Best Friends

The camera cut to a helicopter shot of a burned down neighborhood.

"We know at least four neighborhoods like the one you are seeing that were destroyed by fire before the wind or storm surge had a chance. Authorities believe that these were natural gas explosions. Either caused by the storm or by people not making sure their gas was off before fleeing the storm."

"So far I am told of only one hundred and ten people being reported as missing right now, but authorities will know more as survivors begin to surface. Right now people are scattered all over."

In the studio Caroline managed to stop checking her face in a mirror just as the camera pointed at her came on. "That is just so sad. A lot of prayers are going out to the people of Houston today."

Rob looked up and said, "In other news...."

* * * *

Three weeks after Kate

"That poor man." Renee didn't need to ask who Linda was referring to. Carey McDowell stood over the plaque that would adorn Lizzy's final resting spot, even though Lizzy's body had not been recovered yet.

"Didn't they bury Jay yesterday?" asked Renee's father.

"Yes, and today he's burying Lizzy. Someone said that his dogs are the only thing keeping him going."

After the service, people gathered at Carey's parents' house. Carey had moved in with them after returning from his grandfather's cabin near San Antonio. His home had been completely destroyed. A gas explosion had done the house, and the neighboring houses in before the storm surge had inundated the area.

Renee found Carey sitting out on the back porch staring at the sky. It was cloudy and threatening rain. "I'm here for you if you need someone," she told him.

"He looked at her and half way smiled. "Thank you Renee. You have been more than great. You know?"

"I have to be. My brother is too afraid mis-stepping around people. He knows you are hurting and he can't help."

"I know he loves me too." Carey took a deep breath and looked at Renee. "She was cheating on me you know. I found out just before I got back to Houston."

"Oh Carey. Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. She sent nude pictures to my cell phone."

"How does that prove she cheated? Most guys love stuff like that."

"Not when she calls you by another guy's name and mentions her husband not coming back for three days."

"Oh Carey. I am so so sorry," she said beginning to cry. "So you know who?"

"Yeah. His funeral was yesterday."

"Jay?" she asked astonished. "Lizzy was fucking Jay?"

Carey was silent for a while. He seemed to be struggling to find words and was losing the battle to keep the tears at bay.

"Terry said they found her car but no bodies."

"Yeah. They said they found several empty cars. Too many people didn't leave when they were told to."

"Did Brandi know?"

"Yeah, well sort of. She knew he was cheating on her but she didn't know with whom. I talked to her when I was in San Antonio. She's going to move to Los Angeles. She has family out there and her company has an opening there and she wants to get away from everything here. When I get my insurance money she's going to sell me her house."

He wasn't sure why he'd been less than truthful about how he'd come to discover Lizzy's infidelity. He told himself that he sounded less stupid in the cell phone story.

For weeks he'd alternated between feeling guilty that he hadn't taken Jay and Lizzy with him, and feeling stupid that the affair had gone on under his nose. He knew they had ample time to get to her parents' house. He'd gone ten miles and backtracked and made it out ok, they had a lighter traveled escape route. He suspected they might have been in the house when it exploded.

"Do you know the saddest part? If she were to come walking through the gate right now I don't know that I wouldn't take her back. I loved her with all of heart." He sobbed. "I would have died for her, so I don't get how she could do that to me. Of course," he sniffled, "it's safe to say that I'd take her back since I am pretty sure she won't be walking through any gates now.

"I told her parents that she was gone when I got home so I assumed she'd already left for San Antonio. Her dad blames me even though they couldn't reach her for days either."

Carey sighed and looked at Renee. "I failed your brother you know."

Renee got a puzzled look on her face. " You failed Terry? How?"

"Do you remember your birthday barbeque?"

She nodded and he continued. "You said that night that Terry had invited me there to find a good woman. I found Lizzy and now I know that wasn't such a good thing. So therefore I failed."

No," said Renee. "I remember the conversation well. I told you that he had asked you there to find a good woman. All you were doing was staring at Lizzy and ignoring a good woman. Carey McDowell, I have been trying to get your attention for all of my natural life."

She paused and looked out at the darkening sky. "She never had a clue that I wanted you. I didn't know she was into you until the day before my party. I was planning on bumping into you on Tuesday before my party and inviting you. I knew you'd find a reason not to go, so I was gonna make you make it up to me the following weekend."

Carey sat there dumbfounded for several minutes then put his arm around Renee's shoulders. "Can you find it in your heart to forgive a fool?"

"No, but I have loved you forever Carey. That will never change. You are not a fool and there is nothing to forgive, even if you are a little slow on the uptake."

"So what happens now?" Carey asked.

"Oh, I'm going to try to make a life with my new guy."

"Oh," Carey said dejectedly. "I hope he treats you well and makes you happy."

"I'm positive that he will Carey. He's a great guy, even if he is a little slow on the uptake."

* * * *

Four weeks after Kate.

The detectives arriving at the scene were looked like they had stepped out of a cheesy buddy cop movie. Detective Willis was tall black and bald. Detective Lewis was short fat and white. They'd been partners for the better part of a decade.

The young beat patrol cop gestured them over to him.

"Officer Dane?" asked Lewis. The young cop nodded. "What do we have here?"

"Well detective, salvage crews found these two bodies over by these trees and I thought you might want to look at them. I haven't called CSI yet cause I got in trouble last time I called them."

