Second Honeymoon

Marie sat and stared out the window into the growing darkness. Where was Carl? He had decided to go fishing and promised he would be home long before dark with a stringer full of fish for dinner. That had been six hours ago and she was getting concerned. It was summer time and didn’t get dark until 9:30 and she expected him back before six. He always wanted to eat before seven.

She sighed as she walked back into the kitchen. At eight o’clock, she finally gave up and started a pot of soup. No fish tonight. She’s been surprised when he came home from work three hours early and told her to pack. It was to be a beautiful weekend and he wanted to spend the weekend at the cabin. Marie was surprised, but eager to go and whistled her favorite tune as she threw enough in a bag for two and a half days.

He must have been listening to me, she smiled. She was feeling neglected. It woulid be so nice to have him all to herself for a weekend. They had been married six years and she guessed the honeymoon had to end sometime, but she would try to keep it as exciting as she could. Marie had bought a special teddy, waiting for an opportunity like this and quickly shoved it into her travel bag.

Carl was in the kitchen packing food and cooking supplies and had brought home a bottle of white wine. They soon had the car loaded and Marie felt like a teenager again. It had been at least two years since they’d spent the weekend in the old cabin that had belonged to her parents. They had given it to the young couple as a wedding present and they had spent many wonderful weekends there. Carl loved to fish, but never seemed to find much time to pursue his passion, even when they were at the cabin.

She loved it because it sat on a large lake, twenty-five miles outside of Culver and there was no one else within five miles. They were truly alone.

Carl seemed like his old self as they drove out of town. He'd packed his fishing gear and insisted they would have fresh crappie for dinner. She’d be happy to let him go fishing tonight, as long as he spent the rest of the weekend with her, and fresh fish was always a favorite.

The couple arrived at the cabin around 4:30 on Friday afternoon, and after helping her carry things in, Carl eagerly grabbed his tackle box and pole and headed for the lake. The only boat available was a twelve foot rowboat with oars and a small trolling motor. “I’ll be home by six with the fish cleaned and ready to fry,” he promised with a smile as he started to the dock.”

“Good luck. I’m already hungry, so catch plenty,” Marie insisted. Even though she was a bit disappointed that he didn’t stay with her tonight, she danced around the kitchen as she turned the radio on and started putting groceries away. Even though it was warm, evening would have a chill in the air and she would have a fire ready to light in the fireplace, the wine chilled and the table set. Everything she needed for her meal was laid out and ready to use.

Carl had even insisted on leaving the cell phones in the car so they wouldn’t be interrupted at all. That had pleased her at the time, but now she wished he had his phone with him so she could find him and hurry him home. Marie turned the fire down under the pot of vegetable soup and walked back to the window. Now, it was completely dark outside and she felt the panic start to twist at her nerves. The boat had no lights, but why had he stayed on the lake until it was too dark to see?

Beginning to get scared, Marie took the large flashlight from the drawer, slipped on a sweater and stepped outside. Looking out over the lake, she could see nothing. Even the flashlight turned up nothing. Marie went to the car to get the cell phones. She would feel better having them on her. Opening the glove compartment, she picked up the two phones and slipped them in her pocket, then walked to the dock. Shining her light around, she spotted nothing, not even a ripple on the water. She took out her phone and turned it on. As she started to dial 911, she stopped herself. What was she going to tell them? Her husband had gone fishing and was late getting home? She could just hear the jeers as she dropped the phone back into her pocket.

Marie looked out over the lake for another twenty minutes, and then slowly walked back to the cabin. Not knowing what to do, she put on some coffee, lit the fireplace and started pacing again. Something must have happened to Carl. He was quite often late getting home from work, but this was different. She'd been overjoyed at the prospect of spending the entire evening in front of the flickering fire in Carl’s arms. It would be just like it had been when they first got married. She blushed as she thought of the way it had once been. It had never gotten old to her, but Carl was so much more preoccupied than he used to be. She planned on changing that over this long weekend.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and walked back to the dark window. It was a completely starless night, and even the moon was hiding. Marie shuttered, as if someone or something had just walked across her grave. She suddenly knew that things would never be the same and Carl wasn’t coming back. She couldn’t explain how she knew----but she knew.

Marie dug her phone out of her purse again and called her father. “Dad, something has happened to Carl. He went out in the boat and hasn’t come back. I’m frightened. I can’t see anything on the lake and I’m sure the police would just blow me off if I called. I can feel something is really wrong. Can you come to the cabin, please?”

