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CHAPTER XIII
KALI, August 5 Sunday afternoon
I wasn’t sure what the Skipper had in mind today, but he sure was agitated about it. He hadn’t slept a wink, and I’d finally given up trying to curl between his knees and gone up to the cockpit to try and get a catnap. He went to work as usual, but before he got back to the boat, I saw him stop by the phone booth outside the Community Store. When he hopped across to the deck, he was shaking his head. “Tonight is going to tell the tale,” he told me grimly. “Soon we’ll know if we’re staying or leaving.” HARVEY, August 5 Sunday late afternoon Plus je vois les hommes, plus j’admire les chiens—
Madame Roland The phone was ringing when Emily and I got back from clamming, and it was Sam. He asked her to go for a walk with him when she got finished scooping ice cream, and she accepted. He stopped by the ice cream stand, and soon we were headed for the beach. Emily had a happy look on her face as we set out, but I could tell Sam had something serious on his mind. They walked for a while in silence until they came to a big piece of driftwood. Sam suggested that they sit down, and they did. I dug out a spot in the sand next to him and lay down, but I was all ears as I lay there. Sam started talking after a minute or so. “Look, I know I’ve been pretty unfair with you, and I feel like I need to explain some things. It’s not easy for me to talk about. Something happened six years ago that I don’t quite understand. It’s all kind of vague, but I’m afraid I may have killed a woman.” Emily’s mouth fell open, as I know mine did. We both stared at him, waiting for him to continue. “It happened not far from Ocracoke. I’d met Marie in Florida where I was working in a boat shop and finishing up law school, She was older than me, pretty with exotic black hair and eyes, and quite worldly and… and I guess I was pretty naive. She talked me into buying the “Mary Bee” even though 1 couldn’t really afford her, and going on a cruise. We sailed north. She kept talking about wanting to come here, so I studied the charts and set us a course for Ocracoke. We’d just pulled into the harbor when this friend of hers radioed that he was anchored nearby and wanted to come on board. It was a guy she’d known before I met her. I didn’t know him, but from what I’d heard he was a real bad sort. She’d gotten in some trouble with him before, and I didn’t want him around. I told her as much and started to leave. I got as far as Teach’s Hole when she convinced me to spend the night, saying she’d tell him not to come on board.” “She was mad, though, so she went to bed without speaking. I sat up in the cockpit, watching the moon and feeling sorry for myself, nursing a bottle of rum I’d bought for making pina coladas. After that everything seems like a dream, a real bad dream. I have this hazy memory of a fight. I remember swinging something, and then it’s all a blank. When I woke up the next, morning I felt awful. Marie was gone, and I was being boarded by the Coast Guard. I tested positive for opium, though I swear I don’t remember a thing about taking any. They searched the boat and found two bags of cocaine in my locker, though I have no idea how they got there. There was no sign of Marie, just a broken bottle and some pots scattered on the floor. They locked me up and then there was a big investigation and a hearing. They tried to find Marie, but she’d vanished without a trace. I was accused of smuggling drugs and murdering Marie. I landed in jail, but I appealed, and they didn’t have enough proof to keep me.” “Since then I’ve been living on the boat, trying to figure out what happened. I’d like to settle down, but Marie’s ghost seems to haunt me. I’m afraid to get involved with anyone else. What if I did kill her? I might hurt you too if I got mad!”’ Emily was sitting very still. She didn’t say anything when he finished, just stared at her hands. I walked over and sniffed him, trying to get some sense of badness or violence. He stroked my head, though I knew he wasn’t paying any attention to me. For the life of me, I couldn’t find anything that made him seem like he could be a murderer. Still, I wouldn’t want to take any chances with Emily, so I backed off and sat down next to her. Sam seemed to be waiting for her to say something, and when she didn’t, he stood up. “I expect I should be going” he said in a soft voice. He turned and, with that long swinging stride of his, disappeared down the road. KALI, August 6 Monday morning Women and cats will do as they please,
and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. Robert A. Heinlein I don’t know what happened last night while the Skipper was gone, but he came back early and he was as down as I’d ever seen him. He sat down and popped a Budweiser and I climbed in his lap. He didn’t even push my tail out of the way when I purposely tickled his nose. He picked up a book but then just set it back down again, couldn’t get focused on anything. Finally he got up and opened a can of Friskies for me, but he didn’t eat a bite of anything himself. He was real restless during the night and had that nightmare again, He got up before light to meet Harry at the boat, like he usually does, but before he left he said something about this may be being his last day of fishing, about maybe going to Bermuda after all. He wasn’t acting like himself at all and I was getting pretty worried. He’d been gone a couple hours, I guess, when I heard the creak of a bicycle. I thought I recognized it and sure enough here came Emily. She had an eager look on her face as she peered across the deck. “Hi Kali!” she called. “Sam, are you here?” Well, of course, he didn’t answer since he was out fishing, and next thing I knew she was hopping from the dock onto the boat. She called Sam’s name again and stuck her head down into the cabin, then stepped in. I followed her down, wondering what she was up to, and found her writing on a piece of paper. She didn’t pay any attention to me, but I watched her. She was mouthing the words as she wrote, so I could tell what she was writing. “Dear Sam,” she said, “I don’t care what happened six years ago. I don’t believe you could have hurt anyone, not on purpose, but whatever happened, I love you and trust you. If you feel the same way about me, I know we can make it work out. Just think of it—you and Kali and me and Harvey a big happy family. Please come see me as soon as you get back,” And she signed it, “Love and Kisses, Emily.” She set the salt shaker on top of the note, reached down and hugged me, and then skipped out of the cabin, and off the boat. Just like that she was gone. Leaving that note like a stick of dynamite that could blow Sam’s and my lives sky high. HARVEY, August 6 Monday early afternoon As wise and valiant as a dog—
Sir John Davies Emily was taking a shower, singing in her off-key voice after a morning of clamming, when I heard a familiar creak. I didn’t need to sniff the air to know whose bicycle it was. I pushed aside the curtain and peeked out the window and sure enough, Sam was coming up the walk. He seemed pretty hesitant, not like himself, and I remembered what he had told Emily the day before. I refrained from barking, wanting to see what he would do. He knocked at the door, then knocked again. I listened to see if Emily heard him, but she didn’t stop singing. I thought about letting her know he was there, as I’d normally do, by barking. Something stopped me, however. Maybe he really was a murderer. Even if he wasn’t, I was not sure he was good for Emily and me. I couldn’t make up my mind what to do, and then before I’d decided, he started walking away. I almost woofed to him to come back, but I didn’t. As I heard him slowly climb back on his bicycle and pedal away, a twinge of guilt hit me. I shook it off like a wet coat. KALI, August 6 Monday late afternoon What intenseness of desire in her upward eye of fire!
