A.G.E's Joint

  As I got out of the car, Williams spun me around. “Jim Holden, you’re under arrest for the murder of Donna Bartlett.” The whole charade with the girl had been to draw me to a safe place to do the arrest. I didn’t feel the click of the cuffs as they went around my wrists. The Miranda speech was just so much buzz. The cruiser smelled like the last drunk they brought in. These would be the  memories of tomorrow . That was five years ago. It was supposed to have been simple. Jerry Herrington was in a bind with The Sunset and needed it to disappear. It wasn’t a problem. The Texas LLC had been set up years before and the registration fees were up to date. The phony bill of sale and a fake destination were the easy parts. I’ve never met a marina manager who ever looked at paperwork. All they care about is having an open slip to fill at higher rent. The dealer in Florida didn’t ask questions and had the dock space to keep it out of sight. Herrington got spooked after the body turned...

  I bring the binoculars up to my eyes, not sure what I was looking for. The slips looked like a kid put all the 1’s in the alphabet kit set side by side. Outside of a couple of big houseboats, everything else was small craft. Holidayland was a weekend retreat for city folks wanting to get their fish on. It was a cold dark night, but the flask is keeping me warm. I’ll have the zings in the morning for sure, but that didn’t matter. Make a wish, count to three. Isn’t that what Willy Wonka used to say? Maybe you’ll win the golden ticket. Maybe not. The call had been confusing. I asked for the woman I’d talked to earlier about the boat but was told she was no longer was working there. The guy who did answer claimed to be the owner, but the name he gave didn’t match what I had on file. In the background, I could hear a girl’s voice telling him to get back to bed. When I asked if he had any information on Herrington he hung up. All I knew was the Sunset docked here and something was miss...

 I stared at the phone for a good minute soaking in the words. Could this get any weirder? A dog barking at a squirrel next to my bench brought me back to reality. "I assume you have some questions?" Williams' voice was sharp. "Only one. Where were you yesterday?" "My place, mostly." A swan took flight across my field of vision, settling in the cold water next to a clump of trees. "Cleaning up the Bartlett file for the lawyers." "No side trips?" "Not up that way." I looked at my shoes. For some reason the cold making my feet numb. "Met one of the lawyers for lunch at Mary Mac's to discuss the final report for Bartlett. That was at 1. I was back about 2:30 and worked until about midnight." "Ok." Williams sighed. It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it was the truth. "I might need to you to come in again. I'll let you know." And he was gone. Somehow,...

  As I pass the gazebo, the swans begins to fuss, the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. I sit down and watch as the birds play in front of a family with a loaf of bread. The most bold of the birds chases a girl up the bank, hoping the something will drop. They were as bad as the bag ladies outside my building. I had to get away from the screen, so I came down to the park. Being cold and a weekday, virtually no one was here. I pull the hood up closer as the wind picked up. Angie said I looked like a bear in the heavy coat. And the thought made me wish I was in San Juan. That I had not chickened out and put up with being the stranger in the strange land. I want empanadas, plantains, and rum. I want her curls in my face and her scent in my nose. Marion County released the Sunset to the insurance company, the arson case had gone cold with Herrington still in the wind. The estate will get paid and that's all the lawyer care about. Their circus, not mine. I met with them yesterday to f...