The second, a young man I recognized from saying hello to a few times, vehemently shook his head. “No, you need to go.”
“I’m not going.”
“Well, I’m not going either.”
I stepped onto the dock harder than I normally would so they would be sure to hear me. When they snapped up their heads, they looked relieved ... and a little nervous.
“What’s going on?” I asked, all business.
“Hello, ma’am.” The blond man greeted me. I couldn’t remember if I’d ever seen him. He was young, barely in his twenties, and his agitation was obvious. “We ... um ... have a problem.”
“So I heard.” I kept my smile in place. “I’m Izzy Sage, by the way.” I extended my hand and waited.
The blond took it. “Chad Flanigan. This is Frankie.” He gestured toward the dark-haired arguer.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I kept my expression light. “I hear you guys have a problem.”
“We do,” Chad confirmed. “We ... um ... that is to say ... .”
I feigned patience. “You can just tell me. I’m not the type to fly off the handle.” That was mostly true. If these two dragged things out much further, however, I might just crack.
“There’s something in the water,” Frankie volunteered, pointing toward the slow rollers kissing the shore.
I looked in the direction he pointed, but the glare of the sun made it difficult to see. I shaded my eyes with my hand and looked again. This time, sure enough, there was something in the water about twenty feet out. “What is that? Garbage?”
“I don’t believe so, ma’am,” Chad said.
“Don’t call me ma’am. I’m barely older than you.” I snapped out the response before thinking better of it and then cracked a smile. “It makes me feel old.”
“Okay.” Chad wiped his palms on the front of his shorts. “I think it’s a body, Ms. Sage.”
I wasn’t a fan of the “Ms. Sage” stuff either. That was hardly important now. “Are you serious?” I looked again, this time squinting. Sure enough, I managed to make out the silhouette. It looked like a man, a shock of dark hair waving in the water. For a moment — only a split-second really — my father’s face popped into my head. I didn’t remember what he looked like. I’d seen photographs and that had informed my memory of him, and yet when I thought of him it was never about his looks. He had dark hair, just like mine, and a nose and chin that were very similar. That’s all I knew … and yet the possibility of this being my father suddenly clawed through my brain.
My heart clogged in my throat before I calmed myself. The revenants had warned that there were monsters walking around with the faces of my parents. I’d told myself at the time that it was unlikely, that they were boasting because they had no other choice, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow I would see them again.
“Do you know who it is?” I asked when I finally found my voice.
“No, Ms. Sage.” Chad was solemn. “We can’t see from here.”
“Okay.” I forced a thin-lipped smile. “I’ll take it from here.”
“Do you want us to bring the body in?” Frankie asked. He looked positively apoplectic at the thought and yet he made the offer anyway. That indicated he was likely a good employee.
“I think that’s probably unwise.” I dug in my pocket for my phone. “He’s clearly dead. Let’s call the police and let them handle it.”
Frankie’s relief was palpable. “That’s a really good idea,” he agreed. “Not that I wouldn’t go out there or anything. I mean ... I would. I totally would.”
“I’m sure you would.” I studied my phone for a beat and then blew out a sigh. There was only one person I knew to call. “You guys can do what you normally do. Don’t worry about this. The police might want to ask you a few questions, but I doubt it will take very long.”
Chad’s face, already pale, drained of what little color he had left. “Why would they want to talk to us?”
“Because you found the body. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure it’s just an accidental drowning.”
“Okay, well ... we’ll be over there.” Chad pointed toward the boat slips to the east. “We’ll direct any boats coming in to head this way.”
I hadn’t even considered that. “Right. Um ... ask them when they come in if they’ve seen anything weird out there, abandoned boats or anything. If anybody reports anything, let me know.”
Frankie offered up a salute. “We’ll do that right away, Ms. Sage.”
Chad rolled his eyes as the two young men fell into step with one another. “You’re such a suck-up,” he hissed as they walked away.
“She’s our boss. You have to be polite to your boss.”
“You weren’t sucking up to her because she’s the boss. You think she’s hot.”
“And you don’t?”
“Oh, she’s totally hot, but I’m not a suck-up. Women don’t like suck-ups.”
“Says you. I bet she remembers my name and forgets yours because I was polite.”
“You mean you were a suck-up.”
I shook my head and then searched my contact list for the name Griffin Taylor. I dragged a hand through my hair as I initiated the call and waited for him to pick up. This was not how I saw my day going. I thought the worst I would have to deal with was horny furries. Apparently I was wrong.
GRIFFIN ARRIVED TWENTY minutes later. He had a crime scene team with him and a sour look on his face.
“Where?” he asked when he saw me.
I pointed to the water.
Griffin shaded his eyes and then started barking orders when he caught sight of the body. He turned back.
“Are you okay?”
The question caught me off guard. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because there’s a body.”
“Yeah, but ... I don’t know him.” Even as I said it, my father popped into my head again. It was ridiculous to consider it was him, but I couldn’t escape the fear clawing through me that maybe — just maybe — the worst really was about to happen. “I got called down here because a few guys working the dock discovered him.”
Griffin pointed toward the water when the medical examiner’s team appeared on the lawn. “He’s floating thirty feet out,” he said.
The tech at the front made a face. “Oh, I hate it when they’re wet.”
“I hate it when they’re anything,” Griffin shot back. “Just get him out of there so we can take a look.”
“Aye, aye, captain.”
Griffin rolled his eyes and then turned back to me. “Are you missing any employees?”
I shook my head. “Not that I know of. Technically, I’m only in charge of the gate. I’m also in charge of the aquarium on paper, but that’s an entirely different staff. What happens out here is way outside my purview.”
“So who manages the yacht club?”
That was a very good question. “I’m not sure. I have to call Oliver.”