Funeral for a Friend

7

“I’m telling you, this is a million-dollar idea,” Curt Dickes said to Cat. “It’s big. The biggest thing I’ve ever come up with. Colleen thinks so, too.”

Cat lay on a blanket stretched across the rocks at the Deeps. A few lingering raindrops broke through the tree branches and landed on her bare skin. She closed her eyes and said, “Uh-huh.”

She didn’t care what Curt’s new girlfriend thought about anything, and she didn’t want to hear him talking about her. She’d invited Curt to hang out specifically because he’d told her that Colleen had an art class on Monday evenings. So it was just the two of them near the river. She’d worn her sexiest bikini, the one Stride and Serena didn’t know she had. The tiger print cups barely contained her breasts, and the cool air had worked its magic on them. The bottom was a black thong that flashed her cheeks to the world. She knew she looked hot, but Curt had barely given her the once-over before he started talking about his latest get rich quick scheme.

“Don’t you want to hear about it?” he asked her impatiently.

“Uh-huh,” she said again.

“Eyes... on... Duluth,” Curt said, pausing dramatically between the words.

“What?”

“We build one of those big wheels. You know, like they have in London and Las Vegas. We put it over in Bayfront park. Can you imagine the tourists, Kitty Cat? Everybody will come to see it! This will be like the biggest thing in the whole Midwest! Suck it, Chicago!”

“Yeah, but doesn’t Chicago already have one of those things?” Cat asked.

“I don’t know. Whatever. Maybe they do. Anyway, it will definitely be the biggest thing in Minnesota.”

“But those things cost like millions and millions of dollars to build,” Cat pointed out. “Where are you going to get the money?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I figure the business community will get on board, big time. The state, too. And the Indians, I mean, think of what it will do to the casino traffic. I just have to sell them on the idea and let them take over. They can do the rest. But I’ll keep the rights to the name and sell all the merch. T-shirts, magnets, snow globes, you name it.”

“Eyes on Duluth?” Cat asked.

“Exactly.”

“Nice to know you’ve got your eyes on something,” she murmured.

“What?”

“Nothing. Hey, if it’s your project, why don’t you name it after yourself?”

“After myself?” Curt said, looking puzzled. “Like what? What would you call it?”

“How about the Big Dickes?” Cat announced, giggling uncontrollably.

She expected Curt to laugh, too, but instead his face twisted into a sour expression. “I’m serious about this, Kitty Cat. This could be my big break, and all you can do is make fun of it?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, although she was still laughing. “Really.”

Curt lay back on the blanket with his arms behind his head and stared at the sky. He refused to look at her. When she propped herself on one elbow and reached for his hand, he pulled it away. For a scam artist who liked to think he was cool, Curt was actually pretty sensitive.

“Come on, Curt, I said I’m sorry,” she repeated. “It sounds like a great idea.”

His head turned. “You really think so?”

“I do.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

“I’m not. Eyes on Duluth. That’s a moneymaker.”

He scrambled to his feet on the rocks. “I know, right? It’s huge!”

Curt wandered to the edge of the cliff and peered down at the rapids of Amity Creek, which roared through the narrows below them. He wore a black muscle shirt — although he didn’t have much in the way of muscles — and a baggy yellow-striped swimsuit that hung to his knees. His feet were bare. He had tattoos over most of his body, and his straggly black hair fell below his shoulders.

Cat didn’t know why she liked Curt so much. He was part of her past, and there wasn’t much about her past that she wanted to remember. He helped her when she’d been on the streets, but the truth was, he hadn’t always been nice to her. He made her laugh, mostly because each of his big ideas was sillier than the one before. Curt wasn’t going anywhere in life, and she knew that, even if he didn’t. But most days, she didn’t think she deserved anyone better.

