Alibi Fish

I went to the Outback for supper. I had a hard time finding a parking place with the boat on the back of the truck. I slept well that night.

There wasn't much of anything that I could do on Sunday, so I spent the day inventorying everything. I decided that it was time to move on. I made two lists; what I could leave behind and what I wanted to take with me. It was pretty easy. I decided to take all of the money that I could lay my hands on and walk away from everything else. I didn't need the house and, since my needs were simple, I could get some type of job almost anywhere. I didn't see any reason to go for a divorce at this point. I just about had everything finalized when Sharon showed up.

My daughter was unusually silent as we walked into the kitchen. She got comfortable as I made a fresh batch of coffee. The perk started and I sat down.

"I am sorry about all of this, Dad."

"You don't have anything to feel sorry about."

"The first five minutes that I was talking to Mom, she was screaming that you tried to kill some guy name Carmen, who I had never heard of. I figured out later that he was her boyfriend. I had no idea that she was cheating on you."

"For over a year now."

"When I asked her why she was in jail and you were not, she went ballistics on me. While grand mom was calming her down, grand pop took me into the kitchen and explained everything to me. Apparently, he got the complete story at the court house from Danny Greene, while they were getting her ready for release. "

"Sharon, I am sorry that you got caught up in this mess. I was trying to keep it from you and Benson. This is all stuff that you don't need to know."

I poured two cups of coffee and got her some cream.

"Actually, I know all I need to know. I came here to give Mom support, but I don't really feel the urge any more. I am going back home straight from here. Do you need any help?"

"No. I am all right, but I am afraid that this fiasco will cause me to become a local laughing stock. I am going to go away for a while. I don't know where and I don't know for how long, but I am leaving within the next few days."

"You are not going to stick around for Mom's trial?"

"No. I have to give a statement tomorrow about what happened, but after that, they say I am free to go. If they need me for anything they can always find me."

"I meant, are you staying around to help or support Mom?"

"Are you joking? She tried to kill a man for insurance money and blame it on me so she could be with her lover, and send me to jail for a few years. Why would I want to do anything to help her?"

We talked for ten more minutes and then Sharon left for Baltimore. The day was about to take an interesting twist.

I wasn't that hungry so I just popped an English muffin into the toaster for supper. I first heard the rumble as I was getting the honey down from the cabinet. Before the toaster had finished its job, the rumble had grown into a load roar, and had really gotten my attention. I glanced out the front door and saw at least thirty motorcycles pulling up to the house. I had no trouble recognizing Roscoe on the lead bike.

There was no discussion. He just walked up to me, handed me a dilapidated half shell, and turned to go back to the Harley. I followed and got mounted behind him. As we drove away, I realized that I hadn't even closed the front door of the house. I was snickering, because I realized that I didn't give a damn.

At first it was exhilarating, but after an hour I had had enough. It wasn't hard to figure out that we were headed to Atlantic City, and I had a pretty good idea why. What I couldn't figure out was my contribution.

By the time we arrived at the Taj, the number of bikes had somehow doubled. The noise that they generated as they streamed into the underground parking garage was deafening. The majority of the riders started going into the general casino area while Roscoe, myself, and three others, headed for the elevators to the main hotel. The three guys got off on the 7th floor, but my escort and I continued on to the top. I did notice that all of the security cameras had been coated with some type of foam insulation spray.

Roscoe seemed to know exactly where he was going and how to get there. Two minutes later, we were on the roof, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We were standing quietly and he noticed me looking at him, as if silently wanting an explanation that I really didn't want.

He smiled and placed his enormous hand on my shoulder. "You did fine, Terry. You did fine."

About that time, the three guys joined us on the roof with a new player. Simon Walcott was definitely scared to death as he reluctantly arrived. Although he worked at a commercial gym, he was no match physically for Roscoe. Again there were no words spoken; Roscoe simply grabbed Simon by his neck and the seat of his pants and walked him off the edge of the roof.

Five minutes later, the four of us were on our way back home. The rest of the group stayed at the casino. Roscoe dropped me off at the house. The other three guys had disappeared somewhere along the way. I handed him back the helmet, we smiled, and we said nothing, again. I liked this guy.

I slept well that night.

Danny came by early the next morning. He had called several times Sunday night to check on me and got no answer. I just smiled and said I had too much to drink and had passed out. It went no further.

It was a busy day. I had everything planned out and it all went like clockwork. I spent the whole day closing accounts and tidying up loose ends. I called Wilber to see how things went at his end. He arranged for Marci's bail and she was settled in at their house. He asked if I wanted to speak to her and I declined. I am not certain if she was up to it or not, but he felt obligated to ask.

Hannah had no one to post bail for her, so she was going to be a county guest until her trial. I was just getting ready to go to Taco Bell for supper when Danny called again to let me know that Simon had been found dead in Atlantic City. He asked me if I knew where Roscoe was. He didn't think it was funny when I laughed at his question. His demeanor picked up a little when I told him to come over to the house to get his new boat. Hell, I didn't need it anymore and I didn't want to waste a lot of time trying to sell it.

I spent the next four weeks living with Sharon and her family. Every day, I went down to the harbor and just milled around with all of the tourists. Danny was more than willing to give me the status of things at home. Marci and Hannah avoided trial by pleading guilty to a variety of charges. They both received sentences of three to five years. The Atlantic City police had no idea what happened to Simon and were not even actively pursuing any investigation into the matter. Monsano Motors mysteriously burned to the ground. More than 87 cars were lost in the fire. There were no leads. Carmen Cambria spent over two weeks in the hospital and was now awaiting trial for various charges including attempted murder. Roscoe agreed to stay in the area until Carmen's trial.

I seem to have lost all interest in fishing.