Bay of Evil by Bernadette Calonego

Author:Bernadette Calonego [Calonego, Bernadette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

34

Tourists are pouring into the Visitor Center, then moving through to the remains of the Viking settlement out back and to the Center’s exit afterward. Like an ebb and flow. Everything’s running smoothly. A day almost like any other. Lois Cartwin tries to appear relaxed.

She didn’t pick up her cell phone immediately after Bernie Addlison left her office. No way can she allow herself to be intimidated by that rotten little whippersnapper. But now, after making her rounds of the center, is the time.

“Yes?” the voice at the other end says.

“Somebody saw us. Someone on the staff.”

Pause.

“Where?”

“In Gunners Cove.”

“That’s impossible. We took—”

“There are pictures, taken by a drone.”

“We didn’t hear anything.”

“We couldn’t, with the music on.”

“Should the police be—”

“They’re at Gunners Cove right this minute. In the shed. The ambulance was there, too. Who on earth knows what’s going on there.”

“Did they find the professor?”

“I’ve no idea. But the ambulance—”

“Maybe he killed himself.”

“Maybe.”

“What will you do?”

“I don’t think the staffer will do anything. He’s in deep water himself. He tried to make a violent TikTok video on park grounds and was caught.”

“I just don’t want the pictures going around. Or getting on the internet.”

“Those damn drones. Nobody’s safe from them anywhere. Not even in northern Newfoundland, damn it to hell and back.”

“Can’t the police charge him with something?”

“Sure, but the damage will already be done by then.”

“He’s kept his mouth shut so far. Maybe he’s just bluffing.”

She’d like to believe it. She’s not really sure about anything.

Maybe the cops are the only solution.

She harbors these thoughts while talking with tourists afterward, walking through the exhibition, taking in a little sun by the entrance gate until it’s too windy, then drawing up the week’s schedule and going to the washroom. The day is drawing to a close: it’s already six thirty. The center’s open later today because of a lecture and a reception afterward.

As she approaches the ticket counter, the two staff there are engaged in a lively conversation. Has Bernie published the pictures already?

“They found a dead man at Gunners Cove,” a young woman whispers to her, holding a hand over her mouth. “The police just announced it. A violent act.”

She says the word violent as if it were coated in slime.

“Who’s dead?” Lois whispers in return. The tourists mustn’t hear a word of this. Bad for business.

“I’ll check.”

The staff person scrolls through her phone.

“It’s not the missing professor.”

“Here,” the other staff person says. “His name’s Art Kenley.”

“He’s dead?” Lois can’t hide her shock.

“Yes. It’s on here.”

The phone’s held under her nose.

She can’t get back to her office fast enough. She looks up the news on her laptop. Here it is! A press release from the Corner Brook Constabulary.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.