At Witt's End

29

A small rental car pulled to a stop in front of Sadie's cabin. A wire-haired terrier yipped wildly as Erma Pouliot waved a greeting to Sadie and let the dog scamper toward the porch swing. The dog resumed his high-pitched greeting, bouncing excitedly in front of Sadie.

Sadie grabbed one of the swing's support chains and pulled herself up. As she walked to meet the Pouliots, the swing continued to sway and the dog continued to bark.

Gregg Pouliot flipped his sun glasses up and peered at the swing. “Your swing must catch a breeze off the lake. I wish we'd had that breeze. It's been hotter than a honeymoon this past week."

"Quit complaining. This was the best vacation we've had in twenty years.” Turning toward Sadie, Erma said, “We had to stop before we left to thank you for the enjoyable stay. You've got a great place here. I've never been so relaxed in all my life."

"I'm glad you enjoyed your stay. We think of Witt's End as our little piece of paradise."

Gregg pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his forehead. “That miracle we witnessed yesterday still has me reeling. I don't now how that kid made it to shore. By all rights his folks should be planning his funeral."

"It just goes to show miracles can happen,” Sadie said, winking at Lora, who had remained on the swing.

"Yes, but there's no way that kid should have made it to shore. He disappeared below the water line and then all of a sudden he was lying on the beach. Now you explain that to me."

"I wasn't there, but I heard about it,” Sadie said.

Slipping her arm into the crook of her husband's elbow, Erma said, “The main thing is the boy survived."

Sadie joined them as they walked back to their car. Erma called to the dog, which had jumped up and settled comfortably on the swaying swing. The dog ignored Erma until his mistress said, “Come here right now, Mr. Twister. If you don't, you're going to have to ride in the back seat.

"We stopped at the lodge to make sure you remembered to book our reservation for next summer. The manager said it was taken care of.” She squeezed Sadie's hand. “We can't thank you enough for your hospitality."

"Holy cats,” Sadie blurted as she looked into their car through the rear window. “Did you leave anything on the gift shop shelves?"

"You know my wife,” Gregg said. “She's always thinking of the grandkids. I bought a few things for them myself. I called my grandson and told him about that huge fish I caught. He insisted I bring him one of those yellow lures you sell in the bait shop so he could catch one, too."

Beaming, Erma said, “We've got eight grandchildren, you know. We have to treat them equally or we'd have a war on our hands."

"By the looks of it, you didn't forget anyone. Is your trunk full, too?” Sadie said.

Gregg patted his chest and Mr. Twister jumped into his arms. “The trunk's empty. We put everything in the back seat. That way the guy at the airport can load our stuff on his baggage cart and we don't have to worry about forgetting anything."

A voice from a few cabins away hailed the Pouliots. “Don't forget you promised to spend a couple of hours with us before you have to catch your plane. We've got some photos to show you."

Gregg looked at his watch. “Two hours. That's just about right. Do you mind if we leave the car here for a while?"

After the couple walked away, Sadie joined Lora on the swing and leaned into the gaunt woman's shoulder. “You did a wonderful thing saving that child's life yesterday."

"Anyone would have done it,” Lora said. “I heard that man say he witnessed a miracle. But all I did was swim out and pull that child to shore. His friends were too young to know what to do.” She shrugged. “Everybody panicked and just stood there. So I dove in."

"Did you ever think about what really makes miracles happen?” Sadie asked. “Since I've been a death coach, I've come to believe crossers have a big hand in making them happen. I'm not saying all miracles are crosser related, but I know for a fact some are."

Lora smiled in appreciation. “You have a way of making me look at things differently. If I could spend more time with you, I'd learn a lot."

"I know you don't like it when I preach at you, but I have a question."

"I've already lost Michael. I don't think any amount of preaching could make me feel any more miserable,” Lora said.

"You didn't think twice about saving that child's life.” Seeing Lora shrug again, Sadie said, “What puzzles me is why you insisted on forcing Michael to rejoin his father. That's a complete contradiction. You recognized when someone else's child was in danger, but you were willing to lead Michael right back into harm's way."

A teardrop rolled off Lora's cheek and settled on the back of her hand. “You're judging me when you don't understand."

