divers found a body entangled in weeds at the bottom.
The divers brought the body to shore, and Ray watched as it was loaded on a stretcher. He knelt down and closely inspected the badly burned remains. Sue was at his side. He glanced over at her. She looked green. He began to dictate into a small recorder. “Male, presumably Caucasian. Entire body has been burned; skin deeply charred in areas, especially face, hands and chest. Deep lacerations on right thigh, chest, right arm, probably from propeller blades. Right hand severed and missing.”
The divers returned to area the where they had found the body to look for the hand. A further search of that area and the marina failed to produce it.
12
Ray turned off the pavement onto the two-track, parallel trails of sand and mud the width of a car with grass growing between them. It already was late afternoon. The sun—high, breaking through gaps in the tight ceiling of leaves, running to earth in incandescent columns of heavy, moist air—created a dappled effect on the ferncovered forest floor. Ray was tired. His clothes smelled of smoke. As he made the final turn, he noticed Lisa’s car next to Marc’s. Finding the screen door to the kitchen was latched, he walked to the front. Marc was on the deck, leaning back in a chair, feet against the railing, looking out at thewater. He stopped and watched. Marc was obviously lost in thought.
“Have I caught you at a particularly pensive moment?” he asked.
Marc, startled, looked over at the intruder. “You look like hell. Where have you been?”
“Haven’t you been watching the news?”
“No, slept in. I’ve had a real lazy day. And the TV doesn’t work, must be twenty or more years old. What did I miss?”
“Probably the biggest story in years. We even made it to national news.”
“What happened?”
“Did you hear the storm last night?”
“Yes, it woke me once.”
“Well, it appears that lightning hit the mast of one of the larger sailboats in the marina—boat exploded. There was a fuel fire and several other boats burned to the water line.”
“People hurt?”
“Bumps and bruises, a few minor burns, and three or four fire fighters went to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Burning fiberglass and plastic are pretty vile stuff. And there is at least one death. We recovered a badly burned body. I think it’s the man who was on the sail boat.”
“When did this all happen?”
“Sometime after three.”
“How long did it take to get the fire under control?”
“Didn’t ever really get it under control, just contained it and let it take its course. They’re not equipped to fight that kind of fire.”
“Lisa and I were there for dinner last evening.”
“I noticed the car,” said Ray referring to the presence of Lisa’s car.
“You wouldn’t have expected anything like that.” Marc ignored Ray’s last comment.
The screen door slammed. Lisa had just emerged, hair wet, smelling of soap and shampoo, wearing one of Mark’s Oxford cloth shirts, and a pair of tan shorts—the fit suggested that they were also borrowed. She carried a tray with sandwiches and two glasses of tea. She greeted Ray. “You look like hell. Did we have another rough night in the jack pine jungle?”
“He was just telling me that a sailboat was hit by lightning in the marina. There was a hell of a fire.”
“Anyone killed?”
“One fatality. I hope that’s all.”
“We’re having a late lunch. Do you want a sandwich or something to drink.”
“I can only stay a minute. I have to get a shower before we do a press briefing. There’s a chamber concert at the Colony tonight. Are you people interested?”
“Do you know the program?” asked Marc.
“Schubert, Op. 100 and Mozart. Faculty members from Interlochen; they’re good.”
Marc looked over at Lisa. She nodded. “We’d like to do that.”
“Let’s meet there, just in case I get held up. I’ll take care of the tickets. Pick yours up at the
The divers brought the body to shore, and Ray watched as it was loaded on a stretcher. He knelt down and closely inspected the badly burned remains. Sue was at his side. He glanced over at her. She looked green. He began to dictate into a small recorder. “Male, presumably Caucasian. Entire body has been burned; skin deeply charred in areas, especially face, hands and chest. Deep lacerations on right thigh, chest, right arm, probably from propeller blades. Right hand severed and missing.”
The divers returned to area the where they had found the body to look for the hand. A further search of that area and the marina failed to produce it.
12
Ray turned off the pavement onto the two-track, parallel trails of sand and mud the width of a car with grass growing between them. It already was late afternoon. The sun—high, breaking through gaps in the tight ceiling of leaves, running to earth in incandescent columns of heavy, moist air—created a dappled effect on the ferncovered forest floor. Ray was tired. His clothes smelled of smoke. As he made the final turn, he noticed Lisa’s car next to Marc’s. Finding the screen door to the kitchen was latched, he walked to the front. Marc was on the deck, leaning back in a chair, feet against the railing, looking out at thewater. He stopped and watched. Marc was obviously lost in thought.
“Have I caught you at a particularly pensive moment?” he asked.
Marc, startled, looked over at the intruder. “You look like hell. Where have you been?”
“Haven’t you been watching the news?”
“No, slept in. I’ve had a real lazy day. And the TV doesn’t work, must be twenty or more years old. What did I miss?”
“Probably the biggest story in years. We even made it to national news.”
“What happened?”
“Did you hear the storm last night?”
“Yes, it woke me once.”
“Well, it appears that lightning hit the mast of one of the larger sailboats in the marina—boat exploded. There was a fuel fire and several other boats burned to the water line.”
“People hurt?”
“Bumps and bruises, a few minor burns, and three or four fire fighters went to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Burning fiberglass and plastic are pretty vile stuff. And there is at least one death. We recovered a badly burned body. I think it’s the man who was on the sail boat.”
“When did this all happen?”
“Sometime after three.”
“How long did it take to get the fire under control?”
“Didn’t ever really get it under control, just contained it and let it take its course. They’re not equipped to fight that kind of fire.”
“Lisa and I were there for dinner last evening.”
“I noticed the car,” said Ray referring to the presence of Lisa’s car.
“You wouldn’t have expected anything like that.” Marc ignored Ray’s last comment.
The screen door slammed. Lisa had just emerged, hair wet, smelling of soap and shampoo, wearing one of Mark’s Oxford cloth shirts, and a pair of tan shorts—the fit suggested that they were also borrowed. She carried a tray with sandwiches and two glasses of tea. She greeted Ray. “You look like hell. Did we have another rough night in the jack pine jungle?”
“He was just telling me that a sailboat was hit by lightning in the marina. There was a hell of a fire.”
“Anyone killed?”
“One fatality. I hope that’s all.”
“We’re having a late lunch. Do you want a sandwich or something to drink.”
“I can only stay a minute. I have to get a shower before we do a press briefing. There’s a chamber concert at the Colony tonight. Are you people interested?”
“Do you know the program?” asked Marc.
“Schubert, Op. 100 and Mozart. Faculty members from Interlochen; they’re good.”
Marc looked over at Lisa. She nodded. “We’d like to do that.”
“Let’s meet there, just in case I get held up. I’ll take care of the tickets. Pick yours up at the
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