still attached. It looked like it was pushed in. I didn’t wait to see more, I turned and ran back to the boat. I was out’a there in two minutes flat.

  “Here it gets worse funny, as soon as I got away from the cabin, just a few hundred yards, the weather started to clear up. I looked around and it was broad daylight.

  “Sunshine all over! That did it! I checked to see which way the current was going, and I was going north. I turned around and headed to Merriweather, and here I am. Do something! Arrest someone! This stuff isn’t funny!” said a barely stable Jack McKinnon.

  The Sergeant sat open mouthed, and looked at his freaked-out friend.

  Chapter 19

  The sun was up early the next morning.

  Even though he’d had a good nights sleep, no nightmares, in the spare room over the Majors’ garage, Jack was still edgy as a cat flea on a dog.

  He called home last night and talked to Rikki. He said goodnight to Harry, it kind of made his heart thump but he swallowed hard and carried on.

  Can’t quit now, he thought. He had to know what was going on. It had to stop!

  “Have you got everything?” said Jeannie Majors as she drank her last cup of coffee. She was up early and made bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast for the two men.

  Things always look better on a full stomach.

  “I’ve got everything I can think of, we filled the boat with gas last night, I got permission to use it today so I can follow Jack, if he decides to stay at the cabin I can come home. You packed us a lunch, we’ve got raingear if a squall comes up, and if worse comes to worse, I put my gun in my backpack.”

  “Don’t even think of guns, this isn’t cops and robbers you know.”

  “That’s true, but when we get to Jack’s cabin I want to be prepared for anything. Think of what’s been happening; I don’t even know if a gun would help?”