A Pleasant Story

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Body



Dustin approached cautiously, making sure no one was watching him. As he got closer, he saw it was a man, and he noticed the costume was like those of the other divers. Was it actually one of them, or a real native of the island?

Dustin suddenly stopped in shock. From where he stood he could see that the man’s neck had been slashed, and his chest did not move. Dustin didn't recognize the man, but he was horrified just the same.





Dustin backed up quickly, almost stumbling. Every plan he'd had to investigate flew out of his head and turned and ran.






He stopped and fumbled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Carla's number.

When she answered, he started in immediately, "Carla, I'm so sorry . . . dead, he's dead, I just found him, I need you, please help me. I just found a body, he's dead, he's dead."






Carla's voice was very calm and soothing. "Dustin, take a breath. Tell me where you are."

"Twikkii Island."

He heard her call out to Kaylie and say "Hotels on Twikkii Island--book one for Dustin."

Then she spoke to him again. "Listen to me carefully. Has anyone seen you?"

"No," he said, "I'm alone."

"I want you to walk away. Right now, go toward somewhere safe. Kaylie is booking a hotel room for you and I am going to be on the next flight out. I will have her text you the address where to go. I will meet you there as soon as possible.

"Dustin? Is that clear?"

Dustin nodded, though she couldn't see him, repeated, "Start walking, someplace safe, go to hotel. You'll be here soon."





"Good," Carla said, still speaking calmly. "Dustin, I can't promise you that everything will be fine, but I do promise you that I will do everything I can. Okay?"

"Yes," he said. "Okay."

"I'm going to hang up now because I need to get on a plane. Kaylie will text you soon. And I will see you soon."

They each hung up. Dustin was amazed that Carla could stay so calm. He guessed it was because she was a cop. He couldn't see that Carla's entire body was shaking while she kept her voice steady. She had told him to walk, but he couldn’t help it and ran as fast as he could.





As Dustin ran, his phone vibrated and he stopped to check it. "Blossom Wood Hotel," Kaylie had sent. "Be careful." Thanks to his helicopter ride, he thought he knew how to find the address Kaylie sent, and ran in that direction.






The sun was rising as he checked in to the hotel, and he was given the key to a sparse but clean little room.








He'd been up for over a day, but couldn't sleep. He laid on the bed as his mind went over and over all the things he'd learned.






Finally his tired mind relaxed and let him get a few hours of sleep, and he woke around noon feeling very hungry. He ordered room service and sat and ate while he waited for Carla to arrive.







"Lainey!" he thought suddenly, and dialed her number. He got a recording, and left a message telling her where he was.





He was restless in the small room and went into the lobby to wait for Carla, but first he disguised his looks so no one would know who he was.







He jumped every time the door to the hotel opened, and finally, there she was.







Dustin felt all his emotions, his anger and helplessness, and relief at seeing her, boil up at the sight of her and he jumped up and grabbed her.

"I'm so glad you're . . . you're here," he sniffed through his tears.

Carla squeezed him tightly and said, "I will hold off on telling you how much trouble you're in." She patted his back and held him until his sobs subsided.





"So now tell me everything," she said.

Dustin started from trying to deliver the package at the spooky house in Pleasantview and told her everything that he'd done and seen up to finding the body. Well, almost everything. He left out the part about meeting Lainey.





Carla stiffened as he described finding the body but didn't react other than that. She simply nodded and encouraged Dustin to include any details he might have left out.

Dustin was about to show her the tiki idol from his inventory when he noticed Lainey walking up to the hotel from outside.







"Oh!" he exclaimed to Carla. "Hang on! I'll be right back!"

Dustin ran outside to Lainey and she smiled brightly.

"I got your message so I just decided to come over. It's so good to see you!" She leaned in to give him a hug, but Dustin stepped back nervously and looked toward the hotel where Carla was in the lobby.

"My Mo . . . I mean my guardi . . . I mean my . . . my Carla is here," he finished lamely.





“What’s up with this new look?” Lainey asked.


“Um, well, I didn’t want anyone to recognize me so I . . .” Dustin trailed off weakly.


Lainey looked him up and down and said, “But you left your clothes the same?”







He didn't have a chance to explain any more to Lainey as Carla exited the hotel and walked right up to them, offering her hand.

"I'm Carla Spitzig," she said. "I take it you're a friend of Dustin's?"

"Lainey Barthelet," she replied. "It's nice to meet you."









Dustin shifted his feet nervously and said, "Um, Lainey's been showing me around the island. Like the ruins and the hot springs. Um, she's, um . . . " his voice trailed off.

"It's okay Dustin," Carla said, chuckling to herself. She remembered her own awkward teenage romances.

"But Lainey, I'm sorry, Dustin and I need to go do a few things. Can he call you later?"

Lainey nodded pleasantly and told Carla that would be fine, while Dustin tried to sink into the sidewalk and disappear.






Lainey tried to reach out and give Dustin a hug goodbye, but he awkwardly brushed her hand away as he stuttered, “Um, I’ll call you later!”


Lainey chuckled. “Okay,” she said, “And maybe we can get some time alone.”









Carla considered teasing Dustin about his girlfriend, then thought of the body and sobered.

"She seems really nice, Dustin," was all she said.

She continued, "What I think we should do first is for you to show me where you found the body."






Dustin nodded and began to lead her toward the beach, but Carla called him back. “On second thought, I suggest you ditch ‘the disguise’ first.”

When they arrived at the beach, there was no body.

"Are you sure this is the spot, Dustin?" Carla asked him.

He nodded.

"I guess somebody moved him, then," she said. "Describe him to me while I examine the area."







