Nightmare

After docking, I carried Janice to my truck and strapped her into the seat. At this point, she was in a catatonic state, the after effects of the drugs. Her vital signs were good, so I wasn't too worried. As I drove back to Janice's place, I tried to figure out what had happened. Had Jack jumped into the lake and drowned, or was he now being digested in the gut of that huge gator I'd seen hanging around the boat? Why hadn't he taken the skiff? I ran a bath for Janice, she was somewhat more coherent but still groggy. I carried her to the tub and gave her a nice warm bath. At this point, I wasn't about to assume anything and drop my guard. I would get a good night's sleep and give this more thought in the morning.

I awoke early the next morning after a restless night of sleep. I dripped some coffee and turned on the TV. Any boat anchored overnight near the channel would be checked by the marine patrol. If it was abandoned, they would tow it. The local news was played in a loop throughout the day. Sure enough, the boat had been towed back to the dock, A bloody shirt had been found snagged on the side of the boat. A search for the body of the owner was underway. The consensus was that he had fallen overboard and was probably the victim of a gator attack. My guns were still in transit, but I had to arm myself. Janice had a little.380 LCP-2 that had been her husbands. She kept it in a desk that had a hidden compartment, which appeared to be an escutcheon rather than a drawer. As I pushed the release, and as it popped open, I had an epiphany.

Leaving Janice sleeping peacefully, I jumped in my truck and drove over to the dock. I strolled down to where the houseboat was tethered. Sure enough, there it was, almost discernible, a service hatch on the side of the hull. Simply remove the cover, once inside replace the cover. So this is how John had escaped, the bloody shirt was a distraction. I was sure that the flash drives were still on board the houseboat, he wouldn't risk carrying them around. He was holding up somewhere, waiting to see if we had gone to the law. He knew that wasn't likely since he still had the videos. At some point, he would come back to the houseboat for the flash drives and for revenge.

I had searched the laptop for the videos, but found nothing, which explains why I didn't need a password. If he were caught with them on his computer, it would be all the evidence needed to put him away for many years. He had the flash drives hidden on the boat somewhere, and it wouldn't be in a place that would be easily found. As soon as he felt it was safe, he would come back to the boat for them, they were his ace in the hole. I had to be on board when he did, it was the only way I could get them.

A week went by with no sign of John, I made several passes a day, one in the morning, one at noon and then one in the evening to check his boat. My guess was that he was letting things settle before playing his hand. The videos were his ace in the hole, and by now he knew the law wasn't looking for him. He had a lot of time and effort invested in this game, and he was going to throw in his cards because of one bad hand.

My sidearms had finally arrived, and I now carried a 9 mm compact in a holster under my shirt. Janice kept the.380 in her purse at all times. Though she couldn't recall all the details, the whole ordeal on John's boat had shaken her up pretty badly. I talked her into installing a surveillance system at the reality office for added security.

According to Janice, John had tried to court her within months after her husband's death. She had rebuffed his advances, finding his timing rather crude and inappropriate. He continued his pursuit relentlessly. She had tried to let him down gently, telling him while flattered there was no chemistry between them and not to waste his time.

The day that Lela had taken her to Bullfrogs to meet a potential investor, she realized it was just an attempt on his part.to continue with his obsession. She accepted a drink, thinking that if she explained once again that there was no mutual attraction, he would see the futility of his efforts. The next thing she remembered was being on the boat in a dream-like state, or to put it more accurately, trapped in a nightmare. Of course, she realized John was the guy that robbed her because he threatened to send pictures to her grandmother if she didn't cooperate.

The next day, I got a text from John that read: "I had no idea you had a relationship with Janice, my bad. We don't have to let this stand between us. She's all yours. We have a good thing going, let's not blow it over a piece of ass."

I wasn't so foolish as to believe him, but even so, it was time to end this. One more job and there is no way a jury would believe my innocence. I had a plan to destroy the videos and get John out of our lives permanently. It wasn't without risk, but it seldom is. I told him business is business, we could put this behind us. I agreed to meet him at Bullfrogs.

Over a couple of beers, we made our apologies, and he laid out the next "job."

"You're going to love this one, two beauties working by themselves. Think you might need some Viagra for this one, he joked."

"No, I think I'm up for it, '' I replied with feinted enthusiasm, but this whole ordeal has been a little stressful for me. How about we take the boat out one night this week, do some fishing and discuss the details.

