Jack Beale 00 - Dangerous Shoals

his head of that summer day in Rye Harbor when he had found another body floating and had to hold on to it to keep it from drifting away.
    “Jack … Jack.” John had called out his name twice before Jack rejoined the present. “I just talked to the police and they’ll be here in a few minutes. I need you to stay here with the body while I go pick them up at the dock and bring them out.”
    Jack looked up at John and mumbled, “Sure.”
    “You okay?” he asked Jack again.
    “Yes … yes, I’m fine,” Jack answered again, this time with more force. “Go on, I’ll be fine.”
    John started his outboard and quickly headed for the town wharf.
    Jack sat in his dinghy with boat hook and attached corpse in hand, Max’s voice quivered as she broke the silence. “Jack. What are we going to do?”
    He looked up at her. “Right now, we can only sit and wait for the police to get here.”
    “Kurt did this. Didn’t he?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. It was as if saying it loudly would make it so.
    Jack looked up at her. “We don’t know for sure.”
    “It fits what Daniel told us.”
    “I know, but the bigger question is, did he get what he was after?”
    Max stared at him silently and he, back at her. Jack could see the fear developing in her eyes as they shared the same thought: “ What if he didn’t?”
    They continued to speak in hushed whispers. When the fog returned and the shoreline disappeared, their conversation ceased and they listened. Their self-imposed prison of silence was broken by the sound of an outboard motor rapidly approaching. Their heads turned at the same time. It was the harbormaster’s boat, and he had several uniformed men with him.

CHAPTER 47
    THE REST OF the afternoon and early evening was spent watching the police recover the body and transport it back to the town wharf, where an ambulance waited for it. Then came the stream of endless questions. It was well after dark by the time the local police had finished asking Jack and Max the same questions over and over, even though they gave the same answers each time. Yes, they recognized the victim. No, they hadn’t seen him recently. Yes, he had asked them to meet him at the boat in York. No, they didn’t know why he wanted to meet with them. Yes, the boat was locked up. No, the boat had not been broken into. Yes, they would leave the boat in York for the next few days while the cops continued their investigation
    It might have been wrong, but what wasn’t said, or volunteered, was the part of the story that included Kurt. As they had waited for John to return with the police, Jack and Max had talked about many things. Could this have been Kurt’s handiwork? It seemed likely, but there was no hard evidence that he even existed, only their feelings, shadowy sightings, and Daniel’s own fears. Nor did they mention the information that Daniel had hinted at having. That was a story from a twice-dead man and would be too difficult to explain. It was enough that Tom knew and they would call him, just not tonight.
    With Irrepressible secure, Jack and Max climbed into their dinghy and headed for shore. The harbormaster, with his boatload of police, followed them toward shore. As they turned toward Donnell’s dock, John called out to them, “Where are you going?”
    Jack called back, “We’re going to tie up at Donnell’s, like we did last night. It’s only a short walk to the Inn from there.”
    “Okay, we’ll see you in the morning. The police may have some more questions for you then. Goodnight.” Then, with a quick wave, he turned his boat away and disappeared into the dark, leaving Jack and Max alone as they continued on.
    Jack cut the motor just before the dinghy bumped against the dock. The silence of the night consumed them. At that moment Max’s stomach grumbled loudly. Max tried to pretend that nothing had happened until Jack snickered and began to laugh. She began laughing as well. The tension and stress of the past few hours broke as they both sat there laughing uncontrollably. Jack finally was able to squeeze out a few words. “So I guess this means you are hungry?”
    Max nodded her head and managed to say, “I am.”
    “Then, lets get going over to the Inn for some food.”
    They looked in the pub’s window before reaching the door and noticed that the room was nearly empty. Jack glanced at his watch. “I hope they’re still open.” The bartender looked up as the door closed behind them. He