No Skyscraper - a short story

 

The wooden dock stretching out over the lake is old and not all that comfortable to sit on.  I always bring a cushion.  Dangling my legs over the edge places the bottom of my bare feet just at the surface of the water.  If I flip my feet up and down, I can splash just a little.  I usually don’t do that, however, as it tends to scare the fish.

Deb says there’s a body in the lake.  She says she saw someone, two summers ago, dump it in here late one night.  She says she won’t put her feet in here cuz now the lake is cursed.  I know the kind of people that live around here, so I believe her about the body, but I’m not buying into that curse thing.  I’m sticking to my story about scaring the fish.  That’s why I don’t put my feet in here.  You believe me… right?

There have always been too many people moving in and out of this neighborhood to notice just who might be missing.  None the less, a detective came snooping around here last year.  I don’t recall his name, but I remember he questioned everyone around, even old Jake.  Doesn’t seem like Jake would know too much.  He never comes out of his house, except to get the newspaper off his porch.  Even then, he scoots right back inside.  It’s like he allergic to fresh air or something.

Rumor was, Nancy, from Channel 7 was going to run a piece on the drug problem here.  Everyone I’ve talked to was going to watch just to see if their house got on TV.  That would have been their big claim to fame, seeing their house on the television.  In a round-about way the mayor has let Channel 7 know that there would be no report about drugs in our town.  We all thought that was an unusual statement to make, especially to the press, but then again, all the cops work for him, so who knows what he’s capable of.

Here's what I do know.  Debbie, the one spreading the stories about a body in the lake, just happens to be quietly buying up all the available lake front property she can.  I’d like to think the best of her, but in looking at what she’s doing, I’d say she’s up to no good.  I’m not saying anything to anyone, but really?  I can’t be the only one to notice this.  And come to think of it, I remember now who has disappeared from around here. It’s Naveen Porter, other than Debbie, this town’s only other realtor.

I need to be careful. Sometimes I let my imagination get away from me.  I am currently working on another book.  This one is entitled No Skyscraper – a short story.  From my computer desk I can see across most of the village.  I think it is this vantage point that started me writing about multi-story buildings and what it must be like to have a view of everything, even the shenanigans.

to be continued