"Ah yes. I heard about that. You called CSI to a drowned woman in a car," said Willis.

"I didn't hear about it," said Lewis.

"Yeah it was a week ago. CSI took one look and determined she was a hurricane victim and read Officer Dane the riot act."

Lewis chuckled. "I'd hate to be a rookie after a major disaster. Kid we're going to be finding bodies for a month. You did right to call us."

They followed the young officer down to a copse of dead trees. Both bodies were nude. Detective Willis took a few photos and said, "Call the recovery team officer Dane. These two died in the storm. See all of the bloating? That's from the water. Their DNA will tell us where the bodies go."

'I'd bet they were in that little Nissan we found last week. It was only a few hundred yards from here."

"They might have been from that burned out neighborhood over there as well," said Wills.

The officer then returned to his squad car as Willis and Lewis returned to their unmarked sedan.

"You know Tom," said Lewis. "This would have one hell of a time to get away with murder. Strangle someone one or bash their skull and leave them in the flood zone. We'd never know they died suspiciously."

"You're right Dave. I have wondered a few times how many bodies got dumped down here after the evac orders went out. Too bad we don't have the time or resources to examine every body we recover."

"Yeah it is. Hey, it's lunch time. Anything open around here?"

* * * *

Epilogue; Six years later,

The setting sun disappears quickly when you are in a valley. Two weeks had taught me that if I wanted to arrive back at the cabin before dark I had to reel in my pole now.

This was my third fishing trip to Alaska since I had been here before Hurricane Kate. I had been here only once for work. Yes, Loren had begged me to stay and had made it more than worth my while. He had promoted Norman Childs into Jay's old position, and Norman didn't like his floor managers gone, so he radically curbed our travel. I didn't complain about that move at all.

About three weeks after her official funeral, I was notified by the coroner's office that they had found Lizzy's body. They say it is good to have that final closure; all it did for me was open all of my wounds again. Her parents and I had a private service when we interred her ashes. I never told them about Lizzy's dalliance. I decided to let them remember her as I wished I could.

I assume they found Jay's body as well, but since his parents were deceased and Brandi had headed west there was no one for them to notify. Brandi and I had kept up appearances for his first service and agreed to stay in touch.

She found a good man named Charley. I haven't seen her since we closed on her house, but she seems happy. She keeps hinting that I should come to LA and see her, but I haven't made up my mind to go yet.

I pull in my pole and whistle and three dogs come running. They are never more than 100 feet away. King reaches me first, followed closely by Ginger. Sadly, Bubby passed two years ago. About a month after I laid him to rest, a pit bull puppy appeared at my door. After weeks of notices and flyers brought no owners forward, I had Jessie.

While King and Ginger were prompt, Jessie and Lucifer dawdled. So with dogs in tow and tackle box in hand I headed up the trail. Within moments of entering the clearing that the cabin occupied, I hear the squealing that signaled the approach of a giddy five year old.

"Daddy!!!"

I managed to drop my gear in time to catch Denny in mid-flight.

"Daddy!! Mommy is cooking the hamburgers now, let's go eat!" he told me with a sense of urgency only a growing boy can attach to dinner.

My son gave me a hug and then ran for the cabin. Four canines ran after him, leaving me to pick up my gear. I walked into the cabin and was greeted by the smell of meat and a juicy kiss from my wife. My two year old daughter Jenna came running with her arms held high, she expected her hug and kiss too.

"I didn't figure you caught anything so I started the burgers," Renee said with that smile she got when she was yanking my chain. I admired the curve of her ass as she returned to her task.

"Well I guess we'll just have the six fish on my stringer tomorrow then." I walked up behind her and put my arms around her swelling abdomen. "And how is my little boy today?"

"Your daughter is busy. She's been playing soccer today."

I kissed her on the neck eliciting a moan. "Keep it up mister and you'll make me burn dinner."

"That's ok babe, I got fish remember?" I kissed her neck again and then relented.

"I'll remember this tonight big boy; you better rest while you can."

I knew she meant it. Every time we made love it was energetic. Renee usually wore me out. When she was pregnant our frequency multiplied. I was glad our cabin had separate bedrooms for us and the kids or she might well have killed me when we got back to Houston.

I sold the house that I had bought from Brandi. It held too many memories of Lizzy and Jay. I stayed in the house long enough to sell it, then Renee and I bought a house in Baytown. The house had withstood two major storms so I had few worries.

Lizzy and I had never got around to having children and Renee had never found the right guy. We'd decided that after my son, or daughter if Renee had her way, was born we were done having babies. I'd be having a vasectomy shortly after the birth. We finally had the happy family we'd both dreamed of, even if it was delayed by someone being slow on the uptake.

Fin

Author's note: I wrote this from two separate ideas that I have had. The main idea was the cheating pair being trapped in the room by the hubby's dogs and the husband confronting the guy's wife on his cell phone he found in the living room. I never had much to move the story on from the discovery so I left it alone.

The other idea was a guy discovering the cheating, and using a major disaster to render the cheaters to statistics. The problem with that idea was getting a disaster to cooperate.

As I was seeing to my own hurricane preparedness this scenario came to me and I wrote it. I also spent a while researching Hurricane Ike and talking to people who survived Ike.

I was going to have Carey prevent the cheaters' escape so that the storm would kill them, then I decided I wanted him to be able to have a clearer conscience so I took it the route that you have just read.

Saxon Hart