“Have you tried his cell phone?”

“He didn’t take it with him. It’s in my pocket.”

“I’ll be there within forty-five minutes. Don’t worry, we’ll find him. The police might come since he was on the water. Give them a call and convince them.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Now the realization that something could be really wrong set in and she was shaking as she dialed the phone. She was crying when they answered and she tearfully convinced them to come out. After giving directions, she dropped the phone back in her pocket and sat down and wept out of fear and frustration. Cried out for now, she dried her tears and went to the window to watch for the police and her father. As the first headlight appeared, she ran out to meet the patrol car. She immediately led them to the dock of the large lake where she described the size of the boat and how long her husband had been gone. It was now 10:30 and he had been gone for more than six hours.

The officers stood and grilled her while she was trying to get them to go out on the water and look for Carl. She hadn’t anything else to tell them and they wanted to stand and talk. They wanted to know why he had left his phone behind.

“Because, this was more or less to be a second honeymoon and we didn’t want to be disturbed,” she told them.?

“Then why weren’t you with him?”

“Because I hate fishing and he was supposed to be back in a couple of hours.”

“It seems strange to me that he wouldn’t take his cell phone out on the lake with him, since he was alone. I would have.”

The tears started again as she pleaded with them to find Carl. About that time, her dad pulled up towing a boat and had a neighbor with him. He backed straight up to the lake with the boat as the officers walked over to greet him.

“Have you heard from Carl yet?” he inquired as Marie ran up and threw her arms around his neck.

“No,” she cried. “Someone needs to be out there searching for him.”

“Well, I guess that would be me,” he said as he glanced at the policemen gathered around. He saw no other boat and wondered why they would show up to search a lake without bringing a boat.

“I’m detective Luke Turner,” one of the officers identified himself as he walked over to Mr. Jenkins and held out his hand.

“I’m Marie’s father and I’m going out right now to search for my son-in-law,” he said, ignoring the officer’s hand and getting into his boat.

“The game warden should be here with a larger boat any minute. It would be better if you wait for them,” he insisted, looking at Jenkin’s small boat. “We don’t want another missing boat out there.”

“You follow me when you can,” he insisted as he untied and started the 25 horse motor. It was just a fishing boat, but Matt Jenkins had spent years navigating Big Spring Lake and knew every bit of the coast line. He wasn’t waiting.

Detective Turner watched as the small boat quickly disappeared into the darkness, only the small headlights piercing the gloom. He then turned back to Marie with more questions. She was getting very upset as he questioned her about their marriage, any problems they may have had, had they been fighting and was he seeing anyone else. When he got to that question, Marie was getting angry.

“Are you here to help me find Carl or to see how bad you can hurt me? I see no reason for questions like this. Carl must have had an accident and may be out there now, clinging to a boat or a log and waiting for someone to come for him!” and she stormed off to stand on the dock and watch for her father.

About that time, the Game Warden and an assistant pulled up and launched a much larger boat and she was happy to see the bright spotlights light up the water as they pulled away. If he was out there, they would be able to see him now. She suddenly felt very shaky and sat down on the edge of the dock to watch. She could see the spotlights sweeping back and forth across the surface of the water and she prayed. They just had to find him. She didn’t think she could live without him.

Detective Turner walked over to her and suggested they go back inside and talk. It was cooling off by the water and she was starting to tremble, partially from the cold, but mostly from nerves.

“I have to be here when they find him,” she insisted.

“They’ll let us know immediately if they see anything. You need to sit down and have a cup of coffee.” She looked at him and could see the concern in his eyes and realized just how distraught she was and agreed to go inside. She finally realized that if she didn’t sit down, she was going to pass out.

When they got inside, Turner led her to the couch in front of the fire and went in to pour them both a cup of coffee. He handed her a cup and took his to sit in the chair facing the fireplace. They drank in silence for a moment, then he said. “If he’s out there, don’t worry, we’ll find him.”

“What do you mean; if he’s out there?”

“Nothing. Just a figure of speech. I’m sure we’ll find him. Maybe the boat sank. Did he wear a life jacket?

“I don’t think he brought one. But he’s a very strong swimmer. He wouldn’t have any trouble swimming to shore if the boat went down.”

“Of course. I’m sure he’ll be just fine. Just relax and drink your coffee and I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.