Dustin closed his eyes and tried to remember what the man had looked like. "His eyes were dark, almost black, and sort of almond-shaped. His skin was light brown, and his hair was really short."

Carla asked, "Was he fat? Thin? Did he look in shape? And how old do you think?"

"Yeah," Dustin said. "He was muscular. And maybe 30 or 40. Maybe 50. I couldn't tell."

As Carla examined the grass, she found a patch of dried blood and took a small sample to examine later at the police lab.





"Let's investigate the shed," she suggested. After checking carefully around the perimeter and looking in the windows to make sure it was deserted, Carla jimmied the lock and she and Dustin entered.






Carla whistled. "Wow. This is a pretty strange place for a sculpture museum."







Carla took out her camera and photographed the items. "Maybe we can figure out where this stuff came from. I can try to match these up with reports of stolen goods."





"What about reporting it to the police here on the island?" Dustin asked her.

Carla nodded. "I plan to do that. But local police tend to be very possessive about investigations in their jurisdiction. I want to nose around a little before I report to them, so I have more information. I'll go there tomorrow. For now, could you show me all the places you've been? I want to get a feel for the island."





The rest of the day they spent going to the ruins and the hot springs and Seawater Beach, and then Dustin showed her the magic changing room on the boardwalk.

Carla was as baffled as he was.

"I've got a lot of good stuff to bring to the police," Carla said, "But right now let's get something to eat."





As they ate, Dustin asked her, "How do you stay so calm? I would think you'd be more upset about a dead body."

"I'm very upset, Dustin, "Carla said softly. "But as a cop you learn to keep your emotions down at times when you need to. It won't help me solve the case if I'm all jumpy and excitable. But when I have time, then I'll have a good cry and let it all out. It's part of the . . . "






Carla stopped suddenly as Dustin whispered, "Pssst!"

She looked at him and he pointed toward the nearby clothing shop.

"That woman over there is the one I gave the package to. The one who disappeared into the changing room. The one with black hair in the hula skirt."

Carla signaled to Dustin to stay put and walked casually around in a semi-circle to move near the cashier as though she were just browsing. She wanted to get a good look at the woman so she could remember her face.







Then she returned to where Dustin was waiting.

"Let's go," she whispered to him, and they left to return to the hotel.

When they got back to the room, Carla told Dustin that she'd booked their return flight for the next day, and that she'd go to the local police station before they left.

Dustin asked, "Could I call Lainey and meet her to say goodbye?"

Carla was going to say no, but changed her mind when she saw the hopeful look on Dustin's face.

"I guess that would be okay, but I want to go with you. Just in case."







Dustin started to object, and Carla continued, "I'll stay out of the way; I just want to make sure that woman doesn't follow you."

Dustin met Lainey on the shore at Seawater Beach while Carla stayed at the picnic area.






They talked about their dreams for their lives and their plans for college, and Dustin said hopefully, "Maybe you could come visit me in Pleasantview sometime?"

Lainey said she'd ask her parents, but if they said no she would definitely see him at college.






"And I'll text you all the time," she told him.

As Dustin kissed her goodbye, he felt something he'd never felt before. The peaceful love that came from being with someone who accepted him for who he was.






He watched her walk away and felt a wave of sadness, but mixed with hope for the future.






The next morning, Carla located the Twikkii Island police station. It had an island feel to it, but she noticed the policewoman was dressed pretty much like the cops from Pleasantview.

"Hello," Carla began, "I'd like to report . . . "





Carla stopped in shock. As the woman stood and turned toward her, she realized that not only did she recognize the woman, but she also saw a cow behind her.

"Yes?" the woman said. "You wanted to report something?"






Carla thought quickly. "Oh, yeah, I just wanted to report that a streetlight was out at the boardwalk. I noticed it last night."

"Thank you very much," Yukionna Abbadon said. "I'll send a crew to fix it."






"Okay then," Carla said and turned to leave. "Thank you! Bye!"








She ran back to the hotel as fast as she could. Dustin was fine, waiting for her in the lobby.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she burst breathless through the door.

"Later," she told him. "Let's get to the airport. "






They gathered their things to go and Dustin called Lainey one last time to say goodbye, then boarded the shuttle.





When they were settled on the plane, Carla quietly told Dustin about seeing the woman at the police station. "What I don't know," she said, "is whether she is actually a cop here, or if she was just impersonating one. I didn't have time to investigate. As soon as I recognized her I wanted to get out of there. I'll need to contact someone else to investigate. Maybe the SCIA."






"SCIA?" Dustin queried.

"Yeah. They're elite investigators. I have a friend in Desiderata Valley who has contacts there. I’ll ask him if he thinks they might help.” Carla told him.






When they were in the air and the flight attendant took their orders, Carla said, "Could I have a big glass of tequila, please?"







When they arrived home, Kaylie came running out of the house, with the rest of the family following.






She grabbed Dustin in a big hug. "I'm so glad you’re safe, you big idiot," she said to him.






As Kaylie released him, Dustin noticed a little boy looking up at him. "Who is this . . . TOM!" he cried out.

"Yup," Kaylie said. "You missed his birthday."



Dustin grabbed his little brother and said, "I'm sorry I missed it! But I brought you a present from the island. I brought presents for everyone!"

“Even for me?” Anthony asked.

“Yup!” Dustin said.





Dustin gave Beau a hug, then turned to Tom, who was tugging on his arm.

Tom said. "Now that I'm big you can swing me around. Now!"

Dustin laughed at his little brother's impatient rudeness and grabbed him up.

Dustin thought he was really lucky, mostly. It was nice to have a . . . family.