Jack Beale 00 - Dangerous Shoals

the boys as she placed the beer in front of Jack. She hadn’t been paying any attention to their conversation so she could only imagine.
    Ralphie, oblivious to the fact that Jack was at the bar nodded toward Paulie and said, “Paulie here was saying that that Daniel guy isn’t really dead. He said that Daniel faked his death, and that if Jack hadn’t showed up, you might have disappeared also.”
    Her shoulders tightened. Those events had been the topic of bar conversations for months. It was easy in a town as small as Rye Harbor, and Leo, Ralphie, and Paulie had thrived on it. She hated it when their conversations went in this direction. It brought back too many memories, some wonderful and some too disturbing. She stared at Ralphie in silence, took a deep breath, and held it.
    “So what do you think?” Ralphie asked again.
    Before Max could respond, another voice broke the silence. “Ralphie.” Only one word, but the tone said, “I think that this conversation is over. Can’t you see that she doesn’t want to discuss this?” It was Jack. She exhaled in relief. Her eyes regained their warmth, and the tension went out of her shoulders.
    Leo, Ralphie and Paulie looked at Jack in unison, their faces frozen in embarrassment, as only now they truly became conscious of his presence. Leo looked down into his beer and mumbled, “Hi Jack.” Paulie was the next to regain some composure and did his best to act as if nothing was going on. Ralphie, face flushed, tried to make the best of it by changing the subject. “Hey Jack. How’ve you been? Isn’t this weather something.”
    “Yeah, it sure is miserable out. What’s going on?”
    “Aw, nothing, we were just getting ready to leave.” As if on cue, all three stood, reached into their pockets, and began to pull out bills and coins. They said goodbye and quickly shuffled out, leaving behind a pile of money on the bar and a relieved Max.
    Max turned toward Jack and smiled. Then she moved from behind the bar and sidled up to Jack. As she leaned over his shoulder, she whispered, “Thank you.” Then she gave him a soft kiss on the ear.
    Before Jack could react, Patti’s voice filled the room. “Will you two cut it out. Some of us have to work around here.” Then, pointing at Max’s printer she added, “Drinks.”
    Max blushed. She hadn’t heard the printer’s chikka-chikka-chunk. She pulled away and returned behind the bar, still smiling.
    While Max tore off the slip and began to make the drinks, Jack turned toward Patti.
    Because she was Max’s best friend, Jack knew that her waitress gig was just a way for her to earn some money while she pursued her passion for photography. Patti had always dreamed of shooting weddings and babies, but after the incident with the dead body last winter, she was now called whenever one of the local police departments needed a crime scene photographed. It was a start, and she was finally being paid to take pictures. That same incident had led to her meeting Dave, one of Jack’s running buddies.
    “Hey, Patti. Will Dave be around for a run tomorrow?”
    “Probably. Give him a call.” She placed two Margaritas on her tray and headed for the dining room.
    Finally caught up with orders, Max placed another beer in front of him.
    “So, what are you up to tonight?” she asked.
    “Nothing really. I thought I might get a bite to eat and hang out here and watch you work.” With a grin he added, “Then I thought I might take you home and …”
    Before he could finish his sentence, the phone rang and Max turned to answer it. “Hold that thought; I want to hear more.” She grinned as she walked to the phone. Jack took a sip of his beer and watched her. He loved the way she moved, so fluid and natural. If she knew he was watching, there was a little something extra that made him crazy. It was subtle and he couldn’t describe it, but it was there, and he loved it. He watched as she picked up the phone, said the standard greeting, paused, and hung up. She turned slowly back toward Jack with a more pensive look on her face.
    “Wrong number?” asked Jack.
    “No, there was no one there. That’s the third time that has happened tonight. It’s beginning to annoy me.”
    “Well, you know the phones around here. They’re always doing something weird.”
    “I know, but this seemed different.”
    He ate some food and had another beer. Before long it was closing time.
    “Jack, will you take the trash out for me while I