"That's a great idea, want me to have a couple of the ladies come along for entertainment?"

"No, I don't think that would go over too well with Janice, we're kind of exclusive." I could read his expression like an open book. He was still obsessed with Janice, and her being with me was eating him up. Now I realized that the sole reason for targeting Sunshine Realty was to get Janice under his control. I knew at the first opportunity I would become another one of his missing partners. I was fairly sure it would happen the night of our fishing trip.

Janice and I sat on the couch after dinner having coffee. I confessed to her that my feelings for her went way beyond the physical, and I wanted to make our relationship permanent.

"Jason, are you asking me to marry you?"

"Well, it was either that or buy my own place on the lake, I joked."

She smiled, saying that at least it would make her an honest woman. She said having gone through a traditional church wedding once was enough. We found a justice of the peace and were pronounced man and wife. She had her grandmother's ring, but I insisted on buying her a gold wedding band. I didn't want the locals to think she was still available.

The following week, John called and said he had everything arranged for the fishing trip. I told him I needed a couple of more days, that I was still recovering from my honeymoon. He congratulated me but I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was seething inside. I had formulated a plan and though it was a little complex it would make this nightmare evaporate.

The night of the fishing trip I got my gear together and clipped my 9mm under my shirt. If all went as planned I wouldn't have to use it, but that would largely depend on John.

It was a calm night on the water with a gentle breeze. John anchored the boat about a mile off shore in a spot that was known to hold fish. I set out a few rods while John went inside to make us a drink. I didn't think he would try anything overt, he knew that I was armed now at all times. He returned with the drinks and pulled up a couple of the folding chairs he kept on the rear deck. While he was laying out the next "job" he had lined up I would bring the glass up to my lips and pretend to take a sip. The lights were out so it appeared that I was drinking though I only touched the glass to my lips and made an occasional swallowing sound. After a while I pretended to nod off to see what his reaction would be. When I didn't respond to one of his questions, he paused and quietly spoke my name a couple of times. I answered in a groggy manner and then pretended to snap back awake.

John said he was going inside to make us another drink. I suggested that he make us a hot cheese steak sandwich while he was up. One of his favorites, so I knew he would have the ingredients on board. As soon as I heard him engaged in cooking I pulled down the self inflating life raft and dropped it over the side. It had integral locked oars and I put as much distance between the houseboat and myself within the time I had allotted.

I stopped rowing, breathing heavily from the exertion and pulled my cell phone. I tapped the code number I had logged in and waited... nothing? I checked for a signal and got a couple of bars. I was running out of time, probably no more than 30 seconds by my estimate before John would be coming out with the drinks and food. It wouldn't take him but a couple of seconds to figure out that the shit was fixing to hit the fan. I tapped the number again...one, two, three and I saw the flash before I heard the explosion. Debris rained down around the raft as I rowed through the darkness.

As I pulled into the driveway I noticed the living room lights were on which meant Janice was still up and probably watching something on the television. She met me at the door and asked why I was back so early. I explained that when I got to the dock John's boat was there but his truck was gone. I had called his number but failing to get an answer I drove over to Bull Frog's but his truck wasn't in the parking lot. By the time I got back to the dock his truck was there but the boat was gone. I told her something must have come up and decided to call it a night and come home. I didn't like lying to her but I wasn't about to involve her in what had taken place. The less she knew the better for both of us.

So I suppose an explanation is in order. It's simple, I waited until I knew John wouldn't be on board. Then I used the service hatch to access the houseboat's LP tank, strapped on an android activated switch. The resulting fire and explosion would destroy or make any evidence unidentifiable even if it could be found.

The next morning Janice and I were having breakfast at the cafe across the street from her office. We had just been served our coffee when Lela approached with a man by her side.

" Good morning, this is my husband Ted. Ted, this is Janice and Jason Burns, two dear friends of mine."

I asked them to join us and they sat down and ordered breakfast when the waitress returned.

"Guess you've heard the latest, John's house boat exploded and burned. His body hasn't been recovered but there is no way anyone could have survived that," said Lela looking directly into my eyes."

"No, I expect not," I replied, giving her a knowing look. We exchanged the usual pleasantries and I invited them over for a post wedding celebration party. I told Lela to invite the ladies from her club. At the mention of a club her husband raised his eyebrows and asked "what club." Oh just some of us girls that get together to gossip, said Lela.

Later that evening after a particularly passionate love making session I looked over at my wife and thought, " At last the nightmare is over."