Marie held her cup and turned things over in her mind. Why would he say, if he’s out there? And why would he seem to think it so weird that Carl hadn’t taken his cell phone. What was he thinking?

She thought about the jovial mood he had been in since he came home from work and told her about going to the lake. She'd been surprised, but wondered what had happened to finally put him in such a good mood. He'd been acting very depressed for the last couple of months, but insisted everything at work was fine. When she had tried to question him, he’d told her that everything was okay. He was just really rushed at work and as soon as the current job was finished, they would take some time and he would be more like himself again. Marie had believed him and let it drop, then he'd come home in a great mood tonight and she assumed he had finished with a difficult customer and just needed time to unwind.

There had been several nights in the last month when he'd been very late getting home. He had missed dinner without even calling, but he also seemed to come up with a reasonable explanation and she would let it drop; but every time it happened, she worried a bit more. He kept insisting that it would soon be over. He was dealing with a very difficult client that demanded most of his time and just couldn’t understand he had a life away from his office.

Marie didn’t like it, but was sure Carl would be home with her if he could, so she pampered him and tried to put him in a better mood while he was home. It must have been working, she thought as she remembered the smile on his face when he came home today. The loud ringing of Turner’s cell popped her out of her reverie and she jumped as he answered his phone. She looked expectantly at him as he said, “Yes, we’ll be right there,” and stuck the phone back in his pocket.

“They’ve found his capsized boat. It’s in the middle of the lake, about ten miles south of here.”

“Could it have drifted that far? I can’t see why he would have gone that far just to catch a few crappie for dinner. He wasn’t planning on being gone that long.”

Turner was wondering the same thing as they headed back for the dock. Mr. Jenkins had come back with the information and the Game Warden was marking the spot with a bouy and searching the water and the bank around the area with its search light. They would continue the search and if nothing was found, they would start diving in the morning.

Marie could tell by looking at her father that something was very wrong. She wanted to beg for information, but knew he wouldn’t share until he had mulled everything over in his mind. She watched him as he looked out over the dark lake as though he could see just what had happened and had to make his own assessment of the situation. She waited as long as she could stand, then walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. “What happened out there, Dad?”

Mr. Jenkins looked at his daughter with sorrow in his eyes. He would like to just tell her that the boat had overturned and Carl had finally drowned in the deep, cold lake. But he didn’t think that was what happened. He had seen a lot of boating accidents in his life. It took a lot to turn a flat bottom boat over. There were no swells, no wind and nothing in that area to run into. At this time of year, he could have gone a few yards from the dock and caught a nice mess of crappie for dinner. No one would go ten miles in that little boat to go fishing that late in the day…and Carl was never without his cell phone.

He'd been hearing rumors lately about trouble in the top levels of Carl’s business, and also about all his late nights when he never came home. He’d done his best to try to believe they were all just stupid suspicions, but he’d seen how unhappy Marie had been lately. It didn’t take a genius to realize that the scene had been staged. The water had killed the motor, but it was not damaged in anyway. He didn’t know whether to say anything to the detectives or wait and see whether they were suspicious. He put his arm over Marie’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go in and have coffee while we wait. I think it will be a long night.” Marie sobbed as he led her back to the house.

**************

Carl threw back his head and laughed as he climbed into the seat of the large boat and gave Tara a big kiss. “It turned out perfectly. They’ll never find a body. That’s the deepest part of the lake and the catfish are big enough to eat a corpse. Marie will be unhappy for awhile, but I left her in good shape. My life insurance pays double for accidental death and she’ll net a cool mil. She’ll be upset awhile, but she’ll get on with her life.

Tara smiled and said, “Finally, I’ll have you all to myself. And the money’s not bad either.”

"We have $5,000,000 in an overseas account and no one will be the wiser. They won’t spend too much time looking for the body and Marie is squeaky clean. Our bank account is empty and they’ll never suspect her of any wrong doing. We have the money and the rest of our lives together.”

He leaned over to give his mistress another kiss, when a large swell from a speeding boat hit them broadside, just hard enough to flip the boat in the air and toss them both in the lake. The boat kept going as they fought panic. Carl started swimming for shore and Tara threw both arms around his neck, screaming. She couldn’t swim. He fought desperately as she clutched tighter around his neck and tried to climb up on his shoulders. She was pulling him down and he couldn’t loosen her death grip.

I always hated clinging women he thought as they slowly slipped below the surface for the last time. It looks like they may find a body after all.