She got off the blanket and came up beside him on the rocks. Spray billowed up like a cloud from the river, high enough to dampen her face. They were alone out here, and though the sun hadn’t set yet, it was shadowy and gray in the woods around them. The slight chill made her shiver. She thought about getting on tiptoes and kissing him and telling him that if he wanted to have sex with her, they could do it right now, right here on the wet grass. It didn’t have to mean anything, and his girlfriend didn’t need to find out. Cat was just lonely, and she wanted someone to make her feel good about herself.

But she didn’t, because she didn’t want him to reject her. She was a coward.

Instead, she said, “Got any weed?”

Curt eyed his backpack on the rocks. “Yeah.”

“Want to?”

“I give you weed and Stride finds out, and I won’t be able to call it the Big Dickes anymore,” Curt said.

Cat giggled again. “He won’t find out.”

“Are you kidding? He probably knows already. He probably has that bikini of yours bugged, although I’m not sure where you could fit a bug on that thing.”

“I didn’t think you even noticed it,” Cat said, putting her hands on her hips and arching her back.

“Oh, I noticed, Kitty Cat. Believe me, you’re looking good. Too good. Thing is, I’m with Colleen now. She’s really great. I don’t want to screw it up.”

“Right. Sure.”

“Sorry,” Curt said.

“No, that’s okay. I get it. Does that mean we can’t hang out anymore?”

“We’re hanging out now.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“Hey, come on, no Kitty Cat frowns,” Curt said. “Actually, I want to hook you up with somebody. I’ve got a guy who wants to meet you. His name’s Wyatt. He moved to town a month ago, and he’s cool. He works at Hoops in Canal Park. I think you’ll like him.”

“I’m not looking to meet anybody,” Cat said.

“No, really, you should. He’s got dreads that are totally wild. Colleen and I are heading down there around ten for a drink. Wyatt’ll be there. Come with us.”

“Maybe.”

“No maybes. You need to come. He said you were the prettiest chick in Duluth.”

“He didn’t,” Cat said, with a little blush.

“He did, Kitty Cat, and he’s right, because you are. I mean, don’t tell Colleen I said that or anything.”

Cat smiled. “Okay. Hoops it is.”

“Good.” Curt leaned over the cliff’s edge again and whistled. “Holy moly, the river’s really running.”

“Yeah.”

Curt gave her a wink. “What do you think? You want to make the jump?”

“Now? No way.”

“I will if you will. Hell, I will even if you won’t.”

“It’s not safe, Curt! You want to get killed?”

“Oh, come on! You only live once, Kitty Cat. I’m going to do it. The question is whether I’m doing it alone.” Curt backed up from the edge so that he could take a running leap from the cliff. His mouth bent into a sly grin, and she didn’t know if he was teasing her.

“Curt, don’t you dare,” Cat warned him.

“I’m gonna do it.”

“No! Are you crazy? Don’t!”

“Too late! Geronimo!”

Curt sprinted in his bare feet for the cliff’s edge, and Cat was sure he was doing it just to scare her, that he would stop short before he jumped. But he didn’t. Curt threw himself into the air with a loud whoop, his arms in the air, his toes pointed down. Cat screamed after him and watched helplessly as Curt plunged toward the river, hit with a splash, and disappeared below the frenzied surface. He didn’t reappear right away. He was gone for way too long. She looked for him and waited, and waited, and waited, and her heart pounded before she finally saw Curt’s head bob above the black-and-white water. He spit, coughed, and grinned up at her. The current carried him downstream, and he fought his way to the rocks on the shore and dragged himself out of the water. He waved at Cat on top of the cliff.

“Come on, do it! It’s not so bad!”

“No!”

“Do, it, do, it, do, it!”

“No!”

Curt flapped his bent arms together and made chicken noises. Cat thought twice as she looked down, but then she backed up tentatively on the cliff. She chewed on a fingernail. Before she could stop herself, she ran straight for the edge and leaped high into the air as she flew. The air rushed past her. The thunder of the river boomed in her ears. She regretted the jump halfway down, but it was too late, and an instant later, her body slapped the cold water and shot downward. Her eyes were open, but she couldn’t see. She kicked and kicked, but the river sucked on her body and didn’t want to let go. Breath bubbled out of her lungs. She felt a shiver of panic creeping through her head, and she kicked again furiously and fought her way upward. Like a bathtub toy, Cat breached the surface. She gasped for air.

