Chapter forty-nine

“Sam-Man!”

“Hey, Hoops.” Sam stretched out on his cockpit cushion, measuring tape in one hand, phone in the other. “What’s up?”

“Just wanted to check on you. I got the full report here, so you can come by next time you’re in town.”

“Thanks, Hoops. I’ll get it when I can. I’m car-less right now. Mine was trashed in Navassa.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I thought I might go sailing. I’ve taken a leave of duty since the investigation is over. Now that August is here, I thought maybe I’d finally head up to Norfolk. My son’s stationed there, and it’s been a while since we had a chance to visit.”

“Too bad he’s not stationed here with me. Then you could come see him anytime you wanted.” Hoops was sincere.

“Yeah. Actually, I think I’m ready for a break from the beach. Things have been a little nutty.”

“I hear ya, Sam-Man. Listen; we’re having our end-of-summer barbeque tonight. Can you come?”

“Sounds good to me, Hoops. I need to say goodbye to a few friends, anyway. Can I call you later if I need a ride? I already sold my truck.”

“Sure. You call, I’ll be there to get you. Take care.”

“You too. And Hoops? Thanks for your help in all of this. I owe you one.”

“Fine. You can bring the steaks.”

“Fair enough.”

Sam got back to his measuring. This last cockpit cushion was giving him fits because its tattered cover was shredded beyond recognition. He had had to strip what was left of it and make a new pattern before he could make a new cover for it. This time, Sam chose a smart blue, green, and white striped fabric. Matching the strips at the corners was harder than he thought it would be. Anxious to finish his project, Sam wanted to return Jenny’s sewing machine and her inverter charger this morning when she came to pick him up.

Jenny had eagerly agreed to run Sam around, collecting supplies for his cruise, and Sam was pleased to give her something to focus on this week. Now that the investigation into Carolina Beach’s police force was over, Sam sensed Jenny’s adrenaline waning. He watched her grow pensive, so he came up with a list of things he “needed her help” with, and it seemed to be working. Today was her last trip to the Causeway moorings to fetch him and run him around.

Looking up from his frustrations, Sam saw the Acapulco blue Mustang pull into the Causeway Restaurant’s parking lot. He brightened when he recognized Molly in the passenger seat.

Rowing to the bank with the sewing machine safely between his feet, Sam played what-ifs in his head. His desire was clear, but the path to it was not.

“Thanks for the ride, Jen. Hi, Molly. Long time no see.”

“I’ve been busy.” Molly looked down at her red Keds. “Been working on Hullabaloo.”

“How’s it coming?”

“She’s up, but she’s a mess. Hoops pulled some strings for me and reported her as a hazard to navigation. My buddies own a boat small enough to get into the shallow waters, but big enough to have some mega-compressors. We filled her with giant balloons to get her up, then pumped her dry and towed her back to Boat Works in Wilmington. It’s going to take some doing, but I’ll get her going again. My friends are taking pity on me and doing the work at a greatly reduced rate. I’ll have to deliver a few boats to pay for her, but since a lot of snowbirds get tired of cruising once they finish the islands, I’ll have work bringing their boats home again.”

Sam took it in for a second. “So you don’t have time to take a sail?”

“Not really. I’ve got three boats lined up over the next six weeks. I caught a break today because I…. Well, I wanted to come and give you a special blessing before you started your trip.”

Sam put the sewing machine into the trunk and got into the backseat as Molly blessed his boat first and then him.

“May the sun always be shining, a fair wind at your back, and the waves kind as you sail to…where are you going?”

“Norfolk. To see my son.”

“Right. As you sail to Norfolk and beyond for new adventures untold.”

“Thanks. That sounds vaguely familiar.”

“It’s a variation of an old Irish blessing,” Jenny chimed in. “Lee used to paraphrase it before we set sail every weekend.” She smiled as she drove. “Where are we heading?”

“West Marine. I need to get oil and a filter. Then to the grocery store, if you don’t mind. Thanks for running me around today.”

“I’m happy to do it. When do you think you’ll leave?”

“I was going to leave tomorrow, but Hoops called. He’s having his famous ‘Summer’s Over’ party tonight, so starting tomorrow may be a little rough. You two should come to the barbeque, too.”

“Of course we’ll come,” Jenny answered for Molly, who sat, unusually quiet, in the front seat.

“Just let us know when. Molly’s staying with me until her boat is habitable again. Frankly, I’m happy to have the company. A party would be fun.”

Sam’s phone rang. It was Dan Singleton.

“Sam, I thought you might like to know. Tripp Johnson finally broke. They hadn’t planned to dive from the boat so soon. Tripp said Seawitch was rigged to blow up when they were farther away from the coast. They were going to let Mike and Andy roast, if you can believe that! Molly and Jenny would have been unfortunate additions to the barbeque, but that didn’t seem to bother Tripp too much. What did make him mad was how you spoiled their little party. We got ’em right up to Commissioner Martin. He’s none too happy about our discovery, but that’s his problem, now. Thanks for your help in breaking the case.”

“Glad to do my part. Did you get my letter?”

“Yeah, I passed it along to the new guy. He wasn’t happy about losing you, but I think having Chuck back made it a little easier.”

“How is Chuck handling things?”

“He seems resolved. He got a promotion, you know. About the time I was leaving, he started piecing the case together for the D.A. He’s still pretty mad at me because of, well, you know, my fling with Lisa. I hope he’ll get over it, though. I really didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“I hear ya. Affairs are never meant to hurt anyone. But in the long run, we just end up hurting ourselves.” Sam took in his own words, letting each one sink deeper than a weighted fishing hook. “Give him my best next time you see him. You heading back to the mountains?”

“Yeah. I just came down to close on the house here. We got a little place, a cottage, my wife calls it, so we’ll be fixing it up to storybook standards for a while, I suppose. It’s a little cooler in Blowing Rock. If you feel the need to get away from the water some time, come visit.”

“Thanks. I will.”

Sam relayed what little news Dan Singleton had to offer, hoping Jenny and Molly wouldn’t mind revisiting their ordeal.

Molly smiled. “May a million fire ants infest Tripp’s cell as he sleeps naked on the ground.”

Jenny and Sam cheered.