"There's nothing to understand, Lora. Your husband was abusive and that pattern will continue. Why was Michael able to sort through that cloud of uncertainty, but you can't?” Sadie wiped at Lora's teardrop with her finger. “I don't mean to be unkind, but Michael appears to be the smart one in the family."

Rodney bounded up onto the porch. “You got that right. Lora's an idiot. No wonder her husband left without her."

"Zip it,” Sadie bit back. “I've had more than I can handle for one day. Go find someone else to bother."

"No can do,” Rodney said. He wrangled his way onto the swing between Lora and Sadie and put an arm around each of them.

"Then I'll go,” Sadie said, pulling herself from the swing.

"Me too,” Lora said.

Rodney reached across the swing and grabbed the wooden arm, thwarting Lora's attempt. “You're not going anywhere.” He ran his finger across the back of her neck and grinned. “When you gonna realize I might be a good catch? You know I've been thinking about you."

Slapping at his hand, she tried once again to get out of the swing. “Leave me alone. I don't want to have anything to do with you."

"Now there you go hurting my feelings again. A loser like you shouldn't be so fussy."

Lora crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the cabin next door.

"You can ignore me all you want. But I'm still taking you with me. I need somebody to take care of the mansion I'm going to build in the parallel world."

Lora squeezed her arms tighter. “Mansion? Just how do you think you're going to do that?"

"It's a secret.” He shifted his weight, leaned closer to Lora and buried his lips in her hair. “If you're nice, I might tell you."

"Do you spend all your time cooking up ways to make others miserable?” Lora leaned further into the wooden arm.

"I'm trying to get ahead in life."

"Life?” Lora said exaggerating the word. “Will you be alive in the parallel world? Will anyone?"

"Sadie thinks so. You heard her say there'll be some sort of life there. That's why we're given a second chance to better ourselves."

"So you think you're going to be rich if you go there? How do you intend to pull that off? You've never worked a day in your life. You were still living with your parents."

"Whoa, aren't you getting feisty. Full of piss and vinegar like my old lady.” Rodney grinned. “I like that in my women.” He set his heel firm against the porch floor forcing the swing to stop. “When I get my hands on what Theo's been trying to hide, I'm going to be rich."

"What does Theo have to do with it?"

"None of your damn business. But if you agree to go with me, I'll see to it you have everything you've ever wanted. Hell, I'll even let your brat live with us."

Lora turned toward Rodney and stared into his eyes. “How do I know I can trust you?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

He pulled a wad of fishing line from his pocket and held it under her chin. “I'm getting ready to go, so you'll have to make up your mind."

Lora took the fishing line and moved it around in her hands before looking at Rodney.

"Remember that dog I was going to put out of its misery? I've figured out a way to do it without using the rifle. It won't draw as much attention and will give me time to step into the light first. If I go first, I determine the path. I don't want to risk someone else choosing the alternative. Someone like you or Tim."

"I have no intention of following you into the light. Neither does Tim."

"We'll see,” Rodney said, dangling the wad of fishing line in front of Lora.

"What are you going to do, choke Sadie?” Lora said.

"No. And keep your voice down. She might hear you.” He looked toward the screen door. “That would attract too much attention, too. She'd put up a fuss and everyone would come running."

He rose from the swing and sat on the top porch step. Untangling the wad of fishing line, he stretched it out across the wooden decking. After folding the line in half to increase its strength, he tied one end around the bottom of the newel post and tugged on it to test the knot. “See? If I pull this tight, it's going to hit Sadie about ankle level. It'll trip her when she goes down the stairs.” Pointing toward the ground, he said, “If I calculated right, she'll take a header into the concrete."

"There's no guarantee it'll kill her. Plus she'll see you when you pull the fishing line. She's not blind, you know."

"Not if I'm under the porch,” Rodney said. “I've been under there experimenting with my timing and I think I've got it figured out. The line's transparent, so she shouldn't see it.” Holding up a pocket knife, he said, “Whether she dies or not, the line's going to disappear. If she doesn't die, I've got the rifle under the porch. And won't everyone be surprised to find out that the shot that killed Sadie came from that deputy's rifle?"

Rodney wrapped the transparent line once more around the post before tucking it under the step. He rejoined Lora on the swing. “Soon. It's going to happen soon."