Curt applauded from the rocks. “Whoo-hoo! You did it, girl!”

Cat took a few seconds to get past her momentary terror, but when she did, she allowed the tiniest smile to break across her face. She’d braved the Deeps and won. She felt her body being carried along by the river, so she swam hard and made it to the bank a few yards downstream from Curt.

When she pulled herself out of the water, she heard him holler and let out a loud wolf whistle. She didn’t understand, until she looked down at herself and realized that the jump from the cliff had torn off her bikini top, which was now somewhere in the river being carried toward Lake Superior. Her breasts were on full display, and she immediately wrapped her arms around her chest to cover herself.

“Don’t look!” she screamed at Curt.

“Too late, Kitty Cat, and let me just say, meeee-owwww.”

“Asshole!” she shouted, but part of her was secretly pleased. Once again, she couldn’t quite keep the grin off her face. She trudged past him, blocking his view, and then climbed back up the rocks. At the top of the cliff, she dried herself with a towel and quickly got dressed again. By the time she was done, Curt had made it back to the top, too.

“You decent?” he called, with a hand over his eyes.

“Yeah.”

“Damn!” he replied, and she swore at him again, but she didn’t mean it.

They sat next to each other on the top of the cliff, not saying anything, still breathing hard from the climb. The river kept roaring below them. Cat could feel their hips brushing together. She felt a little embarrassed and a little proud of herself at the same time for having braved the Deeps. Once was enough, but she was happy that she’d done it. She felt another surge of desire for Curt, but before she could lean over and nibble his neck, he suddenly jumped to his feet.

“Oh, hell, I’m late!” he announced. “Sorry, Kitty Cat, I gotta run. If I’m not on time for Colleen, I’m in t-r-o-u-b-l-e.”

“Sure. Okay. Go.”

“You’ll join us at Hoops later?”

“We’ll see,” Cat said.

Curt didn’t take the time to convince her. He sprinted toward the footbridge over the river, waved at her one last time as he crossed the bridge, and disappeared toward his car, which was parked off the shoulder of Occidental Boulevard. A couple of minutes later, she heard the noisy growl of his Thunderbird as he peeled away.

Cat didn’t leave immediately. The adrenaline of the jump had dissipated, and she felt a little sad and sorry for herself. As it got dark, she finally got to her feet and headed into the woods at a shuffling pace, kicking at the dirt and branches. Her own car was parked off Seven Bridges Road, so she didn’t need to cross the river. Along the trail, birch trees and pines crowded her. The birds had gone quiet for the night, but the crickets had come alive.

Then, out of nowhere, she felt a strange uneasiness.

She stopped on the trail, listening. Her instincts from living on the street always kicked in and told her when something was wrong. It was a sixth sense that had kept her alive more than once. She walked faster, wanting to get in her car and go. She looked back as she hiked, peering into the trees and the overgrown brush, but no one was there. Even so, her anxiety grew. She was sure she wasn’t alone.

Cat saw her car parked at the end of the trail. She began to breathe a little easier, and she broke into a run to reach it. Get in, lock the doors, drive away. But as she got close to the Civic in the semi-darkness, she stopped dead. Her mouth dropped open and she screamed.

Her car was covered in green paint. One message was written everywhere, all over the hood, the doors, the windshield, and the trunk. The same message over and over and over.

As Cat stood on the trail, trembling and crying, her phone pinged. She had a new text. She opened it up and saw that someone had sent her a photograph from a number she didn’t recognize. When she clicked on the picture, she saw herself standing on the riverbank near Curt, her almost nude body exposed.

Her stalker had been there, on top of the cliff, spying on her.

Below the photograph was a message.