showcase him with large fish he’s caught in tournaments. I always tease him about not displaying the smaller catches. Each time, he explains it away.
Only show your best side. No one wants to see the ugly one.
A picture hanging on the wall catches my attention. The second my eyes settle on it, I jerk my head away as if I’ve been slapped. Chewing on a fingernail, I glance back at the photo of Dad and Tommy, both wearing disarming smiles. I gnaw on the next nail as I lean in closer. Dad’s wearing his favorite t-shirt with a flyfisherman on the front that says, Fly Me to the Moon.
How could I not have noticed this before?
It’s the same shirt he was wearing the last time I saw him.
Tommy appears from out of the storage room with a large box in his hands. I smile at his outfit. Even when he’s on land, Tommy dresses as if he’s going fishing or just coming off the river. Shoulder-length, white hair peeks out from under a fishing hat, decorated with tons of lures.
He glides up to me. “You’re late again.”
I give him a hug. “How do you know? That old watch hasn’t worked in years. Can’t believe you haven’t fixed it yet.” I’ve never seen him without it since his wife died. Ama gave him the gift for their 50th anniversary.
Tommy bends over and sets the box on the floor. “Time is nothing but an illusion.”
“Good. I’ll remember that next time you dock me for being late.”
He chuckles. “Smart girl. Too smart, if you ask me.” For the first time, he takes notice of me. His face crinkles, revealing the map of his long life. “Good lord, you look tired.”
“Gee, thanks.” I brush my bangs away from my face. “Is that how you make a ge ya feel good?”
His eyes flicker in the artificial light. “Elu! You’ve been practicing your Cherokee.”
“Not really. I think I got lucky on that one.”
He stares for a minute then frowns. “All right. What’s wrong?”
I try to pretend I have no idea what he’s talking about. “Nothing. It’s just been a long week.”
He sits down on the stack of boxes. “I’m all ears.”
I cave instantly. “I found a Cheetos bag in the woods. Gave it to Carl.”
Tommy’s eyes widen. “I don’t get it.”
“Don’t you remember? Dad always carried those with him. Carl promised to dust the bag for fingerprints if I let the case go.”
Tommy snaps out his pocketknife and zips it across the box. “No matter what you think, Captain’s a good cop.”
As he pulls out a bundle of waterproof socks, I launch into the next topic, not wanting to debate Carl’s effectiveness. “Oh yeah, and yesterday, I came across some guy while I was out fishing. By Bear Creek.”
“Who was he?”
“That’s what I wanted to know. Said he was fishing.” Tommy returns to his inventory as I review the store checklist. Then a question pops into my head. “I almost forgot. Do you know anything about a place called Sidehill?
Tommy pauses for a second as if searching his memory bank. “Hmm, don’t think so. Why?”
“In the file, there was a reference to a place called Sidehill. I thought you might have heard of it since you were born in these mountains.”
He fumbles with a stack of price tags and answers quickly. “Doesn’t ring a bell, but let me think about it.”
I huff and puff. Another dead end. “That sucks.”
Tommy eyes narrow. “By the way, what file?”
“Huh?”
“You said in the file. What file?”
No use lying to him. I suck in a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll tell you, but promise me you won’t get mad.”
He squints and folds his arms across his chest, resembling a real chief. “Uh oh. What’d you do this time?”
“I borrowed my dad’s case file from Carl’s office.”
He frowns. “Borrowed? You mean stole ? Are you nuda? ”
“Crazy with a capital K. There wasn’t much in the file. Anyway, Wyn’s putting it back for me. Carl never even missed it.”
Tommy covers his ears with his hands. “I’m going to pretend I
Only show your best side. No one wants to see the ugly one.
A picture hanging on the wall catches my attention. The second my eyes settle on it, I jerk my head away as if I’ve been slapped. Chewing on a fingernail, I glance back at the photo of Dad and Tommy, both wearing disarming smiles. I gnaw on the next nail as I lean in closer. Dad’s wearing his favorite t-shirt with a flyfisherman on the front that says, Fly Me to the Moon.
How could I not have noticed this before?
It’s the same shirt he was wearing the last time I saw him.
Tommy appears from out of the storage room with a large box in his hands. I smile at his outfit. Even when he’s on land, Tommy dresses as if he’s going fishing or just coming off the river. Shoulder-length, white hair peeks out from under a fishing hat, decorated with tons of lures.
He glides up to me. “You’re late again.”
I give him a hug. “How do you know? That old watch hasn’t worked in years. Can’t believe you haven’t fixed it yet.” I’ve never seen him without it since his wife died. Ama gave him the gift for their 50th anniversary.
Tommy bends over and sets the box on the floor. “Time is nothing but an illusion.”
“Good. I’ll remember that next time you dock me for being late.”
He chuckles. “Smart girl. Too smart, if you ask me.” For the first time, he takes notice of me. His face crinkles, revealing the map of his long life. “Good lord, you look tired.”
“Gee, thanks.” I brush my bangs away from my face. “Is that how you make a ge ya feel good?”
His eyes flicker in the artificial light. “Elu! You’ve been practicing your Cherokee.”
“Not really. I think I got lucky on that one.”
He stares for a minute then frowns. “All right. What’s wrong?”
I try to pretend I have no idea what he’s talking about. “Nothing. It’s just been a long week.”
He sits down on the stack of boxes. “I’m all ears.”
I cave instantly. “I found a Cheetos bag in the woods. Gave it to Carl.”
Tommy’s eyes widen. “I don’t get it.”
“Don’t you remember? Dad always carried those with him. Carl promised to dust the bag for fingerprints if I let the case go.”
Tommy snaps out his pocketknife and zips it across the box. “No matter what you think, Captain’s a good cop.”
As he pulls out a bundle of waterproof socks, I launch into the next topic, not wanting to debate Carl’s effectiveness. “Oh yeah, and yesterday, I came across some guy while I was out fishing. By Bear Creek.”
“Who was he?”
“That’s what I wanted to know. Said he was fishing.” Tommy returns to his inventory as I review the store checklist. Then a question pops into my head. “I almost forgot. Do you know anything about a place called Sidehill?
Tommy pauses for a second as if searching his memory bank. “Hmm, don’t think so. Why?”
“In the file, there was a reference to a place called Sidehill. I thought you might have heard of it since you were born in these mountains.”
He fumbles with a stack of price tags and answers quickly. “Doesn’t ring a bell, but let me think about it.”
I huff and puff. Another dead end. “That sucks.”
Tommy eyes narrow. “By the way, what file?”
“Huh?”
“You said in the file. What file?”
No use lying to him. I suck in a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll tell you, but promise me you won’t get mad.”
He squints and folds his arms across his chest, resembling a real chief. “Uh oh. What’d you do this time?”
“I borrowed my dad’s case file from Carl’s office.”
He frowns. “Borrowed? You mean stole ? Are you nuda? ”
“Crazy with a capital K. There wasn’t much in the file. Anyway, Wyn’s putting it back for me. Carl never even missed it.”
Tommy covers his ears with his hands. “I’m going to pretend I
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