With a tiger-leap half-way, now she meets the coming prey – William Wordsworth After Emily left the boat, I sat there and stared at that note for a long time, just thinking about what a mess Sam had been ever since he’d met Emily. I remembered what that dog of hers had done to me, and I started wishing for the old times when it was just him and me. I figured we’d both be a lot better off if Sam didn’t see Emily’s message. I went back and forth about it most of the day, hoping Sam didn’t come back before I made up my mind. Finally, sometime after the sun started on its westward trek across the sky, I made up my mind. It wasn’t exactly on purpose, but somehow I just lay down on that table and stretched, and bang! The next thing I knew the salt shaker had fallen on the floor and the note along with it! I hopped down and gave it a couple taps with my paw, and it scooted right under the bottom shelf of the closet. I felt a little guilty, I admit, when Sam arrived home, looking sad and lonely. He brought me a piece of flounder, fresh off the boat, which I enjoyed, but he still didn’t have any appetite. “I haven’t heard anything from Emily,” he lamented as he stroked my head, “and she didn’t come to the door when I stopped by her house. I guess she’s made up her mind. The best thing for you and me to do is set sail.” With that, he started putting things away, and I convinced myself it was for his own good. I had a few regrets about leaving myself, but as we sailed out of the harbor, I was sure I’d done the right thing. HARVEY, August 6 Monday early evening A dog has the soul of a philosopher—
Plato After she finished scooping ice cream, Emily seemed real restless, like maybe she had a fresh batch of fleas. She jumped every time the phone rang and kept watching the door. Finally, as the sun was going down, she called me. “Let’s go for a bike ride, Harvey.” Well, needless to say I was right there. “Maybe things are gonna get back to normal,” I thought to myself. “I’ll have Emily to myself again.” I was hoping we’d go to the beach, but Emily pedaled into the village and before I knew it, we were at the Community Store. I felt Emily staring toward the dock, so I looked too. The Mary Bee’s slip was empty. Emily just sat there for a minute, and I sat beside her, not raising any stir about the ducks. I could tell she felt pretty bad. She didn’t say a word, but propped her bicycle against the ice machine, tied me to the fence, and walked slowly up the steps to the store. She was back in a moment, her face the color of that vanilla ice cream she dips. “He’s gone, Harvey. Paid his dock bill and checked out. No forwarding address, nothing.” KALI, August 7 Tuesday early morning The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat—
Edward Lear Tuesday was a glorious day for sailing, and I climbed up on my favorite spot on the bowsprit to feel the wind. I kept expecting Sam to burst into song, as he usually does when we set out on a new adventure. He was strangely quiet, however, and unlike himself. I felt a twinge of guilt, wondering if I’d done the right thing. Nonsense I told myself. He’ll get over it. HARVEY, August 7 Tuesday morning Kittens kittens everywhere—
William Wordsworth Emily and I bicycled over to the harbor early that morning, before the sale. Emily pulled up at the Community Store dock and stared at the empty space where the Mary Bee had been docked. She wore an expression on her face, which filled me with guilt. I’m not saying I take all the blame for them being gone, but I couldn’t help thinking that if I’d barked when Sam came to the door the day before, his boat might still be here. I figured she was better off without him, but I didn’t like Emily having her heart broken. I was feeling pretty low, I must admit. “Come on, Harvey!” she said in a lonely voice. “It’s almost time for the sale.” Mary, Judy, and Brigetta had already set up a table on Howard Street, the old historic lane which tourists love, when we rode up. Emily tied me to a shrub and got me a pan of water, then reached down to look at two black kittens they’d found under the Jolly Roger and were hoping to adopt out. “They’re darling!” she said in a wistful tone. “I wish I could trust Harvey with one. I’d love to take one home.” I wasn’t sure what she meant about trusting me, but I also wasn’t sure I wanted her to have anything else to love. I think I am quite enough for her, personally. Judy and Mary had to go to their shops, so Emily and Brigetta took the first shift. People started crowding around and the items were going fast. “I love this pottery cat!” cried one middle-aged woman with red hair. “Momma I want a T-shirt!” laughed a child with pigtails. A pretty lady with two children took one of the kittens, along with a little bag of cat food Judy had prepared. Things were going quite well when two men in uniforms strode down the lane and stopped in front of the booth. The older man held out a badge and addressed Emily and Brigetta. “State police,” he said. “I’m looking for Emily Gray.” Emily stared in surprise. “I’m Emily,” she said. “What can I do for you?” “You’re under arrest,” he answered, “for murder.”    |
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