River Spirit

Those things were heavy and it took Junior quite some time to unload them. It was well after 2, when he finally got them all down and began rolling them towards the river. The first one had just splashed in, and Ray was getting ready to move in, when another car drove up.

Thank God. I had been starting to think he wouldn't make it, but there was Franklin right where I had told him to be. He got out of his car and stomped over to where Junior was getting ready to dump the second barrel. We could hear him yelling from where we were hiding. He was asking Junior what the goddamned problem was.

Junior was looking at Franklin and telling him he didn't know what he was talking about, but it didn't matter. It was obvious to all of us that Franklin knew what Junior was doing and was part of it. It would be enough. Now was the time to move in.

Once again, Ray got ready to signal his men. Then things went terribly wrong. I heard a voice coming from the river. There, swimming by was Nixie. Her head was out of the water and she was screaming at Junior and asking him what he was doing. Franklin started yelling that he couldn't be seen and for Junior to do something. Before anyone could do anything, Junior pulled that gun and shot Nixie. The bullet took her right in the head, and she sank into the water.

Ray screamed for everyone to freeze. He and his men ran in, guns drawn. Junior dropped his pistol, and he and Franklin were arrested without incident. I and one of the deputies dove into the river. We searched and searched, but never found any sign of Nixie.

The sheriff thanked me for helping him get Junior and Mr. Franklin. He felt awful about the girl, but he hoped they would find her somehow. I just shook my head and thanked him for his help. Ray asked me if I wanted a ride, but I told him I'd rather drive myself. He said he understood, and he and his men took Junior and Paul Franklin off to jail. I just drove back to the cabin.

I walked in the door, and there was Nixie waiting for me. I threw my arms around her and laughed. Everything had worked perfectly. They'd never find a body, but it wouldn't matter. The sheriff and all his men had seen Junior shoot that girl, with Franklin telling him to do it. Junior and Franklin might have talked their way out of prison on a dumping charge, but not murder. Neither of them was likely to be anywhere near a river for a very long time.

Nixie and I hugged and kissed. It was going to be my last night here. I had to fly home the next day. I asked Nixie to come with me, but she couldn't. Tears were in her eyes as she reminded me that she couldn't leave her river. I kissed her. At least we would have another night, and of course I would be back next year.

Sorry, but I'm not going to go into detail about that last night. I'll just say that it was the happiest night of my life. We made love all night, in every way we could imagine.

I hugged Nixie goodbye and drove off. I don't usually drink on a plane, but that flight was an exception. It took a lot of help for me to make it home.

Well, I have to stop writing soon. My plane is about to land. This all happened about a year ago, and my flight is about to set down in Colorado. I know Nixie will be waiting for me, and I have a surprise for her.

As soon as I got home last year, I bought a ten acre place out in the country. It will be a bit of a commute to work, but it's worth it. The engineers finished digging the six acre lake last month. And the guys from Fish and Wildlife are scheduled to stock it next week. So when I see Nixie, I can tell her that I have a new body of water that is just about to have life in it. Wish me luck friends. If everything goes right, my next year should be much better than my last one.